The story in most FromSoftware games is notoriously difficult for fans to wrap their heads around. While an opening and closing cutscene bookends every FromSoftware action RPG, this is about all the direct storytelling there is. To find out something essential about the game's characters, world, or overall story, players must sift through item descriptions, dialogue, and environmental details to piece together a FromSoftware story. This is especially true for Dark souls trilogy.
While Fire Ring and Blood borne are self-contained adventures, they Dark souls the trilogy has an extra layer of obtuseness, with all its entries technically connected. It has taken fans years to try to find concrete connections between them Dark Souls 1, 2and 3s stories. That said, some connections are a little more obvious than others, such as Dark Souls 3s self-referential sites.
Anor Londo is a direct recreation of Dark Souls 3
By far the most obvious reference to the first game in the trilogy is Dark Souls 3is Anor London. Unlike some of the other places in the Dark Souls 3 which seems to pay homage to the first entry of the series, Anor Londo is almost an exact copy of its original version, and even bears the same name. While the approach to the castle is somewhat different in Dark Souls 3the castle itself is almost identical, with its long staircase and terrifying face looming over the player. Rather than the beloved duo boss Smough and Ornstein, Dark Souls 3s castle halls are home to Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, who has seemingly consumed Dark Souls 1's Dark Sun Gwyndolin.
Other Dark Souls 3 locations that seem to reference DS1
Firelink Shrine
While Dark Souls 3 has its own version of the Firelink Shrine, the first game's iteration is in DS3s Ringed City DLC. After dropping into the hole to meet the Demon Prince, players will be able to notice a familiar stone structure behind them next to the bonfire. This stone door and wall are meant to mimic the passage leading to the Frampt in the first game's version of the Firelink Shrine. After defeating the Demon Prince, players will be able to spot more similarities, such as a circular center point, some surrounding stone walls, and a well.
Painted world of Ariandel
Another clear reference to the first Dark souls is found in Dark Souls 3's Ashes of Ariandel DLC. In this DLC, players go to the Painted World of Ariandel, which is a fairly overt reference to DS1's Painted World of Ariamis, an optional area found in Anor Londo. Although the layouts of the Painted Worlds are quite different, they both have a similar long wooden bridge, and Crossbreed Priscilla's boss arena is in DS3's Painted World of Ariandel.
Smoking lake
To get into the area of speculation a little more, Dark Souls 3's Smoldering Lake is believed to be a reference to Dark Souls 1's Lost Izalit. Some of the clearest references appear in Smoudlering Lake's Demon Ruins area, where petrified Capra and Taurus demons can be found littering the grounds. A petrified spider can also be found next to Quelana's pyromancy, implying that this deceased spider is her.
The furnace of the first flame
The last place in Dark Souls 3 bears the same name as the last location in the trilogy's first entry. Although the locations look quite different, their in-game purpose and the lore behind them is the same, with players having to defeat a powerful boss to either keep the Age of Fire going or let it die.
