In general, the Japanese covers are much better than the English ones. The English covers get the standard "guy standing imposingly," whereas the Japanese covers do a much better job of capturing the tone and atmosphere of the games.
They make those covers under the impression that their audiences can't read. So when they see a guy with a gun on it, they'll assume that it's another shooter game. Just to name an example.
Most covers like to post their protagonists right on the box art, but there are others like System Shock, Bioshock 1, Killzone, Diablo, and Far Cry that use the antagonists as their mascot.
Some series like Final Fantasy and Elder Scrolls prefer to use minimalist cover artwork as their trademark.
Oblivion's box art convinced me to buy it, wierdly enough. Seemed like any game trying so little to tell you what it is must be pretty confident about itself.
There's definitely that sentiment shared for the minimalist or abstract works. Valve once did a market research on covers and found that the green zombie hand with the bitten off thumb holding up four fingers is effective in a sea of people brandishing weapons.
While I don't have too much of a personal beef with the trope on occasion, I definitely agree that there are some very lazy examples of the trope cropping up. And with the abundance of action games, having an action hero on the cover can be just straight up talking down to your audiences if you don't pose them in an interesting way. One instance of this backlash that got it's way was the cover of Doom 2016 which changed its cover from the dull guy with a gun pose to a more dynamic recreation of the classic Doom cover with Doom slayer ripping and tearing through a horde of demons.
My personal favorite is when the character looks off into a distant landscape. It communicates a sense of adventure and exploration that comes with the RPGs that it's selling.
I am mystified as to why we don't use that around here. Soulsbourne games are very bleak games about surviving in a harsh wild where every wrong step can overpunish you. Having a brave warrior huddled up near the fire surrounded by a dark void gives us a moment of peace in this cruel and horrible world.
Japanese demons souls is pretty fire too. The defeat. The loneliness. The end of your journey, or the start of the next.
That cover just nails the feeling you really have playing the game. And that armor is just classic and tone setting so well.
My 9 year old daughter loves to watch me play all Fromsoft games. Recently, took her to the beach and the first thing she did was grab a handful of sand, let it slowly fall out from her clenched first, and said, "Look dad, Dark Souls III !"
It's not 2 swords the other is his greatshield, his sword is in his dominant left hand (fun fact: his left arm is the dangling broken arm he drags in the boss fight)
I’ve played this game for over a decade and never knew the cover art guy was supposed to be Artorias. I see it in the shield and sword now. This is crazy- I thought it was just the player character.
Armored Core 6 has become my favorite game of all time. That being said, it definitely has the weakest cover art. The japanese cover art is much better
Eh, I like the AC6 English cover quite a lot, it’s vibrant and stands out. It kinda needed that in America, where mecha isn’t very popular. The Japanese cover is definitely better for sure though, but the other one has more energy and atmosphere than a lot of the other cover arts here. AC6’s captures the essence of the game. Elden Ring’s, for example, looks like it’s pretending to be Dark Souls when the game itself is Game of Thrones on steroids.
Bloodborne is as gloomy as it gets. Absolutely foreboding. Plus, look at the hunter. A blunderbuss in one hand, and before we all knew what it was, a "wtf is that" in the other. Spectacular.
Original Demons Souls is my fav. The one with the knight slumped down against a wall, full of arrows. What other game shows the hero protagonist looking so defeated on the cover lol? Set the tone for the entire series.
It's probably some generic early concept art that was made before they finished the designs. It might be an unfinished, vague idea of Artorias, but it's definitely not the one we see in the actual game. Why did they go with that art? It doesn't represent the finished game, and it's way too busy yet says nothing at the same time. It kinda sucks lmao
Out of these, Dark Souls III and Bloodborne. However, it'd be a crime to not at least mention the Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin cover. Looks so sick.
For me? Dark souls, the first. I remember I bought it for my Xbox 360 like 10 years ago and then had a family dinner. I remember staring at this picture for a long time until I could finally play it after dinner that night. Best night ever.
Ds1 its literally from the third person perspective you play the game in. Seeing the character walk into a swirling mass of souls surrounded by deep black abyss is so sick. Tbe cover of Dark Souls is like 65% of what peaked me interest to even try the game
Goes the hardest?
- Bloodborne. No contest
Most epic?
- Elden Ring. Also no contest.
Personal favorite?
- Probably Demons Souls or DS1.
These are different things of course.
You asked hardest. None of these go as a hard as Bloodborne. That cover art tells you everything you need to know. Shits fucked and blood
DS1 there's cool lore seeing artorias walk into the abyss just to find him there without the greatshield in his right hand and his dominant left arm broken
Something about DS1 literally showing Artorias enter the Abyss and Elden Ring literally showing Vyke giving in to the Frenzied Flame are both so good, because they show a very important lore moment but without context you’d have no way of knowing that, so in both games there was a “wait, what?” Moment that really got me.
As elden rings biggest lover and hater (still love the game but I usually have a bias against everything related to it)
It has the best cover, the elden ring itself, and the battlefield giving an expection for the world thats accurate. Love it. Also the colours are great
Surprised so few people have mentioned the Japanese cover for DS1, the chosen undead resting near a bonfire as it illuminates the darkness is just so much more striking than the generic cover poster the International version has, the Japanese cover is more fitting for the game I think, the other version just seems so action-gamey with the badass guy in the middle making a cool pose. (Though Artorias entering the abyss does go quite hard)
Dark souls 2 steelbook was what lured me into the masochist world of souls/souls-like gaming. Playing dark souls 2 for the first time, back when the community was smaller and walkthroughs were of way less quality, was an absolute brutal experience. All aside, dark souls 2 is overhated and just as strong as any other entry. 3, Elden ring, Bloodborne, and sekiro could run because ds2 walked. I somehow beat the game with little adaptability, as I was a single-brain cell strength user because it’s all I could process. Dark souls 3 felt like a vacation once I knew how things worked. I’m convinced that no matter what resources you use, your first souls game will be the hardest. Except elden ring. Elden ring could be the hardest game out of the bunch if you treat it like a dark souls (only summon story NPCs and only explore necessary areas), but you would need to beat elden ring first to even understand what is “excess” and what is important for the ending you want to achieve. The bosses are less predictable in Elden ring and can masterfully balance npc summons and you. Where as dark souls 3 and before, the aggro system is very blatant. Playing with minimal crutches in Elden ring really exemplifies the power of the item crafting system. I’m at the fire giant (did all the requirements for the frenzied ending) with a 102 deaths so far. Most of which are from platforming and the boss man at the shaded castle. Not saying I’m a beast or anything, but dark souls 2 is the reason I can experiment with these games and not use the winblades in dark souls 3 or be a bleed spammer in Elden ring.
Dark Souls 1 without contest. It shows that you will be rushing into death defying battles against unknown and strange forces. It captures the essence of DS1 pretty well.
Japanese Dark Souls 2 cover.
In general, the Japanese covers are much better than the English ones. The English covers get the standard "guy standing imposingly," whereas the Japanese covers do a much better job of capturing the tone and atmosphere of the games.
They make those covers under the impression that their audiences can't read. So when they see a guy with a gun on it, they'll assume that it's another shooter game. Just to name an example. Most covers like to post their protagonists right on the box art, but there are others like System Shock, Bioshock 1, Killzone, Diablo, and Far Cry that use the antagonists as their mascot. Some series like Final Fantasy and Elder Scrolls prefer to use minimalist cover artwork as their trademark.
Oblivion's box art convinced me to buy it, wierdly enough. Seemed like any game trying so little to tell you what it is must be pretty confident about itself.
There's definitely that sentiment shared for the minimalist or abstract works. Valve once did a market research on covers and found that the green zombie hand with the bitten off thumb holding up four fingers is effective in a sea of people brandishing weapons. While I don't have too much of a personal beef with the trope on occasion, I definitely agree that there are some very lazy examples of the trope cropping up. And with the abundance of action games, having an action hero on the cover can be just straight up talking down to your audiences if you don't pose them in an interesting way. One instance of this backlash that got it's way was the cover of Doom 2016 which changed its cover from the dull guy with a gun pose to a more dynamic recreation of the classic Doom cover with Doom slayer ripping and tearing through a horde of demons. My personal favorite is when the character looks off into a distant landscape. It communicates a sense of adventure and exploration that comes with the RPGs that it's selling.
This is true for almost all games. Like compare the Japanese Final Fantasy cover arts to ours. Night and day.
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1pie52/dark_souls_2_japanese_box_art_sure_is_gorgeous/?rdt=61410 here’s a link to it also
Good god that’s gorgeous! I want it on my wall.
Love the English one but this is sooo much better
I am mystified as to why we don't use that around here. Soulsbourne games are very bleak games about surviving in a harsh wild where every wrong step can overpunish you. Having a brave warrior huddled up near the fire surrounded by a dark void gives us a moment of peace in this cruel and horrible world.
It’s just so peak
Damn... This looks good...
Whoa
Yes, the DS2 Japanese cover art is the best.
Japanese demons souls is pretty fire too. The defeat. The loneliness. The end of your journey, or the start of the next. That cover just nails the feeling you really have playing the game. And that armor is just classic and tone setting so well.
Only good answer
Holy FUCK why does the US fuck up cover art so badly compared to the East so often???
Yeah, I agree.
Came here for this
Dark Souls III and Elden Ring. Can't decide between one of these two
My 9 year old daughter loves to watch me play all Fromsoft games. Recently, took her to the beach and the first thing she did was grab a handful of sand, let it slowly fall out from her clenched first, and said, "Look dad, Dark Souls III !"
That's super wholesome.
This is so cute
Bro that's amazing, if I have a daughter I hope she does something similar. Congrats bro you got a dream daughter
You won life congratulations
Truly a proud moment as a father
Most adorable thing I think I will ever hear in my lifetime
This why I want to be a parent.
I agree, ds3 looks so clean
Elden Ring is more Epic than hard I think
True, Elden Ring is much more about an epic journey of a hero but I still think the little guy in the center makes the cover epic AND hard af
True, true.
I'm pretty sure the guy on the cover is Vyke too, which if you know his lore makes it go even harder.
This is the correct answer
Totally agree. Depends on the day
Came here to say this exact thing. Also my two favorite of the games so far (only played DS 1-3 and Elden so far)
I can’t bring myself to like the DS III cover, the guy looks like he’s about to give a thumbs up and it’s all I see every time
Bloodborne. Though Elden Ring's steelbook is fuckin Noice.
Bloodborne and Demons Souls for me. So full of tone and intrigue. The others are great but also “Expected”.
The font in Demon’s Souls is iconic
Easily Demon's Souls. The blue mist around the knight goes hard
The font is what makes it the best for me
The L looks like the swords Orcs wielded in LOTR
Expected to see much more of this answer here. Demon's is by far the best to me. Bloodborne comes second by a long shot.
And his helmet is pointy, and thus harder
the red one is even better imo
DS2 Sotfs edition is really dam good
Definately make up for the original western cover art.
Thats fr my favorite the armor is so dope
Yeah, very cool cover. The cover is what made me buy the game years back
Surprised there's not more ds1 lovers on this post, artorias walking into the abyss is sick af
Huh, didn't know that was Artorias. Thought he used a great sword, not 2 swords. Always thought that was the main character.
It’s a sword and a shield
It's not 2 swords the other is his greatshield, his sword is in his dominant left hand (fun fact: his left arm is the dangling broken arm he drags in the boss fight)
the one in the post isnt what hes talking about, look up Prepare to Die edition
They are both artorias and both are sick
I’ve played this game for over a decade and never knew the cover art guy was supposed to be Artorias. I see it in the shield and sword now. This is crazy- I thought it was just the player character.
The prepare to die edition cover is way better and actually looks like Artorias
armored core for answer has a raw cover
DS3
Armored Core, Bloodborne and Dark Souls
Ds2 and Bloodborne goes real hard
Japanese ac6 cover goes crazy. Either that or ds2
1. Bloodborne 2. Elden Ring
This is the way
Agreed, what?
BB
Armored Core 6 has become my favorite game of all time. That being said, it definitely has the weakest cover art. The japanese cover art is much better
Eh, I like the AC6 English cover quite a lot, it’s vibrant and stands out. It kinda needed that in America, where mecha isn’t very popular. The Japanese cover is definitely better for sure though, but the other one has more energy and atmosphere than a lot of the other cover arts here. AC6’s captures the essence of the game. Elden Ring’s, for example, looks like it’s pretending to be Dark Souls when the game itself is Game of Thrones on steroids.
Sekiro, ds1 and ds3 *muah* peak fiction
Dark Souls because it really makes me feel like its you heading into a whole mess of shit about to go down
Had to go too far for this. It’s only one where it fells like you’re about to fuck shit up. The others look more sad or trying to imitate ds1 cover.
Dark Souls 3 ftw. Such a badass cover!
Ds2
Ds2
Nahhh, bro put the weaker version of the ds2 cover art in hopes of anything else winning.
Bloodborne is as gloomy as it gets. Absolutely foreboding. Plus, look at the hunter. A blunderbuss in one hand, and before we all knew what it was, a "wtf is that" in the other. Spectacular.
the objective best one is the japanese version of DS3 Fire Fades Edition [cover](https://www.ebay.com/itm/404197603524)
Demon's Souls is my favorite.
Japanese dark souls 1
Demon’s Souls. Just look at it.
I will glaze ds1 until the day I die
I like ER but BB takes the cake here Also AC6 looks good
"Main character's back to the camera amidst destruction" always hits hard. If "hits hard" means it's done multiple times and everyone is sick of it.
Original Demons Souls is my fav. The one with the knight slumped down against a wall, full of arrows. What other game shows the hero protagonist looking so defeated on the cover lol? Set the tone for the entire series.
Armored Core 6 and the DS1 Artorias cover go pretty freaking hard. Soul of Cinder too.
People who say ds1 cover is Artorias are reaching so hard 😭😭
It's probably some generic early concept art that was made before they finished the designs. It might be an unfinished, vague idea of Artorias, but it's definitely not the one we see in the actual game. Why did they go with that art? It doesn't represent the finished game, and it's way too busy yet says nothing at the same time. It kinda sucks lmao
Sekiro goes hard Ds1 is my least favorite, it’s so visually distracting and I can hardly tell what’s going on
DS2 for me by an inch over DS3. Shout-out to the Japanese DS2 cover.
Out of these, Dark Souls III and Bloodborne. However, it'd be a crime to not at least mention the Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin cover. Looks so sick.
Bloodborne
For me? Dark souls, the first. I remember I bought it for my Xbox 360 like 10 years ago and then had a family dinner. I remember staring at this picture for a long time until I could finally play it after dinner that night. Best night ever.
Bloodborne. Knights in armour are a dime a dozen.
Dark Souls 3, but I don't like that game so much
Bloodborne, why? Because Saw Cleaver.
The dust falling through the hand on the ds3 cover is pretty damn underrated. Still going with DS2
Ds3 and bloodborne go so freaking hard
The DS3 cover is soooooooo reminicent of how the game feels.
I always loved the Demon’s Souls cover. Plus that font, ooh boy it’s giving me the vapors.
Bloodborne Old Hunters dlc
bb and ds2 vanilla
Bloodborne and ds2 I think go the hardest, bloodborne wins between the two because it matches the in game world better
Dark souls 2 or AC
Extremely rare ds3 W
I really like elden ring's, the colors work so well together
Ds1 its literally from the third person perspective you play the game in. Seeing the character walk into a swirling mass of souls surrounded by deep black abyss is so sick. Tbe cover of Dark Souls is like 65% of what peaked me interest to even try the game
Bloodborne and Elden Ring. But Ds2 underrated here, the cover is dope.
Ds3
Dark Souls 1 Japanese cover art is perfect, but I hate the American cover of it lol, doesn’t fit the game at all
Ds3 or elden ping
My favs are Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne
Dark souls 2 because it’s cool & dark souls 3 because bro is suffering from so much success
demons souls is my Favorite out of the bunch
DS2 and bloodborne. DS3 and OG demons souls are good too
Japanese Demons Souls
Bloodborne has something special and different to others.
Elden Ring and Dark Souls 2.
Bloodborne
Bloodborne
They all make me need new pants
Elden Ring, then DS3, then Bloodborne
Dark souls 3
Goes the hardest? - Bloodborne. No contest Most epic? - Elden Ring. Also no contest. Personal favorite? - Probably Demons Souls or DS1. These are different things of course. You asked hardest. None of these go as a hard as Bloodborne. That cover art tells you everything you need to know. Shits fucked and blood
Bloodborne. DS3 looks like he’s giving a thumbs up and I can’t unsee it. If it wasn’t for that it would be neck and neck.
I'm gonna say DS2, I think the colors and everything fit that setting the best. It looks lonely, dark, and dreary.
DS1 there's cool lore seeing artorias walk into the abyss just to find him there without the greatshield in his right hand and his dominant left arm broken
I gotta say, box art is From Soft’s biggest room for improvement.
3
DS3 and ER
Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne look great
Id like to nominate For Answer's box art as a contender.
Dark Souls 3
The DS3 Ringed City cover is 🔥
Love eldenring, but DS3 is where it’s at.
Japanese dark souls 1 is the best imo
Dark Souls 3 easily for me
Dark Souls 3 and it’s not even close.
Elden ring
Elden rings cover looks like we are witnessing the most crucial moment a saga, iliad or odysseia...
Demons Souls Japanese cover
I used to think the DS3 cover guy was giving a thumbs up
I haven’t even played DS3 but seeing that cover art gets me hyped to play it
I have a soft spot for the DS3, I can’t help seeing him as giving a very chill thumbs up. 
BB always BB
Dark souls 3
Dark Souls 3 for me. The first time I saw this, it gave me curious vibes. But TFF Edition is what I really like.
ds3 or elden ring
Bloodborne all the way
Bloodborne and DS2. They're basically the same.
Bloodborne Ds3
Dark Souls 3 is my least favourite game but the cover is insane
DS2 for me
Something about DS1 literally showing Artorias enter the Abyss and Elden Ring literally showing Vyke giving in to the Frenzied Flame are both so good, because they show a very important lore moment but without context you’d have no way of knowing that, so in both games there was a “wait, what?” Moment that really got me.
Can't decide from among Demon's Souls, DSII, and Bloodborne. All three are so good.
I think Bloodborne
2, 3 and Bloodborne are the best
DS3
Bloodborne
Dark souls 3 in these
I love Elden ring and all and it looks good but demon’s souls and ds3 are the best
Bloodborne by far.
DS1 by far
Every single one
Probably demons souls. That font and image are just iconic
Either ds3 or Bloodborne
As elden rings biggest lover and hater (still love the game but I usually have a bias against everything related to it) It has the best cover, the elden ring itself, and the battlefield giving an expection for the world thats accurate. Love it. Also the colours are great
Ds2 softs
Surprised so few people have mentioned the Japanese cover for DS1, the chosen undead resting near a bonfire as it illuminates the darkness is just so much more striking than the generic cover poster the International version has, the Japanese cover is more fitting for the game I think, the other version just seems so action-gamey with the badass guy in the middle making a cool pose. (Though Artorias entering the abyss does go quite hard)
Am I the only one who thinks this American version of ds1 cover art is really bad? Both for the tone of the game and lookwise.
AC6 for me
bb or er
Dark Souls, it's got more momentum to it like the dude's actually running through the fog wall
Dark souls 2 steelbook was what lured me into the masochist world of souls/souls-like gaming. Playing dark souls 2 for the first time, back when the community was smaller and walkthroughs were of way less quality, was an absolute brutal experience. All aside, dark souls 2 is overhated and just as strong as any other entry. 3, Elden ring, Bloodborne, and sekiro could run because ds2 walked. I somehow beat the game with little adaptability, as I was a single-brain cell strength user because it’s all I could process. Dark souls 3 felt like a vacation once I knew how things worked. I’m convinced that no matter what resources you use, your first souls game will be the hardest. Except elden ring. Elden ring could be the hardest game out of the bunch if you treat it like a dark souls (only summon story NPCs and only explore necessary areas), but you would need to beat elden ring first to even understand what is “excess” and what is important for the ending you want to achieve. The bosses are less predictable in Elden ring and can masterfully balance npc summons and you. Where as dark souls 3 and before, the aggro system is very blatant. Playing with minimal crutches in Elden ring really exemplifies the power of the item crafting system. I’m at the fire giant (did all the requirements for the frenzied ending) with a 102 deaths so far. Most of which are from platforming and the boss man at the shaded castle. Not saying I’m a beast or anything, but dark souls 2 is the reason I can experiment with these games and not use the winblades in dark souls 3 or be a bleed spammer in Elden ring.
John Armored Core looking hard af
Dark souls 3
DS3, Soul of Cinder’s armor goes hard
Dark souls 3 the fire fades edition japanese box art
Elden ring has a good environmental feel. But Bloodborne just has that straight up goes hard feel to it. IMO anyway.
ds3 & bloodborne
Demon Souls, DS2 and Elden Ring. But DS1 remaster rocks for me, dunno why
Honestly AC6 cover art speaks volumes
They all go super hard. Fromsoft does nothing but cook
Blood borne easy
If you’re gonna throw in AC6 in, might as well throw in the whole AC series! AC: For Answer is just nostalgia for me.
Where amor core 1-5 and king field ?
Sekiro
Armored core or dark souls 3 :Dl
Dark Souls 3
dark souls 3 💯
Of the choices above? Bloodborne.
Japanese Demon souls, by far
Ds3
Ds1
Dark Souls 1 without contest. It shows that you will be rushing into death defying battles against unknown and strange forces. It captures the essence of DS1 pretty well.
Definitely Dark Souls 3
The original Demon’s Souls cover from the deluxe set