Accessible to newbies, but still punishing, the final Souls chapter doesn’t disappoint. Praise the sun.
Accessible to newbies, but still punishing, the final Souls chapter doesn’t disappoint. Praise the sun.
Crushed, stabbed, beaten and back for more. The Souls franchise is famous for its steep difficulty curve and Dark Souls 3 continues the tradition.
The good news is that Dark Souls 3 is the definitive edition for the Souls community, serving as the ideal gateway drug for newcomers while still satisfying veterans. The action RPG remains challenging, sometimes maddeningly so, but tweaks made to both combat and online connectivity helps alleviate plenty of pointless pain.
The game returns to the lore and setting of the first Dark Souls, the stage now set by an even weaker Flame and the lords of Cinder abandoning their duties. The player rises in a cemetery of ash, an unkindled rather than an undead, and must now quest to bring these living legends back to their rightful places.
Player interpretation remains a central facet in Dark Souls 3, which is why I don’t think past game knowledge is necessary. The end-goal is all one keeps in mind and the mystery helps sell the world and its fables better – Bandai Namco has done fantastic work with the japanese to English localization on that front. That being said, I recommend anyone curious to read up on established lore for greater context to events and locations.
Dark Souls 3 is, hands down, the most welcoming entry for newcomers. The brief tutorial segment teaches all the basics whereas menu tooltips, while clunky, manage to explain player statistics. What isn’t immediately clear is how to best use those character level points. Builds are pretty much second-nature to returning players, but someone new may end up investing in the “wrong” attribute, inadvertently making the game much harder than is necessary.
Players ought to be mindful of the groups of weaker enemies or the many ambushes lying in wait. Embarrassing as it sounds, I’ve died more than once to large rats surrounding me.
The game feels more spacious, freeing up players to practice evasive rolls; something you’ll definitely want to master before reaching bosses such as Aldrich. Certain weapons and skills also have the benefit of speeding up combat and making it visually exciting, whether it’s rapidly firing the nimble short bow or aiming the ridiculously heavy swings of ultra greatswords.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t hold a candle to how convoluted the side quests are, some of which play a part in attaining the two alternate endings. NPCs can be rescued and sent back to the hub location although their appearances, and sometimes survival, are dependent on things that are incredibly easy to miss – imagine returning to find an NPC dead and having no idea why.
Initially, this came across as incredibly frustrating, but having no access to codices, books, audio logs, or even lengthy conversations felt refreshing, and I slowly came to appreciate the chance encounters during my journey.
It fosters exploration, note taking and plenty of community participation to discover all the hidden content lying around. Dark Souls 3 goes as far as hiding entire optional zones, and all I’ll say is that they involve dragons.
