Dark Souls III Review (Xbox)

Thank the Sunbros that the wait is over. Just the thought of dying over and over while overcoming nasty beasts, treacherous locations filled with death, and, of course, that sweet music that lets you know what game you’re playing—I’m happy that Dark Souls III is here. Sadly, this is also a bittersweet moment, as it’s believed this will be the end of the series, which started with Demon’s Souls, progressed into Dark Souls, had a new chapter with Bloodborne, and now brings us to where we are today. Has all the hype for Dark Souls III been worth it?

Game Name: Dark Souls III
Platform(s):  Xbox One (reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher(s): Bandai Namco
Developer(s): Fromsoftware
Release Date: April 12, 2016 
Price: $59.99 (Standard), $129.99 (Collector’s Edition)

As a long-time fan of the Dark Souls series, you should have seen the giant smile that came over my face as I pressed the power button on my Xbox One. After all this time, I finally began my adventure into the land of Lothric.

Before I start, I want to address something that’s bothering me—and likely bothering you as well. Throughout Dark Souls III, we see characters and enemies that made appearances in the first Dark Souls but were absent in Dark Souls II. While not the same as Lordran, the environment we explore feels and looks very familiar. From a very familiar blacksmith making his return to numerous enemies we haven’t battled in a while, to even many iconic weapons and armor sets, the connections are clear. I even found a version of a former keeper of a certain jail midway through the game.

While Dark Souls III is the new entry in the series, FromSoftware has taken the best parts of the previous titles and improved them. For example, in Dark Souls, you were able to warp to and from any bonfires you had previously lit, but only after receiving a certain item that didn’t come until later. In Dark Souls II, all you had to do was light a bonfire, and you were instantly able to warp to and from it in a similar fashion. In Dark Souls III, you can warp from bonfires as soon as you find them, much to the dismay of many Dark Souls fans. While I enjoyed the ability to warp from location to location, I also feel that the traveling aspect feels like a mixture of prior Dark Souls titles.

Dying in Dark Souls III goes hand in hand, yet there are a few chances this time around. With Dark Souls II, if you constantly died, you would turn hollow and continuously lose health until you used an item to revert to your human form. That’s gone in this follow-up. Sure, you still drop your souls and you still only have one chance to reacquire before they’re gone forever. Hollowing is back as well, but there are new mechanics attached to this, which I won’t go over as it spoils part of the game.

There are also Embers that can be used to give you a slight health boost, change your appearance to a more human-like one, let you summon others into your world, and yes, allow for you to be invaded either by a human or AI-controlled opponent. So while the original hallowing process is gone, I like this new change—especially since, if you use the embers correctly, you can also get an advantage going into a boss fight. They can even be used as a replacement for an Estus flask. The downside, however, is that they are limited. They don’t refill like the Estus flask, and while you can find some in the world and eventually buy more, they are still constrained. And once they are gone, that’s it, so watch out for how you utilize them.

Fans of the previous two entries in the series who weren’t fans of the slow and clunky combat—especially after playing Bloodborne—will be happy with the changes in this game. The combat is fluid and fast, and execution is a bit easier, although I had some issues with parrying at times due to the timing changing slightly. That also extends to dodging, which is faster in Dark Souls III. It seems FromSoftware learned a thing or two while developing Bloodborne. If you were to compare the combat in Bloodborne to what’s going on in Dark Souls III, you’d notice that the combat is pretty much the same thing, with a few minor changes.

This also extends to shields, swapping into a dual-handed stance, and even plunging attacks. I was really impressed by how much the combat has evolved. However, if you enjoyed the combat from the previous Dark Souls titles and found that the combat in Bloodborne was too fast, you may be disappointed. Despite the changes, it did seem at times that no matter how skilled you were, there was always an enemy or two that seemed like an insurmountable challenge—mainly heavily armored characters that handle their huge shields as if they were pieces of paper, easily slamming your face into their shield over and over.

Thankfully, the enemy variation in Dark Souls III is plentiful. There definitely shouldn’t be any complaints about just having humanoid enemies or bosses, for that matter. From armored knights, demons, harpy creatures, dragonkin, and goblin hybrids, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Some are fast, some slow, but they all have very detailed appearances and are fun to fight. Truth be told, it felt like I was playing a game heavily inspired by Bloodborne instead of a Dark Souls game. That’s not a bad thing, though; it shows where the thought process was, and fret not, as it eventually becomes more Dark Souls-ish shortly into the game.

That said, I did have an issue with several bosses in the game that felt more like gimmicks than actual boss fights. In those instances, you were forced to look for clues or hints on how to defeat the boss, which was easy to miss, especially since you’ve been trained to do nothing more than attack a boss until it’s downed. Thankfully, these are few and far between, while the rest of the bosses will require some thought and fast reflexes to get them to give up their souls. For the truly devoted, there is one particular boss that will give you a run for your money, one that took me more than a few tries to take down. So if the boss fights feel a tad easy, don’t worry, as they’ll soon ramp up. Just be mindful not to toss your controller across the room or at your TV or monitor.

The level design seems to be a mixture of things both tried and true, and things that were learned not just from Dark Souls but also Bloodborne. This may or may not be the game’s weakest point, and while some may disagree, it is pretty hard to say that it’s not apparent. Levels change up fairly often, from wide and open areas ripe for exploration—some with shortcuts and branching paths—while others are confined and straightforward. There’s also a vast amount of horizontal exploration, which is clearly heavily present in Dark Souls II. While I don’t want to say it, as I know what sort of debate this will start, it seems like two different teams or minds designed the areas in Dark Souls III. They aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, though; it just varies, and when it does, you can tell. No matter how you slice it, however, it all works out very well in the end.

Another return in Dark Souls III is the exploration that was sorely missing in Dark Souls II. Now you can stop following the main storyline and go pretty much anywhere. Certain levels are huge and offer a nice payout for those who decide to see what’s out there, from items to new shortcuts and even a boss. Yes, the game is so open-ended that you will miss out on several optional bosses if you choose not to explore. A bit misdirected at times, sure. That said, there’s nothing more exciting than deciding to climb the side of a mountain and suddenly getting involved in a boss battle. I’ve stumbled on a few cool things during my exploration of Dark Souls III, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen everything yet. Thankfully, that’s what New Game Plus is for—something I love taking advantage of.

Is this the best rendition of Dark Souls yet? This is the question I’ve seen asked many times, and while I didn’t really have an answer, I did ponder it as well. While I can’t speak for everyone, from what I’ve experienced from start to finish, I can safely say that this game is definitely better than I expected, especially after the release of Dark Souls II. While I’m not going to get involved in the “best entry to date” debate, I can say that it is one of the most enjoyable ones. Enjoyable, but perhaps the easiest Dark Souls title as well. How can a Dark Souls title be easy, you may be asking? As someone who has played every title in the series multiple times, including several New Game Plus sessions and all the DLC, I felt that the challenge wasn’t always there. Of course, there are exceptions to this, as you’ll find out when you finally get your hands on the game.

I’m not saying that the game is a cakewalk, but the fear of wandering through the world didn’t feel as apparent as it once did. Sure, that could be due to being versed in the gameplay of the series already; I do play these sorts of games entirely too much. There just were too many bosses that took one or two tries, and that really bothered me. However, for every one of those bosses I encountered and blasted past, several others would have me banging my head against the wall, that is, until I finally beat them. In any event, have fun being slaughtered over and over again. That is the Dark Souls way, after all.

Despite everything I’ve touched on so far, I would be crazy not to mention the music. That eerie yet heart-pounding music that makes or breaks the atmosphere of the Souls series is ever so present. After listening to the soundtrack that accompanies the game, it’s fairly easy for me to say that Dark Souls III has perhaps the best soundtrack in the entire series. Music has always been a milestone for the Dark Souls games, and it simply doesn’t disappoint in what may very well be our last go. And while I won’t spoil anything for anyone thinking about picking up the game, be ready to have your mind blown. The music during the first 5 hours of the game is good. However, towards the end, it gets really epic.

Update: Shortly after this review dropped, Bandai Namco released the 1.01 update for the North American version of Dark Souls III. Introduced with the patch were several balance updates, as well as an increase in difficulty. This brought the game on par with the PS4 and Xbox One Japanese versions. I didn’t find that the challenge was much harder than previously. Mostly, I found that enemies were doing more damage to me than before, but it wasn’t anything too drastic. That said, it didn’t stop me from running through the game two more times in New Game Plus. It did, however, make one particular boss fight a super pain in the ass.

No online testing in this review

I know that many fans of the series love their PvP, and so do I. Due to the North American version of Dark Souls III not officially being released until April 12, 2016, the servers aren’t online, and Bandai Namco is keeping the day-one patch hostage. Oddly enough, I didn’t hear anyone mention a day-one patch for the Japanese release or the PC English version of Dark Souls III. Either way, it means we cannot do any online co-op, PvP, or even NPC summons.

The biggest issue is with the servers, which prevent leaving messages. I enjoyed leaving helpful messages for other would-be travelers, while others like to have a little fun and leave false ones. False messages have sent many players jumping off cliffs or running head-on into danger because they believed a jester’s advice. I looked and looked throughout my gameplay, only to remind myself that it would be all alone until the official release. While I don’t think it’s right to review a title with a major component missing, I can say that unless FromSoftware did something drastically silly, the online component should work similarly to how it did in past titles.

Update: Since the game was officially released, I attempted to test out the online features of Dark Souls III multiple times. Sadly, I was still unable to join other people’s games, either via friendly co-op or invasions. Every time I attempted to do so, it would act like it was working, telling me I was joining someone’s session, only to fail. I’ve tried about 20 times since, and they all ended the same way. Still, it is a bit early. I suspect there may be a bug or two in the mix that will be fixed quickly.

The beautiful and the ugly

Since the copy I’ve been playing is the Xbox One version, I cannot speak for either the PlayStation 4 or PC versions, though I fully expect to play those as well. That said, the Xbox One version isn’t without its faults; I’m sure that was expected by many. Dark Souls III runs at a 900p resolution and sadly does not maintain a consistent 30 frames per second. While that may seem to be an issue, it doesn’t make the game unplayable by any means. Everything I’ve encountered, from my character to the enemies in the game and even the backgrounds, is beautiful. With plenty of special effects that make the game pop, whether it’s the fire spewing from a Dragon, the frost effects showcasing a certain weapon, or even during a boss battle, it all looks impressive.

There is also the issue of the game slowing down at times, though it doesn’t prevent the game from being playable. That said, you will notice it, and when you do, it will be apparent. When I noticed it, it wasn’t during encounters with large numbers of enemies on-screen, but more so when an enemy made an attack so expansive that the game likely crawled to a halt. Sadly, this happened not only during boss battles but also during normal progression in-game, such as running past several enemies. It is a shame that these issues occur, but fans of the series will still enjoy Dark Souls III on the Xbox One just fine.

Update: The recently released 1.01 patch for the North American version of Dark Souls III addressed the lower frame rate issues. While it improves on what was originally seen, the game still drops below 30 frames per second in certain areas and fights. However, it is vastly better than before.

Update 2: The 1.03 patch was released quietly before the official release; I noticed that while the performance did improve and the frame rate became more consistent, it still dropped during certain segments. It’s definitely an improvement, regardless.

Thankfully, Bandai Namco has released a day-one patch for Dark Souls III, which will be available on April 12, 2016. Supposedly, this update will help address the frame rate issues, as well as increase the difficulty and resolve some balancing concerns. I, for one, truly hope this is the case, as there is far too much slowdown for a current-generation title. Loading between levels or after dying also isn’t ideal, as you’ll face 10-15 seconds of load time, with trips back to Firelink Shrine taking anywhere from 15-20 seconds. If you’ve ever played Bloodborne on the PlayStation 4, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Finally, I’ve heard some complaints and worries that the game would be too short, similar to Dark Souls II. This is definitely not the case. It took me about 34 hours to get through most of the content, not including several optional bosses. After taking down the final boss — a truly epic fight — I set out to tackle those optional bosses, which added another 5 hours to my playtime. Just under 40 hours to complete most of the content feels like a decent length for the game. There are still two other endings and additional NPCs that I missed during my first playthrough. Thankfully, that’s exactly what New Game+ is for. Though I may wait for the PC version to dive back into this masterpiece, that’s just the type of Dark Souls fan I am.

Highlight for spoiler: Dark Souls 1 = Dark Souls 3 > Bloodborne > Dark Souls 2. There I said it. Happy now?

Editor’s Note: This review is based on the English-language version of Dark Souls III on the Xbox One. A Day-One patch is scheduled for release with the Worldwide Version on April 12th, and the review will be updated to reflect the changes. Since Bandai Namco did not provide us with a copy, we are not under the existing embargo.