This is the best in the trilogy for me in almost every department.
I can sort of understand the annoyance I've seen people have with the constant callbacks to the other two games but I think that this doesn't bother me because of the lore surrounding it. The setup for the story is that the world is so exhausted in it's continued age of fire that reality itself is rotting and starts folding in on itself. I fully believe that the fan service feeling out of place is intentional, as this aligns the player's perspective perfectly with the Age of Dark ending (Which is the best ending). I'm not really a lore guy but this game's presentation had me hooked in the opening cutscene.
Gameplay wise, this is undoubtedly the strongest in the trilogy. Combat feels much more smooth than the previous installments, taking some cues from Bloodborne's more aggressive combat system. On average, this game would be my pick for having the strongest boss design on average in the series. There are a few duds like Deacons of the Deep and Crystal Sage, but most are at the very least engaging in their design if not fun to fight. However, the best fights in this game are absolutely insane (not even factoring the dlc which includes the best bosses in the series if not of all time). Twin Princes, Pontiff Sulyvahn, Abyss Watchers, and Dancer of the Boreal Valley are just a few examples of how amazing the boss design in this game is. I haven't even mentioned how incredible the soundtrack that accompanies these fights are yet. For my money, this is definitely a top 5 game soundtrack of all time and is definitely FromSoft's crowning achievement in the music department (only rivaled by how consistently amazing Bloodborne's DLC tracks are). Simply incredible work from everyone involved.
One of the best games I've ever played
I can sort of understand the annoyance I've seen people have with the constant callbacks to the other two games but I think that this doesn't bother me because of the lore surrounding it. The setup for the story is that the world is so exhausted in it's continued age of fire that reality itself is rotting and starts folding in on itself. I fully believe that the fan service feeling out of place is intentional, as this aligns the player's perspective perfectly with the Age of Dark ending (Which is the best ending). I'm not really a lore guy but this game's presentation had me hooked in the opening cutscene.
Gameplay wise, this is undoubtedly the strongest in the trilogy. Combat feels much more smooth than the previous installments, taking some cues from Bloodborne's more aggressive combat system. On average, this game would be my pick for having the strongest boss design on average in the series. There are a few duds like Deacons of the Deep and Crystal Sage, but most are at the very least engaging in their design if not fun to fight. However, the best fights in this game are absolutely insane (not even factoring the dlc which includes the best bosses in the series if not of all time). Twin Princes, Pontiff Sulyvahn, Abyss Watchers, and Dancer of the Boreal Valley are just a few examples of how amazing the boss design in this game is. I haven't even mentioned how incredible the soundtrack that accompanies these fights are yet. For my money, this is definitely a top 5 game soundtrack of all time and is definitely FromSoft's crowning achievement in the music department (only rivaled by how consistently amazing Bloodborne's DLC tracks are). Simply incredible work from everyone involved.
One of the best games I've ever played