Oh, how I’ve contemplated writing this review. You may have already read my thoughts on Elden Ring and Bloodborne but now I’ve come full circle to Dark Souls III. Truly, Miyazaki, regardless of landscape, goes out of his way to tell stories to make you challenge obeying the status quo or pursue a conclusion that aligns more with your view on what direction the world should go.
DS3 sets the stage in a world where the Age of Fire is in peril and the previous 5 Lords of Cinder have been called via Undertaker bell gong to return to their thrones to link the fire and keep it alive…except only 1 of them is in his throne while the others aren’t having any of it for whatever reason (at least one of ‘em wants the world to return to the Dark Ages). If you do enough digging and even traverse the dlc stories of Ashes of Ariendel and Ringed City, you’ll come to find that you truly are the Hail Mary; this is because you find out that one has chosen to abandon her journey and is of the 3 sisters of the Sable Church of Londor (she’s also likely the inspiration behind the lore of the Gloam Eyed Queen of Elden Ring) and the other…consuming Pygmy Lords in a land that very much seems like the land of Londor — the home of the Hollows and where the pilgrims you meet in your journey ventured from…and likely where the last of the dark souls lie.
You could venture aimlessly as though you’re venturing a vanilla path but guaranteed…you will run into characters that will challenge your endgame and even run into items that can potentially alter the course of all life. The game will also show you the most twisted way to marry someone, as well as how torn the world truly is long after the events of the original Dark Souls…and also has the most painful dragon fight you’ll likely ever have in all of gaming — Darkeater Midir! I’ve never found myself that helpless to want to do co-op to destroy a boss like I did in this game; not even Malenia gave me this much hell and that is saying A LOT.
Upon learning everything I could of the world around me, being a stooge to the Age of Fire was simply unacceptable. I was either going to put an absolute end to everything with a new Dark Age (which would make Kaathe smile) or become the savior of Hollows and Usurp the Fire (which would likely also make Kaathe smile gleefully, especially when you see what has happened in Londor ie Ringed City, trust and believe there’s no other credible conclusion of what the Ringed City is).
This game truly made me appreciate how much work FromSoftware and Miyazaki put into Elden Ring and also how far they’ve come in the evolution of gameplay mechanics. Is it perfect? No but is it glorious? Yes. If you’re a completionist, go ahead and go for NG+ but if not, no worries — unless you have an addiction to pain because rest assured — you will suffer!
