Incredibly lucky first-time Dark Souls player survives parkour deathtrap by getting bounced around its notorious swinging axes

Dark Souls' Chosen Undead stands in front of a campfire.
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

One Dark Souls player got absolutely pummelled in Sen's Fortress, banded around like a ball between the huge swinging axes, and yet somehow they inexplicably emerged alive.

I hate Sen's Fortress. You hate Sen's Fortress. We all hate Sen's Fortress. The tricky tower of swinging axes shows mercy to no one - except, perhaps, with the odd caveat of the lucky Dark Souls player just below, who found themselves stood atop one of the swinging axes when they suddenly got pushed off a walkway by another trap.

Sen’s Funhouse from r/fromsoftware

The player begins by getting thrown back by a swinging axe - something we've all suffered through countless times. They then get pushed off the walkway by another axe, so you'd be forgiven for thinking they're in for a guaranteed death. But just at the last moment, they somehow fall onto another swinging axe, which saves them from death and gives them a comfy spot in which to chill for a moment.

They actually manage to time their next roll to perfection so they gracefully step off the swinging axe and onto the walkway just beneath. It would've been really painful if they'd missed the platform after all that and just fell to the deaths in the depths of Sen's Fortress. This sure is 'Sen's Funhouse' alright - I just wish it was this fun all the time.

I'm not alone in having expected the player to die after the second axe hit. "Not sure which is more amazing, the fact you got on one alive or the fact you got off alive," reads one comment. "I thought you were gonna get hit again right at the end there lol," another adds, while a third reads, "Many many years ago this happened to me, I did not land on the [beam] below..."

Dark Souls 2's most infamous area puts a stop to a FromSoftware no-hit level 1 God Run, as streamer's valiant marathon is "ended by memes."

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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