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Preview: Dark Souls III

Dark Souls II was a game in which I was quite hesitant to play. I’d heard the stories about how difficult the original Souls games were to get through. Not only that, but other players around the world could enter your game and cause havoc while you’re trying to accomplish this. To me this was crazy; why would anyone put themselves through all this trouble?

Either way, I decided that I’d at least have to give it a try when it was released; it completely blew away my expectations. In doing so, Dark Souls II easily earned itself the top spot on my best games list for that year. So when we were invited to take a look at From Software’s latest addition to the series, Dark Souls III, I was eager to find out if I would still have that same amazing experience which I had with that last game. After about three hours of playtime with the start of Dark Souls III I am dead set ready for more, because what I played was absolutely fantastic.

Much like the previous games in the franchise, Dark Souls III starts by having the player select their character’s attributes and appearance; that, in turn, will help shape your play style throughout the journey. It all begins as you rise from the ground amidst a collection of gravestones. You are quickly introduced to some basic mechanics such as movement, attacking and dodging. Then after taking down just a small handful of enemy cannon fodder you’ll be faced with the very first boss. This is where the real game starts and at a basic level is what Dark Souls is: learning how to approach the thing in front of you so you can take it down to gain more souls.

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One of the changes Dark Souls III brings to the bosses is that they will now alter their strategy and attacks as you deliver damage to them. This means players shouldn’t be able to “solve” a boss with one type of tactic throughout the entire fight, and force the player to alternate their approach as the health bar begins to whittle down. The boss encounters I faced were challenging and tense; the moment when the words are splashed on the screen that they’ve been destroyed are satisfying – you find yourself starting to breathe again because you’ve been holding your breath during the fight.

The other noticeable difference from the previous game is that a magic bar has been added to the interface. As you use specific spells, miracles or attacks that require magic then the bar will drain. It can be refilled by equipping the Ash Estus Flask and using this item – much like the regular Estus Flask for heath. One thing that I did find helpful though as someone who isn’t a magic user, I was able to convert the Ash Estus Flask to an Estus Flask; giving me an extra shard to use when regaining health.

Although I didn’t have much time to experiment with the combat in Dark Souls III it still feels very familiar, but slightly quicker than the previous instalment. I resorted to my typical build — a sword and shield -– which I would use to work my around behind an enemy before backstabbing them, mainly because I’m rubbish at trying to parry. For this playthrough I put a lot of my souls into basing everything around the strength attribute so I could hit hard before anyone knew what was going on.

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One thing that I was a bit disappointed with in regards to Bloodborne was the lack of variety in the environments — most of the areas looked much the same with the gothic horror art style that they went for. With Dark Souls III it does seem like there will some variation which is refreshing. It also appears that there will be plenty of locations to explore which you’ll back track to. There were a number of shortcuts that I did find along the way, but even a couple of lock doors or areas that I wasn’t sure how to get to with the short amount of time I had with the game… Also there was a giant dragon blocking a path early on so, yeah I’ve got no idea about that one yet. This brings me to my next point.

An element I enjoy a lot about From Software’s games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne is their community aspect. Getting together and exploring a world, trying to figure out what certain things mean or how to take on particular boss. While my session was played offline so I didn’t have the ability to read any messages left by other people or call anyone to my aid, I did have other people playing alongside me in the room. When we weren’t screaming at the TV after being killed over our own stupid mistakes, or yelling in excitement when delivering the final blow to a boss we were all talking to each other as we went along – be it communicating how to get through certain situations, or someone showing me how they found a completely different way to traverse across an area. Even though we were essentially playing alone in the game, I still had that feeling a community brings to a series like Dark Souls.

Although I had a limited time with Dark Souls III, what I played got me very excited. I saw glimpses of a few of the new additions and changes From Software has made to this game, but I’m hoping there’s a lot more to come as you explore further into the world which Hidetaka Miyazaki has created. If you are like how I used to be and don’t play Dark Souls because you’ve heard about how challenging these games are then I can’t recommend it enough; give it a try. You’ll die, of course, and a lot. Still, it is one of the most rewarding video game experiences you’ll ever have. Dark Souls III, I am ready.


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About the author

Luke Lawrie

Writing and producing content about video games for over a decade. Host of Australia's longest running video game podcast The GAP found at TheGAPodcast.com. Find me on Twitter at @lukelawrie