Dark Souls 3, Xbox One and PS4 review: ‘a wild beast begging to be tamed’

The notoriously fiendish franchise returns with another punishingly difficult - but hugely rewarding - instalment
Relies on patience: prepare to die over, and over, and over again in the long-awaited Dark Souls 3
Bandai Namco
Talal Musa8 April 2016

On February 10, 1996, reigning chess world champion Garry Kasparov was defeated by a computer called Deep Blue. It marked the first time a computer had beaten a world champion under tournament conditions.

Kasparov demanded a rematch, claiming the machine demonstrated a level of intelligence and creativity that suggested human intervention. IBM denied the claims and promptly retired their creation.

The tussle between AI and human intelligence has been fought for years. But where Deep Blue represented an uncompromising intellect, a majority of modern mainstream video games have lagged behind. Most sway towards providing an 'illusion' of difficulty aided by countless tutorials and sign posting.

After all, who would pay to get continually pummelled by an AI? Quite a lot of people actually, it turns out.

Enter Dark Souls 3, the 'final' instalment of a series that's clocked up millions of fans since the first game hit the shelves in 2011. And just like its predecessors, there's a crippling difficulty curve designed to punish those not willing to put in the time.

Even an early boss, a giant armour-clad warrior, will prove tricky for those used to running in and frantically button-mashing. Victory in Dark Souls 3 relies on timing, patience and lateral thinking more akin to chess than Devil May Cry.

Almost every battle involves luring your opponent into making a fatal mistake, always thinking a few steps ahead. Thankfully, there are plenty of varied enemies to put wits to the test, from knight-like sentinels to enormous overweight brutes that deal death with a single swipe.

There's a clever dual-wield system, with a host of weapons including daggers, swords and projectiles – mastering these is essential to survival, and each has strengths and weaknesses. Daggers are fast but relatively weak, while heavier weapons are slow and cumbersome.

For the first time in the series, Dark Souls 3 experiments with some of the bosses, introducing a phased design which causes them to morph mid-battle into another creature, stopping players from getting lazy with combos.

The game isn't always fair though sometimes enemies swipe at you successfully through objects.

Thankfully, a bonfire that allows fast travel and the chance to manage your inventory is never too far away. It's also where you re-spawn when you're killed over and over and over again.

Must-play video games of 2016

1/13

Graphically the game looks incredible. There's some lovely depth of field and motion blur, with creature design particularly inspired. The worlds themselves are stunning, intricate mazes – perfect to get lost in for hours – thought particle effects such as fire still look flat and stuck on.

There are also some frame rate issue, with drops across all platforms – including on high-end PC. During more frantic moments the game slows to what seems like single figures, which can lead to some unwanted deaths and added frustration – a shame, given how close to perfection the rest of the game is.

Dark Souls 3 is a rare breed of game that genuinely improves your ability as a player, rather than flattering you until you reach the end. It's a wild beast that's just begging you to tame it – a difficult, but ultimately conquerable task. Put in the time and beating this machine will feel ever so sweet.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in