Before Dark Souls, FromSoftware’s Forgotten PS1 Horror Game Was a Haunting Exercise in Empathy

To trace FromSoftware’s history is to uncover a lineage written in cold sweat. While the studio is celebrated today for unforgiving action RPGs like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, its DNA is deeply rooted in games that feel born of a fever dream. FromSoft’s darker legacy lives in games like Kuon, a masterclass in Japanese folklore and survival horror, and Shadow Tower, a claustrophobic dungeon crawler that turns every dark alcove into a deadly trap. Even Eternal Ring — not to be confused with its blockbuster sibling Elden Ring — radiates that signature, unsettling aura that makes exploring FromSoftware’s later worlds so intoxicating.