If you’ve ever wandered through the Upside Down and felt a creeping sense of dread, you can thank Dark Souls for some of that unnerving atmosphere. The Duffer Brothers have openly acknowledged the game as a source of inspiration for the series’ darkest world, and the parallels are striking. Dark Souls is infamous for its visually unsettling landscapes: crumbling ruins, decayed castles, and shadowed corridors where every corner could hide a threat. The design philosophy centres around discomfort, tension, and an underlying fear of the unknown—a methodology the Duffer Brothers have expertly translated into Stranger Things.
Hawkins’ otherworldly twin, the Upside Down, mirrors these gaming sensibilities. It is a grotesque labyrinth populated by lurking dangers, oppressive shadows, and unpredictable terrors. Just like a player in Dark Souls, the audience is constantly on edge, anticipating the unexpected while navigating a world that feels both familiar and hostile. Every scene in the Upside Down is meticulously crafted to maintain this tension. The Duffer Brothers employ lighting, colour grading, and set design that echo the eerie architecture of the games. Even the pervasive spores and decayed flora feel like nods to Dark Souls’ grotesque environmental storytelling.
It’s this commitment to atmospheric terror that separates Stranger Things from other supernatural dramas. Where many shows lean on jump scares or CGI monsters, the series creates an immersive horror environment, one that feels tactile and lived-in. Watching characters traverse the Upside Down is akin to exploring a Dark Souls level: each shadow may conceal a threat, each corridor could trap you in a horrifying encounter. This philosophy transforms horror from a narrative tool into an experiential one, inviting viewers to feel the dread in the same way players feel tension in a high-stakes game.
The Unsettling Aesthetics of Dark Souls in Stranger Things
The Duffer Brothers’ attention to detail extends beyond visuals. Sound design in Stranger Things is layered, subtle, and occasionally downright sneaky. Reddit user Umbra18 recently uncovered one of the show’s most obscure Easter eggs: in Episode 3 of the first season, a character flipping through TV channels passes by the original He-Man show, immediately followed by a fleeting four-second clip of Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight from the Dark Souls soundtrack.
It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but it exemplifies the Duffer Brothers’ mastery over audio storytelling. The Dark Souls clip carries an ethereal, haunting quality, perfectly aligned with the ominous aura of the Upside Down. This subtle nod demonstrates how video game soundscapes can inform television scoring, creating emotional resonance and linking audiences to broader cultural touchstones. The decision to include such an Easter egg suggests the Duffers view Stranger Things not just as a narrative experience, but as an interactive one, where attentive fans are rewarded with layered references and deeper immersion.
This kind of cross-medium inspiration isn’t accidental. Dark Souls teaches players to appreciate the world itself, to listen to environmental cues, and to internalise unease. By incorporating similar principles into Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers create an experience that engages viewers beyond the surface plot. The sound cues, the tense environments, and the design choices all serve a dual purpose: they narrate the story and evoke a visceral response, reflecting the horror mechanics that Dark Souls perfected.
It’s also a testament to the cultural dialogue between games and television. While video games like Dark Souls rely on interactivity to immerse players, television requires a different approach. The Duffer Brothers cleverly transpose gaming sensibilities into visual and auditory storytelling, bridging mediums and proving that inspiration can leap from controller to camera with surprising effectiveness.
As Stranger Things moves toward its fifth season, understanding the impact of Dark Souls on the series deepens appreciation for the meticulous world-building involved. The Upside Down is not merely a horror set piece; it is the culmination of decades of genre influences, blending 1980s nostalgia with the existential dread found in games that challenge and unsettle. The Duffer Brothers’ ability to synthesise these influences demonstrates how traditional television storytelling can evolve by borrowing from interactive media.
The series’ design choices, from monstrous creature movements to atmospheric lighting and sound, echo gaming techniques intended to heighten immersion and evoke emotion. Dark Souls’ philosophy—every encounter matters, every shadow could be a threat—is mirrored in Hawkins’ parallel world. This influence is particularly striking in sequences where tension is built through pacing and environment rather than explicit action. The Upside Down’s looming presence, thick air, and alien architecture borrow directly from the game’s unsettling landscapes, providing a cinematic experience that feels both interactive and unpredictable.
The interplay between nostalgia and horror in Stranger Things is also informed by this gaming influence. Just as Dark Souls layers danger and discovery, the series combines retro 1980s aesthetics with modern horror sensibilities. The result is a multidimensional experience: viewers feel the familiarity of suburban America while simultaneously navigating a terrifying parallel dimension. The Duffer Brothers’ nuanced approach ensures the Upside Down is never merely a backdrop; it is an active participant in the narrative, shaping character decisions, building suspense, and reinforcing themes of fear, resilience, and curiosity.
By highlighting this connection, fans gain insight into how seemingly unrelated art forms can inform each other. Stranger Things exemplifies how television can absorb and adapt gaming techniques—sound design, environmental storytelling, and tension mechanics—to craft a more immersive experience. For audiences, this means the Upside Down is not only visually and narratively compelling but also a carefully engineered psychological environment, echoing the lessons learned from challenging, atmospheric video games.
The Upside Down owes its hauntingly familiar yet terrifying identity to the Duffer Brothers’ synthesis of influences, including Dark Souls. It serves as both a visual and emotional mirror to the characters’ internal struggles, manifesting fear, trauma, and curiosity in tangible, cinematic form. This approach resonates deeply with fans, many of whom have grown up consuming both nostalgic pop culture and contemporary gaming narratives.
What makes the Upside Down particularly effective is its duality: it is nostalgic, reflecting the series’ 1980s setting, yet darkly innovative, embodying a horror aesthetic inspired by modern media. The careful balance between fear and familiarity is what gives Stranger Things its enduring appeal. It is why viewers remain captivated season after season, anticipating how the Duffer Brothers will further explore this unnerving, shadowy world. The deliberate pacing, the eerie environmental storytelling, and the occasional nod to gaming culture make every sequence in the Upside Down feel like an encounter where stakes are both psychological and existential.
Understanding these layered influences also enriches the viewing experience. Easter eggs like the fleeting Dark Souls audio clip invite fans to engage actively with the narrative, rewarding curiosity and attention to detail. They transform passive viewership into an interactive exploration of cultural references, blurring the line between television and game-like engagement. The Upside Down thus becomes more than a setting—it is a testament to cross-media creativity, a place where horror, nostalgia, and immersive storytelling intersect.
As the release of Stranger Things Season 5 approaches, the echoes of Dark Souls will undoubtedly continue to resonate. Fans can expect the series to further refine the Upside Down, deepening its connection to both classic horror tropes and the interactive tension that defines the game. Every shadow, every sound, and every environmental choice will likely reflect the careful layering that has become a hallmark of the series.
By acknowledging the series’ gaming influences, we gain a richer understanding of how contemporary storytelling operates. Stranger Things demonstrates that television can learn from games, translating mechanics of tension, uncertainty, and discovery into visual and auditory language that captivates audiences. This cross-pollination ensures that Hawkins remains compelling, frightening, and endlessly engaging, while also inviting viewers to reflect on the intricate artistry behind every scene.
The Duffer Brothers’ creative choices illustrate the power of inspiration from unlikely sources. Dark Souls, a series renowned for its difficulty, immersive soundscapes, and atmospheric dread, informs the design of one of modern television’s most iconic supernatural realms. The Upside Down becomes a layered experience, blending horror, nostalgia, and intertextual homage into a world that rewards curiosity, invites engagement, and leaves viewers eagerly anticipating the next twist.
For fans gearing up for the final chapter, the lesson is clear: when you step into the Upside Down, you are not just entering Hawkins, Indiana—you are walking through a carefully curated, darkly inspired universe shaped by decades of storytelling innovation, spanning video games, film, and television. Every glance, every sound, every lurking shadow carries the weight of inspiration, craftsmanship, and homage, making Stranger Things a richer, more immersive experience than ever before.
