Dark Souls III Review (ready2b)
It finally clicked. Now I get why the Dark Souls series has such an active, enthusiastic, and borderline obsessed community. Although I was hesitant to start Dark Souls 3, I can now say that it is one of the greatest gaming experiences I have had.
Positive:
Absolutely gorgeous. It was clear that a lot of thought and effort was put into designing Dark Souls 3. Each area uniquely beautiful and expertly put together; the attention to detail creates a truly immersive experience. I especially enjoyed how spectacular the scenery and menacing the bosses are.
The developers did a great job at incorporating shortcuts. Since the areas are quite large, you often get disoriented as you progress (especially during the first playthrough). At a certain point, you come across unlockable door(s) or elevator(s) that connects to a previous area and acts as a shortcut. The sudden realization that you went around in one big circle or that you’re directly above/below a previous area always left me baffled. I really wonder how much time was put into the level design.
Amazing combat. Honestly, I’ve barely skimmed the surface when it comes to combat but it is enough for me to recognize how incredible it is. There are so many weapons, movesets, spells, infusions, and more. Plus the combinations you can put together are only limited by your imagination (for the most part). There is a reason why several people spend hours putting together the perfect PVP character(s).
Exploration is greatly rewarded. Seriously, there are items, NPCs, and interesting rooms hidden everywhere. It’s gotten so bad that I feel paranoid when I reach a pointless dead end and find nothing - “there HAS to be something here”. Finding a secret felt like finding candy on a scavenger hunt and was thrilling from beginning to end. Keep a look out for fake walls, suspicious ledges, potential jumps, and chests. Beware of mimics though.
I really liked the decision to grant the ability to teleport between lit bonfires almost immediately, and to include a safe hub (Firelink Shrine), where most of the important NPCs/vendors can be found. This made Dark Souls 3 more user-friendly (especially for beginners) than Dark Souls 1. Although this made Dark Souls 3 more linnear, I found the clarity of knowing more or less what to do and where to go (also being able to teleport back in case you went the “wrong” way) more enjoyable than the uncertainty I felt when playing the first Dark Souls.
For those who don’t know, inter-player interactions play a large role in the Dark Souls series. You can leave notes (to either help or trick others), you can summon other players for a co-op experience, and you can invade other people’s worlds for PVP. I think this is another reason why the Dark Souls community holds strong - despite being portrayed as a single player game, you are rarely alone. I found that the online features (co-op and PVP) worked very well most of the time. Naturally, there are some instances of lag or disconnection, but it is very easy to set up again. Initially I hated being invaded, but I’ve learned to love it for two reasons:
The excitement/fear you get from being invaded is intense. It is like a sudden emergence of a mini-boss whose only purpose is to hunt you down. While the defeats are definitely sour, victories are so damn sweet.
All the pain you receive from getting invaded can be repaid by invading other people. It’s a sort of S&M relationship, I know, but it adds near-infinite extra hours of excitement and replayability to Dark Souls 3.
Neutral:
I’m kind of torn about this following point. On one hand, I still find that Dark Souls 3 is not very beginner friendly. More specifically, I had to look up some basic guides before starting the game to understand which stats do what, and what sort of build I should go for. A lot of information, for example stat soft-caps, is not particularly clear to begin with. I find that this steep learning curve, in addition to Dark Souls’ notoriety for being difficult, pushes a lot of beginners away. On the other hand, the Dark Souls series has come a long way, 3 being the most user-friendly and clear game in my experience. After playing it, I realized that I could have easily learned how to build my character through a little trial and error. Granted, my character would not be perfect, but like many veterans say: “no point in Vigor is wasted”. Dark Souls is the kind of game that expects you to pour countless hours in to before you “git gud”, such that a veteran with awful equipment will almost always beat a beginner with God-tier equipment. It should be emphasized that YOU ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE MISTAKES; the complexity of Dark Souls 3 is exactly what makes it so spectacular.
I was honestly hesitant to begin playing Dark Souls 3, but it has quickly become one of the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had. If you are on the fence, I urge you to give Dark Souls 3 a try. Be patient, learn from your mistakes, and don’t give up - only then will you prosper and praise the sun.
NOTE: I’m not complaining about combat/mechanics difficulty - while challenging, I honestly believe that the death/learn-from-your-mistakes system is the number one selling point of the whole series.
Conclusion:
★★★★★ Exceptional
Would die again.
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