The starting area in any Souls game must do a lot of work. It has to be visually appealing, so players arent immediately turned off by what they're seeing. And, most importantly, it must have a good boss or set of bosses that challenge but do not overwhelm.
7.Dark Souls 2: Forest of Fallen Giants
The Dark Souls 2 entry is a controversial game, but the variety of levels and level designs cannot be denied. The most common place where players can end up after reaching Majula is most likely the Forest of Fallen Giants. This level is well-organized, fairly complex, and performs everything an opening level should perform. Its performance is, however, poor as it is.
6.Dark Souls 3: High Wall of Lothric
The High Wall of Lothric, like the Forest of Fallen Giants, is a great opening area, but it does little to excite a player. Made up of gothic-style architecture, as much of Dark Souls 3 is, and featuring one of the game's fewest powerful bosses (Vordt of the Boreal Valley), it is elevated somewhat over the Forest because the Dancer of the Boreal Valley fight is available whenever you want, and the connecting areas of Lothric Castle and the
5.Dark Souls: Undead Burg
The Undead Burg isn't the largest nor the most visually stunning of locations, but it has moments of surprise and shock that stood the test of time, and that laid the foundation for everything to follow. The sudden appearance of the Hellkite Drake on the bridge as you enter the second area, the lonely Black Knight prepared to put players in the ground, and even the Taurus Demon fight all combine to elevate the Burg from good to great.
4.Sekiro: Ashina Outskirts
Sekiros Ashina Outskirts had one of the toughest jobs in Soulsborne. It had to both teach veteran players how to master new ones, as well as enlightening newcomers on the many systems they may need to master. The whole level is a masterclass in progression. The early enemies dont do much damage and are easy to deal with, and mini-bosses peppered about force players to apply what they learned against the trash mobs in a much more stressful setting.
3.Elden Ring: Limgrave
If there were to define everything Limgrave had to teach Elden Ring players, it would be scale. No other game in the Soulsborne franchise was so vast as this, and many players new to the series did just that. There are some of the most horrifying tricks FromSoftware has ever pulled, such as teleportation traps that take players to the hell world of Caelid and beyond.
2.Demons Souls: Gates of Boletaria
13 years before the release of Demons Souls Gates of Boletaria, the game managed to scale much better than Elden Ring. You'll need to explore the entire region, encounter some of the most horrific traps FromSoftware ever created, and master the game's characteristic checkpoint system.
1.Bloodborne: Central Yharnam
FromSoftware's greatest achievements are demonstrated by its worldbuilding and mechanical capabilities. Every corner hides something new, and just when players thought they'd seen everything about the level, a new beginning opens up. Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne are two of the best a game with dozens of fantastic boss designs.