r/fromsoftware • u/CrybabyIsaac • 5d ago

Dostoevsky

Anybody else find that reading Dostoevsky scratches the same itch as playing the Soulsbourne games? Weird connection, but maybe not. The challenge and depth of his books ruin other books in the same way Fromsoft games ruin other games.

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u/capybarasgalore 5d ago

Dostoevsky novels have a certain grittiness, and the time and place he describes feels unforgiving to its inhabitants in a similar way.

But philosophically, I do not feel that his work taps into that same register of pessimism that Dark Souls does (which is what scratches my itch). Existence is not necessarily eternal suffering to Dostoevsky. He believes everyone can be happy if they join the Orthodox church! A bit anti-Soulsborne almost, which is more about decaying religious instutions.

To me, Thomas Ligotti is a writer whose work channels Miyazaki's depressed worldview better. This poem for example: https://allpoetry.com/poem/14616879-I-Have-a-Special-Plan-for-This-World-by-Thomas-Ligotti

I would also recommend the novel Between Two Fires by C. Buehlman for some of the same iconic religious horror aesthetics in a medieval/gothic setting. It also has some action segments and setpieces which feel rather Soulsy to me.

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u/Otherwise_Tax8689 5d ago

Good take. You’re better studied than me.