This post will contain affiliate links when I get those set up, but does not yet.

I want to say right at the beginning that I make no claims as to the originality of this idea! A couple weeks ago two of my friends were talking about their shared Bloodborne run. Every time one of them died, they passed the controller to the other. Sean (my fiancé) and I immediately followed suit and started our own, of Dark Souls, From Software’s iconic dark fantasy action RPG. Not because we don’t like Bloodborne, but because we don’t own the right console. Following are the rules we are using for our passed Dark Souls run.

Practical Details for Our Passed Dark Souls Run

Pass the console to the other (or another) player on death.

Pass the console to the other (or another) player after resting at a bonfire after defeating a boss.

The player who was not playing at the end of the last session plays first at the next session.

Discuss story decisions with each other before committing to them.

Discuss large expenditures of resources with each other before committing to them.

This is a game. Have fun with it!

I have found this to be great fun, and an enjoyable new way to play the game. On a related note, I would recommend this for a second or later play-through. There are several areas and bosses I have not meaningfully interacted with in this play-through because Sean cleared them on the first try. There are, likewise, areas where I cleared them on the first try.

Especially since Sean knows the game much better than I do, playing this way is a far more relaxed experience. Alternating turns at the console has made bosses in particular go by faster. Mostly because it’s harder to get frustrated with repeated attempts when you’re alternating with someone else and getting to observe their play. The most tries it has taken us to defeat a boss so far is four. If anyone’s curious, that was for defeating Ornstein and Smough, Smough first, for the Leo Ring. Although since we’ve just started on the DLC, that number might go up some soon.

I’m not sure how much longer this play-through will go for before beating the game, but I have been having a great deal of fun with the experience. This game in particular works well for the format because of its difficulty and clearly defined units of play, but it would also be fun to try with other games. Maybe alternating days on a Rune Factory game? Let me know how it goes if you try something like this!