Hello everyone and welcome to my review of Dark Souls 3. Made by Fromsoftware, this is the third and supposedly final chapter in the Dark Souls series. I was late to the party with the Soulsborne genre, in fact my first experience with it was with Bloodborne, one of the first games I got for the PS4. I'm a big survival horror fan and a lover of all things with a spooky, Halloween type vibe, so Bloodborne got my attention. I loved that game so much that I quickly went back to play all the Dark Souls games I could get my hands on, and they have become my favorite games of this generation. Never have I experienced such a sense of accomplishment while playing a video game. The level of challenge that the Souls games present may not be for everyone, but if you can overcome the seemingly impossible task of making your way through to the end, you will be rewarded with a feeling that can only come from a Dark Souls game.
If you've never played a Souls game before it might be hard to understand why they are so appealing to so many people. Why would someone want to play something that is so difficult, video games are supposed to be fun. But they're not hard because of cheap enemies or wonky controls like a retro game, they're hard because everything about them is unforgiving. Any time you die it's because you messed up, you have to learn from that and overcome the obstacle. Nothing in this game is cheap or unfair, it all comes down to skill, strategy, and keeping calm. Once you start to get the hang of it, and you start beating some bosses and making real progress, it almost becomes addicting. I can't think of any other game series where I literally jumped up and shouted like a maniac because I beat a boss that seemed impossible at first. To me, and many others, these games are the most fun because they are so deeply challenging.
The basic mechanic of Dark Souls is that you fight your way through the level, gaining experience, souls, as you go, but when you die you lose all that experience. You can then fight your way back to the spot where you died and reclaim what you lost, but if you die again on the way, you lose it for good. The only way to level up and get stronger is to take your souls back to a bonfire and use them. Bonfires are like checkpoints, you light them and can feel safe for a moment, but they are few and far between. Fighting is almost like a boxing match, you can't just smash the attack button, you have to wait for the right moment to strike. Every enemy is different in how you approach them, and even the most common of enemies can be the death of you. Never get cocky or let your guard down, when you do you will pay for it. This is what keeps me so engaged with Dark Souls 3, you can't just breeze through a level without trying, or talk to a friend while playing. You have to be concentrated on what you're doing and constantly thinking.
The look of the game is beautiful in a strange way. Each location with it's own unique style and tone. The variation in enemies is very good too, each with their own fighting style and techniques. But the bosses are by far my favorite part about Dark Souls 3. From giant hulking monstrosities, to elegant agile ghost like knights, you know when you come across a new boss that your going to see something really cool. Most of these bosses are very tough though, I think I died every time I faced off with a new one, but I learned a little bit about it too. Then you go back to it, and probably die again, but get a little further. Until you finally figure out what works best on it, and take it down in a moment of glory that has you so exited you're standing up shaking your fist in the air, with a sense of accomplishment I've only ever gotten from a Souls game.
Unless you've played it for yourself it really is hard to explain how much fun Dark Souls 3 can be. It takes you on a medieval fantasy journey through some of the hardest situations I've ever been in with a video game. You experience the highest highs, and the lowest lows, and everything in between. I will never forget defeating some of the bosses in this game, some of them I almost gave up on, but my persistence paid off. I've beaten Dark Souls 3 twice now, and have gone through both expansion DLC's. Both DLC's are beautifully crafted, but much harder than the main game, giving even the most skilled players a real challenge. This isn't my favorite of the series, but any Dark Souls is better than most games. I give Dark Souls 3 a.......
90
Thank you for checking out my review, I hope you enjoyed it!