Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Vacation in the Dungeon

Episode Title: The Unkindled Desert

You are listening to vacation in the dungeon the podcast with your host(s) Muhammad Tahir and Charlton Smit.

In this episode of Vacation in the Dungeon the Podcast we discuss: Travel and gaming.

"If you stand at the base of the Burj Khalifa at the first light of dawn, watching its jagged, metallic spire pierce through a heavy shroud of desert fog, you aren’t just a visitor in the United Arab Emirates. In that moment of silence, you are the Unkindled standing before the High Wall of Lothric. You’re looking up at a structure so massive it feels like it wasn't built by modern engineering. Dubai functions as a modern mirror to the Dark Souls universe through its sheer architectural magnificence. It serves as a monument to human will, constructed in a harsh, sun-scorched environment where—by all laws of nature—nothing was originally meant to flourish. It feels like the defiant cathedrals of Lothric that cling to the very edges of reality, fighting against a world that threatens to fade into the dust of history.

Ur traveling into the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve just as the sun begins to bleed over the crimson dunes, turning the sand into a sea of fire. When you look back at the distant, shimmering skyline through the haze of the rising heat, the city appears like the ancient, hidden heights of Archdragon Peak. It sits there, silent and expectant, like a legendary confrontation waiting for you to ring the bell. The desert itself becomes the 'Great Swamp'—a vast, unforgiving expanse that makes the sight of the city feel like a hard-won sanctuary. In the game, we call those sanctuaries bonfires. In Dubai, that bonfire might be a hidden rooftop garden or a quiet lounge on the 100th floor, but the feeling of total relief when you step back into that 'safe zone' is exactly the same.

But wait until the sun sets and the 'First Flame' of the day flickers out. When night falls, the metropolitan center transforms into a labyrinth of cool blue LEDs, silver glass, and deep, obsidian shadows. It captures that haunting majesty of Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. It’s a place that feels like a beautiful illusion sustained by sheer power—a moonlit dreamscape where every corner holds a secret. Walking through the Downtown district at 2:00 AM, with the fountains dancing in silence and the lights reflecting off the steel, you get that same sense of lonely wonder. You’re a small character in a world built for giants, navigating a landscape that feels like it was designed by a creator with a flair for the dramatic and the impossible.

So one time I was playing Dark Souls three, I had fought through the muddy, decaying swamp surrounding Farron Keep and made my way next through the Catacombs of Carthus, an area plagued by rot, smoldering demons, and decaying skeleton warriors. I touched a goblet, which released abyssal gas, flooding the room with darkness. In front of me was the mother (or should I say, father) of all skeletons, the giant High Lord Wolnir. All in all, a pretty easy boss, but a somewhat depressing one. After I defeated him and sent him crawling back into the Abyss, I opened the doors to reveal the hauntingly beautiful and mystifying view of the Irythillian skyline, like a darker, twisted version of Disney World.

Dubai is a city defined by its high walls, its converging cultures, and its 'bonfire' sanctuaries of luxury tucked within a formidable, ancient landscape. It is the definitive real-world map for anyone looking to experience the staggering scale and solitary atmosphere of a Dark Souls journey. It reminds us that even in the face of a vast, empty desert, humanity will always find a way to build a throne., Next time you travel, don't just look for a vacation. Look for a quest. Prepare to explore, praise the sun, and...