I like to watch YouTube videos while I’m eating, using my Steam Deck, exercising etc. and I’ve been watching a particular YouTube channel recently, 1ShotPlays, that have been playing the Dark Souls trilogy for their first time. I’ve reached a little over halfway through their Dark Souls III playthrough and, among many other things, I was reminded of how much I love Siegward’s questline and consider it to be one of the most satisfying I’ve ever had the joy to complete. Given that, I felt the need to write an article praising this story and why I ended up loving it so much! Understandably, there will be spoilers for Dark Souls III as well as the first Dark Souls game so if you wish to play them at some point without spoiling anything, I’d strongly recommend you stop reading here.
Before I talk about Dark Souls III, I want to talk about the first Dark Souls game and Siegward’s predecessor, Siegmeyer. Anyone who’s aware of Dark Souls but not played it may be aware that arguably the most famous character to come out of it is Solaire. Back when I first played Dark Souls in the winter of 2015, he was the only character I knew of beforehand so imagine my surprise when I found a character who I loved even more, Siegmeyer of Catarina. Sometimes affectionately referred to as the Onion Knight due to his armour, his jolly attitude stood out in the dark and sometimes lonely world of Dark Souls and I found myself wishing to help him out with his troubles whether they be opening a gate he was stuck at, disabling a boulder trap or clearing out a room full of hostile knights. However, his storyline ends rather tragically as he either loses faith in his own abilities due to always relying on the player or goes Hollow and attacks his daughter, Sieglinde, who kills him in self-defence and is broken-hearted as a result. Regardless which way his questline goes, it’s a tragic end that fits with the world of Dark Souls but one that I always found a bit unsatisfying. Regardless, I still continue to view him as my favourite character in the first Dark Souls game.
Imagine my surprise then when I finally got Dark Souls III and encountered his successor, Siegward of Catarina, coming up from a lift in the church of the Undead Settlement. Considering that Andre from the first game had been established as having survived to Dark Souls III, I wondered whether it was Siegmeyer but it turned out to be a new character, albeit with his armour, personality and voice. He’s come across another problem, that being the lift within the church itself, but manages to solve it on his own inadvertently due to the player’s actions. His audible contemplation later helps the player find a secret location within the church and we encounter a giant demon wandering a nearby square below. Siegward’s attitude remains jovial, even making a brilliant remark about not being able to talk sense into the demon because he’s overheated (he’s a fire demon by the way) and I assumed that I needed to clear out this obstacle to help Siegward on his journey. This assumption is correct but it provokes a different response from Siegward than I was expecting. Crying out that I should’ve waited, he joins me in the fight against the demon and we fight side by side. I was so amazed by this as you can never summon either Siegmeyer or Siegward to fight a boss with you and the only time I got to fight alongside Siegmeyer was in an unpleasant area filled with poison, weird creatures and his deteriorating mindset. This fight was far more satisfying and this bode well for the rest of my time with his questline.
It was some time for me before I encountered him once more. Reaching the city of Irithyll and realising that I didn’t have what I needed, I returned to the Cathedral of the Deep to encounter who I thought was Siegward. After all, it was his armour but he didn’t seem to recognise me and there was something about the voice that seemed off. We quickly learn that this fellow is none other than Unbreakable Patches, a notorious fellow who delights in betraying people and stripping their bodies of loot. I just want to say that this is a fantastic introduction of Patches in the game as it takes advantage of the player’s trust in Siegward, only to be stabbed in the back by the most untrustworthy character in the series. Anyway, it turns out that this armour is Siegward’s and he’s fallen in a nearby well, presumably pushed in by Patches, and requires you to find his armour for him. You can either purchase the equipment back from Patches when you next meet him or kill him to obtain it but, regardless of method, Siegward thanks you and you can continue on your journey.
His next encounter is brief and simple but very satisfying. Upon entering Irithyll and traveling through a sewer, you find him asleep in front of a fireplace. He thanks you for all of your help, tells you that Yhorm, one of the Lords of Cinder that the player is searching for, is in the Profaned Capital through a nearby dungeon and exchanges pleasantries, even inviting you to join him for dinner and have the Estus soup he’s cooked nearby. Considering the horrors you’ve been facing up to this point, this exchange was wonderfully soothing and also serves as helpful guidance to the player. Upon entering said dungeon, you can find him trapped in a cell and, through a long journey that takes you through the outskirts of the Profaned Capital, you can eventually release him where he gives you a Titanite slab, the best upgrade material in the game. This alone would be a good enough reward for completing his quest but it’s the next and last segment that seals the deal as to why I love Siegward’s questline so much and perhaps one of the most memorable moments in Dark Souls III, an impressive feat given how many there are! Upon entering the arena to face Yhorm, something happens that had never happened in Dark Souls before. Rather than some summoned incarnation of an NPC, Siegward physically joins you in battle and delivers incredible strikes to the boss that the player could only do upon grabbing the weapon at the end of the arena. Serving as bait while Siegward delivers enormous damage really felt like we were in sync with one another and, upon finally felling our foe, Siegward shares one last toast with the player before passing away.
While there are some benefits to doing his questline such as the Titanite slab, I remember this quest more for the journey than the reward. His positivity, which could potentially prove annoying if handled poorly, is incredibly endearing and the ability to fight side by side with him in the end proved to be an incredible experience. While he still passes away in the end, he dies not in despair but with a jolly laugh, content in the completion of his duty and thankful for the friendship that the player shows him. Far too many games treat sidequests as disposable filler and very few turn out to be more satisfying than the reward that you get in the end. I look at Siegward’s quest as a perfect example of how to do a sidequest, an emotional story that is optional but grants the player new insight into the world and its denizens while giving you valuable rewards for completing it. It’s truly marvelous and it’s something that I can’t help doing every time I play Dark Souls III.
Let me know your thoughts on the reasons why I love Siegward’s questline in Dark Souls III, what you yourself thought of his sidequest, what other sidequests have stuck with you and proven incredibly memorable, what you think makes a good sidequest and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.