The Dark Souls series is known for its intense battles, making it one of the most challenging series. The latest installment, Dark Souls III, is the toughest in the series by far. The game stays true to its formula which has kept players coming back for every new installment. What exactly is the series formula? Being able to explore an enormous world that will have you encounter extremely strong enemies that you have never encountered before.
Dark Souls II was disappointing. Many are thinking that the company won’t be able to bring the series back to life even though players had Bloodborne, Dark Souls III will either make or break the series. Will the third installment bring back the fans that were disappointed in the second series? Let’s take a deeper look into this dark world better known as, Dark Souls III:
Tough Enemies
Let’s face it, Dark Souls 3 is the hardest game in the series. I was getting so frustrated during some of the battles that I kept saying “I’ll never play this game again,” but I was never able to put the controller down. It made me more determined to beat that scene. While in battle, I felt as if these enemies were on steroids, no matter what I did I felt as if they were literally unstoppable. Running from them will not help, they will follow you and bring more of their friends along which will make you feel like you are being jumped – eventually killing you in the process.
In this game, you have to actually think before making a move, you will have a handful of enemies coming at you at once. Dodging and waiting to set up your attacks at the right moment is the only way you will make it out alive. Everyone has their own way of taking on the enemy, but the more you play the more you will become comfortable and notice that you have so many different possibilities when taking on these hideous foes.
Starting Classes / Weapons
In every RPG (Role Playing Game) players have the choice in choosing between different classes to play. In Dark Souls III you have a handful of classes to choose from such as; Wandering Knight, Northern Warrior, Sorcerer, and Pyromancer, just to name a few. Each one has their own special techniques and armor.
You will notice that the game offers a customization system, this is where your collected souls come into play. The souls you collect throughout the game are used for you to distribute in your skills set, and will also help give you more options when it comes to weapons. Now, like most RPG’s when you have a Mage – your mage will learn everything that has to do with magic. Your weapons will also be based on your abilities, but this game is not like your traditional RPG games. You can have a Sorcerer, and be able to use weapons that the Northern Warrior has.
Many of you pick your class according to your comfort-ability with weapons and spells. The game allows you to carry a nice amount of weapons, they have also have given weapons special abilities known as “weapon skill,” this new skill is a special move, allowing the player to perform an ultra-attack. This is a nice touch – especially when it comes to fighting these tough bosses you eventually have to face.
Boss Battles
As previously stated, Dark Souls is one of the most challenging games you will ever play. This is especially evident when you to get to the boss battles. I’ve played through tons of boss battles, but this is by far the hardest battles I have ever encountered. Even with the nice upgrades we received to our weapons, I still had a very hard, and frustrating time dealing with the last two bosses in the game.
As expected, once you get closer to the end, it becomes harder – but I wasn’t prepared for this level of difficulty. There were times during the battle where I wanted to pick-up my Xbox One and throw it across the room, my neighbors must think I’m insane from all the screaming I did. But, I will say this – once I defeated these two bosses, I actually felt like I accomplished something and made my insane actions worthwhile.
No Surprises
I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get any surprises. If you’ve played any of the other Dark Souls games, you will know that the game is known for having little secrets spread throughout the game. I remember spending hours just looking for little surprises hidden throughout the game. This time around it just felt as if the little hidden items I needed to look for were right in front of my face. I didn’t have to spend hours looking for them which left me feeling a little bored.
Conclusion
The game is based on repetition, some players will love it, but some will not be too fond of it. RPG’s are not for everyone, but Dark Souls III takes that RPG feel and tweaks it a little to give players a challenge. Yes, the game has it flaws, but what games doesn’t? The upgrade to our skill-set and weapons are a nice addition.
There is no doubt about it Dark Souls III is a challenging game, not many games give you that anymore. Most of the games out now you can beat within hours – maybe even a day. I enjoyed the intense battles, especially the last two boss battles. It’s been a while since I played a game that had me actually thinking about the next move I needed to use in order to get through this scene. Yes, I screamed, threw a headset and a controller, but it was well worth it once I was able to fight my way through some of the most intense battles I have ever played.
Price: $59.99
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4,
