# Northern Undead Asylum

The Northern Undead Asylum, also simply known as the Undead Asylum, is a fictional location and the starting area in the 2011 video game Dark Souls, created as part of the Dark Souls series by the game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and the development company FromSoftware. It is an institutional setting where the player character was imprisoned until a character named Oscar of Astora throws down a corpse with a key for the prison cell. Upon progression through the level, the player encounters a gigantic tutorial boss called the Asylum Demon. After defeating the boss and escaping from the asylum, the player character is eventually taken to the game's main setting starting with a hub called the Firelink Shrine.
The Undead Asylum has been the subject of generally positive receptions by critics, who argued that it served as a very effective tutorial for players to get used to the game's mechanics, controls, and difficulty while giving them some freedom to determine how they want to approach the level. By extent, the Asylum Demon was well-received as the tutorial boss due to his intimidating presence and introduction to fighting bosses throughout the game.

## Characteristics and appearance

The Northern Undead Asylum is a major location of the 2011 video game Dark Souls, created by the Japanese game company FromSoftware and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. It is the game's starting area due to the player's undead character being imprisoned there. In the initial sequence, an individual named Oscar of Astora throws down a corpse, which the player character loots to collect a key and use it to unlock their prison cell. As they navigate through the first parts of the structure, the player character will encounter non-hostile undead enemies called "hollows", a glimpse of a giant demon guard, and the first bonfire that they can activate as an ingame checkpoint.
Upon pushing open the large double doors beyond the bonfire area, the player character enters a large, rectangular room full of hollows. They are then ambushed from above by a giant demon guard called the Asylum Demon, who serves as the game's first boss. The player can either attempt to kill him or escape via an exit to the room's left. Afterward, they will encounter more hostile hollows and a slowly hollowing Oscar, who will provide the player with healing items called "Estus Flasks". When talked to, Oscar will advise the player to seek a faraway land and activate two Bells of Awakening. If the player has not yet killed the Asylum Demon, they will reenter the arena through a fog gate, where they can use a plunge attack against him. After defeating the Asylum Demon, players will have access beyond the gates and be taken to a location called the Firelink Shrine by a giant crow.
Later on, the player can choose to revisit the Northern Undead Asylum by visiting a bird's nest at the Undead Parish location, where a bird will take the player character there. Upon entering the room where the Asylum Demon was previously fought, the floor will break and cause the player character to fall into a lower room and engage in a boss fight against another giant demon called the Stray Demon.
According to Damien Mecheri and Sylvain Romieu, the Northern Undead Asylum was the final level to have been designed in Dark Souls so it could accurately reflect the overall game as a preceding tutorial sequence. The "cold and dark qualities" of the Dark Souls world were by extent brought into the location's design.

## Reception

The Northern Undead Asylum has been well-received by critics of Dark Souls, with the academic authors Adam Palmquist, Izabella Jedel, and Ole Goethe calling it a "well-crafted tutorial design" that, unlike traditional tutorial levels, puts players straight into an unforgiving game world with little guidance and forces them to adapt through trial and error. Because of the difficulty level of the asylum, a majority of Dark Souls players failed to escape the area and enter the Firelink Shrine. Chris Urie of Arcade Sushi wrote that the Undead Asylum allows players to adjust to their environments like "a mewling child" as they test out controls for swinging their weapon and dodging attacks. He then noted the simplicity and straightforwardness of the dungeon as players can simply progress forward and be able to adjust to combat thanks to good enemy placements. DualShockers writer Callum Marshall praised the location for teaching players about using bonfires, fighting bosses, and interacting with both the environment and NPCs all at once. He also highlighted that the Northern Undead Asylum taught players to expect to die a lot ingame and that the area did not overstay its welcome.
The NME writer Ewan Wilson expressed that there was a sense of historical inconsistency behind an asylum existing in a medieval-like world since the institutions only came into existence since the 19th century. At the same time, he found the symbolic idea behind the "regulated" and hollowed player character beginning as a prisoner at a place where people's bodies were classified and controlled significant. He then noted that the game pressures the player starting at the asylum, such as forcing them to manage their stamina bar and equip shields to protect themselves from archers. Wilson continued that the asylum's "hostile" early 20th century style architecture is relatively consistent with those of other structures in the early game that all therefore represent an overall oppressive environment.
Dylan MacDougall, writing for Goomba Stomp Magazine, argued that many games that were modeled after the gameplay difficulty of Dark Souls based their introduction sequences on the Northern Undead Asylum but missed the point in why it was an effective level for teaching players about the game. He explained that players, after entering the rectangular room, are faced with an abrupt encounter with the gigantic Asylum Demon that comes with a "chaotic, bomastic soundtrack" and no climatic buildup. According to the author, most players would have attempted to fight the demon with their starting broken sword weapon but die in the process. On the other hand, he also said that their deaths are not scripted outcomes as players can either eventually escape the arena by fleeing to an open door or successfully kill him. He additionally spoke highly of the location's subsequent sequences in which the player gains weapons to fight against their first encountered enemies that are hostile and an opportunity for players to severely damage the Asylum Demon through a plunge attack that he called a "satisfying turning of the tables," that "it lets the player feel in control of the fight as opposed to their first meeting". Should the player not find quick success in progressing through the asylum, he said, they can explore its alternate paths to find better equipment and be better prepared for the game's mechanics. He commended the Northern Undead Asylum for being a place that prepares new players for the overall game but wastes little time for experienced returning players.
Other authors expressed similarly positive receptions for the Undead Asylum's bosses. Andi Hamilton of GamesRadar considered the Asylum Demon to be a good tutorial boss that his giant size, slow speed, and heavy damage are all essential elements for teaching players how to engage in boss fights. Jared Carvalho of GameRant highlighted the game tricking players into thinking that the Stray Demon, who can be seen by the player in the game's beginning, is the same guard as the Asylum Demon. He praised the boss for his upgraded versions of attacks previously performed by the Asylum Demon but criticized the arena design for causing players to take fall damage before engaging in the boss fight.