Dark Souls III Reviews
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
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
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
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.
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.
Few titles this generation will match the purity of Dark Souls III as a game. This is as brutal, exhilarating, and compelling as the series has ever been, but it is also laden with the heavy burden of expectation that its heritage brings. Significant, yet minor improvements are made to the established formula, and nostalgia is warmly embraced a little too often, yet this still doesn't prevent Dark Souls III from being a fine game.
Dark Souls III is another triumph of the imagination for From Software, a studio which surely now must rank as one of Japan's leading talents. The company's Souls series has a near-flawless track record and after the cult nature of Demon's Souls has thankfully found a large and receptive mainstream audience – not bad for a franchise which delights in being obtuse and hair-pulling tricky in equal measure. Dark Souls III is arguably the most accomplished entry yet, refining the core mechanics and cunningly utilizing next-generation hardware to excellent effect.
Bosses in these games are always a highlight, and Dark Souls 3 has some excellent encounters that will surely kick your ass.
Dark Souls III is beautiful and terrifying all in one. Intense, atmospheric and so cruel. An essential game for RPG fans and one of the very best games of 2016 thus far.
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.
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.
Series director Hidetaka Miyazaki has returned to bring the series to a close. Can he recapture the magic of the original Dark Souls?
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.
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 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
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
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
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.
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.
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.