Dark Souls III (2016)

Utterly disappointed. Played all games as PvE (sometimes PvP).

Maybe it's because i played as Sorcerer this time.

Dark Souls 1 was a complete game. I played as a classic Knight. Long swords, spears, shields. I learnt observing the opponent for best attacking options there. Of course it had pros and cons but considering the year it released they all might be understandable. Best game in this series. Completed with the DLC.

Dark Souls 2, i don't understand the hate. Of course it adds nothing to Dark Souls lore. But generally who cares. I do but that's not much of a big deal. This is DS. Journey is more important than the endings. I played as dual sword Swordsman. It was painful at first but later it pays of very well. Never had much fun. My dodging skills really improved after my lazy knight. Butchering the enemy with my katanas, other dual blades i used. Also there is Rapier. Completed the game with all DLCs.

Then is there 3rd. I wanted to try something different this time. Then i saw, after 40 hours of investment, i finally made Sorcerer worth playable at least. Except few bosses, game becomes relatively easy. Because as a sorcerer i realized, all the powerful spells were there late in the game. One shotting normal enemies. Crystal moss, spear were like a Nuke bomb. I resetted my skills in order to do Dex/Int build also. It was more fun than full Int.

Many bosses are so unbalanced. Feels like creators tried so hard to create a "hard boss". I killed all of them, even the optionals. But the only boss i enjoyed is the Nameless King. Ohh, there are summons. I wish i had not called them. They melt bosses like a butter. If you gonna play this game. Don't call summons. They destroy all the fun. I used them in few bosses because i was so bored during game and wanted to finish it quickly to see the ending. Whatever.

And the long, long roads filled with the enemies from the bonfire to the Boss fight. This is just stupid. This doesn't make the game harder. Just a huge waste of time. They knew they did a rushed game so to lenghten the total time, they add all those unnecessary stuff.

Game has astonishing visuals. I loved it. But the areas and the enemies so similar.

Terrible hitbox. Just terrible. I mean DS1 and DS2 was bad. But this game just just terrible when it comes to hitbox. Enemy broken sword has better reach than my spells.

Locking to enemy. As a sorcerer it was the worst side of my gameplay. There is just no balance here either. i can shot some enemies miles away, but also lost lock-on because there is a thin column. And camera goes crazy. YOU DIED.

I saw some people saying that this game is super hard and that's why it's the best. Umm, this game is not hard?

It's like they put all the bad things from the first two game and morphined into the 3rd. Because changes they made brings nothing new or enjoyable.

I played as a dodge-backstep guy so i can't make ant comment about Poise stuff, which i heard they also messed that up.

All +2, +3 items are in NG+ and NG++. Why? Again rushed level designs. Just make finding them harder or hide tough optional bosses. But no. You need to play another 20-30-40 hours to get them. I didn't like that either.

Some guy said real game begins at NG+7. Yeah bro. OK.

Endings are meeh.

You know i'm not a prejudicial type of guy. I avoided Dark Souls many years of my life. I try as many different games as possible. I played Celeste and Hollow Knight before this series. Which were hard too. I generally try to see the good sides when i play a game.

This might be first time i criticize a game so hard because my expectations were so high. Closure game of the legendary series. Tried DLCs too but failed to be patient, bored again. Sadly.

Maybe years later if i find the courage myself i will start with a new character. Because i do care what people say and i see they love this 3rd game most.

Edit: Recently played DLCs too.

And i sincerely think that DLCs topped the main game.

First DLC was meeeh but The Ringed City was really good.

But again adding more stages and huge health bars to the bosses doesn't make them hard or unique. Just makes them more boring.

whats the best way to make this more enjoyable? I'm not a fan of the difficulty but want to at least 'try' but find a lack of progress isnt really fun/worthwhile when playing games during workweek. (At least with any good ol jrpg i can grind)

I find the ways this one to be hard just off the scale (reaction speed, fumbling keystrokes, convoluted item upgrades/character bits, and wandering into wrong areas.) its too bad because i really do like a lot of things in this game compared to the first two!

Dark Souls 3 - The Ringed City DLC Review / Final Thoughts

Having now completed the final DLC for third and final Souls game, I will admit that I was taken by surprise. This DLC really cemented together the experience and addressed many of the criticisms that I had for the base game. When looking at the whole DS3 experience, including both DLCs, it really is a deep and worthwhile experience.

One of my biggest criticisms of DS3 was the repetitive or same-ness of the areas within the game. You definitely explore a whole bunch of different places but the colour palette stays mostly the same: dark browns, grey and black. Almost all of the areas are crumbling ruins, broken masonry, overgrown crypts etc. The two DLCs definitely address this issue by taking the player to a range of different places that feel very different. The first DLC is a frozen, mountainous place filled with wolves, vikings and weird tree people. The second DLC is just weird and surreal, very apocalyptic as you explore the world in its final days as it collapses in on itself. The Ringed City itself is absolutely gorgeous, filled with bright colours and peculiar insect people: "I Shall Partake."

My other big criticism of DS3 was the boss fights. DS3 has some incredible and memorable boss fights, but many of the bosses use a gimmick for fighting them rather than applying your actual fighting skills. They are "puzzle bosses" where you must discover the weakness or find some environmental element/trigger to kill the boss. These bosses seem difficult, but once you figure out the "secret" you can generally finish them off in under a minute. This is true of at least 3 bosses, arguably more. The DLCs definitely address this problem and they also ramp up the difficulty significantly. After beating DS3 with my lvl1 character I was starting to feel the game was a little bit easy but the second DLC in particular really kicked my ass and put the fear back into me. The final boss for the first DLC is a really incredible set piece, tough, terrifying and beautiful. In the second DLC none of the bosses will let you off easily, and the very final boss is terrifying and tough, he definitely had me on my toes for a couple days at least. In fact I would argue that the DLC offers the best boss fights in the game, without a doubt.

Ultimately, I was surprised by the DLC content. It was really good, and it felt like a nice capstone to the experience. For anyone who has played DS3 but not the DLC content, I would recommend giving it a try, as it's arguably the best part of the game. The apocalyptic setting is cool; it offers a lot of closure to the series. At the end of the world only the toughest and most-nasty creatures are left wandering the wasteland. A very satisfying end to the series.

Well this was strange:

From Kotaku:

One of Dark Souls 3's most difficult bosses has been defeated in dizzying self challenge. The accomplishment is full of unbelievable parries and stripping.

iHardlyTriHard Gaming faced down the dangerous Champion Gundyr. The challenge was involved. When Gundyr attacks, they spin 720 degrees before parrying behind their back. Then then attack and perform the “Praise the Sun” gesture for some extra swag. Finally, they remove some armor before switching to a new weapon on the fly.