While Dark Souls III is probably the most polished and meticulously designed game in the series so far, this very polish and wider accessibility makes it less memorable than its predecessors. Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo archers might have been cheap and frustrating, but a few downright unfair challenges like that were what made the original game so endearing.
I also felt that there was a certain lack of passion in the lore this time around as the game felt like it depended too much on the original to become its own thing (unlike Dark Souls II), but didn’t delve into the already known mythos enough to actually build upon them past what we already knew in the original Dark Souls. In general, the game feels a bit too familiar both in its dungeon design and story. I feel like Miyazaki is not a big fan of sequels, and only made this game due to peer pressure (I hope we’ll get the next Souls game in a different universe).
Besides that, the game’s pretty much perfect and I’m sure is gonna be my game of the year, unless Torment: Tides of Numenera pulls, well, Planescape: Torment.
| Positive: | Negative: |
| Stunning visuals, from monster and armor designs to scenery | Some NPCs are easy to miss making an already cryptic story nigh unintelligible |
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Inspiring music during the boss fights
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Apart from looks, armor sets have very little variation game-play wise |
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Fantastic dark and mysterious atmosphere
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It feels that some locations and lore borrow from the previous games too much and thus are a bit too familiar |
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Interesting surreal story
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It feels like the earlier areas are bigger and more carefully designed than the later ones |
| Thought-provoking, subtle storytelling | Doesn’t feel as challenging to seasoned players |
| Interesting, enigmatic lore | |
| Fantastic sense of adventure | |
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Fantastic dungeon design
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Fantastic boss fights
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Fantastic battle mechanics
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Countless weapons that can change how you approach the game completely
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| Challenging but very rewarding |
