Summary
Most gamers familiar with theBerserkfranchise are likely aware of its incredible influence onFromSoftware’s titles. The studio’s biggest releases are rife withBerserkreferencesthat range from surface-level Easter eggs and design similarities all the way to core narrativeand lore parallels. While games likeDark Souls,Bloodborne, andElden Ringall manage to feel distinct and original in spite of clearBerserkinspirations, FromSoftware could do something great by tackling the seminal manga with a direct adaptation.
Berserkis a long-running manga series that published its first issue in 1989, and while it has received a number of adaptations, including video games, these adaptations are widely regarded as inferior to the source material, either due to their limited scope or for other creative reasons. Even the 1997Berserkanime, which is the most revered adaptation, only covers the Golden Age arc, leaving a lot of the manga’s story untouched. That said,FromSoftwarecould set the stage for the bestBerserkadaptation yet.
Sadly,Berserkcreator Kentaro Miura passed away in 2021. TheBerserkmanga is still ongoing, however.
FromSoftware Should Just Make a Berserk Game
Many gaming and manga fans argue thatFromSoftware games are basicallyBerserkadaptationsalready, and while this statement is rather reductive—FromSoftware’s post-Demon’s Soulsgames are all unique in their own way—there’s some truth to it. Setting aside the countless tonal and design parallels, it’s clear that Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team are interested in the same thematic realms asBerserk: the plight of the undead inDark Souls, the Lovecraftian horror ofBloodborne, and the power-hungry warriors and royals ofElden Ringall engage with the same ideas as Miura’s epic series.
Even thecharacter-driven narrative ofSekirocan be compared toBerserk’s tale of betrayal, vengeance, loyalty, and corruption. In fact, Wolf, the protagonist ofSekiro, may be viewed as being directly inspired by Guts, as both characters are loyal to a fault, nigh-unstoppable warriors, and equipped with complex, improbable prosthetic arms. When it comes to narrative presentation,Sekiroproves that a FromSoftware-developedBerserkgame could work well.
What FromSoftware Could Do With Berserk’s Story
Sekiromay have a more direct and linear narrative than other FromSoftware games, but it is still fairly lore-based and left up to interpretation, with Wolf’s character being ultimately determined by a few key decisions the player makes at certain points in the game. By comparison,Berserk’s story is much more complex, predetermined, and built around Guts' personal development, which would require FromSoftware to employ decidedly different storytelling techniques, perhaps focusing more on cinematics and setpiece moments rather than the slow and lonely gameplay of theSoulsgames. However, this new framework would give the studio new opportunities to grow and experiment with different styles of narrative and gameplay design.
Of course, there have beenBerserkvideo game adaptations before, and while they have their strengths, they mostly fail to capture the bleak, meaty, oftentimes upsetting tone of the manga.FromSoftware has a masterful control of toneand setting, conveying so much emotion and complexity through subtleties in gameplay, sound, and visual design, and this unparalleled strength would help the studio doBerserkjustice.
FromSoftware has also always been concerned with lofty philosophical concepts like the nature of reality and whether humans have free will, just likeBerserk, and the studio’s signature, bizarre methods of storytelling could be tweaked to serve the manga’s narrative. WhetherFromSoftwarewere to adapt a specific arc ofBerserkor attempt to cover the whole story so far, there is undeniable potential in the idea of Miyazaki and company directly adapting their biggest inspiration.
From Software
Based in Japan, FromSoftware is a development company best known for the Souls series and Armored Core franchise. Other popular games from From Software include Elden Ring, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and the King’s Field series.
