Alongside their minimalistic storytelling and high level of difficulty, SoulsBorne games are infamous for their traps. Enemies wait in the most obscure places to spear you in the back. The floor falls out from under you onto a giant demon. A treasure chest grows teeth and chews you to pieces. Classics!
Sometimes, though, FromSoftware takes tricking their players as a challenge and is constantly evolving new, more devious ways of pushing you into a pit. Some of these traps are fair. You can step around them once you know they're there, and congratulate yourself on a job well done. Others, though, are so infuriatingly cruel that you start to wonder if the folks at FromSoft have a problem.
8 Dragonburnt Ruins Transporter Chest: Elden Ring
Stepping out of the tutorial area in Elden Ring feels like a breath of fresh air. Sure, you've just been mangled by a gigantic creature made of grafted body parts, but the wide-open vistas make the challenge feel a little less daunting. You are about to begin your quest. You have the whole game ahead of you.
Then, you stumble across a small ruin in an area to the west, with a few decrepit enemies and a chest at the bottom. "Wow, I'm good at this game," you might think as you open up the chest, which then transports you into a cave full of terrifying shrimp creatures who proceed to mercilessly pelt you with magic. The only way to get out is to run with your tail between your legs and find a site of grace to huddle behind. It's not the worst trap FromSoft ever threw at you, but It's enough to put you back in your place.
7 Entering The Ringed City: Dark Souls 3
Gorgeous views aren't exclusive to Elden Ring. When you travel to Dark Souls 3's Ringed City, you might even gasp at its austere beauty after being dropped down by your demon friends. After all, the ancient home of the pygmies has a kind of grace to it, even if it's filled with dead people.
Venturing down the steps into the city proper, however, means almost certain death, since it's at that point that about a dozen ghost archers will appear and fill you with their ghostly arrows. There's very little telegraph and it's almost impossible to avoid if you aren't looking out for it. Setting the tone for this rock-hard DLC, you'll have to avoid multiple groups of these enemies, too, who will only back down after you've defeated the one who summoned them. Fortunately, getting past them is possible, but that might not satisfy you much, since you are now a pincushion.
6 Rescuing Yurt, The Silent Cheif: Demon's Souls
In a refreshing departure from FromSoft's usual antics, rescuing the NPC Yurt in Demon's Souls will not kill immediately kill you. Heck, you won't even have to fight him. He'll just thank you, say something vague about being an assassin with an unquenchable thirst for blood, and will be on his way.
Only, he's not on his way, not really. Left to his own devices, Yurt will proceed to casually assassinate every NPC you've brought to the nexus throughout the game, potentially robbing you of vital resources. Instead of killing you, he's set his sights on something potentially more painful: All of your friends.
5 Double Log Trap: Bloodborne
Going into a place called The Forbidden Woods might seem like a recipe for disaster. After all, by definition, you're not supposed to be there. And indeed, the enemies in the area make it abundantly clear that you are not welcome as they riddle you with bullets. But, make it through them all and you'll be confronted with one of Bloodborne's most devious traps: A log with spikes on it.
This may not seem all that dangerous. You'll probably die once when the log swings into you, and go back thinking that you're prepared to dodge out of the way. That is until you've successfully gotten past the first swing when the log breaks off and barrels toward you on the ground. It's a bait and switch that's almost funny if it didn't feel like getting punched in the gut.
4 The Ball Of Skeletons: Dark Souls 3
If you've ever played a Dark Souls game before, you know a long empty staircase is dangerous. Sure, it looks like you can get down there scot-free, but staircases are like a vacuum, and if there's one thing FromSoft abhors, it's a vacuum. So, often, it'll be filled with gigantic balls rolling at you at terminal velocity.
That's why, when you encounter a long, empty staircase in the Catacombs of Carthas, you won't be surprised to get flattened by a ball that is bigger than you are. What you might be surprised by is that the ball is made of skeletons, and doesn't just go downhill. Propelled by some magical force, the enormous, animated ball of human remains will go back and forth on the stairwell like a car in the driveway of an indecisive Lyft employee, with you under its wheels.
3 The Frenzied Flame Tower: Elden Ring
Elden Ring's difficulty depends on how much you explore. You can try to throw yourself against its bosses without grinding, but wandering off the beaten path has its advantages. Not only will you get to experience the beauty of the Lands Between, but you'll also get the chance to grab some extremely helpful items. Any chance to explore feels like an opportunity, and you'll often find yourself darting off to explore at any chance you get.
Which is why, upon cresting a hill near Lynnel, the Royal Capital, you might be a bit confused to discover that your madness gage is creeping up. Are you secretly being attacked by an enemy? Is there some hidden mechanic in that new sword you equipped? No, it's just a flame of chaos floating above a tower that will kill you quickly if you don't hide behind a rock. You can eventually douse the flame by climbing the tower, but more than likely you'll die a time or two in the attempt, since it'll kill you just by being there.
2 The Elevator In Sen's Fortress: Dark Souls
Sen's Fortress as an area is basically one big trap. Gigantic swinging blades will sweep you off platforms, boulders roll out of nowhere to crush you, and arrow traps turn you into a pincushion before the enemies can get to you. It is truly one of the most frustrating areas to get through, made all the worse by the distance between bonfires. Still, Dark Souls rewards players who like to explore, which is why, after an elevator in the middle of the dungeon stops on the first floor, you might stay on to see where it goes.
Unfortunately, where the lift takes you is straight into a ceiling full of spikes, killing you instantly. Most of the traps in the area are fairly predictable, if difficult to get around. There's no indication for this one, though, and it'll send you all the way back to the beginning. The worst part? You were this close to the next bonfire. So, instead of resting and renewing your wounds, congratulations! You are now a meat patty.
1 Basilisks: Dark Souls, Elden Ring
"Oh, that's kind of cute," you might think after stumbling into a room full of these big-eyed little buggers. "It's almost a shame to kill them." Then, they fill your screen with glinting black dust. An unfamiliar gage with a skull next to pops on the screen, fills up, and - depending on the game - you either turn into a pile of crystals or vines. Either way, you're dead.
What's more, in Dark Souls, when you revive, you'll find yourself cursed with only half your health. You'll have to treck to find a particular vendor to cure the curse, and that's in addition to the fact that you still have to fight more basilisks. They live in tightly packed areas, especially sewers and crypts, making their deathly breath hard to avoid, especially since they like to hide behind doors to blast you from behind. Also, those aren't even their real eyes.