Some weapons give you potent damage/defensive buffs instead of new offensive moves. Two handing a broadsword gives you powerful guard-crushing strikes. L2 lets you quick-dash when two-handing daggers, so you can dart in and out of range to deal damage. Holding L2 when two-handing your weapon greatly expands your attack options, depending on the weapon. Weapon arts are also new to the series, and clearly inspired by Bloodborne. Your heavy attack can be charged by holding R2, like in Bloodborne, to deal more damage and weaken larger opponents. R1 and R2 are your light and heavy attacks, respectively, while L1 and L2 are your shield skills.ĭark Souls III adds new twists to staple skills. Square uses consumable items, circle lets you evade, X is the interaction button, and triangle two-hands your weapon. The improved combat mechanics add more depth to fighting, but also make it much more difficult to master, so cutting through a swathe of monsters is harder and more rewarding than it has ever been.ĭark Souls III controls exactly the same as previous iterations in the series, so you should have no trouble acclimating yourself if you're familiar with the Souls games. The realm of Lothric is in a bad state, so dark beasts, insane undead, migrating dragons, and frightening demons have corrupted the majestic gothic cityscape. The Art of Warfare Dark Souls III is an action game, which means that your skill comes into play far more often than your stats. The transitions make sense, for the most part, but it would have been nice to find shortcuts that lead back to older zones.
The dragon-infested castle leads to the old shantytown, which leads to the forest, then the poisonous bog, etc. Dark Souls III feels more like a dark fantasy theme park each themed area railroads you into the next. I miss the tangled rats-nest feel that the original game had. There are many shortcuts and secrets to find within each area proper, but there is a distinct lack of unity within the world. Instead, each area leads to the next in fairly linear fashion, so you progress through the stages like an old-school Castlevania game. So much for superior Japanese steel.ĭark Souls III's areas are connected, but they are not interwoven like they were in the original Dark Souls. Despite the warrior's flashy attacks, however, it was inferior in every way to the simple broadsword I had found on a corpse a few moments earlier. Early on, for example, I fought a vicious, ragged warrior wielding a samurai sword, which I eventually earned upon his defeat. Not all equipment is made equal, unfortunately, so a new sword you find may not necessarily be better than the one you're currently using. New weapon and armor sets can also be found within each area, but these are usually cleverly hidden, or guarded by tougher enemies. Your trusty Estus flask is your go-to healing potion, but defense-boosting pellets, throwing knives, firebombs, panaceas, and the like all litter the stages in the game. Those who enjoy piecing together each game's history will be pleased to see how Dark Souls III incorporates the lore of past games.Įnvironments are strewn with useable equipment and consumable items. Players who are not invested in the game's lore have plenty of beautiful, macabre fantasy setting to explore. As is From Software's pedigree, the story is told through bits of flavor text in item descriptions, and through the environment itself. You play as a lone, undead warrior, and venture out to retrieve the souls of the violent and chaotic Lords of Cinder. Teaching an Old Demon New Tricks Dark Souls III incorporates story elements from both of its predecessors to tell of the cyclical struggle between fire and darkness. I played Dark Souls III on a gaming desktop, but the action-RPG is also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Nonetheless, Dark Souls III is easily one of the best games in the series, and one of the year's most outstanding titles thus far.
Like all of From Software's launches, however, this PC game is in need of a few patches to adjust weapon balance. As a result, the gorgeous and action-packed Dark Souls III feels highly familiar, yet fresh and content-rich at the same time. In fact, the newest Souls game incorporates gameplay and design elements from virtually all of the team's recent titles.