If you're unfamiliar with Dark Souls or even games like it then you'll need to know a few thing about how the game works or doesn't work. The Souls games are Role Playing Games, Action Adventure Games, and most of all they're Dungeon Crawler Games. They seem very similar to Open World games but they've been described more often as Open Ended. Each area outside of the hub world is its own dungeon. You will find enemies, loot, puzzles, and characters that are unique to each dungeon you explore. Each dungeon also ends with either a boss or a task that, once conquered, allows you to continue forward or progress past a previously blocked section. Here are a few details that you would have found in an instruction booklet back in the 1990s.
1. World
A. The world is populated by messages left on the ground by the developers. The first group of messages are part of the tutorial. Reading these messages is helpful but if you're playing online you may encounter messages left by other players. Some of the player messages could be marking a Bonfire, an Illusionary Wall, a friendly or malicious Character, or an Ambush. Be careful though as some messages are lies trying to get you killed.
B. The Bonfire acts as a checkpoint and refreshes the world around you. Resting will respawn common enemies around the world, heal you, and refill your Estus Flask. In Dark Souls and Dark Souls Remastered, the Bonfire is where you allocate your experience points "souls" to gain levels, reverse your Hollowing, and use Humanity to Kindle that Bonfire. The Bonfire in Dark Souls 2 still heals you and refills your Estus Flask but it also Repairs your equipment and allows you to teleport to another Bonfire that you have lit. The Bonfire in Dark Souls 2 additionally lets you burn Human Effigies in order to restore the link to other worlds but the link is only broken temporarily and will restore itself. Dark Souls 3 has similar mechanics to Dark Souls 2, providing you with a teleport and repairing your equipment, with the Hub world Bonfire of these two games allowing you burn an item to increase the effectiveness of your Estus.
C. Illusionary Walls will hide secret areas or items of the games. In Dark Souls, Dark Souls Remastered, and Dark Souls 3, these illusions can be dispelled by rolling through them or attacking them with a weapon, arrow, or kick. In Dark Souls 2, Illusionary Walls are replaced by Secret/Hidden Doors and they are opened by interacting with them.
D. If an enemy seems particularly difficult to combat, it's probably too high of a level for you. Don't be afraid to test a scary looking foe as Souls are just Souls and you can get more. Other games with in the Genre will display numbers for either locations or enemies to let you know what level you should be to engage them but the Souls games lack this display and leave the judgment to the player. Because of the lack of numbers, it could be hard for someone to realize that they under powered and they may tell themselves that it's normal, after all, Dark Souls is supposed to be hard.
2. Combat
A. If you want, you can use your fist as a weapon through the whole game. If you don't want to punish yourself excessively, there are weapons you can equip to deal some real damage. The way the weapons work over each of the Souls games will change over time but this gives you the opportunity to try new things. Find what weapon works for you. There are many different styles and they will all have some viability, however, try not to limit yourself to just one or you may find a boss that you're unable to battle efficiently.
B. Glance at Health Bars. It's okay to take a look at your health when you get the chance, some people like to keep their health full, but if you're looking away from an enemy too long, it could end in disaster.
C. Lock on and unlock from enemies. You can turn the auto-lock feature off if it becomes a problem. Enemies can deal some big damage to you if you let them hit you in the back but sometimes you need to move more freely so know when to be locked on.
D. As a warning, if you run past enemies and you don't know where you're going, you will likely run into a wall or another group of enemies and you will die.
3. Movement
A. Dodging/Rolling is a way to avoid damage. In Dark Souls and Dark Souls Remastered, you can only roll in four directions from your character's orientation. Later games allow you to roll diagonally.
B. Sprinting is an action that will drain your stamina. If your stamina reaches 0, you will not be able to sprint until it has either recharged fully or you have rolled.
C. You can Jump and you can assign the button for jumping to the option you're more comfortable with. In the Souls games, you can only jump while sprinting.
D. Dark Souls is not a platformer but will challenge you to reach areas that require some jumping, falling, running, or ladder climbing.
E. Fall damage is a thing though it varies in each game.
4. Gear
Read about your gear. Equipment has a lot of different stats. Weapons have attack power and Armor has defensive power. Weapons lose durability with use and Armor loses durability when you get hit. Rings can also break so keep an eye on that too. You should be reading the descriptions of everything you pick up anyway but before you equip something even more so. Use the help display if you don't know what each stat means. Your gear isn't just about Fashion, it's also about Survival. When equipping new gear, take a look at how it compares to what you're currently using. Gear may also have stat requirements.
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