Dark Souls-inspired typing program is now available for anyone who thinks Word is too easy

When writing an article for work or an essay for school, a typo is usually at most a small inconvenience, unless you’re challenging yourself in the ultimate test of typing proficiency: the Dark Souls-inspired word processor, FromSoft Word.

In Microsoft Word or Google Docs, a typo or misspelled word will typically be auto-corrected or at worst receive a red underline to highlight the word so you can return later. But when typing in FromSoft Word, a free game available on the itch.io platform, a single typo results in a game over screen using Dark Souls-esque font that completely erases all your work.

Following the game over message, you’re shown your final score (how many words you typed before a typo), the “fatal” typo that did you in, and the option to start a new game. Even in games like Dark Souls, you’re able to reach bonfires that serve as makeshift checkpoints, and you can always go back to where you died and retrieve your souls. In FromSoft Word, though, there are no checkpoints and there’s no way to retrieve your work.

It’s not completely ruthless, however, as it only punishes you for spelling mistakes, not grammatical ones. You could write a never-ending run-on sentence that makes no grammatical sense and still not get a game over. There is an option to export what you write into a text file, but this option is only available before you get a game over; if you do get a game over, it’s gone for good.

With this vicious set of rules, plus Dark Souls music blaring in the background, this may not be the best tool for typing out an important paper. But if you’re with your friends in Discord, looking for a fun drinking game, challenge each other to see who can write the entirety of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea first.