Dark Souls III Review Thread
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Melchiah
Member
More like multiplatform vs exclusive battle. Few of the comnents about BB probably wouldn't be as sour if it wasn't an exclusive title, and people often are less judgemental when it comes to multiplatforms.
Ghost Slayer
Member
I see Salt & Sanctuary get a lots of positive impression, not much for Lords of the Fallen on Gaf. Thinking about getting S&S during PSN or Steam sale since I can't afford it right now after DS3 and U4 pre-order
im like the only Lords apologist on Gaf lol
Actually Im not even an apologist, I dont think its particulary good and it certainly cant touch the actual souls games...
...but boy did I love it. And yes I want Salt bad but its not out on PC yet
TatteredHat
Member
Salt & Sanctuary isn't really comparable since it's 2D, Lords of the Fallen is bad.
Confused Cheeseburger
Member
Which reviews are the least spoilery?
thekiddfran
Member
I'm surprised how prominent the "interconnectivity"-argument is. I thought it's pretty well designed. you can explore an area horizontally and vertically finding something interesting or opening up a necessary shortcut (those regular enemies can be rather brutal). I also feel it's more varied in locations and aesthetics than bloodborne. the only thing I prefer bloodborne over it is its fresh new take on danger.
dark souls 3 seems most of the time familiar. which isn't a bad thing and especially not if you're new to the series. but the experience I had playing through demon's souls is long gone.
dark souls 3 seems most of the time familiar. which isn't a bad thing and especially not if you're new to the series. but the experience I had playing through demon's souls is long gone.
thekiddfran
Member
Lords of the fallen isnt that bad actually. I would give it a 7/10. A decent souls clone
yep from what i understood the major problem (of polygon mostly) is just that the areas aren't intertwined like in DS1 , but from what i played the actual areas are more varied and better designed than ever before and unlike DS2 its all logically placed
Some of the more negative reviews echo some of the conflict I've felt since finishing the game with two distinct builds. (I've played the game on PS4 first with high Dex/end, then with high Int/ Attunement). At once, there's really nothing else quite like Dark Souls 3 out there--speaking of its visual design and combat quality--and the game kept me mostly engaged from start to finish. By any estimation, this makes it a terrific success--but I still felt somewhat unfulfilled as things ended, like the game hadn't quite met my expectations. It's very hard to quantify why this might be, especially as I am relatively easy to please and not particularly good at video games.
I completed my first playthrough of Dark Souls 3 at 30 hours, which seemed short as it took me around 40 to get through Bloodborne--but this is not to say that game length somehow signifies quality; instead, I equate these times to significant roadblocks I faced in Souls, and overcoming those obstacles was time-consuming. My first round of Dark Souls lasted i think 50 hours, and I ran into some meaningful walls trying to even reach a few of the later game bosses, let alone defeating those bosses. Four Kings took me a long time--mostly because I had missed Sif--and Nito wasn't much easier.
Looking back, I was able to get through most bosses in Dark Souls 3 on my first attempt, which was certainly not the case for Dark Souls 2 or Bloodborne, and I didn't really encounter any solid walls in the difficulty. As with all Souls games, it's much harder without stats in HP, so keep that in mind if you want to make sure you've got some challenge.
Perhaps this is just the result of me getting better at Souls games, and nothing will ever feel as daunting and rewarding as Dark Souls/Demon's Souls did back in the day--but I still feel like Bloodborne came awfully close by just shaking up the combat. The first time I defeated Gascoigne / Amygdala, for example, were "series" highs for me. Hell, I even thought Micolash was trilling.
So, with all that screed behind us, I still don't know exactly how I feel; maybe it's just the melancholy of it having ended at all. I still have things to uncover, but the main pathways through the world of Dark Souls 3 feel well-trod. This is a good game, make no mistake--it just might be exactly the right time to give the series a rest, to make it precious again.
I completed my first playthrough of Dark Souls 3 at 30 hours, which seemed short as it took me around 40 to get through Bloodborne--but this is not to say that game length somehow signifies quality; instead, I equate these times to significant roadblocks I faced in Souls, and overcoming those obstacles was time-consuming. My first round of Dark Souls lasted i think 50 hours, and I ran into some meaningful walls trying to even reach a few of the later game bosses, let alone defeating those bosses. Four Kings took me a long time--mostly because I had missed Sif--and Nito wasn't much easier.
Looking back, I was able to get through most bosses in Dark Souls 3 on my first attempt, which was certainly not the case for Dark Souls 2 or Bloodborne, and I didn't really encounter any solid walls in the difficulty. As with all Souls games, it's much harder without stats in HP, so keep that in mind if you want to make sure you've got some challenge.
There are a few gimmick bosses here that offer next to no challenge, regardless of build, which I can't help but feel is somewhat disappointing.
Perhaps this is just the result of me getting better at Souls games, and nothing will ever feel as daunting and rewarding as Dark Souls/Demon's Souls did back in the day--but I still feel like Bloodborne came awfully close by just shaking up the combat. The first time I defeated Gascoigne / Amygdala, for example, were "series" highs for me. Hell, I even thought Micolash was trilling.
So, with all that screed behind us, I still don't know exactly how I feel; maybe it's just the melancholy of it having ended at all. I still have things to uncover, but the main pathways through the world of Dark Souls 3 feel well-trod. This is a good game, make no mistake--it just might be exactly the right time to give the series a rest, to make it precious again.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
Question FromGAF, I've finished Bloodborne and loved it, half way through DS1 and keen to finish it before DS3...should I leave DS2 until after DS3?
Finding DS1 a bit slow for my tastes to be honest, definitely prefer Bloodborne to DS1.
Finding DS1 a bit slow for my tastes to be honest, definitely prefer Bloodborne to DS1.
HYDE
Member
Disagree on both fronts...
This game is fun and fantastically beautiful graphically!!
I agree...it is right up there with Demons Souls, Dark Souls 1, and Bloodborne. All of them including Dark Souls 2(especially including all DLCs) are incredible games. All 5 are must plays imo.
Already Torn
Banned
Leave DS2 until about a year or so after playing any other of the games. That way you won't remember how much better the rest are during your DS2 play through.
Yeah, lack of choices and always having a clear path to progress is way worse than more or less interconnectedness. Very disappointed if it turns out to be true.
Dark Souls 2 is great, but i'd say it's even slower then DS1 is some respects, so it might be better for you to go straight to 3.
People salty that it's going to be lower than Bloodborne when the real disgusting news is that Dark Souls II is going to be higher than both this and worst of all, Dark Souls.
Thank god the only relevant reviews to me are on Steam nowadays. I feel bad for people who care about metacritic and still believe GTA IV is the best GTA game and Dark Souls II is better than one.
Thank god the only relevant reviews to me are on Steam nowadays. I feel bad for people who care about metacritic and still believe GTA IV is the best GTA game and Dark Souls II is better than one.
Newtype-001
Member
So close i can taste it
Already Torn
Banned
Exactly, they should be salty for both reasons.
HYDE
Member
I would play Dark Souls 1 before playing 3, it's one of those games where they tug at the nostalgic strings a bit and deliver a familiar feeling, and bring some exciting new stuff to perfectly round out a similar fresh feeling by infusing a little Bloodborne and Demon's Souls to the mix.
ClosingADoor
Member
Already Torn
Banned
DS2 came out in 2014.
Yah, salty cause Dark Souls 2 is better than 1. Hard thing to admit.
I have to say, the one area where Dark Souls 3 LARGELY improves upon past entries was the music. Every single boss theme is a masterpiece, which is unbelievable until you actually listen to the soundtrack. It's like Bloodborne: The Old Hunters extended over the course of an entire game. I can't think of a single song on the entire OST that is less than a 9/10. It's too bad more critics don't give the soundtrack the recognition it deserves.
Also, I found that Dark Souls 3 refines a lot of Dark Souls tropes, so while it's not necessarily original, it's the best at what it does.
Also, I found that Dark Souls 3 refines a lot of Dark Souls tropes, so while it's not necessarily original, it's the best at what it does.
One boss fight in particular takes every single boss "twist" you ever experience in a Souls game, and combines them into ONE FIGHT. Let me tell you, it's a rollercoaster of a fight.
Melchiah
Member
Funnily enough, all three current gen CODs are scored around 80. Series like Silent Hill 1-3 and Halo 1-3 scored about the same as well, despite of the similarities in gameplay mechanics. If the game is good, it shouldn't be put down just because it shares similarities with its predecessors. After all, people buy sequels because they liked what they played before, and want more of the same.
Yeah, after Bloodborne, I don't need reviews to buy the game. Edge's score is probably the most meaningful to me, as it's the only game magazine/website I still continue to read. Their tastes seem to align the most with mine.
And other undefined things, like next gen gameplay.
Ghost Slayer
Member
"Nextgen gameplay" is probably the most vague term I've ever seen in reviews this gen.
That's very last gen of you to say.
Emedan
Member
You're insane
Ghost Slayer
Member
:3
Sanctuary
Member
What's the shortest route through a mansion? Enter the front, exit the back. Want to explore it? Sure, go ahead, but that's just for exploration's sake since you still need to exit out the back door eventually to progress.
The DLC is tooooooooo good.
He's right from a PC standpoint. Then again anything is better than Dark Souls on PC.
Didn't you know? Players opinions are passé, it's paid reviewers what matters so yeah Dark Souls II is much better than the first and GTA IV is better than V.
That doesn't have much to do with inter-connectivity though, BB's world is more interconnected than DS2's yet you have nowhere near the freedom of choice when it comes to the order in which you tackle areas. Even DeS which is basically four completely separate areas, would give you more freedom than BB.
Not sure where DS3 stand when it comes to this, but what you're refereeing to here isn't dictated by how interconnected the world is.
The soundtrack is really, really remarkable.
The progression of the Pontiff Sulyvahn theme--though it was spoiled in one of the trailers--is a masterpiece on its own
Possumowner
Member
Brilliant,I thought for some reason they'd be extra harsh with this one.So pleased at those scores,some great write ups
I'm too easily prone to fight fire with fire.
Can't wait to play this, got my money ready to go once the game is released. Haven't paid attention to much game media for 3 yet, so I think I'm gonna be going in really fresh and ready to have a good ass time
Been playing some other Souls games to get my hyped, won't get burned out either I can play these games all the time haha. Got the Platinum in Bloodborne (I never want to see of hear of chalice dungeon again...) and finally working towards Plat in Demon's Souls now (gonna have to be doing alot of Soul Tendency stuff -___-).
Interesting observation about Demon's Souls though, the bosses in this game feel like the some of the easiest in the series outside of DS2, and even then many of these are easy and most have a gimmick to the fight. The only truly difficult bosses I feel have been Flamelurker, Pentrator and Old Monk (if you end up with someone who's at least decent at the game lol)
Been playing some other Souls games to get my hyped, won't get burned out either I can play these games all the time haha. Got the Platinum in Bloodborne (I never want to see of hear of chalice dungeon again...) and finally working towards Plat in Demon's Souls now (gonna have to be doing alot of Soul Tendency stuff -___-).
Interesting observation about Demon's Souls though, the bosses in this game feel like the some of the easiest in the series outside of DS2, and even then many of these are easy and most have a gimmick to the fight. The only truly difficult bosses I feel have been Flamelurker, Pentrator and Old Monk (if you end up with someone who's at least decent at the game lol)
Already Torn
Banned
About the same? 35 for me.