Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 188 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 107 out of 188
  2. Mixed: 55 out of 188
  3. Negative: 26 out of 188

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  1. Darthtux
    Oct 25, 2016
    8
    This dark souls 3 dlc offered some really unique locations but everything at first glance feels small. There are many different alternate routes you could have easily missed and it definitely feels a bit more open than the base game.

    There are some cool new enemies and weapons but nothing can really top your current equipment if you have already finished the game. The bosses are    This dark souls 3 dlc offered some really unique locations but everything at first glance feels small. There are many different alternate routes you could have easily missed and it definitely feels a bit more open than the base game.

    There are some cool new enemies and weapons but nothing can really top your current equipment if you have already finished the game.

    The bosses are good. Do not watch the trailers or any gameplays of it or it will kinda spoil the experience. There is one that really stands out than the other but both fights were entertaining. OST wise it's awesome, just what you expect from any DS OST!

    PVP feature is a cool side feature....

    As a DS fan from playing all the games, it's definitely disappointing if you compare it to the other dlcs.
    The scale of this dlc just feels "small" and compare to the other dlcs, it can't get the theme of it right.
    Even the crowns dlc from ds2 got the theme and scale right.
    I took it more as something from the base game than a actual expansion.

    Now triple A games now a days are just not doing too great with expansions except for like Witcher 3. I feel like it definitely meets what we call DLC in these years. I didn't expect too much from reading the reviews of other people but I think this DLC is good.

    As a souls fan I would give this more like a 7/10
    But if you just turn your brain off and let it be just a dlc then its more like 7.5
    I hope expansion 2 will deliver the single player experience we truly wanted.    … Expand
  2. ImSchroeder
    Oct 25, 2016
    8
    As a big fan of dark souls I was pretty annoyed by the rating of the positive reviews that dark souls 3 had. It is a good game but its hard to explain how the third chapter(despite a few good moments) had no soul and just seem like a big fan service without much purpose, without originality.
    The problem with this DLC it is one and only: It is too short. Once you accept that it should be a    As a big fan of dark souls I was pretty annoyed by the rating of the positive reviews that dark souls 3 had. It is a good game but its hard to explain how the third chapter(despite a few good moments) had no soul and just seem like a big fan service without much purpose, without originality.
    The problem with this DLC it is one and only: It is too short. Once you accept that it should be a bigger experience believe me, it is far more original and exciting than the base game. I can only imagine how much better( at least for me) the main game would be if every area of the game had the kind of sense of exploration and ambience this DLC delivered.
    As a pvp addicted I was very disappointed with the weapons on base game: you had 14 straight swords, for example, and almost the same move set/skill for every single one: "Of course I'm gonna use the one with ridiculous damage and life regen!"
    A lot were just impossible to play with, like daggers (Brigand twindaggers, yes I'll spam parry you after the first attack for sure) and almost all katanas. But I can assure you of this: each single weapon of this DLC its original and unique. Something that should have been done to every weapon on base game and probably wasn't done because of how hard would be game balancing (let's get this right, this is not an excuse for not doing it so ok?Just work it out FROM).
    The pvp arena, if you play a lot of pvp like me, works pretty well and there's not much to be said.
    I just wish I could give this a ten, it got so many good things going for it, things that I was missing from the base game but, for now, I stand in hope that the next DLC will deliver a bigger experience with the same care for level design and originality I see here.    … Expand
  3. Smilingcookie
    Oct 30, 2016
    10
    Real score 9,5/10. Great expansion. It took me 4-5 hours to fully complete the single player collecting all items and defeating all enemies with a level 193 character on NG++. After that I'm left with the PVP arena and 2 bossfights that are a lot of fun in co-op. The new weapons are brilliant and original. The game has great atmosphere, top notch level design and interesting, challengingReal score 9,5/10. Great expansion. It took me 4-5 hours to fully complete the single player collecting all items and defeating all enemies with a level 193 character on NG++. After that I'm left with the PVP arena and 2 bossfights that are a lot of fun in co-op. The new weapons are brilliant and original. The game has great atmosphere, top notch level design and interesting, challenging new enemies. I can full heartedly recommend this DLC. It's not long, but the content is great!… Expand
  4. frederik1478
    Aug 5, 2022
    8
    It has the best boss fight in the series, but the rest of it I
    is so short that if you bought then I will feel you have wasted your money. I'm glad you get Game of the Year from it since it's in there.
  5. nurfedx
    Oct 30, 2021
    10
    One of the best Games known to mankind.
    From Software is a safe heaven for the Gaming community.
    Especially in times where big Developers dissapiont us with theyr fraudulent intent.
    Praise the sun!
  6. kimi1775
    Nov 9, 2020
    8
    ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎
  7. ManHoof
    Jul 29, 2023
    8
    Good DLC with an interesting little world. The downside is that it is too small.

Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. NZGamer
    Nov 23, 2016
    75
    Ashes of Ariandel is a competent piece of downloadable content for Dark Souls III. It checks all the right boxes and makes all the right moves. It’s gorgeous, mysterious, but it’s also tame. While it does fill in the gaps around one of the series’ bigger question marks, no amount of mystique can hide the fact that there isn’t a lot on offer here.
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  2. GameCritics
    Nov 22, 2016
    50
    Dark Souls 3 was a wonderful coda for the series, revisiting the best parts of Soulsborne while skillfully buffing over the pieces that didn’t work. Still, the Souls tricks and tropes that have become hallmarks are no longer groundbreaking, and there isn’t much left for Souls proper to achieve. As such, the run-of-the-mill quality of the experience offered here just doesn’t cut it anymore. While I still hold some hope that the second (and final) piece of DLC will be more substantial, Ashes of Ariandel illustrates exactly why Souls needs to end for the foreseeable future.
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  3. Gamer.no
    Nov 9, 2016
    70
    Ashes of Ariandel attempts to tackle too many things at once, and loses focus. There are few negatives about the expansion in itself, it just doesn't have enough content. FROM had the potential to make a great expansion to the series, but put its efforts into developing the wrong aspect of the game.
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