Introduction
Dark Souls 3 is a hardcore RPG that was developed by FromSoftware and was published by Bandai Namco. It was released for Consoles and PC in 2016.
Review
In the land of Lothric, the Lords Of Cinder must be defeated, as the coming of the end is upon the land. As the Ashen One, it is your duty to link the bonfires to be able to save everyone. So time to take up the mantle and achieve your destiny.
The story is heavily told throughout lore entries. Sure there is enough story through the game to keep you motivated, but unless you read the entries for every item, you’re going to miss out on a whole lot of lore. Even then, you miss a lot of lore, unless you look up the entries of each thing. The descriptions got me interested, which then led me to the wiki to learn more. I was invested in so much of it all. Between how the Lords Of Cinder became what they were, and even the downfall of Lothric and the areas of the land.
My favourite thing about the lore though, is drawing the line of how some of the boss arenas are what they are. Especially for a Lord Of Cinder, High Lord Wolnir. It was so fantastic, the world is so perfectly crafted, and the lore is so deep. Even on weapons!
The gameplay is challenging but fair. It’s all about learning the move sets of each enemy, and what to expect around each corner. I always felt accomplished when I made it through a new area, and opened the shortcut so I could make it through quicker, for every failure that happened. Though some areas were god awful. Especially with the enemy types that were in it. Like Crucifixion Woods, or Irithyll Dungeon, where enemies drain your max health with a lamp, but at the same time it was dark, and creepy. But then you have the beautiful snow covered area, Irithyll Of The Boreal Valley. The music was perfect to help you feel the sense of despair in the world, and desolation in all the areas. But even then, when there’s no music, all you hear is the slapping of your own feet, against the empty ground. Or the grunts of the enemies.
When you actually kill enemies, you get experience points, also known as souls. These are then used to upgrade your character’s attributes. Whether it’s to get more health, or stamina. Or to be able to wear heavier armour, or deal more damage. Whether it’s from swords or magic. There’s so many builds you can make in this game. But even though there are many builds you can use, FromSoftware really took a lot of inspiration from Bloodborne. What I mean by this, is that the game plays at a very different pace than I was used to. I’m used to Dark Souls being slow and methodical. Where Bloodborne is fast and hectic.
In Dark Souls, I like to play the giant fatass with a big shield and a sword to poke at the enemies when I have a chance. Sure this build worked throughout the game. But when it came to the bosses, I felt like I had a disadvantage. The game felt like it was more built for speed builds. So you swipe quickly and dodge super fast. Whereas I roll like a big fat Panda. Which means it takes me a good 10 seconds to finish a roll. The bosses we’re fast and unforgiving with their attacks. Usually not giving me much chance to get a hit in. Sure I ended up beating them all, obviously, which is why I’m able to write this review, but I struggled with a good handful of them. This also pulls the Bloodborne move, where the bosses change up their fight style when they’re half dead. But it’s more like when you knock a 1/3rd of their health off. This usually made them faster, and more devastating, which again, was not great for me. Like the Abyss Watchers! You kill the boss once, but then it comes back, faster, with a flame sword, and if you can’t dodge, you’re screwed! But again, I managed, with a lot of rage.
The game does have an equipment system as well, but this to me, isn’t as useful as others see it. I just choose the highest defence armour, and the best sword that feels good, and go to town. But it felt great as I felt myself getting better. Whether it was because of my skills themselves, or because my stats were levelling as we. But I will say, it was odd to not be able to level up my armour. Maybe I’m wrong, but I remember being able to do that in previous entries. This time it was just my sword I could make better. But that was okay, because I loved finally getting the required materials to do so!
Rating
Pros:
- Challenging Gameplay
- Deep Fantastic Lore
- Amazing Area Visuals
Cons:
- Bosses Felt More Based Around Fast Builds
- Some Terrible Areas (I know, stupid gripe)
Summary
I love Dark Souls. The lore, the gameplay, the crazy bosses, the beautifully crafted areas. It’s all my jam. But as much as I loved this game, at the same time it beat my soul down a lot. Between some terrible areas, and some really awful boss fights, and the fact that my normal STR build felt absolutely useless. I’m not sure I’d ever replay this entry. If I do, I know I’ll need to play a different build. But it was amazing to see the rest of the lore for this trilogy and I’m happy to say I beat it! I got the gud!
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Game & Developer Information
Developer Website: FromSoftware Inc.
Developer Socials: Twitter
Publisher Website: Bandai Namco
Publisher Socials: Twitter
PSN Store Links: £44.99/€44.99 Europe / $59.99 North America
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