The third entry into the franchise started me off as Unkindled ash, risen from my grave in the Cemetery of Ash. I spend the first few moments creating my character. There are multiple classes to choose from ranging from your typical knights to mages and everything inbetween as well as the returning deprived class, a class that starts you at the lowest level and is only for those looking for a challenge in the early stages of the game. In this case I chose the knight, I knew I was eventually going to wield a greatsword and it felt right to pick a class suited to my future build.
I run around, throw a few swings of my sword just to get a feel of things and this definitely feels like Dark Souls. A few steps forward after defeating some relatively easy undead foes I see an item on the ground indicated by a glowing white ball of light and pick it up; Ashen Estus Flask. Dark Souls 3 has the addition of the mana system that existed in Demon Souls and has been brought back into Dark Souls 3. The Ashen Estus Flask is used to restore any lost mana or Focus Points as it's known in DS3, alongside the Estus Flask, your regular healing potion.
Fighting through some easy undead enemies I come upon an arena with an ominous knight kneeling in the center. Iudex Gundyr, the first boss of the game. Being someone who's adept at the combat in Dark Souls I down him on my first go. To some, Iudex's second phase may surprise and ultimately kill you if you're not careful but because of my need to spoil myself I already knew of this. I was prepared for the fight knowing full well what to expect. The second phase of other bosses is something I wasn't expecting to happen often within boss fights in the future but boy was I wrong.
After my victory over Iudex Gundyr I went onwards towards the hub of DS3, Firelink Shrine. Firelink Shrine acts as your safe place to level up, buy and sell items, upgrade and infuse weapons as well as commune with NPCs. Upon lighting the Bonfire in the centre you can rest and restore your lost Health, Focus Points and Estus Flasks ready for the next fight. The Bonfire also acts as your fast travel point, similar to that of Dark Souls 2, you can fast travel to any previously lit Bonfire as well as the first Bonfire outside the Cemetery of Ash and Firelink Shrine, The High Wall of Lothric.
The High Wall of Lothric starts off on the ramparts but the journey throughout the walls leads further deeper into the castle. There are multiple paths to take, down stairs, through doors, back up stairs, across the roofs. It feels like a maze at first but through thorough exploration and persistence the maze becomes clear. Shortcuts are created as elevators are activated, multiple entry points into previously similar looking locations are discovered. The landscape feels dense, populated by items, enemies and secrets alike. Enemies in this area are much tougher than the those in The Cemetery of Ash. This time around there are knights will swords and some with spears all of which required some deaths and learning to understand how to take them down efficiently without chugging all my Estus for one knight.
After dying multiple times BUT experiencing and learning along the way I come upon a clearing, what clearly looks like a boss room. Running forward towards the door on the other end a cutscene activates as the boss materializes, a hunk of armor with the cold flowing off of him, wielding a giant mace like weapon, Vordt of the Boreal Valley. This boss is completely different to Iudex Gundyr, extremely fast given the size with large cleave strikes, rushing across the battlefield and squashing me along with it. I die.
Dark Souls 3's combat style is a mixture of the best elements from all the previous games FromSoftware have made. It's fast and it's visceral, Stamina plays a major role in your fighting capabilities and proper management of Stamina can lead to success. Learning the attack patterns and understanding when and where to dodge allows for attacks unto the enemy whether they're a boss or regular foe.
For this boss I decided to summon some help. I consume an Ember, DS3's take on Humanity from previous Souls titles. Embers increase your maximum HP and allows for summoning of other players to assist you in your fights, it also opens you to invasions from Red Phantoms (other enemy players) that can kill you and reset your progress back to the Bonfire. The fight went much smoother and upon defeat of Vordt I gesture a thank you to my fellow co-op partner and rush onward.
After Vordt is where the game truly opens up. The landscape is much more intertwined once you're outside of Lothric Castle. The Undead Settlement is the first of many different locales that you'll explore on your journey through Lothric. The Undead Settlement was similar to Lothric Castle with multiple winding paths that all leads to one conjoined area with shortcuts and even more secrets to discover.
Although not shown in pre-release footage and screenshots the locations are varied in DS3. The Skeleton filled Catacombs return as well as what is now considered Blight Town 2.0, a poisonous swamp that will continuously afflict you with a poison debuff that slowly eats away at your health. The beautifully ominous snow covered city of Irithyll Valley and the large hallways guarded by giants in the Cathedral of the Deep and more (avoiding spoilers). All unique in their own right with fantastic visual design there to separate itself from the other locations. In your travels across these locations you will encounter NPCs, though some require some searching, and all of them have a purpose.
NPCs can be recruited back to Firelink Shrine where they'll usually act as merchants to sell you different goods based on who or what they are. Some of them have questlines which can provide better rewards as you complete each task. Though akin to Dark Souls fashion, the quests are never set in stone. They are vague messages told through dialogue of which you must discover through exploration of each area to acquire items or do specific tasks in order to satisfy their needs.
Weapons, armors, rings and miscellaneous items are scattered throughout the game, some more difficult to find than others but mostly rewarding. There are many different weapons and armors to find but some of the best items are acquired from the unique NPCs or from Boss Souls. These Souls drop after you defeat each boss and you can trade them in to acquire a unique item such as a weapon or a spell. Some bosses also offer their armors up for sale upon their defeat.
Across my adventures through Lothric and its surrounding areas I found many weapons and armor sets for me to use. DS3 follows suit with previous titles by offering a large range of weapons and armors to use but this time around weapons provide a deeper and more strategic action that wasn't present in previous titles, Weapon Arts.
Weapon Arts are a relatively unique skill that each weapon possess. Some of them are repeated across some of the more common weapons but the unique weapons have obviously unique skills. One weapon that I used for example was a unique greatsword that allowed me to do a forward flip that could do a shield break exposing the enemy to further attacks. These Weapon Arts require Focus Points so the Ashen Estus Flask isn't only used by spellcasters.
Although useful against regular foes Weapon Arts aren't nearly as useful against the bosses. DS3 features a variety of bosses, some easier than others. All bosses have a second phase where they become significantly tougher but this doesn't mean the first phase isn't any different. Each boss requires some learning and practice before you can defeat them. Though some bosses can be killed rather easily it doesn't take away from their well designed character as well as their generally unique movesets and not to mention the superb soundtrack.
Although music only plays during boss fights and in Firelink Shrine, the ambiance of the game never fails to bring about an immersive feeling as the winds howl through the snow laden landscape of the Irithyll Valley or the bubbling of the poisonous swamps of The Road of Sacrifices. It is through this ambient silence that brings so much intensity and joy whenever music plays during a boss fight.
Returning composer Motoi Sakuraba who composed Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 and Yuka Kitamura whom is best known for the their composition of the music in Bloodborne as well as a few tracks from DS2, bring in some of the best music within this franchise. Yuka Kitamura, for me personally, provides the best boss music I've heard in a long time. Their use of a choir of vocals and the violin just brings about a sense of epicness that previous titles don't match up to.
Dark Souls 3 is the culmination of the best features from all FromSoftware games within this genre. Providing a complete combat experience surrounded by a fantastically well designed and detailed and dense environment that makes this game such a joy to experience. Although sadly it isn't as long as its predecessors and with an ending far too vague to be satisfactory as a series finale it does still hold a dear place in my heart. FromSoftware have created the best Dark Souls game they could've made and I'm glad they continued to make these niche titles.
It is through this that I say Dark Souls 3 is a well deserved series finale for the Dark Souls franchise although it does play it safe by reusing locations and elements from previous games as a fanservice to those Souls veterans out there. Although some players may be distraught at the recycling of material most from Dark Souls 1 it doesn't detract from the whole experience in the slightest because FromSoftware are the creators and leaders of this niche genre and I only wish for more people to enjoy this game.
9/10
*Note: Accidentally deleted all my pictures.
