TLDR - you don't need to have played the previous iterations, but if you are new to the dark souls series you will have bad impressions initially- awkward controls ( buttons not customizable), no jumping, unimpressive graphics, frustrating movement and targeting mechanics, lots of dying. But once you push past that first few hours and your first boss fight you become genuinely addicted to it. The level designs, character upgrade customizations, game atmosphere, story telling, npc interactions, level design, enemy design, epic boss fights are truly masterfully well thought out and executed. This game is truly remarkable if you're into the diablo feeling, medieval type, old school Single player non-open world type RPG. It's truly addictive. And you never feel alone if you're online because of the messages other players leave and the player ghosts ( and even player and npc assists ) you'll see as you're going through the game. It's quite brilliant. I've yet to experience a dull moment.
Music score is also fitting and brilliant for the settings of the game.
Now the long version:
Wow. I'm new to the Dark Souls series and it's worth it to note that no previous experience in the series is required to enjoy this game. This is the best single player RPG experience I've had since FF7, Zelda, Diablo - I haven't played games in years. I understand why this series has such a strong cult-like following now.
As new player that's unfamiliar with the series, you really have to push through the initial learning curve to really start appreciating the game for what it is.
What do I mean by that?
It's a game that doesn't leave good first impressions in my opinion - my first impression of this game was that it was lack luster. The graphics I thought looked like crap compared to other games like battlefield one, Until dawn, and so on. I thought the controls were stupid - I can't jump, the enemy aiming initially felt bad and confusing. I couldn't even customize the button actions to make it all better and had to adapt to what the game forced me to use and that led to an intial frustrating experience as I struggled to dodge, block, hit enemies and even just general movement across the starting area lead to death from falls off cliffs and unexpected enemies. And the game gives you no breaks, you can't even pause in the game which is what I'm used to. If I want to take a break I just press the pause button, but not in this game you have to be in a safe zone if you want to rest or just plain quit the game ( and there is a special menu option for you to quit , you can't just hit the PS4 button and close the app ).
So yes, the game doesn't leave a good first impression, but if you can push past that and give it a few hours, defeat the first boss, learn the controls and start getting better weapons and understand the upgrade system, you start to be able to appreciate what this game has to offer and I think it's a rare thing to have quality RPG games like this. It is genuinely addictive.
To be up front with expectations:
It's not an MMO like World of Warcraft and not an Open world RPG like Elder Scrolls so don't come into this game expecting that. It's actually more closely resembles a third person version of Diablo I from the old pc days. What you should expect is awesome draw into the medieval world of the undead with great atmosphere and epic boss fights unlike any other. Lots of tidbits of lore here and there about the spirits that inhabit this place and their terminology and tragedies that unfold before you. It all adds to an atmosphere that is unique and believable to you as you role play your custom character and the character customization itself is awesome for the intentions of this game ( the stats on your player determines weapons and abilities you can have and it's well done if you understand them - and what you use and what gear you wear really makes for an awesome looking character you feel proud of and it's all up to you if you want to look like a knight, hobo, thief, sorceress, slayer, swordsman, priest etc ). And how difficult the game is is ultimately up to the player depending on the players equipment and how much time you spend leveling your stats before progressing.
Gameplay:
It's hard to explain the game play without experiencing it yourself. Watch a few game review videos if you want an idea, but the gist of it is that it's not a button mashing game. It's a third person RPG that requires enemy targeting and some level of strategy. Every enemy can be a challenge and has the ability to kill you if you are carelessly swinging. You need to know their attack patterns and know when to attack and if you're really into it, what to use for attacking that works most effectively. It's casual enough that you can just jump right in but not so casual that you can just hack and slash your way through the entire game ( if you're new ).
Besides that, the game offers a pretty unique way to level up, but the stat adjustments are typical of the genre but with a twist here since the game has unique attributes associated with each stat. There are no skill branches, just attributes, weapons, armor, weapon/armor upgrades, spell purchases, but it's varied enough that you can have near unlimited choices to make the character you want. And the game can be as hard or as difficult as you want it to be depending on the time you spend upgrading/leveling.
Game progression:
The game progression itself is rather linear with forks in the quest line that you can choose to do and affect outcomes at different parts of the game with NPCs and game endings, but it's done so well that you never mind that it's linear since there is enough freedom that it makes the player feel they have control of what they want to do next. There are enough things players can do and side areas to explore if they so please. Basically it has an open world feel in terms of side quests vs main storyline but the map areas are pretty closed with hidden and optional areas but the level designs are so well done ( the best I've ever seen ) that I rather prefer that than exploring a boring barren open world.
Boss battles:
If you're looking for epic boss fights then this is the right game for you. The fights can be brutal but impressive and no two bosses behave the same way or have the same attacks. They are enjoyable and I hesitate a little every time I see the door that could lead to the next boss fight because I just don't know what to expect.
Game replay value:
I am only going through this game my first time and I'm hooked. The game does have a lot of replay value , different endings, new game difficulty after your first run, and different faction enlistments , different character attributes /customizations / weapons armor you may want to try, and quest lines that could have been missed the first time around, npcs you may want to kill etc. the game is brilliantly designed so it never really gets old even if you revisit an old level. It will offer hundreds of hours gameplay if you choose no doubt. Even just one play through will probably require at least weeks or months to complete if played casually about a few hours a day. The game levels / areas are deceptively huge. They feel large and natural and will take time to explore if you don't have maps or a game guide.
With that said if you're a busy working professional and just want the one play through and want the most out of it I strongly advise to use a walkthrough and map guide as there are things that happen in the game in a sequence that can have big irreversible consequences are not obvious in any way. Otherwise just enjoy the surprises you'll have a hell of a time figuring out what you're supposed to do next.
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Reviews with images
Good game but...
I will say this is a good game that has its own style that isn't for everyone, those who don't like difficult games such as this would be put off mostly by the difficulty which I can see as a bit harsh but not as harsh as Bloodbourne or Dark Souls 2:SOTFS. Comparing DS2 and this I can see the improvements and differences. I honestly don't blame them for trying to change things up in DS2 because after a while a change feels necessary. If one had to chose from BLoodbourne, DarkSouls 2:SOTFS and Dark Souls 3:TFFE I would definitely start with this one as it is more newcomer friendly and a better game overall. What I do like to see from sequels is evolution in terms of improvements just as I have seen with Dark Souls 3 and what I see is that they have learned a bit from Bloodbourne.I dig the dark atmosphere of the world it has and the music is nice too, The combat feels engaging and a whole lot better than DS2. The story is weird almost non existent but not intrusive like some gamers who don't like heavy cut-scenes and dialogue. The art feels a bit gritty and crude but i feels fitting of the world. Importantly the game feels complete but I will get into that later. The world feels more open and explorable compared to BB and DS2 which is a very nice plus. DS2 was way too linear and ended up boring me a bit. Replay value is good too, I can see myself doing multiple new games before I get sick of the game.Graphics: 8, For some reason it feels outdated but it could be intended to get that look and feel and maybe a bit of comfortable graphic style for the dev's.Music: 8 Nothing groundbreaking but I do enjoy it and it doesn't feel out of place, I do miss that DS2 Majula OSTReplay:8 It's necessary to get all items but also to do different quests, still fun to replay and go different routes perhaps a new build as wellStory: This one is hard to grade since it's intentional from what I have seen, but still too vague and randomGameplay: 8.7 very good and entertainingFirmware:1.01 PS4 Firmware: 4.55 Original PS4Overall I enjoyed the game but I have to say a lot of people have joined the bandwagon and really exaggerated how good the game is. It is OVERRATED, there are quite a good number of things to improve on besides the BUGS and GLITCHES that are in the game. The story/lore is also to vague and weird to really piece together and is almost too vague and random to try to get clues about the world of DS3. This is not their first game and they have been making games for many years so I expect better.NPC's could use improvement by having them be more functional and not spread out so far, looking at that statue of Volka in the Undead Settlement. It isn't hard to implement a note page, hint page or character info page to get the player more involved with the world. The Witcher 3 did a good job at that. To be honest the LORE is too vague to be interesting. Not being able to change characters specs and apperances easily is annoying and puts a damper on trying out different builds to experiment which is needed to find out what works and what doesn't when dealing with the harsh world of DS3. Also I like having to try different weapons but not having access to Tit. Slabs and chunks pushes you to stick your one or two reinforced weapons thus getting repetitive when having to use the same weapon over and over again.The ending I got so far was pretty boring too "The Usurpation of Fire". I would like to see more armor sets that can let you appreciate the details of your created character as well. Loading times suck too which makes traveling back and forth loathsome.I played this on version 1.01, still bugs and glitches that are annoying especially since this game has been out for a while, this "complete Edition" is the reason why I rarely buy games from the start, if this was me getting the day 1 I would have been very upset on seeing a game LACKING content and in its place having bugs. There are times when enemies attacks glitch through walls and hit the player and even arrows are bad when it comes to the game hit boxes on enemies which makes the archer component flawed. Frame rate issues as well is noticeable. I have a screenshot of an enemy who got bounced out of the area and stuck it has happened before a good number of times making whatever the enemy dropped disappear along with them.I did not expect them to be the same studio behind PS2 JRPG "Evergrace" which deserves a look. For any newcomer just be patient and let it grow on you. Enjoyed the game but this is no masterpiece or must play classic.
Top reviews from other countries
deepforest
Second only to Demon's Souls on PS5
Reviewed in Canada on January 11, 2021
