5 Most Thought Provoking Video Games Of The Decade

5. Dark Souls

Dark Soul's is a nihilistic nightmare that attempts to break the player over and over again until they can overcome it, only to find it was all for nothing. The gameplay is the equivalent of throwing yourself at a brick wall again and again, slowly breaking the wall down until you finally succeed, only to find a bigger wall ahead. The game forces us to get better by constantly challenging the player with overwhelming bosses, elaborate areas and complex combat. But it rewards the player with the elation of success. No matter how unforgiving, through perseverance, any obstacle within Dark Souls can be conquered.

Once you have overcome the hurdles throughout the game, the final outcome remains the same. Humanity is doomed to the age of dark whether you sacrifice yourself to light the flame or not. The inevitability will always be the same. Your actions up to this point have not changed things and yet, you as the chosen undead and the player persevere.

In a similar vain to Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, Dark Souls is like rolling a boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down. Instead of lamenting and fixating on the inevitability of death and our lack of purpose in life, Dark Souls teaches us to embrace life and celebrate success. Life is unforgiving and often cruel, but through perseverance you can achieve something. The elation and joy of accomplishing something achieves more than any meaning ever could.

Dark Souls is a masterpiece of atmospheric gameplay and the perfect allegory for life, forcing us to find happiness through perseverance and accomplishment even in the inevitability of failure and death.