Dark Souls III on PS4 – The DVDfever Review

Visually, the game is great-looking. Textures are crisp and sharp and there are some lovely long draw distances. The game, itself, is running on the same engine used for Bloodborne; the combat is noticeably faster and more fluent, and it is also a bit brighter. I have only had to use a torch once, so far, and that is in a basement under a church where I currently am in the game. The attack animations are fast and look awesome, as do the various spell effects and mist used in catacombs etc. I did also notice that you get the blood splash like you saw in Bloodborne when an attack hits a living enemy! The effect used on your character is also very nice; at first I thought it was just the lighting. You are resurrected from ash, now if unkindled (equivalent of hollow), your character looks like a typical character. However, if you beat a boss or use an ember to rekindle your ash then you get this orange glow coming from joints in your armour, and it looks really neat.

In addition, you don’t get dead enemies attaching to your feet, ending up dragging them down a corridor! I have seen a few oddities, however, same as with the prior games; Standing half hidden behind a pillar aiming your bow, let an arrow fly and it sticks in mid-air as if it hit the pillar so you then have an arrow stuck just floating there! I have also had clipping issues where an enemy with a long weapon manages to hit you through a pillar and so on. A patch landed a few days ago and, since it has been installed, I have had some quite serious slow-down in highly populated areas. It normally happens when transitioning from outside to inside areas. It doesn’t drop to slideshow, but is decidedly slow motion and feels sluggish until it recovers. No doubt this will certainly be fixed, I believe it was the Day 1 patch I installed, but I expect that there will be another landing soon with a few fixes.

The sound is astounding. There is music on the actual start screen which stood out immediately – beautiful orchestral music that really sets the scene. The minimal cutscenes are voiced – I say voiced but it is more a narrative. NPCs (non-player characters) do have numerous lines of dialogue but they are minimal and only tend to change when you have achieved something, so there is something new to talk about. NPCs out in the world that you meet have a few lines of dialogue as do some of the enemies when they are going for you, like the fire women that look like Beefeaters who curse and throw profanities at you!

You then have your usual swish of melee weapons and clangs/thuds of shield blocks and connecting attacks. Each spell has its own sound effect and you get the splash sound when hitting a living enemy as you did in Bloodborne. The back stab sound is also oddly familiar, sounding like the gun shot when you stun an enemy in the same game. I’ve had a look around the net for credited voice talent as the voice acting is very good but I cannot find anyone at all involved with the game.

Multiplayer is the same as the previous games. I have not found any dedicated arenas (or come across any of the items needed to enter an arena) for the Blue Sentinels like on Dark Souls II. However, there are your covenants (Sunlight, Way of the Blue and their Sentinel protectors, Dark Moon, Mound Makers, Watch Dogs of Farron, Rosaria’s Fingers & Aldritch Faithful). Each covenant has it’s own purpose in the world: The Blue Sentinels will get summoned to a Way of the Blue Disciple if they get invaded by a human player Red Phantom that has used a red eye orb or cracked red stone to invade another’s world. There is also the red and white soap stones – if you click a red sign on the ground, you invite a player wanting to PvP into your world for a 1-on-1 fight; Watch Dogs of Farron will be summoned to the woods when people not of that covenant enter said woods and if you lay a white sign down then you can be summoned to another’s world to assist a player on a level or a boss. If you’re a Sunlight covenant member when you are summoned, you are a bright gold colour, like in previous games. I should imagine that the most dedicated players will find an area to PvP (like the bridge at the start of the Iron Keep on Dark Souls II). These fight clubs earn players souls etc. and are a good way for people wanting to just PvP without invading Player Vs Environment players.

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The Abyss Watcher

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Conclusion

To sum everything up, Dark Souls III is a great game. I have played the ‘Souls’ series since Demon’s Souls and have loved every bit of it. Granted, there has been plenty screaming and shouting at the screen but you endure, keep going back and conquer what has bested you previously. I bought my PS4 primarily for Bloodborne, in May last year and have also bought and played Scholar of the First Sin on the PC after I clocked up over 100 hours on Dark Souls II on my PS3 when it launched.

From Software are certainly going from strength to strength with their action RPGs and their craft. I reviewed Lords of the Fallen a while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. It shows how much of an impact and influence the souls series has had on other developers, as that title is very Souls-like in its execution.

Yeah, there are a few bugs like clipping issues, arrows hitting something that it should clear but after playing the series of games I am quite used to it and work around it.

Newcomers to the series may find the going a little tough, but if you can endure, then you will spend countless hours learning how to beat each enemy type. The feeling of taking a boss down, after a dozen or so attempts, really gives you an adrenaline rush and makes you want to play a bit longer and reach the next bonfire, or unlock a shortcut back to the safety of a bonfire. There are a few dirty tricks that you really don’t expect which will kill you instantly. For example, in the catacombs, there is a ball of corpses (imagine a rubber band ball but made up of skeletons) which appears and can obliterate you in seconds and, later on same level, if you turn back at a certain point you will find yourself faced with around 25 skeletons and needing to do a Road Runner impression!! Don’t let things like this put you off though – you never fall for the same trick twice!

The multiplayer is very different from other games – one minute you can be wading your way through enemies, picking them off and making progress, and suddenly there is a player red phantom hunting you down. This, at times, with decent players can be fun and in a game of cat and mouse, occasionally, you will get players who are being beaten and then will run off into a large group of enemies as they don’t provoke them and wait for you to try and follow. You, then, start picking away at said enemies only for them to come in and kill you while fighting. You also have great co-op features and sanctioned PvP, by summoning a red sign that has been laid down by a player which has its own rewards. Helping someone else beat a boss that you were stuck on is a great feeling.

From Software has hit it out of the park again with Dark Souls III. This game will keep you entertained for hours to come and way into the year, as there is a season pass available adding extra content. I have read that experienced players can get through the game in around 35 hours. Where’s the fun in that though? I love exploring the various areas, finding the numerous shortcuts and NPCs to send back to the shrine. Another statement I read, is that experienced players are hitting the 70 hour mark on their first play through. I am 20 hours in and only took out the first Lord of Cinder so think I will be in it for the long haul!!

Credit goes to Twinfinite for the Abyss Watcher pic.

Dark Souls III is released next Tuesday, April 12th on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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Dark Souls III – ‘Accursed’ trailer – BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe

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Important info:

• Developer: From Software

• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Players: Single (PvE), Multiplayer (PvP), Offline play available

Directors: Hidetaka Miyazaki and Isamu Okano

GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT	9.5 9.5 9 9.5
OVERALL	9.5