pretty easy to think i've soured on souls titles whenever I think about them and yet they're always just so, so good to play and revisit pretty much whenever. I know there's a lot of discourse (or whatever word you want to use) about DS3's linearity, designs, whatevers, but I think it's still top to bottom an excellent experience. definitely inclined to agree that it's lacking somewhat in some of its levels, it's hard to be fond of any of the areas, High Wall excluded, before the Catacombs of Carthus; but the sense of exploration and discovery throughout is really underrated. artistically, I think it's also got such a fine sense of aesthetics and graphically I don't think any of their games have looked as good as this one does. as a side note, it runs and looks amazing on a steam deck and the pure playability of it is what made me pick this up again.
even as a critic of fromsoftware seemingly putting too much attention into boss fights rather than overall experiences as of late, I really can't deny that this has pretty-probably the best roster out of their Miyazaki titles. even the less good ones (I don't think even a single one of them is BAD) are memorable and I'm never rolling my eyes walking through that fog door.
If there IS anything to criticise, I think there's just too much fanservice and callbacks to the original Dark Souls. even with that title being my favourite in the series, I can't help but think a lot of these references are lazy at best. as another nitpick I think this is the most difficult one to get every achievement for other than DS2 and I'm not really looking forward to trying to do it.
but yeah, just such a playable, engaging entry. traversing a location like Lothric Castle is evidently great level design with its shortcuts and there's a really strong sense of progression and strength as you continue. the implications of an area like the Untended Graves is just as thrilling as a lot of these boss fights. never feels unfair and it's short and breezy enough to enjoy casually. can't help but love it.

This just slaps so hard dude - absolutely love how it unravels in scope while still being so contained and effectively simple in its mechanics throughout.

Everything it influenced from the over-the-shoulder action to the inventory management still seems so fresh and the gameplay feels tight in all the right ways with moments of shifting creativity that only add to the enthralling stress of it all.

The village was super impressive with its immediate relentlessness (and has the best fight with Mendez), however, the castle was where the game truly shined at its best for me - just so memorable in its set-piece design (the water levels!!) and cult-like atmosphere. The Island was a fitting way to conclude the game too, stacked with killer bosses throughout and overflowing with urgency. I'm also a sucker for mutation/scientific alteration in video games (just look at my favorites) and that regenerator section with its bodies was just top-tier horror.

So satisfied with this and I can't wait to try the remake when I find more time, an amazing introduction to a series I've been meaning to check for ages.

Also riot gun best gun 💪💪

should be noted that I've logged both the base version and SOTFS, both at two different ratings to boot. it's partly indecisiveness between figuring out how good or great this is and to reflect that I do indeed still quite like the original experience I had yearrrrs ago but found these additional changes on this recent replay (in which I did the dlcs for the first time) to be detrimental to the whole thing. there's not a crazy amount but the heide knights at the tower of flame is enough of a cause for complaint.
overhated regardless -- proof the greatness in these games isn't in boss fights specifically but in the constant and consistent gameplay; having so few distractions while running from one place to another.

hate to be a hater but man did I hate this, may as well lean into it; by far one of the least pleasurable and enjoyable experiences I've ever had with a video game in any capacity, with anything really, spread out and torturous over 30 aching hours. determined to finish this and I think it counts for something. this is my first experience with final fantasy so I can't say how entirely faithful it is to the original (I know the big plot beats) but, like, really?? this is the story that hit for so many people?? even in the differences this remake brings??
I really do just have... too much to say about this and don't really know where to begin about it all. for the positives, this is obviously incredible looking, and uhhh yeah I really like Barrett but other than that it's a struggle. this thing really is emblematic of so many issues I have with a lot of gaming in general, so self serious with huge misses when attempting anything light (I refuse to believe there are honest to god Wedge stans out there). giving us so many cinematics, having the gameplay consist of another... 5 or so steps along a corridor and bam, here's another cutscene. dialogue and vocal direction sucks. Cloud is an absolute black hole of charisma. Nobody is fun to play as except for Barrett, who has the most simple combat systems out of the 4 options.

I'm listing lots of things and they really might seem insignificant, and certainly all negative, but I really did not feel much of anything positive in any capacity here. I could feel the brain rot from the inside. There was occasional levity, some rest, but playing this genuinely made me feel unhappy -- there is no other word for this.

tldr; its bad