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Dark Souls III: From Software, do they really need an introduction?! The developers of the excellent Kings Field series on the PS1 (Think Arx Fatalis-type of game, first-person-console RPG), not forgetting their Armoured Core series of games and a little known game outside of Japan, during 2009, called Demon’s Souls, exclusively for the PS3. This little-known gem of a game started getting imported thanks to word of mouth and a fair bit of critical acclaim so they decided to localise it and release it in Europe and North America.
Demon’s Souls hit the gaming world by storm – tough as nails but has that ‘one more try’ mentality to it. It’s not going to get me again, there, and you learnt from mistakes. Thanks to this soaring success, From Software’s next project, Dark Souls, launched worldwide late 2011, again to critical acclaim. Then Dark Souls II (with a different director), launched 2014, again to the same reception. Their next project saw a return to exclusivity on the Playstation – Bloodborne – with the epic Gothic Victorian locations, and the original souls director at the helm made it another must buy.
Now it is time for the third and final story in the Dark Souls story arc. This is what I believe reading comments from the developer interviews etc. stating that it will not be the last ‘Souls’ game.
The story this time around, granted vague as last time saw you, the player, risen from ash to deliver the Lords of Cinder and link the fires. Of course, the Lords of Cinder do not want to relinquish what they have been given so returning them to their thrones involves a long journey through numerous locations, ranging from European style castles to towns, forests, catacombs, cathedrals and dungeons. Whilst travelling through these locations, you have different enemy types and usually a crescendo with a boss battle which will give the player something they will need, to get a bit further in their quest.
Of course, the bosses in the ‘Souls’ series are what most folks talk about – huge behemoth, beast-like creatures that can take a while to take down. Huge in size and attitude, and if you just go running in, they can kill you in one or two hits! From Software, again, have excelled themselves in their creations. After 20 hours in, I have taken out seven bosses, one of which has been a Lord of Cinder. So far I have fought a giant cursed tree (imagine a mandrake from the Harry Potter movies crossed with the Whomping Willow from the same movies), a group of undead clerics that played hot potato with who was next in line to be smited!, a large mage that teleported around the area and started cloning himself and a giant skeletal king after examining a skull goblet. Each boss required different tactics and having a few different sets of armour with different defences came in handy!
Gameplay is similar to the previous games in the series, except the magic system has been changed back to Demon’s Souls-style with a mana bar instead of a set number of times something can be used between bonfire visits. You work your way through each area, taking out enemies and go from bonfire to bonfire. You die (and you will a lot), you leave a bloodstain with a green orb, make it back and collect said orb and you retrieve however many souls you were carrying. Die before reaching them and they are gone for good. The combat is the same as the previous games in the series – parry, block & attack with back stabs aplenty when you manage to get behind an enemy. You learn each enemy type and their attacks; you can then time your counter attack and so on. You still have to manage your stamina as using that last bit to try and take an enemy down could leave you open for a killing blow if you time it wrong. The magic sees the various schools from the previous games returning so you have Pyromancy (fire), Sorcery (general type magic with soul spears etc) and Miracles (lightning spears and healing etc). Like I just said, you are not limited to set uses between bonfire visits, you have a mana bar and once that is gone you can’t use any more spells till you rest at a bonfire.
This is where From Software have made a better design decision. Gone are things like herbs that replenish mana and health, as are life gems from Darks Souls II (bar a green plant that makes stamina replenish faster and you still have your various moss for resistances to poison etc.). You have your Estus Flask which increases if you give the blacksmith shards in Firelink Shrine and you can make them stronger by burning undead bones in the Firelink Bonfire. There is also a Blue Estus Flask now – swig on this and it replenishes your mana. You can allot how many of the flasks you carry, so if you are using more magical attacks instead of sword/magic combo then you could say have three health flasks and allot the rest to mana replenishment. This is an option available as soon as you speak to the Blacksmith.
There are plenty of weapons available that will suit everyone’s play style. There is a long bow and crossbow which is ideal for luring a single enemy from a mob. You then have your various swords going from daggers, long swords and up to great swords that have to be wielded two-handed. There’s also various spears and halberds available if you like to keep your distance. All weapons can be upgraded and imbued with elements etc. at the blacksmith, as can the numerous shields you will find. One thing I have noticed is that you cannot upgrade your armour this time round. I should imagine that after 20 hours of play that you will have unlocked that ability if it was available at the Blacksmith. I did find some special coal which I gave him allowing him to imbue more types of weapon stone but that has been it, so far.
Now Firelink Shrine (not the same Firelink from Dark Souls) very much reminds me of The Nexus from Demon’s Souls. You will find people in the areas you explore. After talking to them, they will then go to the shrine and then they provide different services. There’s also a few obscure items ro find in the locations and if you give them to the people you have at the shrine, more items become available for sale. As an example, if you find ashes on your travels, give them to the maiden and she will stock extra items.
Go to page 3 for more thoughts on the game, while page 2 features pictures of the sumptuous Dark Souls III wooden box in which the game arrived, complete with scrolls and more!
This is the wonderful box in which Dark Souls III arrived (with certain details on one image obscured). Huge thanks to Bandai Namco for this as well as the permission to show you the pictures here. Click on each one for the near-4K full-size version:
Now go to page 3 for more of the review plus conclusions.
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.
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.
Important info:
- Developer: From Software
- Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Players: Single (PvE), Multiplayer (PvP), Offline play available
Directors: Hidetaka Miyazaki and Isamu Okano
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
9.5 9.5 9 9.5 |
| OVERALL | 9.5 |
Retro at heart and lover of all things ’80s, especially the computers, the music and the awesome movies and TV shows! Crazy huge retro gaming collection spanning the ’80s and ’90s with hundreds of tapes, discs and carts for various machines on top of a 600+ strong Steam library that is ever-growing. No I am not a serial hoarder, just a dedicated retro gamer!