Good game, if unimaginative and ultimately disappointing. What little "plot" there is in Dark Souls is reduced to (what else) ashes with a plot so basic it lacks even Dark Souls 1's third act surprises and player choice of what they'll do with their new knowledge and which primordial serpent do they trust. There are no interesting characters or decisions here. This is just Dark Souls Mad Libs. You're the chosen _____ (Unhollowed? No, how about Unkindled!) tasked with collecting the ____ (Lordvessel? Lord embers!) Using the fill-in-the-blanks lore to allow the game to pull locations and characters for fan service and call it continuity.
For a series renowned for twisted imagination, I can't imagine a lazier direction.
That said, what Dark Souls really is about to me is the locations, even more so than bosses. Bosses can be fun, but frustrating. Locations make or break these games, they are fun and tense and scary to explore. New enemies are always full of mystery; true threats. In some ways, this is superior to DS1 which had several awful, awful zones. DS3 has only great zones, although perhaps a few forgettable ones. But the game is fun to explore, fun to build your character and discover new challenges.
The biggest problem is this is a game that exists in a post-Bloodborne world. And when you see the ingenuity of that world, characters, combat and weapons, Dark Souls III can only feel like a disappointment. I don't want to presume, but it kind of feels like fatigue at From Software having so many games that are more-or-less the same game on the go since 2011 nonstop. Sekiro was maybe a nice reset for them. DS3 is a culmination of a formula going stale. And yet, still an experience you just absolutely can't get from any other series or developer. Like the game world itself, Dark Souls III itself feels like we're at The End, the fire is fading, we're dragged out to reluctantly do the same task we've already done yet again, and despite it seeming against all odds, there's still fire in this ember.
For a series renowned for twisted imagination, I can't imagine a lazier direction.
That said, what Dark Souls really is about to me is the locations, even more so than bosses. Bosses can be fun, but frustrating. Locations make or break these games, they are fun and tense and scary to explore. New enemies are always full of mystery; true threats. In some ways, this is superior to DS1 which had several awful, awful zones. DS3 has only great zones, although perhaps a few forgettable ones. But the game is fun to explore, fun to build your character and discover new challenges.
The biggest problem is this is a game that exists in a post-Bloodborne world. And when you see the ingenuity of that world, characters, combat and weapons, Dark Souls III can only feel like a disappointment. I don't want to presume, but it kind of feels like fatigue at From Software having so many games that are more-or-less the same game on the go since 2011 nonstop. Sekiro was maybe a nice reset for them. DS3 is a culmination of a formula going stale. And yet, still an experience you just absolutely can't get from any other series or developer. Like the game world itself, Dark Souls III itself feels like we're at The End, the fire is fading, we're dragged out to reluctantly do the same task we've already done yet again, and despite it seeming against all odds, there's still fire in this ember.