If the first Dark Souls depicted a world gracefully drifting towards the apocalypse, Dark Souls 3 shows one on a spiraling feverish descent directly into it. It's a fierce and punishing behemoth of a game that dares you to take a step forward before knocking you back again, and again, and again. I always felt compelled to come back eager for that familiar thrill of overcoming even the most exacting challenges. Beyond a few disappointing boss fights Dark Souls 3's epic scale, aggressive obstacles and rich lore make it the grandest and fiercest Dark Souls adventure yet.

Exploration is the cornerstone of this series and Dark Souls 3 does a lot to reward an inquisitive and thorough nature. You could spend hours in a single area diligently investigating every dark corner or side road and be consistently rewarded with some interesting story revelation, new gear, mini bosses and even entire secret areas. The Kingdom of Lothric and the lands that lie beyond also contains some of the most visually striking places developer From Software has ever created even if many of them do end up feeling like rehashes of familiar locales (spoiler)
such as Anor Londo. Its world isn't as largely interconnected as that of Dark Souls 1 but individual areas still weave their own branching paths together seamlessly creating twisting mazes of overlapping passages and shortcuts that were a joy to lose myself in.


Art of the kill

The brutality of Dark Souls 3’s worlds and the beasts that roam there are matched only by its vicious new weapon arts which add variety and style to an already strong combat system. One moment I'm crushing enemies with the devastating weight of my great sword and the next I'm turning the giant hunk of curved steel into a graceful propeller of destruction. Some of the most awesome looking weapon arts and one of the most impressive strides in Dark Souls 3’s combat in general come out of its dual wielded weapon sets. One great sword and dagger combo in particular lets you perform several wide sweeping slashes before delivering a final midair blow. You can also quickly lock onto new enemies mid chain prioritizing dangerous or vulnerable individuals in a mob to maximize the effect of your attacks. Having access to this versatile arsenal of destruction is handy because Dark Souls 3’s roster of relentless horrors hit harder and sometimes faster than ever. Enemies are unusually crowded and agile and AI invaders fight with the speed and aggression of a skilled PvPer. This added a new but welcomed layer of challenge as well as some great opportunities to make the most of my weapon arts. I found myself approaching combat situations with even more caution and planning than Dark Souls usually requires and I also kept several types of weapons reinforced for dealing with all manner of foe. The titanite I used to upgrade weapons is extremely plentiful in Dark Souls 3 so not much farming is necessary to keep those handy options ready.


Lords of Cinder

Dark Souls 3 experiments a lot more with the bossfight structure as well. Boss fights have multiple phases now in much the same way blood-borne does. New move sets and sometimes a brand new health bar halfway through boss fights kept the tension mounting and prevented me from getting lazy with my tactics. Some of these bosses have well placed weak spots that must be targeted to deal damage while other times they require a bit more puzzling to take down. Those were always interesting and concept but more often than not resulted in fights that felt underwhelming. Taking down a hulking giant in four hits is a waste of an awesome boss design even if the method is pretty cool. But overall the awe-inspiring designs, moves, music and lore implications make Dark Souls 3’ boss battles incredibly memorable and sometimes even surprising experiences.

Verdict

If Dark Souls 3 truly is the last in the series as we know it then it's a worthy
send-off. Weapon arts allows stylish and versatile new moves without tarnishing the purity of the combat system. Lothrics awe-inspiring locations provide visually stunning arenas for rigorous exploration and fierce face offs with hosts of deadly enemies and even deadlier bosses. While not all the risky changes land as neatly as others, Dark Souls 3 is a powerful journey and the sequel the Dark Soul series truly deserves.