Dark Souls III

 PlayStation 4
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 5171 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,678 out of 5171
  2. Mixed: 199 out of 5171
  3. Negative: 294 out of 5171
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  1. willerkiller
    Aug 9, 2016
    10
    From Software has done it again! Breathtaking visuals, brutal top-notch gameplay and the series staple mysterious but intriguing lore makes Dark Souls III a must-have for fans of dark fantasy. Along with those seeking a rewarding challenge that will test their mettle in intricate skill-based combat. This is the genre of Action RPG at its finest and in the years to follow numerousFrom Software has done it again! Breathtaking visuals, brutal top-notch gameplay and the series staple mysterious but intriguing lore makes Dark Souls III a must-have for fans of dark fantasy. Along with those seeking a rewarding challenge that will test their mettle in intricate skill-based combat. This is the genre of Action RPG at its finest and in the years to follow numerous developers shall be hoping to emulate what this masterfully crafted trilogy has managed to accomplish. Take a step into this forlorn, nihilistic and beautiful world. You will not be disappointed.… Expand
  2. adrenilinmatt
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    Just started playing this last night, already clocked 9 hours, the graphics are stunning, combat is fluid and the music and voice acting IS PHENOMENAL. I love dark souls so much and if this truly is the final dark souls game, itll be a sad day for us all. But bittersweet, because we're sent off with a final stunning entry in this amazing series. Thank you FromSoftware.
  3. Jpwr39
    Apr 13, 2016
    6
    I'm a diehard Sun Bro and have been Praisin' for years. Since Demon Souls first came out actually. But why am I disappointed with this game? While some of the visual effects have been improved, the overall graphics have not. Lords of the Fallen and Bloodborne both look better. They definitely have not pushed any boundaries there.
    Next, the camera. I'm tired of fighting it. It's OP. During    I'm a diehard Sun Bro and have been Praisin' for years. Since Demon Souls first came out actually. But why am I disappointed with this game? While some of the visual effects have been improved, the overall graphics have not. Lords of the Fallen and Bloodborne both look better. They definitely have not pushed any boundaries there.
    Next, the camera. I'm tired of fighting it. It's OP. During the first boss battle there were multiple times where the target selected icon came off the boss randomly and the camera lost its bearings. At one point while standing on a scaffolding with a enemy beneath me I started to spin fast. The enemy below me was doing a spin to win attack and here is me above him spinning in place . WTF
    Lastly, the game doesn't feel new enough or different enough to me. Lots of the same weapons and shields from DS2, lots of the same Miracles from DS2. There is just too much of it that feels recycled from DS2 and Bloodborne. I told my wife about the game and how excited for it that I was and she asked yesterday "Did you get your new game?" I said "Yeah hun, I'm playing it right now". She said "Oh, it looks exactly like the other one you were playing." Pretty much.    … Expand
  4. leaveit
    Apr 13, 2016
    5
    It's the best game ever since the one that was released last week, until the next one that comes out next week.

    Netcode, controls, animation skeletons, bosses, AI opponents (somehow actually worse than Scholar), pretty much every item and spell and miracle, the nun-filled choir, you've seen it all before and I suspect you will be seeing it again. One notable difference is the    It's the best game ever since the one that was released last week, until the next one that comes out next week.

    Netcode, controls, animation skeletons, bosses, AI opponents (somehow actually worse than Scholar), pretty much every item and spell and miracle, the nun-filled choir, you've seen it all before and I suspect you will be seeing it again.

    One notable difference is the addition of focus points i.e. mana, a concept done to death in video games and which is yet another stat that the bosses have an endless supply of in a vain attempt to pad out the game's difficulty.

    You will run past enemies like never before; in the beginning there is an AI opponent that is harder than the boss that comes 3 minutes before him and which will have twice your hitpoints and do twice your damage while naked.

    As usual the bosses require you to summon or have incredible equipment or else be murdered when they accidentally slap you with their testicles, the former of which means you have to reverse hollowing (called "embered" colloquially, or "enkindled" due to new sparking shader that circumvents needing to produce a hollow-version-model of yourself) and thus engage in multiplay.

    Sadly, as has been the case since Dark Souls 1, the netcode is a horrible joke and it can take well over an hour to connect to a 10 minute co-op session, if you are so lucky; meanwhile you can be invaded by people that don't know what they're doing and will confusedly lag stab you until they fall off a cliff.

    An utterly mediocre entry in a mostly overrated series hallmarked by its imitation of NES Dragon's Lair difficulty - training you to repeat patterns over and over forever, retreading the same content about 10 times longer than you would need to otherwise. Because it has gathered a following, your more suggestible friends will probably act like it's some seminal work of video game design even though each one is basically Demon's Souls but worse (perhaps progressively so), which in turn was basically Severance: Blade of Darkness, Die by the Sword, or Rune but with more interesting multiplayer and more gameplay padding.

    If you've never played video games before or have been chided for being ignorant, gullible, or uncultured then go ahead and give it a go - the whirlwind of Carrollesque imagery, Zen-like narrative and game design, and feeling of having accomplished the task of memorizing every enemy's attack patterns is sure to impress. Otherwise, save your money.    … Expand
  5. HiradGorgoroth
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    It's really early to say but this game is just amazing. The graphics look fantastic and the sound is just stunning. I really took 30 minutes to listen to its soundtracks. Overall, as I spent only 4 hours on this game, it still feels great ... totally worth it
  6. mattythoburn
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    What an amazing game, 5 hours in, fought that first big boss, the map design is very reminiscent of dark souls 1 which makes me a happy man. Graphics are stunning, worth the framerate sacrifice on consoles by miles. I love this game. The framerate would take it down to a 9.7 for me, but since you can't do decimal points here, we're rounding up to that 10 happily.
  7. doug_quaid
    Apr 15, 2016
    4
    Ok, I realize the reviews here are a wall of 10's, but I have to put my honest opinion here. First off I'm coming directly from Bloodborne, which I beat four times/loved, and haven't played any of the previous Souls games, so I'm going to be biased - for anyone else coming straight from Bloodborne, beware!

    I just don't like the feel of the combat mechanics in Dark Souls 3. Bloodborne    Ok, I realize the reviews here are a wall of 10's, but I have to put my honest opinion here. First off I'm coming directly from Bloodborne, which I beat four times/loved, and haven't played any of the previous Souls games, so I'm going to be biased - for anyone else coming straight from Bloodborne, beware!

    I just don't like the feel of the combat mechanics in Dark Souls 3. Bloodborne was lightning fast, free-flowing, elegant, extremely responsive, almost Street Fighter level controls, combos and counters. Dark Souls feels like you're moving through molasses, fighting the controls (and camera) every step of the way. In Bloodborne with some finesse and dodging you can take on a room full of enemies, In Dark Souls you have to pull one at a time, even 2-3 guys is generally being cornered/death. Bloodborne encourages lightning-fast reaction times and pushing forward with aggression when you're wounded, Dark Souls rewards a slow, heavy armor, plodding, hiding behind a shield/turtling style.

    Lastly the art style - Bloodborne was an incredibly rich, detailed, nuanced, eerie, Lovecraftian nightmare, while Dark Souls seems to embrace this generic Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones type fantasy environment with an undead vibe. Crumbling towers, dungeons, dragons, evil forest, swamps, check, check. I'm just not digging the art style, and it feels like a huge step backwards from Bloodborne quality and detail-wise.

    I gave up and returned the game after about 15 hours and 6-7 bosses. I just can't hack it, it's just not that fun. Every death in Bloodborne felt like it was teaching me patterns and making me improve - every death in this game feels annoying because you were fighting the controls instead of the boss.

    Sorry guys! I know I'm a dissenting opinion in a wall of perfect 10 reviews here and everyone seems to just love it, but I'm not just not feeling it. Here's to hoping Bloodborne 2 is being developed next!    … Expand
  8. SpawnCap
    Apr 14, 2016
    1
    Not worth all of the praise it receives. Any other game series would be ridiculed for putting out the same exact game over and over I don't see why this game isn't. It is the SAME EXACT game as all the other Souls games. Assassin's Creed games are more different from each other than the differences between the Souls games. Demon Souls and Bloodborne were the only titles that were newNot worth all of the praise it receives. Any other game series would be ridiculed for putting out the same exact game over and over I don't see why this game isn't. It is the SAME EXACT game as all the other Souls games. Assassin's Creed games are more different from each other than the differences between the Souls games. Demon Souls and Bloodborne were the only titles that were new and different. Go play Dark Souls if you want to play all three Dark Souls games because when you have played one you have essentially played all three.… Expand
  9. mwil236
    Jul 30, 2016
    10
    Granted, I am reviewing the game from the perspective of a Souls fan, but even non-Soulers are encouraged to take a crack at DS3. The best thing about it, probably, is that it is not Dark Souls 2. It hearkens back to Dark Souls but maintains series classics like impossible-to-follow "quests," the killing of several primary bosses to advance, poison swamp levels and brutal gameplay.Granted, I am reviewing the game from the perspective of a Souls fan, but even non-Soulers are encouraged to take a crack at DS3. The best thing about it, probably, is that it is not Dark Souls 2. It hearkens back to Dark Souls but maintains series classics like impossible-to-follow "quests," the killing of several primary bosses to advance, poison swamp levels and brutal gameplay. Potentially less difficult than Dark Souls but certainly harder and more satisfying than Dark Souls 2, it is the true heir apparent to the Dark Souls series. An excellent game, no questions asked.… Expand
  10. Niksen
    Jun 25, 2019
    8
    Dark Souls 3 has a stunning fighting mechanic that allows the player to have fun during the entire game. Fighting enemies, save and dodge attacks feel like a symphony. Unfortunately, the story is rarefied and the technical realization gives space for improvement.
  11. BarelyLewd
    Mar 14, 2019
    9
    A great way for From Software to end a trilogy, this game doe's not upset, it's just as good as the first which is saying something, I'm sad to see Dark Souls shelved for now, but I'm incredibly eager to see what From brings to the table next.
  12. kaltunakar2
    Dec 29, 2019
    10
    Unbelievable atmosphere weapons bosses and music..miyazaki is really genius...i cant believr this game rreleased 3 years ago
  13. WiseLich
    Jul 3, 2020
    10
    This game is a drug. I just can't stop playing it over and over again. Send help.
  14. Saky
    Jul 18, 2020
    10
    Is it really THAT good?
    No. It's even better. From atmosphere and soundtrack, to gameplay and everything in between is a pure work of art!
  15. DeusXCom
    Aug 13, 2016
    8
    From the perspective a of a Souls veteran who put thousands of hours into previous titles, I'm actually glad that this is supposed to be the last one. While it's still pretty good Souls material, it has it's moments and I really enjoyed my playthroughs, I must say, this has been my least favourite entry in the series.

    It lacks it's own unique flavor, most places you visit, you feel like    From the perspective a of a Souls veteran who put thousands of hours into previous titles, I'm actually glad that this is supposed to be the last one. While it's still pretty good Souls material, it has it's moments and I really enjoyed my playthroughs, I must say, this has been my least favourite entry in the series.

    It lacks it's own unique flavor, most places you visit, you feel like you've been there before, most NPC's you meet you feel like you've met before, most items and weapons are straight up copy-paste from previous games, it just feels like playing the same thing all over again, I appreciate the nostalgic tidbits here and there, but this went a little bit too far, whole experience felt too repetitive, like all previous Souls titles mixed together without creating it's own unique identity.

    It's still an amazing game that's worth playing through at least once, but the thing is, Demon Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne were true masterpieces, even Dark Souls 2 while it had some problems, I enjoyed it more, mainly for it's amazing multiplayer/pvp/covenants, which is another area where DS3 is seriously lacking. The fact that it's probably the most linear of all Souls games doesn't help either and severely hurts replayability.

    To end the review on a praising the sun note, world design is again top notch here, very complex especially in it's verticality, some areas such as Irithyll are just beautiful, gameplay is still fun, bosses that stand out this time for me were Abyss Watchers, Dancer or Nameless King. Some of the lore elements were very interesting, entire questline with Yuria and lord of hollows, mysteries around Londor or children of Gwynevere, very good stuff and it made me go back for some more digging, so as I said, still a great game and a suiting end to the franchise, but...

    I hope this was truly the last Souls title and I'm looking forward to see something really new from From Soft next time, because the talent is absolutely still there, they just need to focus on new ideas instead of rehashing the old ones. 8/10    … Expand
  16. Bndr
    Jun 26, 2016
    8
    Thes game is amazing and i have a great time but there is that thing they add cold softband wear the players gat banded from playing with normal people you can just play wthe people that softband like you .you will get softband for cachet or take items from hackers but i got softband many many time for no reason i just invid someone and then i got to my world and I just realized that imThes game is amazing and i have a great time but there is that thing they add cold softband wear the players gat banded from playing with normal people you can just play wthe people that softband like you .you will get softband for cachet or take items from hackers but i got softband many many time for no reason i just invid someone and then i got to my world and I just realized that im softband for no reason that why I gave it 8… Expand
  17. ocmasterrace
    Jul 8, 2016
    10
    This game feels so rewarding. Playing Dark Soul III is hard but so satisfying. The game reward you when you explore and discover new items and areas. It's fantastic style and soundtrack/sound effects will get you immerse the whole time you play. Its a truly good and hard game to finish. Understanding everything in this game is not easy, it makes you think about how deep is this game. IThis game feels so rewarding. Playing Dark Soul III is hard but so satisfying. The game reward you when you explore and discover new items and areas. It's fantastic style and soundtrack/sound effects will get you immerse the whole time you play. Its a truly good and hard game to finish. Understanding everything in this game is not easy, it makes you think about how deep is this game. I would buy again.… Expand
  18. aesthethicc
    Aug 9, 2016
    8
    After finishing the game, (around 38 hours; including all the boss fights) I have to say I enjoyed this game a lot. The characters and vague lore intrigue me and the design is impeccable. Classes are very different and appeal to every type of play-style. Combat is thankfully not hard due to high HP & DMG opponents, but because of their moves. This allows people to actually get better atAfter finishing the game, (around 38 hours; including all the boss fights) I have to say I enjoyed this game a lot. The characters and vague lore intrigue me and the design is impeccable. Classes are very different and appeal to every type of play-style. Combat is thankfully not hard due to high HP & DMG opponents, but because of their moves. This allows people to actually get better at the game, but without merely getting better "weapons and armor" (Ex. Destiny) Game was good length as well. Soundtrack was extremely well produced and adds a lot of intensity to boss fights. Only negative things I found was that a lot of the locations look the same (have the grey pallet) and can get boring. There are a few exceptions, but the majority are boring and dull, due to the same color pallet, which consists of mostly shades. Secondly, NG+ and on gets boring as there is nothing new added to the game except for higher stats on enemies and the same items, but 1+, 2+, 3+, etc.… Expand
  19. Random_Thoughts
    Jul 18, 2019
    9
    Amazing game but formsoft played it a little safe .. too similar to DS1 & removed some cool editions in DS2 like hexes & power stancing
  20. HugeyBear
    Feb 16, 2019
    10
    A game that gets better and better the more you play it. Breathtaking. Love making builds and being challenged in combat? Buy it. Also played all the DLCs. Brilliant.
  21. radd2000
    Jan 13, 2021
    10
    A masterpiece of brooding epic fantasy with incredible moments and depth that more than make up for any small bugs or such. Jaw dropping game, in so many ways, and a great entry point for souls.
  22. trendkill87
    Mar 10, 2017
    10
    Huge souls fan and this game in my opinion is perfect and I also honestly believe it's not as hard as some people say it is. It has a huge amount of variety of bosses enemies plus a ton of different builds to try. If I had to pick one criticism of the game it's that the first DLC isn't very long and I finished it in 3 hours, but the game is so good it's a forgivable flaw. The new DLC comesHuge souls fan and this game in my opinion is perfect and I also honestly believe it's not as hard as some people say it is. It has a huge amount of variety of bosses enemies plus a ton of different builds to try. If I had to pick one criticism of the game it's that the first DLC isn't very long and I finished it in 3 hours, but the game is so good it's a forgivable flaw. The new DLC comes out at the end if this month and it should hopefully be the end of one of the greatest game series out there.… Expand
  23. KingVilla1n
    May 3, 2019
    6
    Конечно, из-за возвращения Миядзаки, чувствуется и возвращение той самой мрачной атмосферы, за которую все и полюбили Dark Souls. После концептуального провала Dark Souls 2 от Юи Танимуры, Dark Souls 3 действительно выглядит внушительно и более талантливо. Однако, присмотревшись пристальней, уже можно заметить зияющую дыру творческого кризиса серии. Не просто так, после релиза игры,Конечно, из-за возвращения Миядзаки, чувствуется и возвращение той самой мрачной атмосферы, за которую все и полюбили Dark Souls. После концептуального провала Dark Souls 2 от Юи Танимуры, Dark Souls 3 действительно выглядит внушительно и более талантливо. Однако, присмотревшись пристальней, уже можно заметить зияющую дыру творческого кризиса серии. Не просто так, после релиза игры, Миядзаки стал заявлять во всех интервью, что с Dark Souls покончено и если Namco и потребует еще одно продолжение, то оно уже точно будет не от него.
    Фансервис, куча великолепного вырезанного контента (бой Оцейроса с применением младенца или появление первородных змеев Кааса и Фрамтпа), невнятные попытки высмеивания христианства в лоре (Dark Souls скатывающийся в социальную сатиру с жирными ангелами и узурпацией Анор Лондо Понтификом и попами), и многое другое обесценили Dark Souls 3 и сделали его неким фантомом, пустой вспышкой, которая ничего в себе не несет. И конечно никогда не встанет в ровень с Demon's Souls, Dark Souls и Bloodborne.    … Expand
  24. ViniciusBrito
    Mar 29, 2018
    10
    Dark Souls 3 complete and get to the end of the Souls saga story, and i have to say, how it is so similar do the first one, like do almost the exact same thing, but it's incredible how it doesn't feel repetitious at all. This happens because of the hole amount of variety that it give to us, in every aspect. If you enjoyed the first one, you will also with this.
    I loved how they like to    Dark Souls 3 complete and get to the end of the Souls saga story, and i have to say, how it is so similar do the first one, like do almost the exact same thing, but it's incredible how it doesn't feel repetitious at all. This happens because of the hole amount of variety that it give to us, in every aspect. If you enjoyed the first one, you will also with this.
    I loved how they like to tell the stories/lore here, they don't just thorw in your face for you to watch and listen, you need to go for it and put the pieces together. They did put a bunch of explanations about bosses, group of people and npc's stories in the description of their itens, like in armors or spells that when you gather you have a piece of the lore. They also did this with talking with npc's wich are pretty much all optional, so you really need to go after it if you want to understand.
    They did added phases and powers for various weapons, very much like bloodborne, they have different abillities that could be with lightining, sorcery and others, you can use those pressing L2 and gonna consume your blue bar, wich was another addiction, that maked sense, then you can't use thoose powers all the time and get to overpower. Another adding was the bosses different phases, when you get their life to the half, most of them does transform or start using different type of powers, that's great, because it gives to the battle more diversity and makes you change your move set.
    The places are all formidable, the universe building is fantastic, you can see that they did have fondness to do it, are all pretty different, one place to another, the enemies change, the places still all connected and you will always be finding shortcuts, is beautiful how they did it once again. there is one specific place that if you played the others, i swear that you gonna feel a nostalgia in a great way, how they did reconstructed the place but now destroyed, damn, when you see that coming is just fantastic, it's perfect.
    Another thing that we have in here, is that are a bunch of optional places with bosses to go, places that for you to go, is needed to pay attention in what you have and what the place say to you, kind like the doll in the first one.
    To not say that i didn't say one bad thing about the movie, they did removed the cut the tail, before you always caught some weapon doing this, in this one, for some reason, the took it off, and personally, i tough that was pretty cool.
    It was improved the online even more, now we have the possibility to put keys in our games, and then when the friend put the sign on the ground it will automatically show to the other person, and then you will be able to play, this is great. They did put one place that even after you kill the boss of the area you are still able to be invaded and summon people, for pvp, this is another great idea that they did had, because now you don't have to start a new journey, if you don't want to, to play pvp.
    The gameplay is pretty much just like the first one, not fast as bloodborne, but it works, you can get used to easily.
    The customization for faces and stuff like that still simple, but inside the world is fantastic, there is a numerous quantity of armours, and here, different than the others, it doesn't make a lot of difference once that you are using something, wich is great, because then when you go online, each person is different, is using some different armour, different than the first one when everybody used that giant stuff, in dark souls 3 you will use the one that is more stylish for you.
    So basically the game is insanely great, you will have fun, difficulty and will be entretained for a bunch of hours. But if you played the first one and for some reason disliked it, i don't think that you will enjoy this one. But if you did so, no question, just play it.    … Expand
  25. Suffering
    Dec 30, 2016
    10
    Dark souls veteran I've played every title of the soul series they're all masterpieces in gaming perfection definitely take some time for this hard style of gaming to grow on American gamers people need a lot of handholding these days if you need handholding this game is Not for you you might need to wiki some stuff look it up on Google learn how to play get good and all that if you giveDark souls veteran I've played every title of the soul series they're all masterpieces in gaming perfection definitely take some time for this hard style of gaming to grow on American gamers people need a lot of handholding these days if you need handholding this game is Not for you you might need to wiki some stuff look it up on Google learn how to play get good and all that if you give up too easily you're sorely missing out on some serious core professional gameplay yes the game has its flaws but you'd have to sink millions more dollars into these titles to polish them i've heard rumors of remasters coming out so let's pray for revamped gameplay and true remasters not just ports because these games rock my brother calls himself a hard-core gamer and he's never played a souls game don't mean to be critical but you're not a core gamer if you have never played a souls game , sinister invasions and co-op and epic boss battles that just don't exist in any other game , dark souls one was probably the best of the series with the co-op invasions and all the covenants you could join let's hope for a remaster… Expand
  26. Pmstz
    Jan 31, 2023
    9
    masterpiece

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  27. GamergodsFail
    Apr 20, 2016
    7
    Actually deserves a 7.5, and here's why...

    In its current form, Dark Souls III is a relatively buggy, generic and repetitious combination of all the Souls games that came before it, in all the right and wrong ways. To make it more disappointing, it does very little to bring anything new or innovative to the franchise. It is simply, and annually, more of the same. PROS: - Amazing    Actually deserves a 7.5, and here's why...

    In its current form, Dark Souls III is a relatively buggy, generic and repetitious combination of all the Souls games that came before it, in all the right and wrong ways. To make it more disappointing, it does very little to bring anything new or innovative to the franchise. It is simply, and annually, more of the same.

    PROS:

    - Amazing story/lore tied closely to the first Dark Souls game. When fans say this is "the sequel we deserve", they mostly mean it in this way.
    - The music. By far my personal favorite soundtrack in the series, and that includes Bloodborne.
    - The design of the world and the bosses are an improvement over DS2.
    - The option to return to the game after beating the story instead of automatically starting over. DS2 shared the same feature.
    - Introduction of "Ashen Flasks" for your Focus Points (magic)

    CONS:
    - It's very linear, even more than it was in DS2.
    - Glitches. Poor framerate in some spots are understandable, but since when does a Souls game have bugs?
    - Enemy AI is often broken, and their tracking of your movements are all over the place.
    - I can upgrade weapons and shields, but not armor?
    - Not as long or as deep as the other two Dark Souls games, it will take the average Souls vet no more than 40-45 hours to explore everything and beat every boss. In the other two it took around 60-70.

    Overall a little disappointed as a fan of the series, but it was still a decent game in general. Perhaps I will bring it up to an 8 after the updates fix all the bugs and any AI issues.    … Expand
  28. Sprill
    Jan 23, 2017
    10
    This game is amazing. If you've played any of the other souls games there's no way you couldn't love this one just as much. boss battles are not the hardest but still a fun challenge, the environments have never been better. I've made four different characters and liked playing each one more than the last. I highly recommend this game as its my GOTY for 2016.
  29. drlowdon
    Dec 4, 2016
    9
    After three games (five if you count the very similar Demons Souls and Bloodbourne) there is no doubt that this series is starting to feel a little over familiar but the exceptional combat, and superbly intricate design of the game world, ensure that Dark Souls remains a cut above the majority of other titles available on the PS4. Apparently this will be the last in the series and I lookAfter three games (five if you count the very similar Demons Souls and Bloodbourne) there is no doubt that this series is starting to feel a little over familiar but the exceptional combat, and superbly intricate design of the game world, ensure that Dark Souls remains a cut above the majority of other titles available on the PS4. Apparently this will be the last in the series and I look forward to seeing FromSoftware put their talents to use on something new.… Expand
  30. elvistrentin
    Jul 19, 2016
    10
    Just fantastic! Theres no other word to describe this amazing game. I played all the souls games before and i can tell u guyz, this one is really worth your time and money
  31. SimonD00
    Mar 8, 2017
    10
    The game starts of a bit slow but a soon as you get past the first soul of cinder the game picks up the pace and your soon experiencing one of the best games on the PS4 (even tough I know it's not an exclusive) The thing that is most impressive to me is the amazing amount of replay value this game holds. I played through the game 6 times just to try out different kinds of wepons andThe game starts of a bit slow but a soon as you get past the first soul of cinder the game picks up the pace and your soon experiencing one of the best games on the PS4 (even tough I know it's not an exclusive) The thing that is most impressive to me is the amazing amount of replay value this game holds. I played through the game 6 times just to try out different kinds of wepons and classes and after that I just whanted to beat the game as fast as possible. If you can stand the difficulty in this game be sure to pick it up 10/10… Expand
  32. Peetja
    Sep 15, 2016
    10
    Absolutely loved this final installment of Dark souls. The first play through was just incredible learning all the new boss mechanics. The game play is smooth and frame rate is excellent and the music score is to die for! As soon as you step into this world you can see the time and effort that the developers had put into this game from just how beautiful all the surroundings are. I haveAbsolutely loved this final installment of Dark souls. The first play through was just incredible learning all the new boss mechanics. The game play is smooth and frame rate is excellent and the music score is to die for! As soon as you step into this world you can see the time and effort that the developers had put into this game from just how beautiful all the surroundings are. I have not doubt in giving this game 10/10… Expand
  33. mikepatyaev
    Oct 6, 2016
    9
    Just started playing this last night, already clocked 9 hours, the graphics are stunning, combat is fluid and the music and voice acting IS PHENOMENAL. I love dark souls so much and if this truly is the final dark souls game, itll be a sad day for us all. But bittersweet, because we're sent off with a final stunning entry in this amazing series. Thank you FromSoftware.
  34. Nagido
    Nov 29, 2016
    8
    It's a Souls game. That's both it's strength and it's weakness.
    It's strength because DkS3 does basically everything better than its predecessors.
    It's weakness, because it doesn't really do anything new. Nothing in the game really managed to surprise or amaze me.
    It' s still a good game, just not "great" or "amazing".
  35. Nath6349
    Dec 7, 2016
    10
    This is not only my game of 2016, but the best game I've played for a long time!

    I bought the game rather tentatively, having never played a Souls game, the challenging nature tempted me but I perceived the game as a medieval fantasy which would not normally interest me. Having now completed the game, I am so glad I tried it, it was incredible all the way through! I would not define the    This is not only my game of 2016, but the best game I've played for a long time!

    I bought the game rather tentatively, having never played a Souls game, the challenging nature tempted me but I perceived the game as a medieval fantasy which would not normally interest me. Having now completed the game, I am so glad I tried it, it was incredible all the way through! I would not define the game as a medieval fantasy but instead as a Gothic Underworld masterpiece.

    The Gothic atmosphere and setting is one of the greatest and lasting aspects of the game. I no longer look at a cathedral or church in the same way, I am expecting there to be skeleton dogs and undead creatures around every corner.

    The tension in the game is immense, when you get past a tough enemy and enter a new area low on estus with lots of souls you tread very carefully in search of that next glorious bonfire. I loved that tension!

    The boss fights are to be feared and embraced! Most of the bosses and incredibly cool and well designed, the battles really reward a patient and calm playstyle, to get past many of the bosses you must first understand the boss before you can pass. Whilst bosses can certainly be frustrating, the reward for defeating them is euphoria!

    It is worth saying that the story and the lore of DS3 is never clear. This is far from a negative strangely but one of its strongest aspects of the game! The description with each new item, weapon or boss soul contains an extra piece of the jigsaw into the plot, the history and the myth! The jigsaw feels huge and every piece unravels just a little more, it becomes more of a search to unlock the mysteries of this land!

    I found myself enjoying this game in unique ways, it is the only game I have ever supplemented with watching a Let's Play on YouTube. When you defeat a tough boss or area, there is nothing more satisfying to re-live it by watching somebody else struggle. I also have watched videos detailing the lore behind the game and still there is so much mystery you can lose yourself in it.

    What makes this game so great is the depth behind the lore, the bosses, the items and the setting. It has created one of the coolest and richest worlds full of myths, mysteries, awe and dread.

    From Software. My Thanks!    … Expand
  36. roarkethan98
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    This is very much so a high quality game. Good graphics, great textures, and amazing style. I love dark souls so much and if this truly is the final dark souls game, itll be a sad day for us all. But bittersweet, because we're sent off with a final stunning entry in this amazing series. Thank you FromSoftware.
  37. Lughheim
    May 6, 2016
    6
    Let me start off by saying, I love the Dark Souls series, and I have thoroughly enjoyed Dark Souls 3. However, this game has disappointed me in more ways than I can count, and honestly, I am extremely angry at From Software for their obvious laziness in creating this game. Let's start out with what is absolutely amazing about this game. First off, the weapons skill system. The new skillLet me start off by saying, I love the Dark Souls series, and I have thoroughly enjoyed Dark Souls 3. However, this game has disappointed me in more ways than I can count, and honestly, I am extremely angry at From Software for their obvious laziness in creating this game. Let's start out with what is absolutely amazing about this game. First off, the weapons skill system. The new skill system that has been implemented in Dark Souls 3 is a ton of fun and a great addition to the game. It gives weapons a whole new purpose and can completely change the way you fight.
    The new enemies that have been added to the game are also very interesting with some terrifying or just plain strange enemy design similar to bloodborne. On top of that, each enemy you encounter has a very unique AI and skill set that will definitely test your limits, without feeling unfair.
    This game took a lot of points from Dark Souls 1 and made a map that was interconnected in various ways, with plenty of side areas you can go and explore for fun. On top of that each side area has plenty of extra loot for you to find, so it is always worth exploring everywhere you possibly can. Add in that these various areas are extremely well made with beautiful and epic visuals, and you have one of the, if not the, best made maps in all of the Dark Souls series.
    The upgrading system has also been updated as well. Now, it is always beneficial for you to infuse your weapons, along with the fact that many new infusions have been added into the game like heavy, sharp, refined, and deep. It is also no longer very hard to find the titanite to upgrade your weapons like the other games in the series. Often, you can farm enemies for almost every single kind of titanite in the game, and can collect more than enough each NG to fully upgrade up to eight weapons.
    Now..... it is time for me to tell you all why this game is such a HUGE let down. It seems that literally none of the issues that plagued this game series ever since its inception have been fixed. The camera angles are just as bad, if not worse than Dark Souls 1. Especially when you get into any kind of small room, or fight a big boss or monster, you will often find you cannot see a single damn thing because your camera is stuck in some wall or pillar.
    They also have not fixed the issue of hitboxes in this game. You will often find yourself being hit by attacks that are very obviously not even close to your actual character. This is especially prevalent in PVP where this issue is compounded by another huge issue in this series which is PVP lag. You will often find your attacks simply do not hit players, or they will suddenly teleport a couple feet every few seconds, or that you will suddenly be backstabbed by a person who literally seemed to teleport behind you. Mix that with the absolutely atrocious hitboxes in this game, and you are just asking for extreme amounts of rage.
    Talking about PVP, I seriously want to ask From Software if they have ever heard of the word 'unbalanced'. This game's PVP system is probably the most broken I have seen in the entire series of Souls games. There are a few weapons and build sets that you can get in the game that will make you able to easily 1 hit kill/1 inescapable combo kill literally anyone, whereas other weapons are like pea shooters in comparison. Add in that there are multiple weapons that have a vastly better moveset than other weapons to the point where it is just completely unfair, and you have DS3 PVP. A good example of this would be the Farron Greatsword and dagger combo weapon versus the Dark Sword. The Dark Sword is a small sword, and should therefore be able to hit much faster than the Greatsword and dagger combo correct? Nope, in this game the greatsword has multiple attacks that are light years faster than the Dark Sword, as well as large sweeping attacks that can take away your entire stamina bar by blocking just once. On top of all of that, the Greatsword and dagger combo weapon also has multiple moves that give them unassailable poise even if they are wearing light armor.
    I am greatly disappointed in this game because of the fact these game breaking issues have still been made into this game and have even been generally accepted by the community. I personally think it is absolutely ridiculous that a big game developer like From Software would release a game with this many glitches and huge issues that have been apparent since the first game. And I assure you, they will never fix any of these issues in any patch so I can rest assured knowing my score on this game won't change. I genuinely enjoy the game and I think it is a great finale to the series, however I cannot get over these huge glaring issues.    … Expand
  38. nonchalantgamer
    May 14, 2016
    9
    Dark Souls 3 is a fitting end to the series with many throwbacks, and superb gameplay systems.

    Gameplay The Combat mechanics are what you would expect from a Souls game, only slightly refined, and the addition of weapon arts is a fun new wrinkle that adds depth to each of the weapons. The exploration is one of the highlights of any From game, and DS3 is no exception. peaking around a    Dark Souls 3 is a fitting end to the series with many throwbacks, and superb gameplay systems.

    Gameplay

    The Combat mechanics are what you would expect from a Souls game, only slightly refined, and the addition of weapon arts is a fun new wrinkle that adds depth to each of the weapons. The exploration is one of the highlights of any From game, and DS3 is no exception. peaking around a corner only to find a rare piece of equipment, or perhaps a Titanite source is always a reviling moment. Or perhaps fighting through tough enemies to reach a drop that benefits you greatly. The sense of scope is also back, with paths that connect, and being able to look down upon a path you just traveled through hours before is satisfying.

    Story

    The lore is as always obtuse, and cryptic, however it is there if you chose to look, and listen. The game is not to hard to grasp but the further you poke your nose the more engrossed you become with the world. Also for souls veterans such as myself there are many callbacks to the original DS that will make any fan happy, and surprised.

    Presentation

    The Graphics are nice, and while it wont blow you away, the different locales, and the variety of environments makes it so you never get bored. For the most part the game ran smooth on PS4, but there were some moments of frame-rate dips, and slowdowns in certain areas/fights.

    Overall Dark Souls 3 is an excellent send off to the series, and one that seems like a love letter to fans once the credits roll, and any souls fans will enjoy the ride till the fire fades.    … Expand
  39. starburns
    May 16, 2016
    9
    Dark Souls 3 encapsulates the essence of both dark souls and bloodborne in a way that feels almost seamlessly fluid. The environment in Dark Souls 3 is a blatant mixture of both games in a commonly not so subtle way. The undead settlement and most of the early game locations has a very strong bloodborne feel, while the later locations in the game give off the same tone as the first darkDark Souls 3 encapsulates the essence of both dark souls and bloodborne in a way that feels almost seamlessly fluid. The environment in Dark Souls 3 is a blatant mixture of both games in a commonly not so subtle way. The undead settlement and most of the early game locations has a very strong bloodborne feel, while the later locations in the game give off the same tone as the first dark souls game.The combat allows for the use of shields once more, yet shields still hold less power than they did in dark souls and maintains the strategy of dodging first blocking second that bloodborne incorporated. Many early game weapons are versatile enough to be able to be used until very late game content, like the long sword for example. Bosses in dark souls 3 are no less brutal than it's predecessors either. Right off the bat, you are thrust into an intense fight with a large knight, and then when you think you've figured him out, he transforms into another monster entirely and forces the player to change their tactics and rethink their strategy. This is a theme that is held all the way through the game and forces the player to become a quick thinker or be punished. And that is the beauty of the game. A game that forces the player to get better without any handicaps to help you succeed is exactly what the souls series has thrives off of for years and this is no different. Sadly, now that dark souls has successfully made it to the mainstream more and more people are playing, which means there are more casual gamers that will give the game a bad name and call it unfair even though it's just them not understanding the concept of the game, and also drive away many of the experienced souls veterans who partially love the game because of it's exclusivity.
    In a completely unbiased review, Dark Souls 3 is near perfect for souls standards but doesn't' deserve a 10 because it doesn't just borrow from it's previous titles, but straight up steals from it by literally recreating areas from previous games and npc's as well, and although this is cool for nostalgia, it is also very uncreative. Along with that, some of the level design is questionable. That being said, besides recreated levels and some questionable level design choices, dark souls 3 has reminded me the scope of the original, while also maintaining some modern flair    … Expand
  40. 998817268
    Apr 23, 2016
    5
    This game is entirely about diving at the right times to avoid your opponent’s auto-targeting, or avoiding colossal monsters’ attacks, which penetrate walls somehow. While it has its moments, between incredible settings, and epic boss fights, the combat in general is busted. There is no other way to explain the insane precision of the regular A.I, who can pivot a hundred and eighty degreesThis game is entirely about diving at the right times to avoid your opponent’s auto-targeting, or avoiding colossal monsters’ attacks, which penetrate walls somehow. While it has its moments, between incredible settings, and epic boss fights, the combat in general is busted. There is no other way to explain the insane precision of the regular A.I, who can pivot a hundred and eighty degrees in a fraction of a second while still attacking you somehow. In boss fight, or fights against larger monsters especially, and in fights with monsters in general, you will certainly die more than once being struck through a wall. You'll also die falling off of ledges because your character has to leap forward to attack, and half of the fights take place on some tight rope a half-mile above the earth for some reason. Enjoy playing the same 100 meter stretch of gameplay for a whole day, dying in inexplicable ways, and holding in your tears of shame and rage while trying to justify having spent $90 on a rage-induced brain tumour.… Expand
  41. Themacko
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    What is there to say? - actually there are so many things to say but most importantly this is Dark Souls through and through with the loveliness of the Bloodborne engine.

    Just to get a few technical details out of the way; there are a few (but VERY few!) minor grumbles such as occasional frame skipping and of course the occasional graphical lag (though this occurs a LOT less than    What is there to say? - actually there are so many things to say but most importantly this is Dark Souls through and through with the loveliness of the Bloodborne engine.

    Just to get a few technical details out of the way; there are a few (but VERY few!) minor grumbles such as occasional frame skipping and of course the occasional graphical lag (though this occurs a LOT less than Bloodborne). However, this is offset by the fantastic game play and surprisingly pleasant loading times (similar to Bloodborne post patch). It is also very light with a 19.4 GB install size as of patch 1.03 on the PS4.

    Weapon arts are great for the most part and add a lot of flavour to the game play (as well as fashion souls in some cases, particularly the long-sword stance) but thankfully aren't essential and as far as I am into the game , I'd say if you are not too keen on the idea you can play without them.. but they are fun!

    One thing that has struck me is the difference between the starting classes, you really do feel like you play your class, more so than the other Dark Souls games, however this may be as I am coming from hours upon hours of Bloodborne where each starting story was just that - a back story for your character.

    So be you on the PS4, Xbox One or PC, if you love Dark Souls or Bloodborne - get it!

    If you are unsure if you should buy it or not - get it!

    11 out of 10 :D    … Expand
  42. ZiggyStartrek
    Sep 4, 2016
    6
    Unnecessary to address the pros of this game any longer.
    But there's a really serious issue people here seem to forget about: the load times are HORRENDOUS.
    Seriously, having to wait half a minute after every retry on a challenging boss is mind torture!

    We're already on calibration 1.11, ver. 1.07 and load times are still an issue. Please FROM, fix that!
  43. Kamarr
    Apr 13, 2016
    8
    Great game. I never really give games 10 of 10 unless classic but anyways. I thoroughly enjoyed this game its rather short but it's harder than Bloodbourne least how I feel about it others may say different. If you are a fan of this series then you will be in for a treat even if you die numerous times. Only reason this isn't at a 9 is because a lot of clipping and lagg issues. I feel a lotGreat game. I never really give games 10 of 10 unless classic but anyways. I thoroughly enjoyed this game its rather short but it's harder than Bloodbourne least how I feel about it others may say different. If you are a fan of this series then you will be in for a treat even if you die numerous times. Only reason this isn't at a 9 is because a lot of clipping and lagg issues. I feel a lot of games from this series are rushed and its kinda sad being that it is such a good game and it could be even better.… Expand
  44. narwhalofchaos
    Apr 15, 2016
    10
    I have played pretty much every major video game franchise over the last two decades. I avoided the souls series for one reason or another, but had to give this latest installment a try after seeing all the hype. All I can say is wow it has quickly become my favorite ARPG of all time and may even be my favorite game of all time. Graphics, level design, boss design, combat, everything isI have played pretty much every major video game franchise over the last two decades. I avoided the souls series for one reason or another, but had to give this latest installment a try after seeing all the hype. All I can say is wow it has quickly become my favorite ARPG of all time and may even be my favorite game of all time. Graphics, level design, boss design, combat, everything is just awesome it brings me back to what I used to love about gaming.

    This is a masterpiece any game enthusiast should thoroughly enjoy it unless you aren't looking for a challenge because this certainly is one. Also the PVP is a ton of fun on top of the excellent single player content.

    Bravo From Software I was quite foolish for sleeping on your titles all these years.    … Expand
  45. ZeroByDivide
    May 23, 2016
    7
    From Soft definitely rushed this game and it really shows from how terrible the mechanics are and how little thought went into alot of items/places/enemies. The fact that they have already patched the game 7 times since release is a testament to how buggy and broken the multiplayer can be at times. In addition they took out alot of things dark souls 2 did right like power stance, theFrom Soft definitely rushed this game and it really shows from how terrible the mechanics are and how little thought went into alot of items/places/enemies. The fact that they have already patched the game 7 times since release is a testament to how buggy and broken the multiplayer can be at times. In addition they took out alot of things dark souls 2 did right like power stance, the statues that allowed you to pvp in cooler arenas, good magic/pyromancies/hexes ect ect ect. This game is a game worth about 25 dollars max for a mediocre single player and I'm disappointed in myself for buying this disappointment at its release price.… Expand
  46. bcdserra
    Apr 13, 2016
    9
    If you look at all the zeros, it's immediately apparent that almost all of the "reviewers" didn't even get past the first zone at the moment of their ragequitty comment. Let us be clement and forgive these prethees for I am sure they have gitten gud by now and infinitely regret their blasphemous act.
    The game is piece of mesmerising art that will haunt your every moment away from it.    If you look at all the zeros, it's immediately apparent that almost all of the "reviewers" didn't even get past the first zone at the moment of their ragequitty comment. Let us be clement and forgive these prethees for I am sure they have gitten gud by now and infinitely regret their blasphemous act.
    The game is piece of mesmerising art that will haunt your every moment away from it.
    Everything a From fan could ask for, except for harder bosses.    … Expand
  47. Elennis105
    Apr 15, 2016
    7
    This game has a lot of strong suits and i fairly enjoyed it but boi does this game suck compared to the other games.. WTH is this level design? Dark Souls ,for me anyway, was about exploration and cool areas and a lot of optional areas and side paths. This was the one of the most linear games i have ever played.. i feel like i shouldn't always know where to go, especially in Dark Souls.This game has a lot of strong suits and i fairly enjoyed it but boi does this game suck compared to the other games.. WTH is this level design? Dark Souls ,for me anyway, was about exploration and cool areas and a lot of optional areas and side paths. This was the one of the most linear games i have ever played.. i feel like i shouldn't always know where to go, especially in Dark Souls. Early game was kinda boring but it picked up. I just hope for future DLC , they make better levels, fix the frame rate hopefully, and maybe just make the game feel like dark souls. Overall the game is still fun, just not what i expected. I Give it 7/10… Expand
  48. xenofiend95
    May 22, 2016
    6
    Let me start off by saying Ive been a souls fan from the beginning and have put hundreds of hours into the series. Ive loved it all from.the beginning, but this is the first game in the series Ive been reluctant towards playing to the end. 20 hours in and I am just completely bored of it, I dont know if its because theres been 3 souls games over 3 years, Im including Bloodborne. To meLet me start off by saying Ive been a souls fan from the beginning and have put hundreds of hours into the series. Ive loved it all from.the beginning, but this is the first game in the series Ive been reluctant towards playing to the end. 20 hours in and I am just completely bored of it, I dont know if its because theres been 3 souls games over 3 years, Im including Bloodborne. To me this feels lile the most rushed and lazily designed of the batch with the biggest marketing campaign. I feel most of the hype surrounding is how accessible this one is, souls games are known to be challenging but fair where you learn from errors, learn placement and new.strategies constantly. Dks3 features none of this, at least for a series vet, everything is rehashed. Ive run through 20 hours hardly ever dying or being stumped, bloodborne at least challenged me every step of the way. Then theres the level design, its the same huge disappointment as dks2 being very linear with very little aside for exploration. Although Um being quite negative the game isnt bad, its ok. I actually enjoy the amped up speed of combat. The art direction is phenomenal and imposing as well as the soundtrack. Aesthetically its the best in the series in my opinion. I just really hate seeing one of my favorite series go out with such little flair and follow more of the same from dks2 mainling rather than following what was phenomenal in demon souls and dark souls 1 while adding more new improvements. Im probably going to get down voted for this review also, but it is my honest opinion, Im very disappointed.… Expand
  49. munir
    Sep 15, 2016
    6
    I tend to agree: Ds3 loadings ARE bad.
    Though I felt in love with this game, it's undeniable that no "souls" game before it had been so hampered by slow load times.
    Slow loadings ruins replayability; hence they should be fixed.
  50. SassyQuatch
    Mar 21, 2017
    8
    If Metacritic could represent decimals in their scoring system, my review would show as an 8.5/10. This game really does a lot of things right, and it is probably fair to say that it is the penultimate Dark Souls experience.

    Dark Souls 3 succeeds in providing players with the challenging gameplay that Dark Souls fans have come to love. The world of Dark Souls 3 is by far the most    If Metacritic could represent decimals in their scoring system, my review would show as an 8.5/10. This game really does a lot of things right, and it is probably fair to say that it is the penultimate Dark Souls experience.

    Dark Souls 3 succeeds in providing players with the challenging gameplay that Dark Souls fans have come to love. The world of Dark Souls 3 is by far the most immersive and visually impressive world that has come out of the developers of the Souls/Bloodborne games. The cliché praise of graphics (matched only by the cliché claim that graphics don't matter) in this case truly alters the gaming experience. With the winning combination of perfected world design and demanding gameplay, you will not be in want of escapism with this game.

    That being said, there are several things holding this game back from a 10/10, or even a 9/10. Among these drawbacks includes the somewhat underwhelming bosses. Some bosses in this game are really underperforming.

    Another criticism: with all the new mechanics available to the developers, it would have been nice to see them try something new. To be sure, the Dark Souls series operates on a very successful and gratifying-to-play formula. But it is, undoubtedly, the same formula put on display in all three Dark Souls games. This can bring with it an additional annoyance, considering especially the sometimes cheap deaths that seem to be more of an easy-way-out-design than a genuine challenge.

    Nonetheless, at the end of the day this game is definitely one of the more worthwhile experiences that can be found on the new console.    … Expand
  51. egoBorder
    Feb 20, 2018
    9
    Dark Souls 3 is a game that ranges from epic and impressive to a bit disappointing. Most of the time the experience is positive. But the Souls formula is starting to show its age, and as the series finale DS3 is stymied by the familiarity of many aspects. Writing as a hardcore fan of the series, I found the flaws were not enough to hold the game back, but they are often right upfrontDark Souls 3 is a game that ranges from epic and impressive to a bit disappointing. Most of the time the experience is positive. But the Souls formula is starting to show its age, and as the series finale DS3 is stymied by the familiarity of many aspects. Writing as a hardcore fan of the series, I found the flaws were not enough to hold the game back, but they are often right upfront and center.

    For brevity's sake, I'll list the main factors: the framerate is often deplorable, glitches are occasional and sometimes frustrating. If you've played the other games, you may not like how many things in this game you've seen before. The level design is not the series' peak but sometimes approaches it. But in the end the entire package is well worth the time spent    … Expand
  52. Skalick06
    Jul 22, 2021
    2
    Gutted and dumbed down compared to the other two games, and not very much original lore. Just overall very disappointing.
  53. Karma_police
    Mar 22, 2018
    9
    My review is not a 10/10 because Dark Souls already exists, Dark Souls 3 is as good as the first one in many ways, but the formula is not a surprise anymore after 3 games (including Bloodborne) that is no surprise to know that people favorite Souls game is usually the first they play.

    In general this is a Dark Souls with better graphics is every inch as epic, atmospheric, depressive,    My review is not a 10/10 because Dark Souls already exists, Dark Souls 3 is as good as the first one in many ways, but the formula is not a surprise anymore after 3 games (including Bloodborne) that is no surprise to know that people favorite Souls game is usually the first they play.

    In general this is a Dark Souls with better graphics is every inch as epic, atmospheric, depressive, beautiful and addicting as the first one.    … Expand
  54. Juras
    Mar 14, 2017
    8
    Still good game but after Bloodborne it's step back. Look worse than BB, play worse. and its overall worse. This should be second part of the series, or at least released before BB.
  55. BogdanXdd
    Sep 2, 2016
    10
    Just amazing! It's my first dark souls game( I played Bloodborne and wish to try more from From Software) and all I can say it's that everything in this game shows dedication and love for videogames.
  56. zuldo
    Oct 27, 2016
    9
    I think I can confidently say now, that this is my GOTY for 2016.
    The universe and experience that has been created in this game is fantastic.
    The tense feeling of exploring this amazing world, never knowing what is around the next corner, and the feeling of being oh so very mortal.
    Not to mention finally getting the best of that boss after 30 tries.
    Close to perfect.
  57. filipers
    Mar 18, 2018
    9
    I have never player a dark souls game before this one, i just saw some videos and heard that it was onde of the hardest games in market. I always loved RPG's/action adventure games, but there was something in dark souls games that didn't attracted me but i didn't know what. But still i tried to give this game a shot, and know what? I have 0 regrets, because it is a great game that we haveI have never player a dark souls game before this one, i just saw some videos and heard that it was onde of the hardest games in market. I always loved RPG's/action adventure games, but there was something in dark souls games that didn't attracted me but i didn't know what. But still i tried to give this game a shot, and know what? I have 0 regrets, because it is a great game that we have here.

    Now in this review i will not compare this game with previous ones, but i will give a genuine review for someone that is new to the series. I must also say that i played the game completely offline since i have no ps plus subscription. I will divide this review based on what i liked and didn't like in this game.
    So what parts of dark souls 3 i really liked??

    -Difficulty: Before starting the game i thought that people exagerated regarding the difficulty in this game, for someone who beated witcher 3 in max difficulty this game will be a piece of cake i thought..........how wrong i was xD. The first 10 hours were sooooo hard for me, the first boss in the tutorial area i think that i died at least 10 times, in the wall of lothric i really suffered at the hand of those bastard knights. I died...again...and again, until the 3rd or 4th boss the game was being really frustrating for me. BUT as soon as i started getting used to the enemies and the game mechanics is started really enjoying this game, i still died a lot of times in boss battles but now instead of getting frustrated i tried to learn the enemies mechanics...and the feeling that i had when i finaly won a boss fight is nothing that i ever experienced in another game. If this game was easy i am sure that the score would at least fall to 7.

    -Combat: skill matters in this game, you can have the best armour and weapons in this game but the trashiest enemies can still **** you up. You can never underestimate an enemy in dark souls 3, and i always fight in maximum against 2/3 enemies at a time. The weapon skills were pretty nice too. And the boss design was outstanding, i had so much fun (and headaches xD) fighting them.

    -Lore: the lore in this game is hidden in every item that you find in dark souls 3, and how great it is, it was something that i was not expecting in this kind of game. By paying attention of the world that surrounded me i could learn a lot about each location, that was covered in mystery.

    -Character creation: I know that in most of times your character is hidden behind a helmet, but still the character creator sure impressed me, especially the tattoos!

    -Leveling system: The idea of becoming stronger has you obtain more souls from your dead enemies is pretty nice. There are also a lot of different attributes regarding your character so you can make a lot of builds! In my playthrough i played as a mercenary, wielding a curved swords and a medium shield, but in my next playthrough i am thinking in playing as a herald, who uses various miracles (a type of magic in this game) and has a nice spear!

    -Art/Graphics: the representation of a world after the apocalypse is very cool, the churches, the castles, the views, everything is very good looking. The graphics are outstanding too.

    Now what i did not like so much in this game:

    Story: Now don't get me wrong, the lore is amazing but i think that there is a really waste of potencial in this game regarding the story. I believe that if the game had more cutscenes, with more interesting characters, i believe that the experience would be better. I would like to see more npc's with different and depth backstories, the ones you find i think that they are very bland.

    Depressing ending:(SPOILERS) In my ending i linked the first flame, but the flame was already very weak so all my fights during the game were futile, so much sacrifice for in the end the world fall in the age of the dark (which is not necessarily bad, it depends on each person interpretation), you completed your mission that was to link the flame....but in the end it was all in vain. Now don't get me wrong, there is beauty in this ending, but i would like a more shining ending after all the battles that we had. And basically this ending is a 30 second cutscene which is a bit of a letdown.

    Overall: A great experience, i have never played a game of this kind, it is very different from normal action-rpg's. Before starting my next playthrough i am viewing youtube videos about the lore in this game, because there were quite some things that i missed and didn't understand in my 1st playthrough.
    So i am really excited to do again a new journey with a different character/build and this time i will be more alerted to the world that surrounds me in dark sous 3 :).

    EDIT: I am updating my review to give it a 8.5~9. My second playthrough was even more rewarding, i learned more secrets about this world that escape me the first time. The best thing of this game is that you are never bored while playing it.    … Expand
  58. Obby360
    Mar 30, 2017
    10
    Having played the first two games and their respective DLC's, I come here with some scepticism as to how this story would fit in. The standard's were very high, expectations to the roof.
    Where the first, I personally felt, lacked a bit in combat, this game give it to the fullest. Where the second lacked in meaningful NPC's and stories, this one has a plenty. From the most common    Having played the first two games and their respective DLC's, I come here with some scepticism as to how this story would fit in. The standard's were very high, expectations to the roof.
    Where the first, I personally felt, lacked a bit in combat, this game give it to the fullest. Where the second lacked in meaningful NPC's and stories, this one has a plenty. From the most common merchant, to the secret boss, everything is thought out and planned in classical Dark Souls fashion. The gameplay is familiar enough to scare you exploring, but inviting just a bit, to make you want to test different play styles.
    It's an adventure that packs 60 hours of gameplay in your first try, maybe even more if you dare go far off the beaten path. And speaking of such a path, maybe it's only downfall is the linear story towards the end. For Souls fans who always sough the mystery of where to go next (I myself have spent hours on youtube figuring that out) It is a bit of a disappointment.

    The bosses in this game are the most diverse in the entire Souls franchise. Big, scary, fast, unforgiving, there is a favourite boss for everybody. I might go as far as to say that there is one boss that gives Artorias, and OnS a run for their gold coin.

    In the end, Dark Souls III answers many lore questions, but raises quite a few knew ones. A beautifully incandescent addition to the Souls franchise, and a great stand alone game. You need not know, the stories that came before this, enjoy and praise the sun.    … Expand
  59. rolodt40
    Feb 9, 2017
    10
    I came from Bloodborne which was great and this one is more of the same, exactly what I was expecting for. Of course it has a different story line and new environments, but the gameplay is quite the same. You have to use the shield now, which gives you a fresh combat at the beginning.
    By the moment this franquise has the games with the best combat system.
  60. Strelok_VSOP
    Mar 21, 2017
    9
    Хорошая игра. 150 часов чистейшего удовольствия.
    Немного проще всех остальных игр серии, но буквально чуть-чуть.
    Фанатам серии - брать и не думать!
  61. sergjoni
    Mar 29, 2018
    10
    Я давно не проходил RPG по два раза, но эта игра попала в эту категорию. Впервые я познакомился с играми серии SOULS, играя в Bloodborne. Однако, хочу заметить, что Темные Души 3 пришлись мне по вкусу больше. Здесь большее количество оружия, возможность использования магии, большее количество костров (что делает из игры игру, а не тупо бустит и без того высокий уровень сложности). ВообщемЯ давно не проходил RPG по два раза, но эта игра попала в эту категорию. Впервые я познакомился с играми серии SOULS, играя в Bloodborne. Однако, хочу заметить, что Темные Души 3 пришлись мне по вкусу больше. Здесь большее количество оружия, возможность использования магии, большее количество костров (что делает из игры игру, а не тупо бустит и без того высокий уровень сложности). Вообщем игра на века, рекомендую – 10 из 10.… Expand
  62. TzzzT23
    Aug 8, 2016
    10
    this game is really awesome , I dont know how to describe it but I can say this is one of the best souls series after demon souls , but I think bloodborne still is better than dark souls 3 . this game is the best hack and slash category
  63. MudMonger
    Jul 4, 2016
    10
    My favorite series of games.
    I havent put as much time into DS3 as I'd like but ive played it a few hours and what ive seen so far. I like. This could be the best one yet.
  64. SonicClancy
    Oct 19, 2016
    10
    +Gorgeously dark and atmospheric world
    +Rewarding challenge gameplay
    +Excellent bosses

    -Multiplayer has limited
    -It's the less bosses than ever
    -Easy to be angry, again

    It's incredible world and awe-inspiring weapon arts make it the fiercest installment yet.
  65. Zurce
    Mar 23, 2017
    10
    El mejor juego de la saga que combina lo mejor de todos estos titulos para dar a luz una obra maestra, un combate que mezcla la estrategia caracteristica de los Dark Souls con una fluidez mas propia de Bloodborne sumado a unos entornos trabajadisimos que transmiten autentica soledad y desesperacion, un diseño de jefes finales increible y una banda sonara que te acompañara por mucho tiempo
  66. Mikeb86
    Apr 10, 2017
    10
    Loved souls 1 and 2, think this one is my favourite, faster combat, awesome bosses (lord of cinder, pain in my a@@,), awesome locations, and most of all that amazing sense of reward when you finally beat a boss that has been beating you for hours is still there, only games where my heart has been pounding so many times!! Great game
  67. Mistwalker_94
    Mar 15, 2017
    10
    If you didn't like the previous games you won't like this one either, but if you're like me and love the souls games then this is worth buying. From software took the best elements of Bloodborne and combined with Dark souls. This game is more like The first Dark souls then the sequal.
  68. cofeoefoe
    Feb 13, 2017
    10
    Pros: Amazing graphics, Immersive experience, Beautifully crafted weapons and armor. Great integrated pvp and pve system, Bosses that won’t let you give up until you slaughter them.

    Cons: Will be VERY difficult for beginners new to the Dark Souls franchise, endgame is PVP, a few bugs and glitches every here and there. Dark souls 3 is hands down FromSofts best creation in the souls    Pros: Amazing graphics, Immersive experience, Beautifully crafted weapons and armor. Great integrated pvp and pve system, Bosses that won’t let you give up until you slaughter them.

    Cons: Will be VERY difficult for beginners new to the Dark Souls franchise, endgame is PVP, a few bugs and glitches every here and there.

    Dark souls 3 is hands down FromSofts best creation in the souls series stretching all the way from 2009’s Demon Souls. So first things first this game is $60 and I think this is a fair price because of all the content that comes with the game and that will be coming for the DLC (Downloadable Content) . As soon as you step into the world of this game you’ll be able to make a character of your choosing such as attributes,what class,starting items, and what you look like. After that the tale begins of the Ashen One's journey to link the flame. You start off very simply until you journey to the next area where all the detail and hard work from the last 2 years has shone into this game. You can see the sun shining through the broken rocks and reflecting off the water. After over 1000 hours of playing this game I still can’t get enough of how beautiful each and every area of this game is. And if people find this game is too difficult they can always play with their friends which has been a traditional feature in all the soul games, or if their feeling evil they can go invade someone else’s world and show them what dark souls really means.

    If you're still not interested I have a lot left to convince you why this game is worth your time. The tutorial of this game in not easy and it’s not meant to be either, the game wants you to keep dying to the boss and the mobs to prepare you for what lies ahead in the world. Unfortunately this makes a lot of players quit the game and make them feel like they’ve been scammed only after they’ve been a few times. This game has so much value that people don’t discover because they just give up. When you do get past the first boss you start to tie into the main plot of the game and why you were chosen to link the first flame. Lotric which is the main city in the game has dungeons and enemies everywhere to make it a challenge. For the game, mechanics are very simple the game has messages lying around telling you what every button does. Now the cherry on the top of the game revolves around the bosses I’m not gonna spoil anything because I want people to experience it for themselves.

    The game also runs very well at a constant 60 frames per second everywhere you go.
    I don’t have much else to say about this game without spoiling it. If you do decide to get this game you should keep going until the very end and try not to summon other players unless it get’s very difficult. Overall if you do keep keep this game in get discouraged because you keep failing you’ll never get the true value of this game which is the shining star.    … Expand
  69. bellonman
    Mar 7, 2017
    10
    I never thought I would play a game as good as the original Dark Souls again, but with Dark Souls III I am proven wrong. Unlike with Bloodborne, there are memorable bosses and a deep variety of ways to play that keeps the game fresh for multiple play throughs. It's the total package with improvements in graphics and even grander level designs. Dark souls III is my favourite souls game. Period.
  70. EEKtheratbat
    Mar 20, 2017
    8
    Although not in any way really evolving the series Dark Souls 3 is another great game for the Dark Souls fan. For me Bloodborn felt a lot fresher and more next gen but still DS3 is really enjoyable.
  71. TheBlueFox
    Jun 12, 2017
    10
    My first Dark Souls game, and certainly not my last. Don't be put off by the hype around its difficulty - it's completely doable. It's just challenging. My sibling is a casual gamer and they cut right through this game, simply farming to upgrade their level if they were really struggling.

    --Surreal, immersive dark fantasy environments --Subtle story-telling technique --Fluid, engaging    My first Dark Souls game, and certainly not my last. Don't be put off by the hype around its difficulty - it's completely doable. It's just challenging. My sibling is a casual gamer and they cut right through this game, simply farming to upgrade their level if they were really struggling.

    --Surreal, immersive dark fantasy environments
    --Subtle story-telling technique
    --Fluid, engaging combat
    --An array of weapons, spells, shields and armour, each with their own advantages, allowing you to tackle the game any way you want
    --A great character creator with lots of build options and aesthetic options
    --Most of the bosses and even minor enemies are well-designed, with mechanics you can study and work around
    --Difficulty wise, the game is challenging, and that's the fun of it. But most bosses were beatable in 3-5 times, maybe up to 15 times if they were particularly tricky. But there's a great community filled with guides if you're stuck. Plus you can use NPCs or team up with online players (I never actually needed this, but it’s a great option to have if you’re really over that one boss who keeps bludgeoning you)
    --Rewarding. It’s redolent to how you felt when you overcame fights and bosses as a kid - that feeling of accomplishment when you finally won.
    --Always new secrets to find - read up on this game. From the lore, to the illusory walls, to the hidden areas and character side quests. It’s got a lot of depth.
    --Pace is great. I never felt stuck in the same area for too long because I couldn’t progress
    --Great dialogue and voice acting
    --Open world with lots to explore
    --Easy instant travel from Bonfires
    --Above all, it’s innovative. It’s actually genre-defining. It’s something everyone should try at least once to see if FromSoft games are for you

    If you’ve never tried a Souls game, this is a great one to start with.    … Expand
  72. brokepimp
    Aug 14, 2017
    10
    It's a master piece the poise is perfectly introduced, the straight sword is balanced, the invasions...are master pieces and of course the phantom range is a Naruto shout out, the lip syncs are perfect.
    So at the end this is perfect for Christians that are against dabbing.
  73. RaFfr0
    Aug 29, 2017
    10
    After a little disppointment sequel of Dark Souls, and the superb Bloodborne, Dark Souls returns with the last one of the trilogy. This game adds a little of Bloodborne to the mechanic of Dark Souls. It's more fluid, more rewarding and the difficulty remains the same as it's predecessors. As a fan of the souls series, i enjoyed the hell outta this game and for newcomers, i recommend toAfter a little disppointment sequel of Dark Souls, and the superb Bloodborne, Dark Souls returns with the last one of the trilogy. This game adds a little of Bloodborne to the mechanic of Dark Souls. It's more fluid, more rewarding and the difficulty remains the same as it's predecessors. As a fan of the souls series, i enjoyed the hell outta this game and for newcomers, i recommend to star in the series with this game.… Expand
  74. CyberRobotnix
    Mar 8, 2018
    10
    Wanna go out for an awesome adventure?
    Dark Souls 3 is a game for you!
    Despite its difficulty peaks, it is still a rather enjoyable experience, just don't go where you shouldn't go.
    It is a must have for PS4 owners like me.
  75. pastacheesecake
    Dec 28, 2017
    6
    Brings almost nothing new to the series, misses the point in many cases; full of inane fan service. Tight gameplay, astounding visuals, and music.
  76. bobobolas
    Mar 2, 2018
    8
    In my experience, in this game you never win, you just do it a little better all the time. What I like most about this game is the difficulty. Hardest game Ive played in this generation.

    The only thing I didnt like about the game: Too many items. I have lots of things that I dont know whats their use. I know tutorials are not an option for such difficult game but come on, at least    In my experience, in this game you never win, you just do it a little better all the time. What I like most about this game is the difficulty. Hardest game Ive played in this generation.

    The only thing I didnt like about the game: Too many items. I have lots of things that I dont know whats their use. I know tutorials are not an option for such difficult game but come on, at least explain to me what is the use of some items. Therefore, I have a bunch of things in my inventory which I am afraid to sell or misuse in case they might be needed in the future.

    Now that I mention the word "future". I know everyboss is harder and harder, enemies gets better and all that but then... When is the right time to use some stuff? It is like most rpggames, I know I will end up with many unused items.    … Expand
  77. vqu
    Mar 7, 2018
    10
    Dark Souls 3's incredible world and awe-inspiring weapon arts make it the fiercest installment yet.
  78. madcritic_
    Mar 17, 2018
    10
    Dark Souls 3's incredible world and awe-inspiring weapon arts make it the fiercest installment yet.
  79. Brownbelt2018
    Apr 21, 2018
    10
    Dark Souls 3 is an absolute masterpiece. I can not fault a single thing about this game. The combat is fluid and seamless, the world setting is visually brilliant, the array of characters, weapons, and builds available are all some of the things that in my opinion make this game one of the two best releases ever on any platform. The other astounding game is of course Bloodborne. TheDark Souls 3 is an absolute masterpiece. I can not fault a single thing about this game. The combat is fluid and seamless, the world setting is visually brilliant, the array of characters, weapons, and builds available are all some of the things that in my opinion make this game one of the two best releases ever on any platform. The other astounding game is of course Bloodborne. The difficulty can be a bit of a learning curve at first, but once you put quite a few dedicated hours into this game, and realise that the mechanics are different to most other games, it becomes an absolute joy to play. The sense of achievement that comes from success in this game is like no other game I have ever played. I have spent hundreds of hours playing this game, and I still get the same enjoyment from it today as I did the first time I played it. Thank you FromSoftware, I greatly anticipate the release of Bloodborne 2, or any other titles from you guys for that matter!… Expand
  80. JordiSkateIoko
    Apr 20, 2018
    10
    First game I play from fromsoftware and I couldn't be happier. Really challenging game with incredible graphics and animations. Soundtrack is amazing as well as the variety of enemies, weapons, spells, bosses, etc... I have played more than 100h with more than 15 walkthroughs (Some of them were speedruns). In the future I will replay this game for sure. 10/10
  81. Malakia
    Apr 21, 2018
    8
    This third and final entry in the Dark Souls series takes quite some inspiration from its cousin Bloodborne and that may be a very good or bad thing depending on how much you enjoyed the Sony exclusive. For me, it was definitely a plus for I always preferred fast-paced and sleek combat over an over-defensive one, and that's a good thing because DS3's fun combat system is the only thingThis third and final entry in the Dark Souls series takes quite some inspiration from its cousin Bloodborne and that may be a very good or bad thing depending on how much you enjoyed the Sony exclusive. For me, it was definitely a plus for I always preferred fast-paced and sleek combat over an over-defensive one, and that's a good thing because DS3's fun combat system is the only thing that makes me want to come back despite the uninspired design of some areas and overall lack of interesting bosses.
    The main game experience is expanded by two separate DLCs: Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City that should've been released as one in the first place considering how small and lackong in content AOA is, that add new weapons and armor pieces that will make PVP enthusiasts happy but do little to really impress the PVE crowd offering a mediocre story conclusion full of plotholes and yet another swampy area nobody asked for.    … Expand
  82. Lineart
    May 5, 2018
    8
    Dark Souls 3's incredible world and awe-inspiring weapon arts make it the fiercest installment yet.
  83. Killua1997
    Jun 13, 2018
    9
    This game has some of the best bosses we've seen in the Souls series to date.

    I couldn't bring myself to give this game a perfect 10/10 because I found some of the areas sort of boring and a drag to go through. Also, I honestly prefer DS I and II's slower gameplay style to the more aggressive style of DS III; I think this aggressive style works in Bloodborne, but a lot of the tension is    This game has some of the best bosses we've seen in the Souls series to date.

    I couldn't bring myself to give this game a perfect 10/10 because I found some of the areas sort of boring and a drag to go through. Also, I honestly prefer DS I and II's slower gameplay style to the more aggressive style of DS III; I think this aggressive style works in Bloodborne, but a lot of the tension is taken away from DS III when I can just roll 15 times away to safety. It wasn't a big irk of mine but I never felt the same sort of tension I did in I and II, where I was running low on stamina and needed to play it safe and conserve my hits.    … Expand
  84. Leontorres7
    Nov 15, 2018
    10
    Legendary game, play it, this game changed my life for good, all I have for this game is LOVE.
  85. Se7enUA
    Jan 27, 2019
    7
    I would say its a good game but its definetely not better than Bloodborne.
    Some parts are better like bosses (they are really different and looks nice)/
    But the game is not balanced. The trick with armor weight is not working propertly.
  86. Zeratex
    Feb 11, 2019
    9
    The true game of the year 2016.

    Excellent music with amazing combat and leveling system.
    We can see the influence of this franchise in almost all action adventure combat based games today, its a great game.

    9.5/10 (score for Dark souls 1 and 3)
  87. Sheep_198
    Apr 15, 2016
    10
    Finished the game, quick and easy, but no complaint for the watered down difficulty, that's a good thing! The formula still works, another spectacular game. Fine tuned even better, love the summon signs back on the floor instead of blindly waiting. Heaps of weapon, beautiful artworks and design, huge world and lots of secrets to discover. Great memories of the beloved Dark Souls 1Finished the game, quick and easy, but no complaint for the watered down difficulty, that's a good thing! The formula still works, another spectacular game. Fine tuned even better, love the summon signs back on the floor instead of blindly waiting. Heaps of weapon, beautiful artworks and design, huge world and lots of secrets to discover. Great memories of the beloved Dark Souls 1 classic all the way. Very fun to play and bought many laughters with the world design and characters. Replayability is great, and a must.… Expand
  88. STPN0422
    Apr 12, 2016
    9
    I have nothing to say but praise the sun! Anyway I wished it could be harder....The graphic is OK,but the frame is not that stable,hope it will be fix by an update.I ve heard that this would be the last Dark souls game.So enjoy it.
  89. Bdlong28
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    Within the first 30 minutes of laying I had died 4 times. Oh how I've missed you Dark Souls. So far not only is the combat a huge step up from DS2 but it is a bit slower paced and tactical compared to Bloodborne which is really refreshing if you are a fan of DS and DS2. The visuals and music are both top notch as well. If you are a fan of the Souls series, you'll love this game.
  90. Gravus
    Apr 12, 2016
    9
    Bad game - Objectively False

    boring - if you consider constant action, adventure, and combat boring. Then sure. Why not? no story - to be found for those who haven't learned to read or figure out basic context clues provided by the environment and NPCs. But I guess if you don't have Mercs shouting at a direction to shoot and a squad captian opening doors for you before you can    Bad game - Objectively False

    boring - if you consider constant action, adventure, and combat boring. Then sure. Why not?

    no story - to be found for those who haven't learned to read or figure out basic context clues provided by the environment and NPCs. But I guess if you don't have Mercs shouting at a direction to shoot and a squad captian opening doors for you before you can proeed then it might be pretty hard to follow.

    ridiculous difficulty with no save points. - learn how to fight better and don't die for 15 min and you might have found the first bonfire (save point) You can even revisit it anytime you need to save again. It's in there. Keep trying. You'll get it.

    Not a lot of customization or replayability compared to a game like Call of Duty Advanced Warfare - Except for the dozens of sets of armor, swords, axes, bows, crossbows, staffs, halberds, pole arms, daggers, spells, wands. All of which can be leveled, imbued with different magics, and mixed and matched.    … Expand
  91. nosebeagle
    Jun 22, 2016
    3
    I tried Dark Souls a ways back and found it, repetitive for lack of a better word and sort of slow. A game based on grinding, not that there is anything wrong with that as many games are based on that technique. Anyway, have not played the series, but decided to try DS3. It looks nice, but is pretty much the same clunky and repetitive combat as DS1, I became bored with it quickly.I tried Dark Souls a ways back and found it, repetitive for lack of a better word and sort of slow. A game based on grinding, not that there is anything wrong with that as many games are based on that technique. Anyway, have not played the series, but decided to try DS3. It looks nice, but is pretty much the same clunky and repetitive combat as DS1, I became bored with it quickly. There are so many games available with fluid combat and much better AI than the DS games. I didn't think it was very difficult, just repetitive and boring.… Expand
  92. TomiCC
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    Best dark souls yet, period.
    Is a must have to any fans of the saga; although if you are a veteran of the saga you will feel this game somehow easy (for a souls game), but is still rewarding, full of beautiful scenarios and creepy enemies.
    The first DS was awesome but it lacks on a solid combat system; now the combat is nearly perfect; mixing bloodborne's quick dodges and    Best dark souls yet, period.
    Is a must have to any fans of the saga; although if you are a veteran of the saga you will feel this game somehow easy (for a souls game), but is still rewarding, full of beautiful scenarios and creepy enemies.

    The first DS was awesome but it lacks on a solid combat system; now the combat is nearly perfect; mixing bloodborne's quick dodges and counterattacks with the wide variety of play styles of the souls saga.
    Great among of weapons, spells, armors, items and secrets make you want to explore each corner of every area. I've already beat the first areas but i can't feel that i miss a lot of stuff, make me wanna go back again and again, and it's rewarding cause i actually find new stuff. That's one of the charms of the saga after all.

    If you are new to the saga you can still have a thrill; man i wish i could forget the first DS so i can playing again and feel amazed and surprised; is one of the best feelings i've ever had while playing a videogame.

    Praise the sun.    … Expand
  93. actionhank89
    Apr 14, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Loved every minute of this. Couldn't put the controller down. Such an intense and beautiful experience. I got the Dark Souls 1 vibe all over again from this game. The thing I missed most, in Dark Souls 2.

    SPOILER AHEAD
    Oh and to the guy who cant kill the first boss (made me laugh so hard), stay close strafe left and he'll be down in no time.    … Expand
  94. Goalzzz
    Apr 12, 2016
    9
    One of the best games ever. Pros: absolutely incredible boss fights, beautiful graphics, easy in the beginning but difficulty picks up midway through the and complex environments. Cons: game was short, could have added more levels and boss fights.
  95. olcato54
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    In the short time that I've been playing this game I've already been blown away with the return of a true Souls experience. The Combat is quick and responsive and the enemies feel much more intelligent. The artificial difficulty of Dark Souls 2 has been replaced with a challenging yet rewarding experience and I cant wait to put many hours into this game.
  96. Daxos
    May 1, 2016
    7
    I got banned from Reddit for this review so I invite you to open your minds to it:

    Before I get assailed with "git gud" or "mad cuz bad" type comments, please know that I've had DS3 since April 11th and have already beat it 8 times - including a no death run that I accomplished in a little over 5 hours last night. I don't suck and have plenty of videos to support my claims. With that    I got banned from Reddit for this review so I invite you to open your minds to it:

    Before I get assailed with "git gud" or "mad cuz bad" type comments, please know that I've had DS3 since April 11th and have already beat it 8 times - including a no death run that I accomplished in a little over 5 hours last night. I don't suck and have plenty of videos to support my claims. With that out of the way (which shouldn't be necessary, but you all know how the Souls community operates by now):

    I was initially head-over-heels in love with DS3. I found the world design, level design, and graphics to be breathtaking. However, by about my 4th play through on, after the initial glitz and glamor of the spectacular world had worn off, I found the combat/game play to be incredibly clunky and the pvp to be absolutely atrocious. It plays just like DS1, which is really not a good thing in 2016. It feels outdated and out of place in an otherwise gorgeous world and I'm willing to bet that the combat went retro because of all the DS1 whiners who failed to adapt to the new mechanics of DS2 and did nothing but **** about it. In DS3, they ruined the smooth and fluid step back, which was my bread and butter move in DS2 pvp, and all thrust attacks now have the same herky jerky, hiccuping, fishing pole cast type of animations that DS1 thrust attacks did. I loved DS1 once upon a time, but after 2000+ hours in DS2, over half of which was in pvp, it genuinely feels like **** to play. DS3 feels the same way DS1 did when I went back to it from time to time to take a break from DS2.

    DS3 is also ridiculously easy. I was already no damaging just under half the boss fights by my second play through, and with the challenge just about gone already, the subpar, clunky combat wasn't enough to keep me interested. So what did I do? I spent some time with pvp and co-op and, my God, they are absolutely awful. Pvp sucks, first and foremost, because of the aforementioned clunky combat, but also because it is the laggiest pvp experience to date (and Souls games have always suffered from latency issues, but nothing like this). Co-op is even worse. In co-op, you can have 3 summons so that a grand total of 4 people beat on a boss like a freaking pinata with very little risk of dying to anyone in the party. It's a joke. As an above average gamer, I love lending my expertise and mastery of a fight to people, but when I'm joined by three others it becomes a boring gank squad simulator where the only challenge comes from getting in each other's way. At the same time, these 4 man teams are a nightmare for invaders, making that aspect of the pvp awful as well.

    As of now, I'm already back to DS2 and loving it. It's like being reacquainted with an old friend. I bought the SOTFS version for PS4 since I originally had the PS3 version (unfortunately my PS3 died on me back in January) and all feels right with the universe again. Smooth and fluid combat, much better looking female characters, co-op that's actually fun, pvp that's actually fun, and even better weapons (they ruined my Majestic GS in DS3). Nearly everyone I've talked to has agreed with me on most of these things, if not all, and I'm so disappointed with DS3 at the moment that I had to post this somewhere and figured it would be better received here than on the DS3 board. The one thing DS3 has going for it is the best world and level design in the series along with the best graphics. That's it. 7/10 game, sadly, and this is coming from a Souls vet whose all time favorite games are the Souls games.

    Please let me know if this contains any unacceptable spoilers and I'll be happy to edit asap. Thank you for your time.
    ---

    And ^that^ got me mercilessly attacked by the community, accused of being disrespectful, and banned. I hope my review can't be discussed this time around as this is the final time I'm willing to post it anywhere. DS3 is the worst game in the Soulsborne series and I'm not a troll or an idiot for saying that.    … Expand
  97. DSouls_guy
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    Dark Souls 3 is My all time Favorite game in the Ds Series and deserves nothing but the best review score ever!!!
    this game is Brutal and yet very satisfying at the same time. you will once again die allot and I do mean ALLOT!!!
    I was a huge fan of Demons Souls and the first Dark Souls series so Dark Souls 3 was a must buy for me. DS3 has the best sound track of all the games and in many    Dark Souls 3 is My all time Favorite game in the Ds Series and deserves nothing but the best review score ever!!!
    this game is Brutal and yet very satisfying at the same time. you will once again die allot and I do mean ALLOT!!!
    I was a huge fan of Demons Souls and the first Dark Souls series so Dark Souls 3 was a must buy for me. DS3 has the best sound track of all the games and in many was surpasses the older games in many way's I cant explain here. graphics are great, voice acing is good and sound track oscar worthy. best game of 2016 hands down so far.    … Expand
  98. Rainshel22
    Apr 16, 2016
    7
    I've never felt so mixed about a game before. I'm a veteran Dark Souls fan, beated DS1, played DS2 (didn't like it.) beaten BB, Beaten DeS. I watched this game all the way from the starting line. All the little leaks, the trailers, the E3 showing. Everything. When I finally got to hold this game? I'll admit, I squealed a little. And all this hype was worth it. The game not only looks goodI've never felt so mixed about a game before. I'm a veteran Dark Souls fan, beated DS1, played DS2 (didn't like it.) beaten BB, Beaten DeS. I watched this game all the way from the starting line. All the little leaks, the trailers, the E3 showing. Everything. When I finally got to hold this game? I'll admit, I squealed a little. And all this hype was worth it. The game not only looks good (Well, so long as you aren't looking at skin/faces), but its fluid and brilliant. The combat feels great, the multiplayer makes me feel like i'm in a more complex DS1, everything was just right.

    What went wrong, where did it stray from this path? It... didn't, per se.

    however, 10 hours into my first save (was actually my third character, but it was my first that i took past firelink.) I crashed in the Crucifixion Woods. Twice.

    I'd crashed 2 times before, yet those had been a simple 'cut to blue screen, tells me there was an error. start game, reload to last bonfire.' kinda deal. I expected this from a new release, not to mention a new release from a company as overworked as FromSoft. However, both of these crashes were particularly horrendous for a couple reasons.

    1) They were both on loading screens, and the loading screens never stopped their slight animations and infobox slides. I sat there for 10 minutes the first time before I jumped to the dashboard, where my entire PS4 froze, and I had to pull the power cord to restart it.

    2) on the 2nd slide, it was identical to the one described above, with one key difference. When I tried to restart my game, it told me that my data was corrupted, and to re-install the entire thing. 1.3 GigaByte patch and all. And then, when I do that?

    My 'Game installation is incomplete' according to my game when I try to use my save. I couldn't use my main.
    And this killed all the drive I felt. Running on faith alone, cause I love this series to death, I restarted.

    Same thing happened, just a bit after the Crucifixion Woods this time.

    I sold the game. Only gonna get it again once they iron out these terrible bugs. If that doesn't happen by the time the DLC drops, I'm not getting anymore FromSoft games anymore.

    I'm sorry. I'm legitimately almost crying right now. No... I just feel empty.    … Expand
  99. BloodyRandy
    Apr 21, 2016
    7
    I'm not sure what to think about this game. They copy the first Dark Souls boss by making him incredibly difficult. That's basically the hardest boss in the game since you can now level up, equip a decent weapon and team up with 2 more players to fight them. This game is really good, but it suffers some pacing issues with boss difficulty. Some of the bosses are pretty good, whileI'm not sure what to think about this game. They copy the first Dark Souls boss by making him incredibly difficult. That's basically the hardest boss in the game since you can now level up, equip a decent weapon and team up with 2 more players to fight them. This game is really good, but it suffers some pacing issues with boss difficulty. Some of the bosses are pretty good, while others really go down with some simple movement. One thing that's great about this game is the major differences it has with previous games, but that could also be its major downfall. I didn't quite find a dungeon as satisfying as Sen's fortress. There also wasn't a boss as amazing as the wolf in the forest or Smaugh and the other guy. Recycling the same gear game after game is not acceptable. The majority of the armor and weapons are completely recycled. Some of the new ones are really great, but I can't help but notice they don't have many new offerings to the world. Some items are totally ruined by redesign like the ring of sacrifice. Not being able to upgrade armor makes the armor pointless and even with the strongest armor in the game I was getting hit with ridiculous amounts of damage as I progressed. I beat the final boss on the first try but took 5 tries to beat the first. That first boss wasn't very fun to fight either. He also had more interesting phases so it felt like the game ran out of gas. If you played Dark Souls 2 you'll be dissapointed that there isn't a treasure dragon cove like there is with that game. There are many disturbing zombie areas with gross explosions out of bodies and just sickening horror, which wasn't what I was looking for in this. I always liked Mayasaki's art style and surprisingly awesome fantasy world. There are sections where this was done well though, however. The dragons are much better designed and fit with the art style of the world in this than Dark Souls 2. There are some pretty cool areas but it can be almost too city focused and not enough mountains and foresty areas like with the other games. The dungeon here dungeon there gets old and repetitive. The biggest letdown is the covenants are quite boring and don't offer you any real good gear. They nerfed weapons in the middle of the release which made some weapons completely suck right when the patch hit. I'm thinking estoc, but I noticed I couldn't get any real damage out of certain weapons and I couldn't see why they weren't doing much against some bosses even if I had it fully upgraded with 40 strength. So the balanced rule has kind of killed the funfactor of the game and I didn't feel as powerful as I usually do at the end of other Dark Souls games. Utlimately the new engine is great, but the framerates at moments really slow you down but not the boss. Delayed responses in dives and doubling your strike because the game lagged can be frustrating especially when this causes you to die or get hit really hard even though you posted your shield. If you're looking for a significantly better game, better buy a 3ds and stick to Monster Hunter 4. When I dive, my guy dives, when I swing my weapon my weapon swings, no more no less. Thanks Mayasaki, but kind of dissapointed and expected a little more. The "attempts" to fix the game only killed the enjoyment of many items, depth of upgrading gear & the feeling of being powerful at the end, so overall I give this a 7. Thanks for reading… Expand
  100. hobbes138
    May 28, 2016
    4
    The last in the series and the most disappointing. Sure, it's pretty, there's lore, and a whole bunch of familiar garbage, but overall it's a big step down. In its current state I see it as nothing more than a glorified money grab and I highly doubt they will bother fixing anything properly. Instead we get vague patch notes and messaging like "working as intended" when it is clearlyThe last in the series and the most disappointing. Sure, it's pretty, there's lore, and a whole bunch of familiar garbage, but overall it's a big step down. In its current state I see it as nothing more than a glorified money grab and I highly doubt they will bother fixing anything properly. Instead we get vague patch notes and messaging like "working as intended" when it is clearly broken. Broken collision detection, broken covenants that almost never auto-summon, etc. etc. etc. You can tell Miyazaki's heart was not in this, but his wallet had a huge hard-on.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PS4 Game of 2016
4
#4 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
14
#14 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 13, 2016
    90
    Dark Souls III rarely innovates, but it experiments within the Souls parameters to grotesque and glorious effect. Another Game of The Year contender, then. [June 2016, p.81]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    May 18, 2016
    90
    Dark Souls III is all-consuming, it’ll drive you up the wall, and the sense of accomplishment you’ll get when everything clicks and you go on to finish that final boss... well, it’s simply beyond compare [June 2016, p70]
  3. Games Master UK
    May 18, 2016
    95
    The best Dark Souls game to pick up right now, and a fitting finale for the series. [May 2016, p.58]
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