Solaire Resort & Casino
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Solaire of Astora (; ) is a character from the 2011 video game '' Dark Souls''. He is a knight notable for his signature gesture, "Praise the Sun", as well as an unusually friendly demeanor contrasting most of the other characters in the game.


Characteristics

Like the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
, Solaire is an Undead who journeys to the land of Lordran from his homeland of Astora, albeit on a personal mission to "find his very own Sun". His world and the player's come into contact at various times during the game, and he gives the player a White Soapstone item during his first meeting so that the player can be summoned into other worlds as a phantom and "engage in jolly cooperation". He also offers to provide assistance for various bosses during the course of the game. His "summon sign" glows gold rather than the typical white, and he rewards the player with "Sunlight Medals" for a successful co-op fight, due to his membership in the covenant called the Warriors of Sunlight. The player may join the covenant upon meeting certain requirements, after which they can be summoned by a wider range of players, and gain the "Praise the Sun" gesture and "Lightning Spear" miracle. Solaire is described as a skilled warrior who does not rely on any special powers to win beyond his signature miracles and rigorous training, as his equipment exhibits no special traits. His armor and shield are decorated with a hand-painted sun, reflecting his worship of the Sun, and by association, Lord Gwyn. While he was theorized by some fans to be Gwyn's firstborn son in disguise, this was later proven not to be the case in ''
Dark Souls III is a 2016 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. The third and final entry in the ''Dark Souls'' series, it is played in a Virtual camera system# ...
''. He uses a longsword called the Sunlight Straight Sword, which is described as a "featureless long sword contain ngthe very power of the sun", as well as being "well-forged, and eptin good repair ..but unlikely to live up to its grandiose name". The sword reappears in ''Dark Souls II'' as the Sun Sword, and in ''Dark Souls III'' under its original name, where it does have the special power to boost the attack of allies. His armor and shield are also obtainable in ''Dark Souls III'' by trading various items. The player typically last encounters Solaire in Lost Izalith, where he has gone insane and hostile upon donning a Sunlight Maggot, which he considers to be his "Sun". However, if the player opens a shortcut and kills the Maggot beforehand, Solaire retains his sanity and can be summoned for the final boss.


Development

The "Praise the Sun" gesture was conceived prior to the character of Solaire, and was a rare holy gesture used in '' Demon's Souls'' upon casting a miracle while wearing the "Ring of Sincere Prayer". The game's director,
Hidetaka Miyazaki is a Japanese creative director, designer, scriptwriter, and executive for the video game company FromSoftware. He joined them in 2004 and was a designer for the ''Armored Core'' series before receiving wider recognition for directing the '' Da ...
, secretly left the gesture in the game, despite being told by the game's publisher that the pose was not "cool enough" upon physically demonstrating it. From then on, the pose gained personal significance to him, and he was determined to also include it in ''Dark Souls''. Miyazaki created the character of Solaire to bring recognition to the gesture and make it more popular, purposely positioning him as a "champion" who is the first truly helpful NPC that most players see in the game. He is also Miyazaki's favorite character, with Miyazaki going as far as to design the Sun emblem that appears on Solaire's armor.


Merchandise

An
Amiibo (, ; officially stylized as amiibo; plural: ''Amiibo'') is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Ninten ...
of Solaire was released alongside the Switch version of '' Dark Souls: Remastered'' in 2018. It causes the player's character in the game to perform the gesture when tapped without any prerequisites. However, the Amiibo was exclusive to
GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
, causing heavy shortages in availability and making it rarer than usual.


Reception

''Destructoid'' named Solaire one of their favorite new video game characters of 2011, calling him "the embodiment of selfless camaraderie and generosity", as well as "bat-shit crazy". He was also called a "total badass" by '' Eurogamer''. The mission to save Solaire was called one of the 20 most unique sidequests in video game history by '' GamesRadar+'', saying that "if there ever was an NPC worth saving, it would be him". Matthew Byrd of '' Den of Geek'' called him the third best video game NPC, stating that "Solaire of Astora is everything that you’re not expecting to find in Dark Souls. He’s optimistic, friendly, and, if you play your cards right, helpful". James Davenport of '' PC Gamer'' praised Solaire as "a human-shaped reminder that other people are all we have", also saying that the character was "why I so often rally against the 'get good' ethos that so many misguided ''Dark Souls'' players cling to". He stated that he liked the tragic ending of Solaire because it was a "call to action", though saying that he would save the character on his next playthrough. Solaire was modded into '' Darkest Dungeon'' as a playable character by a fan of the game, which was called a "fantastic mixup" of the two games by '' PC Gamer''. He also was given
Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
in ''
Borderlands 2 ''Borderlands 2'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Taking place five years following the events of ''Borderlands'' (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. T ...
'' as the similarly named "Knight Solitaire", and in '' World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor'' as a follower named "Soulaire of Andorhal". A "Praise the Sun"-inspired gesture was included as an emote in '' Destiny''.


References

{{Portal bar, Video games, Japan Fictional knights in video games Fictional swordfighters in video games Male characters in video games Video game characters introduced in 2011 Dark Souls Fantasy video game characters Undead characters in video games Video game characters who use magic Video game characters with electric or magnetic abilities