The Road to Elden Ring #5: Dark Souls III
So here we are at the end! Didn’t have the time to get around to Sekiro before Elden Ring’s release, but I’d like to talk about it sometime in the future. For now, we end with Dark Souls III, the conclusion to the Souls IP that builds upon the groundwork set by Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2, and Bloodborne. While it’s far from perfect, I think DS3 surpasses its predecessors in more ways than one.
For starters, the combat takes inspiration from Bloodborne. While not as fast-paced and aggressive as that game, it still takes the combat from Demon’s Souls and DS1/2 and speed it up significantly. The game is less plodding and meticulous and instead requires the player to think on their feet and act quickly to aggressive enemies with faster attacks and deeper movepools. The player, while still sped up from previous games, still feels slower than all the new enemies, so the idea of “Dark Souls 1 Knight vs Bloodborne enemies” helps make Lothric feel even deadlier and more dangerous that previous worlds.
Although Dark Souls 3 is a lot more linear than DS1, it has arguably the best level design so far in the series. Similarly to Bloodborne, DS3 has massive zones that feel incredibly rewarding to explore and find hidden treasures. The size of these levels allow From to play around with verticality and put a large amount of varied set pieces across each area. The Cathedral of the Deep has you scaling the rafters of a massive church before you get inside and battle the imprisoned giants. The Catacombs of Carthus have you venturing deeper and deeper into the lair of a skeleton army and features traps and ambushes around every corner. DS3 is probably second only to the original Dark Souls when it comes to incredibly memorable level design.
Another area DS3 shines is its improved NPC questlines. Though side quests given by important NPCs have been a staple of the Souls series since Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 3 takes these side stories and really fleshes them out. Four NPCs offer fun and engaging side quests that send you to some locations you’d never go otherwise, and tie into the game’s four main bosses in a really satisfying way.
The DLC is also fantastic. Ashes of Ariandel and the Ringed City offer incredibly cool set pieces, new enemy types, new weapons, and a pair of some of the greatest boss fights in the entire franchise. Sister Friede and Slave Knight Gael are a showcase of everything that makes the Souls games so great and special, with Gael himself (and the vanilla game’s final boss, the Soul of Cinder) being the perfect sendoff to the trilogy.
The only negative I really have to say about DS3 is that bits and pieces feel pretty derivative of the past games, which is only natural after five entries. I think too much of DS3 relies on knowing the thing from a previous game, like Aldritch puppeting around Gwnydolin’s corpse from DS1 in the ruins of Anor Londo, or the new hub area just being Firelink Shrine again. In some areas it works, like the beginning of the Ringed City being a mismash of Firelink Shrine from DS1 and Earthen Peak from DS2. Some of these callbacks are fun for veteran players, but I think contributes to Lothric not really feeling like it has its own identity. Demon’s Souls’ Boletaria, Dark Souls’ Lordran, Bloodborne’s Yharnam, and as much as I dislike it, DS2’s Drangleic, all felt distinct and unique from each other. Lothric on the other hand, just feels like we’re back in Lordran again, except for the inexplicit mini-Yharnam in the form of Irithyll.
At its worst, Dark Souls 3 is uninspired and derivative of past Souls games. At its best, Dark Souls 3 is a masterpiece with some of the tightest combat and level design of the series, memorable and lovable NPCs with engaging side stories, and intense, difficult bosses that represent everything that makes the franchise so beloved. An absolute killer final outing.
So here we are at the end! Didn’t have the time to get around to Sekiro before Elden Ring’s release, but I’d like to talk about it sometime in the future. For now, we end with Dark Souls III, the conclusion to the Souls IP that builds upon the groundwork set by Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2, and Bloodborne. While it’s far from perfect, I think DS3 surpasses its predecessors in more ways than one.
For starters, the combat takes inspiration from Bloodborne. While not as fast-paced and aggressive as that game, it still takes the combat from Demon’s Souls and DS1/2 and speed it up significantly. The game is less plodding and meticulous and instead requires the player to think on their feet and act quickly to aggressive enemies with faster attacks and deeper movepools. The player, while still sped up from previous games, still feels slower than all the new enemies, so the idea of “Dark Souls 1 Knight vs Bloodborne enemies” helps make Lothric feel even deadlier and more dangerous that previous worlds.
Although Dark Souls 3 is a lot more linear than DS1, it has arguably the best level design so far in the series. Similarly to Bloodborne, DS3 has massive zones that feel incredibly rewarding to explore and find hidden treasures. The size of these levels allow From to play around with verticality and put a large amount of varied set pieces across each area. The Cathedral of the Deep has you scaling the rafters of a massive church before you get inside and battle the imprisoned giants. The Catacombs of Carthus have you venturing deeper and deeper into the lair of a skeleton army and features traps and ambushes around every corner. DS3 is probably second only to the original Dark Souls when it comes to incredibly memorable level design.
Another area DS3 shines is its improved NPC questlines. Though side quests given by important NPCs have been a staple of the Souls series since Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 3 takes these side stories and really fleshes them out. Four NPCs offer fun and engaging side quests that send you to some locations you’d never go otherwise, and tie into the game’s four main bosses in a really satisfying way.
The DLC is also fantastic. Ashes of Ariandel and the Ringed City offer incredibly cool set pieces, new enemy types, new weapons, and a pair of some of the greatest boss fights in the entire franchise. Sister Friede and Slave Knight Gael are a showcase of everything that makes the Souls games so great and special, with Gael himself (and the vanilla game’s final boss, the Soul of Cinder) being the perfect sendoff to the trilogy.
The only negative I really have to say about DS3 is that bits and pieces feel pretty derivative of the past games, which is only natural after five entries. I think too much of DS3 relies on knowing the thing from a previous game, like Aldritch puppeting around Gwnydolin’s corpse from DS1 in the ruins of Anor Londo, or the new hub area just being Firelink Shrine again. In some areas it works, like the beginning of the Ringed City being a mismash of Firelink Shrine from DS1 and Earthen Peak from DS2. Some of these callbacks are fun for veteran players, but I think contributes to Lothric not really feeling like it has its own identity. Demon’s Souls’ Boletaria, Dark Souls’ Lordran, Bloodborne’s Yharnam, and as much as I dislike it, DS2’s Drangleic, all felt distinct and unique from each other. Lothric on the other hand, just feels like we’re back in Lordran again, except for the inexplicit mini-Yharnam in the form of Irithyll.
At its worst, Dark Souls 3 is uninspired and derivative of past Souls games. At its best, Dark Souls 3 is a masterpiece with some of the tightest combat and level design of the series, memorable and lovable NPCs with engaging side stories, and intense, difficult bosses that represent everything that makes the franchise so beloved. An absolute killer final outing.