Dark Souls III Reviews
Dark Souls 3 must bow its head to its Playstation predecessor - but should be proud that it manages to be a gruelling, challenging adventure, pushing endlessly through horror and weirdness.
I truly believe Dark Souls 3 is the best Souls experience a player can get out of the franchise. Newcomers can jump in, old fans will experience lots of ties to the previous games both visually and lore wise, and if this is indeed the final Dark Souls game in the series, it went out with its monster arms swinging high! It's fitting that the end would come like this, not dead and buried but at the pinnacle of its hollowed life.
With Souls titles now a pseudo-genre of their own, there's an inevitable familiarity to the rewarding challenges, deft storytelling, and intricate, shortcut-laden level design of Dark Souls 3. But familiarity alone should not detract from this third title's fine implementation of ideas and mechanics. The enigma may be waning, but there's still nothing quite like a Souls game.
Among the best results of Dark Souls 3 is the clear distinction between greater accessibility and substance below the surface, in the face of a very difficult, long and intricate adventure like any good Souls must be.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With a faster combat mechanic than ever, better visuals and the same challenging gameplay as before, Dark Souls 3 delivers an adventure that will hook you up for many, many hours. It might not be as good as Bloodborne, mainly because some technical flaws, and a little less appealing world – but it’s close enough.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
Dark Souls III should serve as a bible for the often difficult exercise of the final episode of a franchise. In conclusion, this ultimate "Soulien" journey is quite simply the masterpiece undoubtedly imagined since the beginning of the series by its creator Miyazaki.
Review in French | Read full review
As a bloody swansong though, it’s the perfect send-off.
Dark Souls 3 combines all the knowledge and experience that From Software has accumulated since the release of Demon's Souls and the recent Bloodborne,and creates an amazing adventure that will test you for strength and patience.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Dark Souls 3 is going to be the most accessible game in the series, while still maintaining the brutal levels of difficulty and reliance on skill. If this is the end of the Dark Souls series, then they've chosen the perfect time to bow out.
I can't say I ever really had fun playing Dark Souls III once I was immersed. It was something to be endured more than something to be enjoyed. But I do believe there is a future in the game where that pleasure would come. I just didn't get there in time for this review. I am unwilling to be overly forgiving of its flaws, but do recognize the community that surrounds the game make up greatly for the pitfalls of the game itself. In most games there is a simple pleasure of success that accompanies them. The payoff for Dark Souls isn't guaranteed, but goes somewhat deeper than that. It feels a little more like genuine accomplishment, found in small does along the way and promised in large measure when you finally find yourself skilled at this wonderfully unique little corner of the gaming world.
As the final game in the series, Dark Souls III delivers a fantastic, no holds barred, 30-hour experience that will satisfy longtime fans. Dark Souls III polishes its gameplay mechanics to a shine, and delivers the lore in droves to those who hunger for it – the perfect mix for an action RPG. Praise the Sun.
Dark Souls III is an exceptional descent into a superbly menacing world
Dark Souls III nails much of what made the first two in the series so special, but its world and enemies are unusually drab.
Dark Souls 3 should serve as an example of a game that not only serves existing fans extremely well, but isn't so obtuse in its approach that it can't be picked up by a newbie and enjoyed, just as much as I did.
From Software invigorates the Souls series with faster combat, deeper customization, expanded lore, and gorgeous visuals. Performance issues aside, Dark Souls III is a fantastic addition to the series.
Dark Souls III is tough as nails, and the most rewarding Dark Souls game yet.
Dark Souls III is the most evolved and accessible entry in the series.
While it's still impossible on a personal level for me to admit that any of Dark Souls' siblings could better it, when taken as a whole, complete experience, Dark Souls III may be the best chapter of the Souls series that From Software has crafted. A fitting way to end, if that will indeed be the fate of the franchise.
Give it a chance, stick with it and make each death a learning experience. It might just become your new favorite series.
While the game is an absolute masterclass in action RPG design, there is an inescapable sense that old ground is being re-tread. A reliance on geographical call-backs, stock-enemies and series in-jokes muddy the tone and mystique that made its direct predecessors such a joyfully bleak experience.While the superbly visceral gameplay, intense boss fights and improved online features mark FromSoftware's latest out as one of 2016's best, Dark Souls 3's flickering fire is ultimately engulfed by its own bright history.