The most anticipated game since Grand Theft Auto 5 is finally here, and it continues with the dark, gloomy atmosphere and challenging gameplay that its predecessors are known for. Dark Souls III plays just like its predecessors; the controls, gameplay and on-screen GUI feel comfortable and familiar.
The brutal, fast-paced gameplay is still present, making Dark Souls III the most unforgivable sequel of any franchise. Forget about the internet chatter regarding Bloodborne vs. Dark Souls; both are very similar, while maintaining a different identity at the same time.
Like its predecessors, Dark Souls III overwhelms the player with wave after wave of enemies. And there are plenty of massive, epic boss battles at the end of each chapter just waiting to pound the player into the ground. The game’s atmosphere can feel intoxicating at times. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Dark Soul III’s gameplay is capable of consuming the player. For example: a one hour game session can easily turn into three hours or longer.
The game’s main premise is to collect as many souls as possible. The souls collected during the game are used as currency, but they can also be used to upgrade your character and purchase items from shopkeepers and vendors.
Dark Souls III is an unforgiving action role-playing game that requires the player’s full attention. If you are looking to complete this game, it will take patients, skill and many hours of repeating the same levels until you actually beat it. Most of the enemies are all difficult to beat, regardless of the game’s difficulty setting. Gamers that attempt the game on easy will still face incredibly difficult monsters that will quickly pound you into the sand. You have been warned: do not attempt to play this game on a higher difficulty setting, unless you are familiar with the series.
One feature that sets the Dark Souls series apart from other games in the genre is the checkpoint system, and the obvious lack of an actual ‘save game’ function. The player can only ‘save’ or ‘reset’ checkpoints by lighting bonfires that are scattered throughout the stage. These bonfires are checkpoints that can only be activated once, so if you accidentally miss one of these safe checkpoints, you will be forced to start back at the last bonfire you have visited (even if the last checkpoint was at the beginning of the stage).
Bonfires can be used for more then saving your progress. They can also refill your health, mana and replenish any health and mana bottles you might be carrying, but all this comes at a very steep price. For example: any enemies that were recently killed before using the bonefire will respawn. While some gamers may find this frustrating, it’s actually a really good soul farming technique to help your character to progress through the game. In fact, it can help your character level.
Another feature is the online single-player campaign. This means that even though you are playing a single-player campaign, you are always connected online with other players. For example: gamers can leave messages in-game to warn others of dangers such as traps and monsters, to name just a few. You can’t always believe what gamers leave for messages, though. Some people will deliberately write false information just to trick you into a trap. It can be frustrating (especially if you haven’t used a bonefire in a while), but it’s like this — it’s part of the game, and it adds more challenge to what is already a very difficult. but challenging gameplay experience.
It’s relatively easy to know where a player has died by the blood stain they leave behind. This blood-stain acts like a ‘virtual replay’ of what happened to that player right before they died. You can either watch these ‘virtual’ clips and take heed or simply ignore them and continue on to your own inevitable demise (which will happen quite often in this game, mind you).
Dark Souls III is single-handedly the best sequel in the series. It stays true to the franchise, while also feeling fresh and new at the same time. Fans of the Dark Souls series will definitely enjoy this sequel, and newcomers will appreciate the hardcore rogue-like gameplay it offers. Just remember: this game is not for the faint of heart or the impatient. So if you choose to take on Dark Souls III, just remember that for each reward you find, there will be a hair-pulling consequence just waiting to take you down.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 4
Developer: Bandai Namco
Publisher: Bandai Namco
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price: $59.99
Dark Souls III Official Website: Click Here
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Dark, gloomy and visually appealing, Dark Souls III is simply a masterpiece. | |
| Sound | |
| The music and sound effects are just as haunting as the game itself. | |
| Gameplay | |
| One of the best action-RPG games available today. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Dark Souls III is a true 'hardcore' role-playing game. You never know what to expect, and every encounter you have will literally have you jumping out of your seat. | |
