Dark Souls Peak
Far and away the best of the trilogy, Dark Souls III seems like a complete F-U to the two games before it. A polished experience from start to finish, the third entry into the series feels like the best moments of Elden Ring at times with some of the annoying trepidation of the previous two entries.
The first thing that I have to salute DS3 about and it's almost a little sad that I am, is the fact that it ran at a glorious 60 FPS with a nice graphic sheen to it that reminded me of last year's GOTY: Elden Ring. The visual fidelity didn't just do the environments of this title justice, but made movement and boss fights much more manageable and approachable throughout the ~30 hour experience. From the moment I loaded in to completion of the game I was in awe at how fluid it was, and there were many times that I felt like I was in the world of Elden Ring.
Gameplay took a tremendous leap between the previous title and this one, dropping silly things like I-Frames that are tied to a stat and accelerated weapon degradation against bosses in favor of a smoother and more enjoyable experience. I went with my Fromsoft staple oonga boonga melee build, swapping great club and a giant axe until I found Dragon's Tooth (my Dark Souls 1 go to) later on. There were moments where I felt I was a little cheated, but it was never at a point where I thought it was overbearing or simply bad game design as it was in DS1 & DS2. Upgrading weapons felt vindicating as you could fully tune them to your playstyle, and were giving ample resources to do so. Gear didn't have to be upgraded as it was in DS2 either, making for a playthrough where you could worry moreso about the actual "game" of Dark Souls rather than material management.
Bosses were a tremendous leap between the titles too, clearly taking a page from the improvements Fromsoft made with Bloodborne the year prior. From the moment you fight Iudex Gundyr all the way until the final boss of the DLC, you are matched against bosses who will not just test your raw stats but also your ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome. That was my favorite part of playing all of Dark Souls III, the fact that bosses weren't gimmicks to be understood and passed by, but actually difficult opponents that could be beaten by learning their patterns and how to react appropriately. Again, very Bloodborne and a clear pattern they would replicate with Elden Ring many moons later. I don't want to give spoilers because the lore and sequencing is rightfully important to many players, but there were some bosses later on I would jump up after beating and say "I hated that, it was one of the best boss fights I've ever done." My favorite part of Bloodborne was how each match against each boss felt like a dance to the death because of how fluid and integral constant movement was to that game. Now, Dark Souls III is notably slower but you still feel like you're in an honest duel with these bosses, in which pure skill will reign supreme.
Like I touched on with comments on visual fidelity above, the game is absolutely gorgeous and filled with those "Fromsoft Moments" where you enter a new area atop a cliffside and pause just to gaze at the incredible vistas in front of you. Beauty is abound throughout the entire game, however I found myself most in awe when I played the ultimate "Ringed City" DLC. Such rich use of colour and scale is utilized to craft a believable environment of dilapidated buildings and past socieities.
While it wasn't perfect (it was too short!) Dark Souls 3 is a jaw dropping experience that engages the player from their first moments all the way into its conclusion. A massive improvement from Dark Souls 1 & 2, it improves on just about everything to make it clear how great of a job Fromsoft has done in gameplay innovation and creativity. I would absolutely recommend Dark Souls III.
Far and away the best of the trilogy, Dark Souls III seems like a complete F-U to the two games before it. A polished experience from start to finish, the third entry into the series feels like the best moments of Elden Ring at times with some of the annoying trepidation of the previous two entries.
The first thing that I have to salute DS3 about and it's almost a little sad that I am, is the fact that it ran at a glorious 60 FPS with a nice graphic sheen to it that reminded me of last year's GOTY: Elden Ring. The visual fidelity didn't just do the environments of this title justice, but made movement and boss fights much more manageable and approachable throughout the ~30 hour experience. From the moment I loaded in to completion of the game I was in awe at how fluid it was, and there were many times that I felt like I was in the world of Elden Ring.
Gameplay took a tremendous leap between the previous title and this one, dropping silly things like I-Frames that are tied to a stat and accelerated weapon degradation against bosses in favor of a smoother and more enjoyable experience. I went with my Fromsoft staple oonga boonga melee build, swapping great club and a giant axe until I found Dragon's Tooth (my Dark Souls 1 go to) later on. There were moments where I felt I was a little cheated, but it was never at a point where I thought it was overbearing or simply bad game design as it was in DS1 & DS2. Upgrading weapons felt vindicating as you could fully tune them to your playstyle, and were giving ample resources to do so. Gear didn't have to be upgraded as it was in DS2 either, making for a playthrough where you could worry moreso about the actual "game" of Dark Souls rather than material management.
Bosses were a tremendous leap between the titles too, clearly taking a page from the improvements Fromsoft made with Bloodborne the year prior. From the moment you fight Iudex Gundyr all the way until the final boss of the DLC, you are matched against bosses who will not just test your raw stats but also your ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome. That was my favorite part of playing all of Dark Souls III, the fact that bosses weren't gimmicks to be understood and passed by, but actually difficult opponents that could be beaten by learning their patterns and how to react appropriately. Again, very Bloodborne and a clear pattern they would replicate with Elden Ring many moons later. I don't want to give spoilers because the lore and sequencing is rightfully important to many players, but there were some bosses later on I would jump up after beating and say "I hated that, it was one of the best boss fights I've ever done." My favorite part of Bloodborne was how each match against each boss felt like a dance to the death because of how fluid and integral constant movement was to that game. Now, Dark Souls III is notably slower but you still feel like you're in an honest duel with these bosses, in which pure skill will reign supreme.
Like I touched on with comments on visual fidelity above, the game is absolutely gorgeous and filled with those "Fromsoft Moments" where you enter a new area atop a cliffside and pause just to gaze at the incredible vistas in front of you. Beauty is abound throughout the entire game, however I found myself most in awe when I played the ultimate "Ringed City" DLC. Such rich use of colour and scale is utilized to craft a believable environment of dilapidated buildings and past socieities.
While it wasn't perfect (it was too short!) Dark Souls 3 is a jaw dropping experience that engages the player from their first moments all the way into its conclusion. A massive improvement from Dark Souls 1 & 2, it improves on just about everything to make it clear how great of a job Fromsoft has done in gameplay innovation and creativity. I would absolutely recommend Dark Souls III.