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. 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
  2. wwwzzzzz
    Oct 20, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Interesting but unbalanced..............................................!!!… Expand
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. Anweque
    Jan 29, 2020
    5
    best RPG, not a single game dragged me so much as dark souls...............
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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.
  20. 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
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. 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
  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. 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
  30. 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.
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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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