BLACK SOULS Complete Walkthrough
A full progression route through the Lost Empire — all major boss phases in order, route advice for your first cycle, and what to save for New Game+.
This walkthrough routes you through BLACK SOULS from your awakening as a nameless undead to your first credits, using the game’s own completion data as a map. Every boss below has a Steam achievement, and the global unlock percentages fall in a clean line from the first fight to the last — so the order shown here is the order the playerbase actually experiences.
How to use this walkthrough
BLACK SOULS is deliberately open in stretches, so treat each block below as a phase, not a strict corridor. Within a phase, fight the bosses in whatever order the world lets you. If a boss is walling you, the next-listed one is usually reachable and worth doing first.
Two rules matter more than any routing:
- Talk to every named character, every time you pass them. Heroine routes advance through repeated conversations, and they are the doorway to 10 of the game’s 14 endings.
- Don’t force rare content on cycle one. The deepest fights (Saint Catherine, Holy Beast Jeanne d’Arc) have kill rates around 11–12% — they’re built for developed New Game+ characters.
Phase 1 — The Opening (over 45% of players clear these)
Your on-ramp. These fights teach the game’s rhythm and almost every player clears them:
| Boss | Defeated by |
|---|---|
| Drake Helkaiser | 56.4% |
| Iron King | 53.8% |
| Hyena of Hunger | 51.7% |
| Town Musicians of Bremen (Silent Donkey, Murderous Dog & co.) | 51.7% |
| Pied Piper of Elixir | 49.6% |
| Knight in Armor | 49.1% |
| Hansel and Gretel | 49.0% |
| Devourer Patrasche | 47.8% |
| Trashlord Kraken | 46.6% |
| Ugly Duckling | 46.4% |
| Monster Behemoth | 46.1% |
| The Beanstalk Jack | 45.5% |
Level as you go — BLACK SOULS is an RPG first, and a few levels change any fight. This is also the window to open your first heroine conversations: Leaf and Red Hood both begin here.
Phase 2 — The Middle Acts (33–45%)
The difficulty tightens and the fairy tales turn stranger. Expect the story to start asking questions about the mist:
- One Who Observes (44.8%), Petern Pan (44.6%), Singing Bone (44.2%)
- Rotting Drake Helkaiser (43.3%) — your first rematch; the fundamentals from Phase 1 carry you
- The princess cluster: Princess Frog (38.3%), Beauty and the Beast (37.7%), Ash-clad Princess Cinderella (37.6%), Little Mermaid (36.7%), Pumpkin Carriage (36.7%), Snow White (36.1%), Rapunzel (35.0%)
- Mage Aladdin (37.9%), the twin knights Apollo & Boreas (37.5%), Lust Demon Satyr (36.1%), Nameless Demon (34.5%), Iron Hans (34.2%), Clock Crok (33.7%), Donkey King (33.4%)
Keep at least one heroine route active through this whole stretch. Mid-game is where routes quietly fail if ignored.
Phase 3 — The Descent (26–33%)
- Undead Drake Helkaiser (33.3%) — the final form of the game’s recurring dragon
- King Sinbad (33.2%), Black Drake Caramille (32.3%)
- Divine Mistake Lilith (31.0%), Bandersnatch (30.6%) — the first open nod to Through the Looking-Glass, which the sequel runs with
- Beloved White Dragon Shirasu (28.8%), Vampire (27.6%), Demonbeast Vilt (27.4%), Black Vanguard Lindamea (26.7%)
Around here your first cycle reaches its decision point. The B End (32.6% of players) is the natural first conclusion — take it, roll credits, and let New Game+ open the rest.
Phase 4 — Deep Routes and New Game+ (under 27%)
Everything below is either optional, route-locked, or tuned for later cycles:
| Boss | Defeated by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ??? (“IT ENDED THE STORY”) | 27.0% | The game’s hidden pivot — meet it blind |
| Black Judge Baphomet | 21.0% | Deep route |
| Demon of Desire Victoria | 20.0% | Tied to Victoria’s route |
| Torture Queen Elisabeth Bathory | 18.3% | Tied to Elisabeth End |
| Red Hood, Poro | 17.8% | Depends on your Red Hood choices |
| Jabberwock | 17.5% | Looking-Glass beast, endgame hunt |
| Cursed Brother Hansel / Cursed Sister Gretel | 15.2% / 14.1% | The siblings, revisited |
| Golden Goose | 14.0% | Tied to Goose End |
| Little Match Girl | 13.7% | One of the saddest fights in the game |
| Holy Beast Jeanne d’Arc | 12.1% | Second-rarest kill; Jeanne’s route |
| Saint Catherine | 11.4% | The rarest fight in BLACK SOULS |
Work through the remaining lettered endings (C at 26.9%, D at 27.4%, then A at 21.1%) while pairing each cycle with one or two character endings. The full matrix is in the endings guide, and the Route Planner will sequence it for you.
What to do next
- New to the game? Start with the beginner guide.
- Planning routes? Open the endings guide and the boss order list.
- Moving on? The story continues in BLACK SOULS II — play it second, it assumes you know this game.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is BLACK SOULS?
A focused first playthrough to one ending typically takes 15–25 hours. Seeing all 14 endings requires multiple New Game+ cycles and can easily triple that.
What ending should I get first in BLACK SOULS?
The B End — it's the game's natural first-cycle conclusion and the most completed ending on Steam at 32.6%. Character endings and the A End are designed for later cycles.
Can I miss content permanently in BLACK SOULS?
Within a single cycle, yes — heroine routes and some events close as the story advances. Across cycles, no: New Game+ lets you pursue everything you missed.