Dark Souls III Reviews
Dark Souls 3 fires on all fronts providing equal measures of mystery and exhilaration. If this is truly the last Souls game then FromSoftware has ended this series off with a heck of a bang.
Miyazaki finds the best way to close the Dark Souls trilogy. In terms of gameplay, Dark Souls 3 has the same taste of the previous chapters, and is not original and fresh as Bloodborne has been. A great number of improvements, still, refine the formula and create another impressive action RPG. Dark Souls 3 is infused with a cruel beauty; its world -assembled with pieces from Lordran and Yharnam and Boletaria - represents a place where any fan would love to wander.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With its handsomely-crafted labyrinths and rigorously paced combat, "Dark Souls 3" hits all the notes that aficionados have come to expect. Still, I hope Miyazaki's next creation finds a new way to cut against the grain.
Dark Souls 3 is the great game everyone expected it to be. There's no denying that. Two late game bosses are absolutely off-the-wall fantastic. But in hindsight having played it, I can't help feeling that there's not much room for the series to go if From Software insists on such a breakneck pace with sequels. Much like Bloodborne just felt like Souls in a different place, Dark Souls 3 feels like "more of the same" a little too often. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, and I worry that another quick turnaround on a Souls game will make the series feel stale. Here's hoping whatever comes next shows us that the From Software still has more tricks up its sleeve.
Dark Souls III feels more like an extension of Dark Souls II mixed with a few fresh lessons learned from Bloodborne to create a richer and more powerful overall experience.
If that's your thing, then this game has tens of hours of bliss in store for you. Marquis de Sade used to say that it is always by way of pain one arrives at pleasure, and Dark Souls III certainly takes this concept to the next level.
Dark Souls III is another punishingly hard game in an era of hand-holding that masochists will appreciate. While enemy AI is laughably dumb, those same enemies can take you down in no time flat. This is a game that forces you to learn its intricacies and quirks, and use them all to your advantage. Sporting a wonderful environment full of color, suffering, death, and a small amount of hope, fans can expect to sink several dozen, if not hundreds, of hours into the game, if they haven't already. From Software knows how to make challenging games that reward those who invest the time needed to properly engage enemies, and Dark Souls III continues in that tradition.
Dark Souls 3 doesn't take many risks, but when you have fans that played Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne, you need something to keep the series fresh and new. Dark Souls 3 doesn't offer anything like that, which means you should already know if you'd enjoy the new game. It's more of the same, with slight adjustments to differentiate it from the other games in the series.
For fans and newcomers alike, Dark Souls III is a magnum opus of From Software design. You'll celebrate as bosses fall to your sword, gaze in wonder at the landscape's snowy hamlets and towering cathedrals, scold yourself for losing souls to a bottomless pit or eldritch beast, then grab the controller to relive the nightmare again and again.
You start off as a weak, undead wanderer and eventually grow into a being that can kill god-like monsters, and it's not because the game's narrative needs you to be that powerful, but because you've worked so very hard to get to that point. It's an incredible feeling, and makes Dark Souls III an incredible game.
Dark Souls III represents yet another valiant swing in the brutally addictive formula that is From Software's unforgiving Souls series. Glitches and a been-there, done-that vibe for series veterans take off some of the sheen from the game. The solid gameplay, however, combined with new battle arts and more dynamic boss fights make Dark Souls III another worthy entry in the franchise.
Dark Souls is a series about pushing through the unknown, pressing forward with your shield raised, probing the darkness, and looking for the flicker of the next bonfire. When the fire is lit, the previous area loses its mystique. It is conquered. This same sense of familiarity permeates Dark Souls 3, and it only ever gets you out of your comfort zone by resorting to cheap tricks. Yet despite this, it's still a beautifully bleak adventure with one of the best combat systems in videogames - it just falls short of the magic of the original. Like the opening cutscene says: the fire fades.
I think it goes without saying that if you are a fan of Miyazaki's creations, you should run as soon as you can for a copy of Dark Souls III. In case you have committed the sin of never giving this franchise a chance, don't worry, because leaving aside its very intricate history that only some have been able to solve, this installment is optimal for those who are just entering the complicated world revolving around the brilliant works of FromSoftware.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The level design is excellent, the gameplay neat, the artistic direction grandiose and the graphics of quality. Despite some minor technical issues, this game is undoubtedly one of the best "Souls", and even, without hesitation, already one of the best games of 2016.
Review in French | Read full review
Dark Souls III is one of the demonstrations that video games (some, like movies) are pure art, without any possible discussion and its director is the greatest current genius in the sector, also without discussion. Miyazaki says that he is going to take a long vacation and that there will be no more Dark Souls for now.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Unsurprisingly, the PC version of Dark Souls III is a little more accomplished than the console version, mainly for its framerate (60FPS) really very pleasing to both the eyes and the gameplay.
Review in French | Read full review
Dark Souls III would be a fitting end to a videogame series, and we don't get many of those. I enjoyed almost all of my time with it, but I'm not sure if I'd want another game like this to come by for a long time. As a comprehensive second draft of the best moments from the series, it left me with fond memories of everything I love
The Dark Souls games remain a high-water mark for the action RPG. Uncompromising, occasionally infuriating, yet constantly rewarding for those with the correct level of patience and dedication, Dark Souls III is a fitting end to a fantastic trilogy.
Dark Souls 3 is a successful mechanical and thematic culmination of this beloved series, and while its console version isn't quite as smooth or pretty, it still generally performs admirably and remains a joy to play.