Dark Souls III

Newcomers can jump in, old fans will experience lots of ties to the previous games both visually and lore wise, and if this is indeed the final Dark Souls game in the series, it went out with its monster arms swinging high! It’s fitting that the end would come like this, not dead and buried but at the pinnacle of its hollowed life.

Dark Souls III is a game that harnesses nostalgia masterfully. There’s no doubt that this is a game that’s as much love letter to fans as anything else. There’s a bit more exposition, tons of familiar faces and nods to the original game, and a sense that we’re travelling back to a place we haven’t been in a long time. There’s a sadness to this adventure, but also a kind of joy.

Dark Souls 3 is the final Miyazaki Master Piece. Evolves the basics of Souls saga perfectly and offers brilliant level designs, more variety of enemies, deep customization character and some of the most epic boss battles ever seen.

Dark Souls 3 should serve as an example of a game that not only serves existing fans extremely well, but isn’t so obtuse in its approach that it can’t be picked up by a newbie and enjoyed, just as much as I did.

A unique concept polished to perfection by evolution - without any compromises along the way. Dark Souls 3 is beautiful, with great art direction and equally wonderful music. An outstanding effort by FromSoftware and a phenomenal ending for the series.

From Software's amazing streak continues with Dark Souls III, which amounts to the finest game in the series. Returning players will find everything they've grown to love in a much better form, while newbies will be treated to the most accessible Souls to date.

Dark Souls 3 completes the epic trilogy in the best way possible. It manages to be fresh and simultaneously so familiar. So, embrace the darkness and when you emerge victorious you can proudly shout to the heavens: Praise the Sun!

Dark Souls III is everything I could have wished for as a fan, and a marvelous conclusion to one of the greatest modern trilogies.

Dark Souls III is one of the greatest entries of this awesome franchise. Its small, but significant changes in gameplay and difficult, makes this game one of the best experience of this year.

Dark Souls 3 is the final game in the franchise according to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, and the game is clearly designed with the previous two installments in mind and with ideas taken from both Bloodborne and Demon's Souls, to create a balanced, accessible and beautiful experience.

If you're into Dark Souls games, I can tell you right now that Dark Souls 3 will probably be your game of the year. It's exactly what you want from a Dark Souls game. It's a lot of Dark Souls with a touch of Bloodborne, a dash of Dark Souls II and a hint of Demon's Souls. It's, admittedly, not a lot of anything new. But it's brilliant nonetheless.

If Dark Souls 3 truly is the last in the series as we know it, then it’s a worthy send-off. Weapon arts allow stylish and versatile new moves without tarnishing the purity of the combat system. Lothric’s awe-inspiring locations provide visually stunning arenas for rigorous exploration and fierce face-offs with hosts of deadly enemies and even deadlier bosses. While not all the risky changes land as neatly as others, Dark Souls 3 is a powerful journey and the sequel the series truly deserves.

Dark Souls III is like a Greatest Hits collection of the Souls series. Exciting combat, detailed surroundings and active multiplayer combine to make an addicting adventure which only suffers from the odd technical glitch. [May 2016]

Sprawling level design, thrilling combat, and masterful indirect storytelling make Dark Souls 3 the best Dark Souls yet.

It's hard to say if Dark Souls III is the best entry in the series, but it's the most modern and dynamic title of the entire saga that excels with a perfectly balanced level design and some memorable boss fights.

Dark Souls III is beautiful and terrifying all in one. Intense, atmospheric and so cruel. An essential game for RPG fans and one of the very best games of 2016 thus far.

Dark Souls 3 is a never-ending maze, filled with brilliant secrets, dark perils and wonderful treasures. Bear in mind that losing yourself in such a world has its price and that price is endurance. It can get frustrating to the core, but facing up to the challenge feels grand.

Dark Souls III is almost perfect as an ending to the series. Miyazaki and his team did a great job in storytelling and gameplay mechanics. But unfortunately, if you're a veteran Dark Souls player, it hardly surprises you in the sense of gameplay.

Despite an inconsistent frame rate once again hindering the console versions, Dark Souls III is still an undeniable success. Before playing, we felt ready to say goodbye to the series, looking forward to whatever From Software gave us next. Yet after finishing, it's hard not wanting more. Few companies can craft a world so completely enthralling. Whether you've played every entry, started with Bloodborne, or are brand new, this is a game you should absolutely make time for.

Not the best port, but not the worst either. The game, on the other hand, is one of the best you'll ever play. [Issue#250, p.65]

This new entry banks its entire identity on being the sum of parts we've seen before, and the sense of familiarity can be too much at times for series vets.

Its framework is supported so strongly by Dark Souls I that at times I sensed the game desperately wished to recapture the sacred “something” of its predecessor. Having to stand on the shoulders of such a giant is a tough task that Dark Souls III does tremendously well and it provides a fitting conclusion to such a decorated series.

You start off as a weak, undead wanderer and eventually grow into a being that can kill god-like monsters, and it’s not because the game’s narrative needs you to be that powerful, but because you’ve worked so very hard to get to that point. It’s an incredible feeling, and makes Dark Souls III an incredible game.

Dark Souls 3 isn’t here to redesign the formula or to reimagine the way the Souls games play. Instead, it’s refined the game style that FromSoftware have been experimenting with since Demon’s Souls and it honestly feels like they’ve found the perfect balance between the style of each games.

Dark Souls III is an excellent, superbly designed game that looks and works very well. If the series had begun with this installment, it could have been deemed one of the best videogames in history. But there is a long heritage of From Software's productions and DSIII isn't really unique although its quality is very high. It's probably the best Dark Souls there can be - a must have for fans.

With Souls titles now a pseudo-genre of their own, there’s an inevitable familiarity to the rewarding challenges, deft storytelling, and intricate, shortcut-laden level design of Dark Souls 3. But familiarity alone should not detract from this third title’s fine implementation of ideas and mechanics. The enigma may be waning, but there’s still nothing quite like a Souls game.

If you’re a Souls fan, you should play this game, and if you haven’t yet dug into this nightmarish world, Dark Souls III is an excellent place to start.

Devout followers of the Souls series will immediately discover that Dark Souls III is in many respects more of the same, and the majority of them couldn't be happier with that judgment.

Dark Souls used to feel like a gigantic trap. Dark Souls 3, for better and for worse, feels like home. The third in the trilogy is bewitching while it lasts, but may not leave you wanting more.

Miyazaki has found the best way to close the Dark Souls trilogy. In terms of gameplay, Dark Souls 3 has the same taste of the previous chapters, and is not as original and fresh as Bloodborne has been. A great number of improvements, still, refine the formula and create another impressive action RPG. Dark Souls 3 is infused with a cruel beauty; its world -assembled with pieces from Lordran and Yharnam and Boletaria - represents a place where any fan would love to wander.

Dark Souls III won’t be for everyone and it doesn’t shy away from the deserved reputation of being difficult. Persevere, however, and the rewards are plenty. I feel like I repeat myself with every release of this franchise but it’s the god’s honest truth: no other video game makes you feel so empowered and awesome. Tackling the game’s numerous obstacles, big and small, is a major accomplishment. And the pride and exhilaration one feels from a Dark Souls game is a lot like getting wrapped up in a blanket, fresh from the dryer, on a cold and rainy night.

Dark Souls 3 oozes loving detail at every seam, and is at the very height of craftsmanship in the action RPG genre. Sometimes it is too poised at being more of a greatest hits album of the franchise than a proper sequel, but maybe that was the intent. From Software knows how dearly fans love this series, and they have reciprocated that love tenfold with this game. Dark Souls taught us that nothing lasts forever. From the largest star to the smallest bonfire, sooner or later every fire fizzles out. For now at least, it is time to bid farewell to this franchise, and Dark Souls 3 is as wonderful a send off as any we could have hoped for.

Those already tightly entrenched in the series won’t have anything to scoff at. Significantly improved over its predecessor, Dark Souls III will have players immersed in the deep and rich fiction that From Software is known for.

Dark Souls III is, in many ways, a balancing of past accomplishments. The detailed yet obfuscating narrative of Dark Souls, the convenient travel system of Dark Souls II, a dash of the speed found in Bloodborne, and the rock solid backbone of strenuous, fulfilling challenge that runs throughout the entire series...Any player who’s been through this mill is prepared to die, but once more, that fantastic beacon of hope urging players to press forward and overcome each obstacle is shining as bright as ever. Because that’s what Dark Souls is all about – perishing, persevering, and prevailing. No game series comes close to doing what Dark Souls does, and Dark Souls III has done it again. It’s an undead favorite.

Despite the odd issues I ran into with the game, be it performance related, or gameplay related (mobs of enemies don’t always make a game harder FromSoftware), Dark Souls 3 is a gargantuan step up from Dark Souls 2 in terms of design...From Software has included a lot for players to mess around with, and between the various armor sets, locations, weapons and enemies to get acquainted with, Dark Souls 3 is one behemoth of a game that could stand at the top of the entire series in terms of quality.

It is rare that 70 hours go by like nothing, and yet I still do not want to part with the gamepad. Dark Souls 3 definitely manages to bring the series to an epic conclusion, but playing it relatively safe in the process. Other than Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 doesn’t temper with the formula. Not that many new elements get introduced and absolutely no risks are taken. But the great things within the game definitely outweigh such minor complaints. With its thought through level-architecture, great boss-fights, complex combat-system and amazing art design, Dark Souls 3 will satisfy fans of the franchise as well as newcomers.

Dark Souls 3 is the great game everyone expected it to be. There’s no denying that. Two late game bosses are absolutely off-the-wall fantastic. But in hindsight having played it, I can’t help feeling that there’s not much room for the series to go if From Software insists on such a breakneck pace with sequels. Much like Bloodborne just felt like Souls in a different place, Dark Souls 3 feels like “more of the same” a little too often.

DS3 would’ve made an excellent sequel to original Dark Souls, but, as it is the trilogy finale, we expected something more than simply retreading familiar paths. On the other hand, it still has the series’ best feature – mystery. While other developers happily shove everything of interest in their games in player’s face, FromSoftware consciously conceals important details from casual observer. And for this unique approach, a lot of shortcomings can be forgiven. [Issue#208, p.44]

Dark Souls III isn’t the kind of melancholy original that Demon’s Souls was, and it doesn’t pivot to another genre like Bloodborne turned toward horror. Instead it leans into the absurdity of bringing together every idea the series ever had and throws a pretty amazing going-away party for it.

A necessary conclusion to the Souls saga, Dark Souls III may not be the best entry in the series but its quality is undeniable despite performance shortcomings and less content than its predecessors. Farewell, Souls games.

Everything about Dark Souls III is great, but it fails to push the series forward. Bloodborne and both previous Souls squash it in terms of ambition. DkS3 is like a compilation album by your favorite band – you enjoy listening to it because you love these songs despite having heard them so many times before, but there’s no room for even a tiniest surprise. [06/2016, p.34]

In most games there is a simple pleasure of success that accompanies them. The payoff for Dark Souls isn't guaranteed, but goes somewhat deeper than that. It feels a little more like genuine accomplishment, found in small does along the way and promised in large measure when you finally find yourself skilled at this wonderfully unique little corner of the gaming world.

It's better than Dark Souls 2, weaker than the first one: it's a good completion to the trilogy, but it doesn't create new milestones.

I may not have like this iteration as much as the rest, but it's still streets ahead of most current action games and deserves a warm spot on your shelf by the bonfire.

Dark Souls III is still often a frustrating game to play, especially after dying and repeating a section a number of times. But it is when you overcome those difficult scenarios – especially those that involve one of the many boss battles – that Dark Souls III shines through.

It seems that From Software has finally realized that bad game design decisions were a poor addition to an already uncompromising game, and fixed them, while keeping the same level of ruthlessness.

A dark action-RPG as you know it. Unforgiving and difficult, but rewarding. It boasts with great music and perfect design. Inconveniences such as bad interface or occasional strange targeting system can be overlooked. If you do not have enough after the first two episodes, you'll enjoy Dark Souls III.

Still, the game remains a great example of how to accomplish a finale, and once the issues are ironed out, Dark Souls III is another near-masterpiece in the genre.

If this is to be the last of the classic Dark Souls titles, then Dark Souls III is a great way to finish the trilogy.

With its handsomely-crafted labyrinths and rigorously paced combat, Dark Souls 3 hits all the notes that aficionados have come to expect. Still, I hope Miyazaki’s next creation finds a new way to cut against the grain.

My recommendation for the PC build has to come with a firmer qualification. Yes, I still really enjoyed my time with Dark Souls 3 on PC. Yes, I’ll probably play through at least one run of NG+. But my enjoyment was seriously impacted by the unpredictable performance and crashing.

Dark Souls 3 is exactly what fans want, more of the same. There are new elements to be sure, but overall the game is the same great action RPG formula as the previous games. Unfortunately this also means some pieces that should have been updated weren't. On top of this are some performance issues and a lackluster targeting system. Still, longtime fans will overlook these with ease. Newcomers will find a more accepting entry for the franchise, though the massive challenge is still there, and don't expect to understand all of the intricate mechanics that the game never really explains to you.

There are several possible endings to Dark Souls III, and although most are anticlimactic, they drive home the loneliness of the paths we took. The old lords have abandoned their posts, and in the hunt to usurp them, we descend into those dark valleys, and climb those imposing peaks. This is the essence of Dark Souls III: periods of doubt, followed by great reward. The journey may be rocky, but there's a throne waiting at the end.

Dark Souls 3 was clearly tailored to draw dedicated fans back in for one final adventure, though it’s nice to see From Software also put some effort into making the signature combat more accessible to casual players. Still, if you’re thinking of picking the game up on launch day, I’d advise you to wait and see if the infamously bad framerate issues have been addressed.