Dark Souls III

Original title

ダークソウル III

transcription

Dāku Sōru III

Studio

From software

Publisher

FromSoftware Bandai Namco Entertainment

Erstveröffent-
lichung

March 24, 2016 April 12, 2016

platform

Windows , Xbox One , PlayStation 4

genre

Action RPG

Game mode

Single player , online multiplayer

language

Japanese, English with u. a. German subtitles

Dark Souls III (Japanese ダークソウル, Dāku Souru III) is an action role-playing game from the Japanese developer From Software . It was released in March 2016 in Japan and in April worldwide for the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One and Microsoft Windows by Bandai Namco Entertainment . The game is the fourth part of the Souls series after Demon's Souls , Dark Souls and Dark Souls II .

development

Development of the game began in 2013. It took place at the same time as Bloodborne 's, but two different development teams took over. Hidetaka Miyazaki, who was already involved in the work on the previous one , also returned for the fourth part of the series, while Isamu Okano and Yui Tanimura were co-directors of the project. Miyazaki said the game wasn't the final installment in the series, but rather a turning point for the plot.

The first gameplay excerpts of the game were published in August 2015 during Gamescom 2015. The game was released by Bandai Namco Entertainment in March 2016 in Japan and worldwide in April for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows .

action

Starting position

The game world is still in the cycle from the Age of Fire , followed by the Curse of the Undead ( Dark Souls II ), but Prince Lothric refuses to take his place as king and thus rekind the Age of Fire . Since no undead seems to be ready to take Prince Lothric's place as king either, the cycle of the world is stuck; with sometimes serious consequences. In an ending resembling the Big Crunch , long-forgotten worlds and kingdoms come together around the Kingdom of Lothric. In addition, a bell from the fire-band shrine awakens former kings of days long gone as beings known as ashes . But even these refuse to take Prince Lothric's place.

Main game

At the start of the game, the character will also be reborn as ashes at the fireband shrine. The resident, blind fire keeper orders the player to bring back the ashes of the resurrected kings and those of Prince Lothric in order to rekindle the Age of Fire . The resurrected kings have scattered into the corners of the contracted world and must be sought and defeated by the player. Only then can Prince Lothric be challenged and his ashes returned to the others.

Apart from the main plot, the player meets more or less important NPCs who can influence the outcome of the main plot. Yoel, a pilgrim from Londor, infects the player with the dark seal , so that the player is placed under the curse of the undead despite his condition as ashes. Other NPCs have different connections to the resurrected kings. The young undead Anri pursues the unclean king Aldrich the god-eater in order to kill him together with the player.

When Prince Lothric's ashes have returned to Fireband Shrine, the Prince of Ashes can be fought - a manifestation of all kings sacrificed over the millennia, including Prince Gwyn. Depending on certain decisions at the end and in the course of the game, the player has different endings available:

Binding of the first flame : As in the predecessors, the character is sacrificed as food for the flame, thereby rekindling the age of fire . The cycle begins again.

The end of the fire : If you give the fire keeper the eyes of a predecessor who lived during an age of darkness , the fire keeper can extinguish the fire - an age of darkness begins . The fire keeper prophesies, however, that the fire will ultimately be bound again and that the cycle will not end.

Unbound Ending: The player has the option to kill the fire keeper at the end of her prophecy in order to keep the fire to himself. The consequences of this action remain unclear.

Appropriating the fire : the hardest to reach end. After being infected with the curse of the undead , the player is given the task of killing Anri in a ritual by Yuria von Londor (a maid of the dark lurker Kaathe , see Dark Souls ) and thus further expanding his status as undead. After defeating the Prince of Ashes, the player can absorb the fire and awaken as the ruler of the undead in an age of darkness , accompanied by several undead and the actually dead Anri. It remains to be seen whether this will permanently usher in the age of darkness and break the cycle.

Extensions

In the expansions, the whereabouts of the dark soul are dealt with. In the course of the main game, Slave Knight Gael , the player encounters a revived ashes that once served at the beginning of the first Age of Fire under the rule of Lord Gwyn. Gael finds a new purpose in the parallel world of paintings by Ariandel . In the slowly rotting painting, a gray-haired girl is trying to paint a new painting which, after the current painting has been burned, will serve as a new shelter for the residents. The color for such a painting is the dark soul , which has existed among people since the times of Lord Gwyn.

Gael leads the player into the surrounded city, which was given to the descendants of the stealthy dwarf of Gwyn as a home, but at the same time represents their prison to prevent the Age of Darkness . The city is largely unscathed despite the continuing big crunch. In the city, guarded by Lord Gwyn's last allies, Gwyn's last daughter Filianore lives in an everlasting sleep. The player lets them wake up, which triggers a time travel into the future. In this the game world lies half sunk in a sea of ash. Only Gael is still alive, who takes in the dark soul from the blood of the last dwarf kings, only to ultimately turn against the player himself. After defeating Gael, the Dark Soul is reunited for the first time since it was found by the Stealthy Dwarf . With this, the gray-haired girl can create a new painting and thus a new world.

Gameplay

Dark Souls III is an action role-playing game that is played from a third-person perspective , as in the earlier games in the series . According to the lead director and creator of the series, Hidetaka Miyazaki, the gameplay design follows "closely that of Dark Souls II". The character can be equipped with a variety of weapons, such as bows, explosives such as fire bombs, great swords, and two-handed swords, in order to fight against enemies. She can also use shields to deflect enemy attacks and to protect or reduce damage. Each weapon has two different styles. One carries out standard attacks, while the other is a bit more powerful and can be charged. In addition, you can avoid attacks by rolling. The beacons that serve as control points are also used in this part. According to Miyazaki, ash plays an important role in the game. The Demon's Souls magic system returns. When casting spells, the player consumes Focus Points (FP). There are two different types of so-called Estus bottles in the game that can be allocated by the player to suit the style of play. One fills up the life energy like in the predecessors, the other, which was introduced in Dark Souls III , fills up the focus points. Combat and movement have been made faster and more fluid in Dark Souls III . Players are able to take evasive steps and swing heavy weapons faster, allowing the player to deal more damage in a short amount of time.

In the course of the game, the player encounters different types of enemies, each with their own behavior. Some of them change their fighting pattern as the fight progresses. There are new combat features in Dark Souls III , such as weapon and shield skills . These are special skills that vary from weapon to weapon. Unique attacks can be activated at the expense of the FP. The third part places a stronger focus on role-play elements. In addition, the character editor has been expanded and the weapons offer more tactical options. While the game has fewer maps overall than its predecessor, these have been made larger and more detailed to encourage exploration. Like its predecessors, the game contains multiplayer elements .

reception

Reviews

The reviews for the game have been largely positive.

IGN wrote: "Dark Souls 3's incredible world and awe-inspiring weapon arts make it the fiercest installment yet." And gave the game a score of 9.5 out of 10 points.

The magazine hardcoregamer.net gave Dark Souls III 4.5 out of 5 stars and especially praised the game world. It is "known, but still new and refreshing."

In a review of the game on Spiegel Online , the reviewer described it as a "grandiose ode to despair". The battles are now as fast and dynamic as in Bloodborne ; nevertheless every mistake will be punished.

A review at Stern.de praised Dark Souls III as an "extremely successful role-playing game with a great atmosphere, chic look and mystical story". Due to the "crisp level of difficulty", however, it is only suitable for players who are ready to bite through and work for their success. The reviewer also complained about occasional graphic jerks. At Metacritic , the Windows version has a rating of 90, the PS4 and Xbox One versions 89 out of 100 points each.

Awards

year	Award	nomination	For	result
2015	Gamescom Award	Best Role Playing Game	Dark Souls III	Won
2016	Golden Joystick Awards for Ultimate Game of the Year	Game of the Year	Dark Souls III	Won
2016	Satellite Award for Outstanding Action / Adventure Game	Action / Adventure Game	Dark Souls III	Won
2016	DICE Award Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year	Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year	Dark Souls III	Won
2016	Steam Award	Category: love-hate relationship	Dark Souls III	Won

Web links

Official German-language website (accessed April 29, 2016)
Dark Souls III at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Dark Souls III is officially coming, will kill you and everyone you love. In: www.avclub.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016 .

↑ Kenny McDonnell: Can Dark Souls 3 Best These Incredible Gameplay Moments From the Souls Series? (No longer available online.) In: moviepilot.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016 ; Retrieved April 25, 2016 (American English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ Dark Souls 3 is being developed by a different team to Bloodborne

↑ Dark Souls 3 isn't the last in the series - but it is a turning point

↑ Dark Souls III Gameplay Revealed in New Trailer

↑ "Dark Souls 3 follows closely from Dark Souls 2," says Miyazaki about game's design

↑ 'Dark Souls 3' Combat Guide: 5 Tips For New Players

↑ Weapons - Dark Souls 3 Wiki Guide - IGN

↑ Dark Souls 3: Test, Tips and Tricks

↑ DARK SOULS 3 GAME ADVISOR APPEARS WITH AN ESTUS FLASK BOTTLE

↑ Dark Souls 3: With 28 tips you bring the ash princes to white heat

↑ Dark Souls 3 preview: a grander sense of scale, but still familiar

↑ E3 2015: World's First Dark Souls III Details Revealed

↑ DARK SOULS 3 REVIEW (IGN)