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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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!
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. EliteGames
    May 13, 2016
    7
    Souls 3 is a solid game if not above average but its definitely not Bloodborne and honestly feels quite stale and slow compared to Bloodborne's fluid gameplay. If your desperate for another souls game then pick it up and you should enjoy but if you are expecting something new and/or on the level of Bloodborne you will be disappointed and left wanting.
  18. TheOneWinged
    Apr 19, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After finishing the game and reading the first reviews here on metacritic, I can't help it but to comment on this game by myself. I am very disappointed about how little it needs to satisfy the masses.
    Make no mistake: Dark Souls 3 is a solid gaming experience, especially for those who play Souls for the first time. And Dark Souls 3 is a very good game indeed: from the tight controls, to the visual design, mixing up Dark Souls with Bloodborne in both the gameplay and visual aspect, to the (partly) tense, epic and well designed boss fights, which to me count to the finest the series has ever seen. But exactly here is my problem with the game: we've seen it all before! Dark Souls 3 is basically 'SoulsBorne: Fanservice Edition' and literally makes NO changes to the nowadays old-fashioned Souls-formula besides useless weapon arts which are only useful for PvP. Its the 'More of the same'-kind of strategy which was realised here. While newcomers will be overwhelmed by their first Souls entry, people like me are being neglected in many ways by the devs, left out with a game, that tries to be Dark Souls 1 while looking almost exactly like Bloodborne. No joke, the whole structure of the game mimics Dark Souls 1's: Andre? Check! Siegmeyer? Check! Dragon spitting fire on a bridge (like seriously?) Check! Gargoyle scene? Check! Forest? Check! Asylum Demon? Check! Catacombs? Check! Demon Cave? Check! Anor Londo? Check! Black Knights? Check! Skeleton enemies taken directly from DS1? Check! Wheel-Skeletons? Check! Gwyn's Theme? Check! Check! Check! And things which were not taken directly out of Dark Souls have been taken out of Demons Souls, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne, like the Firelink-Shrine aka Nexus, townsfolk of Undead Settlement aka Yharnam townsfolk, Dark Souls 3 rats aka Bloodborne rats with Dark Souls 3 skin, Irithyll aka snowy Yharnam, Berserk-dog in Irithyll aka Watchdog of the Old Lords, the Abyss Watchers aka baby of Artorias and Lady Maria, Yhorm The Giant aka Storm King, lots of Levels which look like ripped content from the Bloodborne chalice dungeons, almost every weapon of the game directly from Dark Souls 2.The list goes on and on and on forever... there are even some enemy-assets directly taken out from previous games. The game has new content don't get me wrong, but it is overshadowed by the sheer amount of fanservice. And what's even funnier, is that I can't even blame the developers for that! Because the problem is YOU, the Dark Souls 'elitists' which can't get enough of their 'favorite' game, ruining individual and fresh entries for the Souls series. It's because of YOU, that Miyazaki can't take any more risks and make something new as he did with Bloodborne, because when BB released, all those limited Dark Souls-fanboys immediately began to flame for the dumbest things imaginable like 'not enough weapons' or 'I don't like the gothic style, I want medieval fantasy' - basically saying: 'not like Dark Souls 1 -> not good'. So this is what we get: a game that always brings up the question to the player 'Am I playing Dark Souls 3 or Dark Souls 1?'. Ironically the 'Souls-fans' always laugh about the COD and Assassin's Creed games, because they are not different enough from each other, without realising that they became the same type of community, which will just be satisfied when another dumbed-down Dark Souls 1 clone is coming out. If you love Dark Souls 1 soo much, then go freakin play it, but don't flame on From's games if they tend to be different from Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 2 suffered from the same kind of harassment, because it was not 'Dark Souls 1' -enough for the 'elitists' and took a different direction. I really can't take it anymore. This seriously has to stop! I really love these games, but the Souls community is one of the worst communities I know. And if you should think that it doesn't matter because every Souls game is basically Demons Souls, you are wrong; there were significant differences between DeS, DS, DS2 and Bloodborne, gameplay-and design-wise. Now we have a hybrid game which is neither Dark Souls 1 nor Bloodborne and hasn't got an own identity. A Souls fan who has played all games literally will find nothing new here. I am not disappointed by the game, because as I sad before it is well crafted with some minor flaws like areas, which leave out the feeling of being unfinished (Irithyll if you look closely) and graphic/sound bugs, I am disappointed with the community, which is satisfied with such little amount of development and new content to a never before-seen level. I am not ok with playing the same game over and over and over again and I want you to think about whether you are.
    To end this somehow positively, I have to praise the soundtrack. Some of the tracks are one of the most inspired and beautiful tracks I have ever heard in my life, competing directly with some of the Bloodborne tracks, although it's a step back because they are synthesized and not orchestrated.    … Expand
  19. bigdeadanimals
    May 8, 2016
    7
    Pre P.S.
    The game has references to all things from the past that you may remember - areas and first LoC - to Abbys Walker's DLC, the second LoC to Anor Londo. The Yorm and locations are one of the few throughbacks to DS2. Most of the locations and creatures - also a throughbacks, reincarnations of what we already seen.
    So most part of the DS3 is reincarnations, references, throughbacks    Pre P.S.
    The game has references to all things from the past that you may remember - areas and first LoC - to Abbys Walker's DLC, the second LoC to Anor Londo. The Yorm and locations are one of the few throughbacks to DS2. Most of the locations and creatures - also a throughbacks, reincarnations of what we already seen.
    So most part of the DS3 is reincarnations, references, throughbacks to the past.
    From's idea may sound like that - pick location/character from past -> add new area near it (anor londo-irythil)
    In fact most of trully NEW stuff will be added in DLCs I believe.

    So you may love it or not. There is no right opinion. But here is mine:

    This is the list of things, which were bring back from DS1 and which is really ridiculously BAD.

    > Sorcery casts with Staff's middle - the most ridiculous thing from DS1. It gets even more ridiculous with Faron Darts (Imagine Harry Potter or idk Gendalf who casts abilities from his fist while handling stuff...)
    > You can only be invaded by red ingame phantoms while you are Embered. It is fine that we cant be invaded by players, but ingame phantoms bring lore and items with them, and we miss it all, cause, you know, u cant always walk in embered form, and you never know when phantoms should ivade.
    > Poison that deal 3dmg/sec. Poison was useless in Ds1, in Ds2 it was fixed and here we are again, yeah!
    > A lot of actually bad animations. Like backstab with Club. in Ds2 it was far more brutal and fun.
    > Unability to play with shield in right hand and with weapon in left (well you actually can, but it is not good in any ways)
    > Overwhelming amount of fun-service. A 60% of the game - reference to another game.
    > Movesets from DS1 feels even more out-of-date right now.

    Some stuff that just bad:

    > Ordinary enemies sometimes tougher than bosses.
    > Do they bring any new spells of any of magic types?
    > Not of previous problems of souls games are fixed. (your estok with resin is still better than any bosssoul-made weapons)
    > I dont feel involved into the game for biggest part of it. I cant believe in my character or his/her motivation.
    > Quest lines are mostly pure.
    > Also design of characters is quite boring as for me (just like DS1). After Milentia, Shalkuar or Midjets who will remain in the memory, here we have some ordinary men and women mostly without any catchy things nor in characters nor in appearence.
    > Non character with false bottom were found through the game. A lot of old characters whose appearance in the game is not explained.
    > Firekeeper is a character I was sad about mostly. She do nothing. And by saying it I mean it. Herrald was one of the main hero of the game, misterious creature. After this firekeeper feels sad:(
    > Most things made from souls of bosses - rubbish.

    >>

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is quite strange to say all of this, cause I was really hyped before game release.
    There are some bright moments surely, where you think "wow, thats interesting". Game has some good new ideas too.

    > Animations of Abyss Watchers's sword is awesome, bows now is quite a good thing (finally!:)), locations are nothing new, but level design is really a great thing.
    Bosses desing is great and some stories around bosses are too (dancer, vordt, lost son of you-know-who)
    > Final area is the most incredible in whole series.
    > There are some actual drama and a little remarkable moments.
    > The game feels better - faster paced and some general improvements.
    > I do like that now there are far less weapons in the game. Their amount in previous game were a little bit overwhelming. But on the other hand after Bloodborne all this "Mace with lights" feels really boring..or I better say unremarkable. And Movesets from DS1 feels still even more out-of-date right now.

    In comparison to previous games.
    DS1 - started all of that, got original plot and new world and story.
    DS2 got all that phylosophycal stuff, characters who were changing through the game and all that drama around it. You feel that, you believe in 'em. And music of Madjula..
    After that DS3 feels a little pure.

    And it is really sad and pity after how Bloodborne was actually great.
    One more thing is that...well, dont you get quite tired with all that stuff with references to Ds1? Like they try to forget about ds2, which is quite less popular and make NEWDS2? All this references in every single moment. It should feels awesome, I know. And it is, sometimes(Smouldering lake's Fair Lady) But even Ds2 had like, you know, more blured throwbacks more blured hints. And now we just get same old stuff for the third time, and second game where a half of the game is reference to another game. So by now - Unremarkable. I really hope for DLCs, guys, I really do    … Expand
  20. HTGamer
    Mar 27, 2017
    7
    Dark Souls III is a great game, but it's also a disappointing Dark Souls game.

    If you have played a Souls game before, you know what to expect here. It's an open world dungeon crawler filled with traps and powerful enemies, with brutal difficulty but fair and rewarding gameplay. The online system of co-op and invasions is back, along with the covenants. There is also an arena PvP mode    Dark Souls III is a great game, but it's also a disappointing Dark Souls game.

    If you have played a Souls game before, you know what to expect here. It's an open world dungeon crawler filled with traps and powerful enemies, with brutal difficulty but fair and rewarding gameplay. The online system of co-op and invasions is back, along with the covenants. There is also an arena PvP mode introduced in the Ashes of Ariandel DLC, but it's lame.

    The story is vague, as per the series' tradition, which is something that I don't really like. There is a whole fantasy universe and plot that gets buried in the descriptions of items, and chances are most players won't understand a thing because the lore needs to be read in fan-made wikis. Most players will just accept they have to slay anything that moves and progress to the end of the campaign and beat the final boss.

    Gameplay is solid as ever but it hasn't progressed much since Dark Souls 1, or even Demon's Souls. It's stuck in the same old pattern, while Bloodborne refreshed the series' gameplay in a huge way. There is only the addition of Weapon Stances, weapon-specific special moves (maybe inspired by Bloodborne's transforming weapons), but since they consume magic points to execute, players can't really use them as often as desired and will have to rely on the usual normal and heavy attacks.

    Another disappointment is the lack of art imagination. Most areas are copied from previous games. You have a new Castle, new Undead Settlement, new Library, new Catacombs, another poisonous lake, even a portion of Dark Souls 1's Anor Londo castle makes a return. There are a few completely new and original areas such as Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, but it's too little.

    Enemy mobs are great and varied, maybe a 100 different designs. Some of them even transform and buff themselves so they become really dangerous. The fight against The Dancer of Boreal Valley is a phenomenal boss fight, and 2 or 3 others are challenging and/or interesting, but the rest of them are just lame.

    Going into technicalities, graphics have been upgraded since Dark Souls 1 and 2, but not by much. Just like Bloodborne, frame rate on PS4 suffers not only from small drops here and there but also from bad frame pacing, so you get a constant jerkiness in motion even when the average is 30 fps. Thankfully the game remains highly playable. The soundtrack is meh, whereas Bloodborne's was majestic.

    Dark Souls III is a great game, but it failed to progress an already exceptional series. Releasing just a year after the magnificent Bloodborne, I think DS3 was rushed out the door. And since the game feels uninspired I suspect FROM Software kept the best elements for the Season Pass, just like with DS2. Guess what, they did exactly that. Both DLCs Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City look far more interesting than anything in the main DS3 game, even though they are overpriced for what they offer in terms of content and hours of play.

    My 7/10 score reflects the main game's state. I 'd score it a 7.5/10 if I could, but since it doesn't deserve an 8/10 it's a 7/10 then. A future GOTY Edition will be an 8.5/10 with the DLCs included.    … Expand
  21. MercenaryofHate
    May 14, 2016
    7
    No Good! Dark Souls 3 suffers from outdated graphics, lackluster bosses (who feel the same as all the other souls games) and a confusing perhaps non existent story line. Due to the Souls series failure to innovate stuff this feels like a mix of Dark Souls 1 and 2 you would miss nothing by not buying this. The game is too frustrating in mechanics to be enjoyable anyways and rather kind of boring.
  22. Nunomagalhaes
    May 17, 2016
    7
    The game is good,but now sometimes i feel i,am playing monster hunter,now this game need more history,some narrative and more explanation,for me dark souls 1was the best,now you are playing the same game,with difrent locations,and some new enemys...the game is great sometimes,but only sometimes,have fun
  23. rAMZA
    Apr 25, 2017
    7
    Realy boring combat just hit and roll hit and roll, ill give it a 7 because it is still a good score, could have more difficulty options and a hc mode if character dies then its the end of it.
  24. chrisse989
    Mar 27, 2017
    7
    Positives:
    - game looks great
    Negatives: - Too much reused assets from previous games, major parts of the game feels so déjà vu (although partially intentional by the developers). In general a lack of originality. Going through another lookalike version of Valley of Defilement or catacombs gets old. - Story is too obscure. If there's no or very few info available in the game, you    Positives:
    - game looks great

    Negatives:
    - Too much reused assets from previous games, major parts of the game feels so déjà vu (although partially intentional by the developers). In general a lack of originality. Going through another lookalike version of Valley of Defilement or catacombs gets old.
    - Story is too obscure. If there's no or very few info available in the game, you don't bother anymore why you are fighting the next boss or what they're doing there in the first place
    - Exploration needs to be more rewarding. 90% of the items you'll find you'll never use, so why bother in the end?
    - NPCs are too hard to find. The game seems to expect you recheck every nook and cranny of each past area each time you've beaten a boss to find them.
    - Lack of a good music score (also a problem with the previous two DAS games). DES had such great music (opening theme, tower knight, etc).    … Expand
  25. SoulsborneLover
    Jun 3, 2017
    5
    As a veteran of the series, and a huge fan, I feel entitled to an opinion on this game. I played Dark Souls when it first came out, beat it solo at least 5 times as it nearly instantly became one of my favourite games, having excellent map design, level design, creative enemy design, some of the most enjoyable combat to date and, most importantly, AWESOME BOSSES.

    After Dark Souls it was    As a veteran of the series, and a huge fan, I feel entitled to an opinion on this game. I played Dark Souls when it first came out, beat it solo at least 5 times as it nearly instantly became one of my favourite games, having excellent map design, level design, creative enemy design, some of the most enjoyable combat to date and, most importantly, AWESOME BOSSES.

    After Dark Souls it was tough to get into Dark Souls 2, I found the whole experience underwhelming compared to the first but that was to be expected. The largest distinction would be that Dark Souls had CHALLENGE, while 2 had DIFFICULTY. Let me elaborate, challenge is a hurdle, a boss that takes you 15 tries but each time you just get a little bit closer to victory - enough to keep you going. Difficulty, on the other hand, is the unfair enemy design, or unavoidable traps if you dont know theyre there. Due to this difference, I enjoyed Dark Souls a significant amount more.

    Next came Bloodborne. Oh my god, what a perfect game. The true successor to Dark Souls in my opinion. Fluid combat, level design to make any gamer orgasm, a new weapon system and the best bosses in the series. After Bloodborne my faith in From was renewed entirely and just in time for Dark Souls 3 to go on sale...

    FINALLY, why Dark Souls 3 only gets a 5. To be honest, compared to Dark Souls and Bloodborne, I would give it a 1 or 2 out of 10 at best (15 hours in, havent had the full experience) but Ive always hated the reviews that butthurt people give when they rank a game 1 out of 10, so, realistically this game is a 5/10.

    My major issues with this game are the same issues I had with Dark Souls 2, primarily, the bosses. In the 15 hours Ive played, the best designed boss so far has been the tutorial boss... which I would only give a 4/10. I beat every boss 1 try despite being severely under leveled due to dying countless times to the brutally designed mobs, which, in the end just encourages me to run past all the **** enemies to slaughter the game-design-neglected bosses. It just isnt fun at this point.

    I will mention the pros to this game. New weapon system with weapon abilities, its pretty cool but I havent gotten a lot of use out of it, still a nice addition. The map and level design are... fantastic - without a doubt the highlight of this game, with areas on par to the original Dark Souls in creativity and feel. I honestly cant describe how impressed I am with it, especially when the rest of the game seems so devoid of thought and design.

    To sum up, it isnt a bad game but it WAS a disappointment beside the others. If you havent played the series, pick it up when its on sale, you might find something you really like. If youre a huge fan of the series, like me, probably still worth the buy with a good sale but be prepared for it to fall short of the bar that From has set.    … Expand
  26. Excitedpickle69
    Aug 7, 2016
    6
    First off I'm a fan of the first game and this game is very good to but the one thing I hate is the hit detection in this game I fight bosses and the only 5 seconds I get is me slashing and nothing happening and I end up. Pvp isn't better either literally can't hit anything.
  27. TheMitherer
    Jan 20, 2017
    5
    Dark Souls 3 - Souled Out. And they certainly did with this one. PvE although decent is way too easy, even solo. You can R1 spam all the way through this game with a straight sword and resins. And then do it again in NG+ and NG++. Of course, you may want to roll your way to victory too, since it costs no stamina to do so. There is no thought or deliberation required in any kind of fightingDark Souls 3 - Souled Out. And they certainly did with this one. PvE although decent is way too easy, even solo. You can R1 spam all the way through this game with a straight sword and resins. And then do it again in NG+ and NG++. Of course, you may want to roll your way to victory too, since it costs no stamina to do so. There is no thought or deliberation required in any kind of fighting in this game. It's basically mindless spamming all the way.
    And then of course, there's the PvP. Invasions are a total nonsense now, duelling gets very old very fast. Two of the covenants still don't work properly. I'll admit to having good fun as an Aldrich and a Watchdog though.
    The last DLC was easily the worst DLC From have made in these games. Way too short, uninspiring and basically nothing new.
    Shouldn't be surprised that a niche game that becomes popular is suddenly dumbed down to appeal to the masses, but for a game that made its name by being difficult, this is even more hard to swallow. An awful way to end the series and I'm not sure that I'd buy a DS4 anyway if this is the new direction. Shame.    … Expand
  28. pongkrit03
    Mar 14, 2017
    7
    Darksouls 3 is a good game and would have been 10/10 if it was released 6 years ago. However, releasing in 2016 with this low quality graphic is a huge let down. Dark Souls 3, while having new bosses, new maps, new enemies, does not improve much from Dark Souls 2. It is better to say it is Dark Souls 2 expansion rather than Dark Souls 3.

    The game is fun, of course, like every soul    Darksouls 3 is a good game and would have been 10/10 if it was released 6 years ago. However, releasing in 2016 with this low quality graphic is a huge let down. Dark Souls 3, while having new bosses, new maps, new enemies, does not improve much from Dark Souls 2. It is better to say it is Dark Souls 2 expansion rather than Dark Souls 3.

    The game is fun, of course, like every soul series you could expect, but that is it. There is not much innovative here. Bloodborne, on the other hand, is better than DarkSouls 3 in every aspect even though it came out earlier, except for multiplayer that DS3 is better but still in the same league as DS2. The difficulty is ok. Most bosses are easy but some are very tough (Nameless king). Soundtrack is clearly inferior to Bloodbonre. The length of the game is great.. NPC side quests are too complicated though. You will not be able to complete most of them without looking on guide in internet. Some maps feel like a maze, which I don't like it. Heavy armors are nerfed a lot in DS3 to the point you don't need to use them. There are a ton of weapons but most of them have same movesets, a bit tweak here and there. The new system, Asen Estus and weapon skill, is introduced here. It is good system though but it does not influence gameplay enough to feel fresh.

    In sum, My solid score for DarkSouls 3 is 7/10. It is a good game but has a little improvement over DS2. I hope Fromsoft will overcome this obstacle and make greater game in the future.    … Expand
  29. HopelessVoice
    Jun 2, 2016
    6
    The only Souls game I did not particuarly like. It's not that the game lacks anything special (well, a bit more open world would have been nice!) but just that it feels so awkward compared to the earlier entries. The game feels like a Bloodbourne game with its gravestones and cathedrals - god there must have been at least eight cathedrals! - and although the game play was entertaining forThe only Souls game I did not particuarly like. It's not that the game lacks anything special (well, a bit more open world would have been nice!) but just that it feels so awkward compared to the earlier entries. The game feels like a Bloodbourne game with its gravestones and cathedrals - god there must have been at least eight cathedrals! - and although the game play was entertaining for sure, I never really felt interested in downing the next boss. At times the bonfires were placed so close to the bosses that the whole back and forth between checkpoint and boss became not so much a test in endurance but a study in frustration. I always try to play the Souls game solo on my first run but this was the first time I actually did not care anymore. The worst part though was definetly the pandering and endless references to the first Dark Souls. Where it not or the Bloodbourne gothic imagery, the game could have seemed like a fan made tribute with all its reoccuring characters, places and so forth. Up til this moment I'd always regarded the series as a game with a strong sense of integrity but not anymore. I understand how people like it though, as it's still a good play and the bosses are as challenging as ever. Maybe I'm just done with Souls.… Expand
  30. draxlink
    Apr 1, 2017
    7
    A good game with excellent difficult, good history, graphics, game mechanic, but i never will understand why this game only have music in bosses fights!! Im not agree with Miyazaki about this, Dark Souls saga must have music on their stages, imagine a wonderfull music when you arrives on Boreal Vally....

    After you complete the game there's nothing to do, collecting update for rings is    A good game with excellent difficult, good history, graphics, game mechanic, but i never will understand why this game only have music in bosses fights!! Im not agree with Miyazaki about this, Dark Souls saga must have music on their stages, imagine a wonderfull music when you arrives on Boreal Vally....

    After you complete the game there's nothing to do, collecting update for rings is boring and complete secondary missions for npc rewards not bring a big satisfaction, the camera for some bosses fight is awful, the control feels very old like classic resident evil games and Dark Souls 3 difficulty is not so big like other people says, is a good game but not perfect.    … Expand
  31. TheCornflex
    Feb 1, 2018
    7
    First Souls-Game I played, so I had no comparison. Therefore I thought this game would be a bit harder to be honest. But Combat feels really great.
  32. Q_C
    Oct 8, 2018
    7
    You Died.. I saw those words on my screen Seventy-Eight times in time playing Dark Souls 3. As much as I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy my experience playing this game, I have to say I’m pretty proud of my performance in this game. That’s not to say this game isn’t difficult, it’s very VERY difficult. You will die a lot if you don’t respect the game; my advice, take it slow, checkYou Died.. I saw those words on my screen Seventy-Eight times in time playing Dark Souls 3. As much as I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy my experience playing this game, I have to say I’m pretty proud of my performance in this game. That’s not to say this game isn’t difficult, it’s very VERY difficult. You will die a lot if you don’t respect the game; my advice, take it slow, check everything, and attack every chest… Mimics are stupid. The game gave me a lot of reasons to both love and hate it. It felt like every time I took a moment to breath in the games incredible atmosphere, it would swiftly remind me why I don’t ever want to play it again. I would look up at the beautifully rendered landscape and go “wow, this is incredible”. And then just a few steps later would be cursing and screaming at From Software for dropping a huge were-beast at me that I instantly had to figure out how to kill or.. Welp, I’m dead again. By far my favorite part of the game was the boss battles. Holy God the Boss Battles made me want to continue playing despite how much I hate the sloggy grind between bonfires. Grinding is easiest before the Lord of Cinders “The Abyss Watchers” and “Lothic” both of those bosses have a bonfire right outside their arena that have high souls, nearly 1v1 fights that you can grind for days. The game has many memorable moments. Unfortunately most of them stem from the amount of BS moves or groups of enemies you have to learn to maneuver around and slay. I just used a bow to get groups to come fight me one at a time. Dark Souls 3 has an amazing Replayability structure. I have a theory on something I like to call “The Barrier of Entry for JRPGs” Think of your favorite JRPG game, each of them have a very slow first hour at least. They have to build a story and they have to get you immersed enough to be invested to play it all. But that barrier also keeps certain gamers who couldn’t stomach the barrier of entry and gave up on the game before it got good. Dark Souls is the most Western Influenced JRPG ever made. It practically is a Western RPG, it just happens to come from Japan. But where Skyrim lets you have free reign after your first fifthteen minutes, Dark Souls has a barrier of 90 minutes. After you get through the Highwall of Lorthic and beat the boss after holding up the banner. That’s when the game clicked for me. Getting the taste of another boss I wanted to fight a third and then a fourth, and eventually I had beaten the game because I was looking for another boss fight. I just wanted to fight another boss. Dark Souls was actually a fine experience. I didn’t love this game fully, but I loved it enough to continue playing it. I won’t say I love this game, but I defiantly left this experience with a new respect to the boys at From. Now please don’t give me another one of their games ever again!

    Dark Souls gets a 7 out of 10
    -Das_Dood    … Expand
  33. Shukri
    Mar 30, 2020
    5
    When reviewers know that a certain game is a best seller, or an instant internet sensation, they no longer write reviews, they simply hedge our bets.

    That's the syndrome of which Dark Souls is afflicted. You will hear people say that "this is a hard game" or "git gud", is it hard for the right reasons though? That is almost never discussed, or if it has been, I've certainly missed it    When reviewers know that a certain game is a best seller, or an instant internet sensation, they no longer write reviews, they simply hedge our bets.

    That's the syndrome of which Dark Souls is afflicted. You will hear people say that "this is a hard game" or "git gud", is it hard for the right reasons though? That is almost never discussed, or if it has been, I've certainly missed it before I made my purchase.

    Put simply, Dark Souls is a PS1 generation game, with the graphics of a current generation game. In fact, not even up there, but I do bet that without the graphics advantage, you would never tell this apart from a PS1 port as far as mechanics go.

    In another way, if the main character of one of your most favorite action RPG's was yourself instead of the main protagonist, and you mastered no martial arts, that's also Dark Souls. Proof enough, you make your own character, so he/she could very well be a stick figure for all we care.

    It's almost never a good strategy to rely on your reaction time, or your skill set (which technically there is none), or even try to find an efficient, cool-looking way around this game. Why are there even enemies that die with one hit!?

    Dark Souls plays like a horror ride from an amusement park, I get the appeal in that, but it's not an "action" RPG, it's... a very dated, wasn't released before, refurbished, old generation game, where the combat mechanics are as simple, and as brutally punishing, as poking an enemy's hitbox in whichever way or form and moving away.

    The difficulty really comes from your own character's mediocrity, and I'm not on board with that.    … Expand
  34. Keitha313
    Sep 5, 2020
    5
    The worst of the Dark Souls game to put it in sbort imagine you have a winning formula and you decide to trash it to appeal to a casual market i.e. Call of duty and Fortnite crowd... THIS IS WHAT DARK SOULS 3 IS!!

    I'm not going to go into too much details ill give you all tje maom points why you shoulsm't buy the game. The pacing of the game caters to a casual low IQ audience who can't    The worst of the Dark Souls game to put it in sbort imagine you have a winning formula and you decide to trash it to appeal to a casual market i.e. Call of duty and Fortnite crowd... THIS IS WHAT DARK SOULS 3 IS!!

    I'm not going to go into too much details ill give you all tje maom points why you shoulsm't buy the game.

    The pacing of the game caters to a casual low IQ audience who can't deal with real timing. The gameplay is essentially just a boring hack and slash.

    Constant roll spam, the roll spam goes unpunished because what it takes to roll is minimal in stamina department therefore gameplay is very lacklustre. Just forgetable dodve dodge dodge dodge Boss fights are incredibly easy no challenge at all
    Honestly im telling you this game isnt worth getting its a massive downgrade on DS1. The high positive scores are fake bots casual souls fans who didnt play the original.    … Expand
  35. Unicron35
    Oct 14, 2020
    7
    Dark Souls 3 feels like a step back for the series after playing DS2. I do not like the faster combat and gameplay. It feels too much like Bloodborne. Everything just moves too damn fast to my liking.

    The co-op is okay. It feels really difficult to find embers in DS3 which allows you to summon other players. The atmosphere is okay and the voice acting is decent. The character    Dark Souls 3 feels like a step back for the series after playing DS2. I do not like the faster combat and gameplay. It feels too much like Bloodborne. Everything just moves too damn fast to my liking.

    The co-op is okay. It feels really difficult to find embers in DS3 which allows you to summon other players. The atmosphere is okay and the voice acting is decent. The character customization feels like an afterthought. Overall, DS3 feels lacking of any of the charm or depth that DS2 has.    … Expand
  36. nillan
    Jul 15, 2020
    7
    весьма не плохо, вроде бы играбельно но всратое парирование, невозможность отключить вторжение, оставив кооператив с другом, всем знакомый пинг и отсутствие привязки вторжения к открытым локациям и момента в сюжете, поясню - вторженец пробежал всю игру и встречает тебя в самой первой локации с оружием и кольцами из длс, все это портит многое, главная проблема этой игры в её пвп.
    из плюсов    весьма не плохо, вроде бы играбельно но всратое парирование, невозможность отключить вторжение, оставив кооператив с другом, всем знакомый пинг и отсутствие привязки вторжения к открытым локациям и момента в сюжете, поясню - вторженец пробежал всю игру и встречает тебя в самой первой локации с оружием и кольцами из длс, все это портит многое, главная проблема этой игры в её пвп.
    из плюсов можно назвать хитбоксы, они не идеальные но куда лучше чем было в старых частях соулс и новой секиро (кого ловило в воздухе после уворота тот поймет о чем речь)    … Expand
  37. jiorl
    Aug 27, 2019
    7
    This is still a great game, and is a must play in general, let alone if you are a soulsborne fan. However, i just felt that while i certainly liked this game, it felt a bit too samey to the original. I think more new gameplay ideas could have been added/explored, as well as new storytelling ideas. The areas too are quite similar i.e. swamps, decrepid towns, archives. I will say though theThis is still a great game, and is a must play in general, let alone if you are a soulsborne fan. However, i just felt that while i certainly liked this game, it felt a bit too samey to the original. I think more new gameplay ideas could have been added/explored, as well as new storytelling ideas. The areas too are quite similar i.e. swamps, decrepid towns, archives. I will say though the game aesthetically looks really good, and really helps shape the world. The bosses are really cool, however their difficulty is a little bit too easy overall. Don't get me wrong - nameless king, prince lothric, champion gundyr, the pontiff are all challenging bosses but the rest of them are fairly straightforward (maybe its just cause i have played other souls games). The difficulty arc though is better than ds1, progressing very well. DS2 while it certainly had its faults - as you can see in my review of it - made me feel a big sense of adventure, traversing through its many landscapes and killing its many bosses (while DS3 hasn't given me that same feeling) , and in general is an underrated game. Overall DS3 is a great game, but just lacks the originality of the first game, and isn't as grand of an adventure as ds2 for mine.… Expand
  38. Miojo_queimadu
    Nov 23, 2019
    7
    O jogo é bom e a trilha sonora incomparável, a lore do game é sensacional, mas os bosses do jogo são "mono golpe" eles utilizam uma variedade muito limitada de golpes, o último boss do jogo base é uma piada, ele é a incarnação de vários reis, e na segunda vida utiliza uns 5 golpes no máximo, repetindo milhões de vezes o agarrão que é chato e irritante, utilizando deste golpe umas 15 vezesO jogo é bom e a trilha sonora incomparável, a lore do game é sensacional, mas os bosses do jogo são "mono golpe" eles utilizam uma variedade muito limitada de golpes, o último boss do jogo base é uma piada, ele é a incarnação de vários reis, e na segunda vida utiliza uns 5 golpes no máximo, repetindo milhões de vezes o agarrão que é chato e irritante, utilizando deste golpe umas 15 vezes na batalha, sendo que um deles que é o combo com espada,quase impossível de desviar ileso, ele repete isso incontáveis vezes, muito chato.… Expand
  39. Anweque
    Jan 29, 2020
    5
    best RPG, not a single game dragged me so much as dark souls...............
  40. banhammerzzzz
    Dec 8, 2020
    7
    Awesome game, 60 fps patch was awesome, yet ps4 pro cant give 60 fps all the time ;(
    Peer to peer system killing online play for everyone. Pvp transformed into lag fest where winner is the one with worst connection. From software just spit on players 5 games in a row with it, yet continues to do that.
  41. Mati8888
    Dec 29, 2020
    7
    7/10 for me
    The game is good but it has its problems 1the areas are mostly boring 2even 4 years later it's still broken there's a lot of popin and the hit boxes are broken
    3the game overstays it's welcome after getting to archdragon peak I was already really burnt on the game which is really bad considering that that's only about half the game not to mention all the dlc 4 compared to ds1    7/10 for me
    The game is good but it has its problems 1the areas are mostly boring 2even 4 years later it's still broken there's a lot of popin and the hit boxes are broken
    3the game overstays it's welcome after getting to archdragon peak I was already really burnt on the game which is really bad considering that that's only about half the game not to mention all the dlc
    4 compared to ds1 it's very mediocre in terms of fun
    However there's still a lot of good in the game 1the bosses are awesome
    2the soundtrack is great
    3the combat is fun enough
    So in conclusion the game is worth it as long as it under 40 bucks or its your first souls game    … Expand
  42. Xvatch
    Jul 21, 2020
    7
    The Dark Souls series needs to end. As soon as I started playing DS3, I felt it was already too far. Bosses just went too far with having up to three phases and being more of a fight to reserve resources than defeat by combat. The Ringed City DLC is surprisingly recycled and many assets are just fixed into it from previous sequels. Even just got old enemies in. It's clear they have run outThe Dark Souls series needs to end. As soon as I started playing DS3, I felt it was already too far. Bosses just went too far with having up to three phases and being more of a fight to reserve resources than defeat by combat. The Ringed City DLC is surprisingly recycled and many assets are just fixed into it from previous sequels. Even just got old enemies in. It's clear they have run out of ideas and funnily enough they have announced that they do need to move away from dark souls. Elden Ring needs to be a new experience, or a new thing all together… Expand
  43. JD1872
    Aug 28, 2020
    7
    The thing that stops this being a much better game is the poor design of the bosses, they would have been better making the game a bit shorter and focusing on maintaining the quality level.

    The DS series prides itself on tough but fair skill levels but some of the later bosses seem a bit cheap, focusing on trying to make it so you can’t heal while one wrong move and they one shot you or    The thing that stops this being a much better game is the poor design of the bosses, they would have been better making the game a bit shorter and focusing on maintaining the quality level.

    The DS series prides itself on tough but fair skill levels but some of the later bosses seem a bit cheap, focusing on trying to make it so you can’t heal while one wrong move and they one shot you or you are spending half your time trying to fight the controls where you can’t lock on.

    Maybe my issue was playing Bloodborne first which is a much better overall game with better bosses, combat and much more satisfying weapons. DS3 seems slow and frustrating in comparison, I spend the last half of the game wishing it would end    … Expand
  44. wwwzzzzz
    Oct 20, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Interesting but unbalanced..............................................!!!… Expand
  45. Huevos_il
    Jan 2, 2022
    7
    Este juego puede ser o muy bueno o muy malo, dependiendo del gusto personal del jugador.
    Sin embargo, no se puede negar que este juego tiene puntos fuertes y puntos flojos:
    Puntos negativos: Muchas veces y según la persona te puedes frustrar jugando a este juego, por ejemplo si te tiras 100 intentos contra un boss llamado La Bailarina del Valle Boreal o si por otro lado te tiras 41    Este juego puede ser o muy bueno o muy malo, dependiendo del gusto personal del jugador.
    Sin embargo, no se puede negar que este juego tiene puntos fuertes y puntos flojos:

    Puntos negativos: Muchas veces y según la persona te puedes frustrar jugando a este juego, por ejemplo si te tiras 100 intentos contra un boss llamado La Bailarina del Valle Boreal o si por otro lado te tiras 41 intentos para saltar a una cornisa sin morir en el intento. Muchas mecánicas son frustrantes y aburridas, aunque depende del boss. El sistema online que viene activo por defecto es bastante innecesario debido a los mensajes trampa que te dejan el resto de jugadores y al sistema de invasiones en el que tú estás tan tranquilo yendo a x zona y te sale un tío de color rojo que te quiere matar, como si no tuvieras suficiente con los 8000 perros que se teletransportan a tu cara o a tu espalda a medida que huyes de ellos. Las misiones de personaje requieren consultar una guía, porque no son intuitivas en lo absoluto. Las pantallas de carga hacen la experiencia un tanto más lenta ya que te tienes que comer una cada vez que viajes o mueras, y por último, los gráficos no están del todo mal, pero podrían ser un poco mejores a la vista.

    Puntos positivos: La mayoría de los jefes molan un taco, hay zonas bonitas, el aspecto RPG está bien logrado, no es injusto, a medida que vas avanzando en el juego vas a ir aprendiendo y dominando mecánicas ya conocidas, cuando derrotas a un jefe en el que llevas tiempo atascado te produce una gran satisfacción, puedes usar varias builds, se te puede ir la cabeza e intentar cosas como una no-hit y la historia, aunque escondida, es bastante buena.    … Expand
  46. Ygs
    Jul 14, 2022
    6
    What can I say after the masterpiece
    The battle of bloodborne, this game has nothing unique, a completely forgettable experience where the only thing you do is kill everything that moves on the screen without any incredible story.
  47. Chippapewa01
    Feb 28, 2022
    6
    -Beautiful story with a beautiful setting, very dark and deep
    -Very high replayability (there are a lot of fantastic builds that you can try out)
    -It contains some of the worst design problems that i've ever seen (like the camera or the **** up
    hit-boxes)
    -Not so friendly with new players (that are new to the saga)
    Overall a nice and enjoyable game but in my opinion lazily coded
  48. Jollyolfun
    Mar 16, 2022
    7
    Dark Souls 3 is fun. Definitely. The souls series is known for being extremely difficult. But personally I find there is a disconnect between being tough and being fair in DS3. Although I beat every boss in the game, I can recognize why so many people think this game is too hard. For example the Farron Keep swamp at the beginning of the game. You are posioned, cannot run, and have manyDark Souls 3 is fun. Definitely. The souls series is known for being extremely difficult. But personally I find there is a disconnect between being tough and being fair in DS3. Although I beat every boss in the game, I can recognize why so many people think this game is too hard. For example the Farron Keep swamp at the beginning of the game. You are posioned, cannot run, and have many enemies who defy all geographical obstacles coming to kill you which they will as they have every advantage. Great game but unfair.… Expand
  49. Fhpo
    Aug 25, 2023
    5
    The world desing is beautiful, the grafics are fantastic and the wepon arts god I love it, but is not for begginers, the game punish you hardly for explore the cenarios and isn't the best souls to start to know souls like game. When I played this game a had the sensation to play a game made only for fans and not for everone who want to hard game. I fell no diference betwen the introductionThe world desing is beautiful, the grafics are fantastic and the wepon arts god I love it, but is not for begginers, the game punish you hardly for explore the cenarios and isn't the best souls to start to know souls like game. When I played this game a had the sensation to play a game made only for fans and not for everone who want to hard game. I fell no diference betwen the introduction and the rest of the gameplay in terms of difcult. I love this game, but I don't recomend fot people who want to know an learn about the souls franchise, for begginers I recomend the first, the seccond, bloodborn or elden ring.… Expand

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

All reviews »
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]
See all critic reviews »