DARK SOULS™ III

Lets change its name to "Why" and "Bother" cause they're so many dark souls like game, the name is amateurish. Baby steps after baby steps after baby steps. Hell, I've finished Remnant: From the Ashes and it was a mixed with melee and shooter, so I've said enough wasn't really interested from the start. Pass.

Very good old game. can withstand the test of time. playable even to this day

THIS GAME WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Before i start my review i have to say a couple of things... wow... what a masterpiece. Also let me address some question you may have from the game.
Do i need to play other Dark Souls to understand Dark Souls 3? Yes and no. If you don't care about lore (which you should) then no, but if you care then you only need to play Dark Souls 1. There are so, many, and i mean like more than 50% of the game is references to Dark Souls 1, so it's a shame to play Dark Souls 3 without that context. Also IMO if you play Dark Souls 1 you can appreciate the upgrades of Dark Souls 3. (For lore, don't worry about Dark Souls 2 keep this one to play after this one).

Anyways i will make the review for people who never played the game.
Okay so, Before i go on a rant, yes it is single player and it has online functions like CO-OP and PVP. Now the co-op is not what you might expect. You need to consume ember and place a mark on the ground so that another player interact with it and then he will come to your world on specific areas so that you both can play together. PVP (non dlc) is used in various ways, the most common is by invading a player, which means, its just invading someones world and killing them.

You see, Dark souls 3 is a game that gives the player the freedom to choose where to go next with almost zero help. Most of the time the path is linear but it can sometimes split in two. Don't worry because you will go back to where you were before so you will have to do both paths anyways.
It's a hard game, so if you like that great, if not maybe not so great but really, give it a try. The graphics are amazing (also turn the brightness in the settings to 0 because the game puts a filter on the game that make it grey), the music is so fucking epic, the bosses, the ambience, the game is amazing in my view. After you finish the game you can continue a new game with same character but with most difficulty. This goes up to +7 levels of difficulty! So lot's of content.

You will rage quit, you will want to say "this is totally not fair", you will be frustrated. All this things are there because you don't understand the game really. Once you understand the game, how it works, how the animations work, how everything is connected and you know all the places and where to go, then this is a easy game. So with hard work the game will become easy.

Amazing lore, but the lore is not given with cutscenes. Every item you will pick will have a story behind it. So always read the item description and learn more about the fading of the fire.

GAIN THE COURAGE AND BUY THE GAME AND FINISH IT LIKE THE BOSS YOU ARE! If i can finish the game so can you!

I highly recommend. Praise the sun.

Excellent game with refined level design, great bosses, and lots of fun dress-up to do!

definitely not the best souls game, cry about idc shit game compared to rest sooo over hyped snooz fest

Best Fromsoft game i've played so far. Final boss isn't too challenging though. If you want a real challenge, then attempt to beat the grand archives without dunking your entire head in "wax" (It's not wax).

10/10 game. Amazing story and amazing bosses.

ever been in an abusive situation? this game will teach you one of three things, to dodge the attack, to parry the attack, or to enjoy the pain, personally i got two of those, and as a big bonk main, ill let yall guess which two

A masterful and impactful work to the conclusion of a well-beloved series.

Amazing game, overall an improvement over its predecessors and good conclusion to the trilogy.

This was my first "souls" game and couldn't be happier that I chose this one. Dark Souls III is the game I would recommend to someone that is looking to get into the genre for an accessible but still challenging experience.

Dark Souls III by far has the fastest, most polished, and least janky combat in the trilogy, while also(in my opinion) having the best lineup of both bosses and levels in the trilogy.

The game is also very linear, which may turn some people off. But this allows the game to maintain it's balancing and difficulty curve with less options for broken builds and cheese strats. This is expressed at the start of the game where leveling up is locked behind a relatively hard tutorial boss.

If you're looking for a first souls game that is more open-ended with more options to tune difficulty, then I would recommend Elden Ring, obviously. But for those seeking a truly challenging experience, Dark Souls III is the perfect choice for getting into souls games.

The game does have flaws, such as lacking color palette, and a few bosses being underwhelming. But despite that, this game remains as one of my all time favorites, and experiencing it for the first time is something that I'll never forget.

9/10

best game if looking for a challenge while having fun and really good panoramas

What a great end to the Dark Souls Trilogy. This game definitely has the best boss fights in the series, and the graphics are still amazing 9 years later. The music is also pretty good throughout. While I personally enjoyed the world and inter-connected level design of the original Dark Souls, the areas in this game are still fantastic and grandiose. The combat is as refined as possible and the build variety makes fighting enemies and bosses very fun and rewarding. As is expected in a FromSoft game, the story and lore of the world is hidden, but creatively told in an engaging and meaningful way that manages to tie the entire trilogy together into a fittingly dramatic and powerful conclusion. Some people claim that the game relies too much on nostalgia, but I would argue that it is used in a way to bring the series to a meaningful end that rewards those who have invested time to seek out and learn the lore.
While I was initially underwhelmed by the quality of the early game bosses and areas, by the time I neared the end of the base game and the DLCs I would find myself blown away by the quality of the bosses. Each boss somehow managing to top the previous one in difficulty, design, and fun. This is by far the most rewarding game I have played. None of the bosses really feel unfair, and even the weaker bosses still have something memorable about them. I could not have asked for a better ending to my favorite video game series.

Cool game I got lost so I looked up a guide on where to go, one thing that I don't like is bosses sometimes are two mfs holding hands.

Turns out Dark Souls was the friends we made on the journey and there is no need to win every single boss fight.

Це та гра де отримуєш насолоду усюди - спочатку здолавши свого першого супротивника, потім першого лицаря і неперевершені відчуття, якщо здолав боса менше ніж за 30 спроб :D. І коли ти нарешті одягнений, прокачаний і думаєш, що ти можеш вбивати всіх легко - тут тебе і заштрикує якась дрібнота з кинжалом. Неймовірна гра!!!

I also find it absolutely brilliant the Dark Souls story – perhaps even unique in the gaming world.

The way Dark Souls tells its lore is almost poetic: no direct explanations, but everything through the environment, item descriptions, and cryptic dialogue. It's like a giant puzzle of fragments that you have to put together yourself – and that's precisely what makes it so fascinating.

Added to that is this dark, melancholic feeling that hangs over everything. Every character somehow meets their own tragic demise, and yet everything continues in this eternal cycle. It feels epic yet hopelessly personal. I love this game

Possibly the best souls game ! Great bosses (go to hell nameless king), not as linear as other souls games and overall just great graphics ! Recomend for sure.

i put 224 hours in so far do i realy need to say any more. its fun, great with friends and solo, just get the damned game and play it

So, I'm not thrilled to do this review because it was tedious to get all the achievements. The covenant farm and the NG++ to collect all the gestures/incantations/rings are draining and it takes A LOT of time.
But I can't oversee the immense storytelling the game does, the beautiful scenery and the combat mechanics.
This game is a good end to the franchise of Dark Souls and I enjoyed the first NG (like I said if you want to 100% the game get ready it will drain your life and your time).

Literally one of the easiest games I have ever played in my entire life. Didn't die a single time, never looked up a "how to beat boss" guide on YouTube, no cheese parry strats ever. All I ever did was git gud. Mhmm. I fo sho did.

One of the best games i ever played, combat feels visceral and aggressive, bosses are great,especially including DLC bosses which are some of the best one's in the series, ,music and visuals are stunning, level design is good, unlocking all achievements is fairly simple except the covenant related items which is pain in the ass to farm for, pvp is fun but quite a lot of toxic people are present xD, overall an amazing game that i would totally recommend!

Dark Souls 3 has the best combat in the series. (At least up to its release.) That alone makes it one of the best video games of all time...

...which is good, because that really is the only reason to seek out and play it.

Dark Souls 3's world is linear and its stages, while impressively constructed, blend together. The story, while sincere, is literally a Metal Gear Solid 4 style parody of itself. And there really aren't a huge variety of situations that can be overcome in vastly different ways. It's almost all different flavors of "git gud and duel your enemies by learning their reaction times". 3D fantasy Punch-Out, in other words.

And my God do I love 3D fantasy Punch-Out.

I find pretty much all the FromSoft games replayable, but I usually don't like losing to bosses. I want to craft a new journey through their worlds, do things in different orders, overcome challenges in different ways with different builds, etc. The boss fights aren't so fun that I want to fight them over and over and over, clearing the same runback each time... except in Dark Souls 3. Dark Souls 3 bosses are the best duels in the series. After the halfway point, you're effectively facing Artorias over and over and over. Is it samey? Yeah. It's also insanely fun! In Dark Souls 3, losing isn't a setback. Losing means I get to spend more time playing the game's terrific boss content. It helps that runbacks are usually the perfect length... just enough time to mentally reset between boss attempts, but not so long that they become grating.

Dark Souls always had brilliant action-adventure combat. Compare it to a character action game and have the player fight an empty room full of enemies, and it might be boring. But craft a brilliant adventure RPG where the player builds up unique characters and faces unique challenges, and Dark Souls combat is perfect. Dark Souls 3 is the game where that combat gits gud enough to sustain itself even in fairly samey situations. You can make a whole game about one-on-one duels with this combat and it's insanely fun. So that's what From did.

Dark Souls 3 is "the linear Dark Souls", but it's also "the brilliant boss fight Dark Souls". Everything here is in service of that experience. This isn't Dark Souls 1, or 2, or Elden Ring. It's Dark Souls 3. Judge it for what it is, and it is excellent.

Steam is wrong as I have about 100 hours into this one, but this is the most Soulslike Souls game ever created. Seconded only to DS1 due to it more linear, distilled nature and squishy combat feel but it's right up there. Michelle Zaki's purest form, and boy is it a beautiful thing.

für einzelnen playthrough bestes soulsgame ansonsten schlechtestes sehr wenig replayability im vergleich zu zum beispiel ds1 trotzdem sehr gut aber ds1 besser

I recommend this game and i do honestly think its good, but it definitely failed to resonate with me. The setting while cool was just not a visually interesting to me compared to Elden Ring or the little experience I have with DS1. The first half of the game is honestly just pretty meh in terms of boss fights, with there being a lack of genuinely challenging fights (If youve played elden ring beforehand at least) but things get so much better with abyss watchers and everything after it. Level design is pretty on point. Story and questlines are cool but didnt really grip me, I was familiar with the DS1 lore for a long time before playing this game, so the relevance of certain fights to the lore was pretty sick, but be prepared for it to fly over your head if you havent played or seen anything from DS1. Ashes of ariandel was short, but Sister Friede is probably the best boss in the game imo so its worth playing it. RInged City is amazing as well, and Gael is an amazing capstone to end off on, being one of the few questlines that i actually cared about. The game is a solid 8/10 for me.

the culmination of the systems of Dark Souls 1 and 2. It feels like the progression had reached peak dark souls. Dark souls 1 and 2 have their pros and cons such as the wonderfully made map design for ds1. The DLC is what puts it over the edge as a 10/10. I personally like DS 1 more but regardless of that this game is fantastic and if you have enjoyed DS 1 and DS 2 you must bring it all together and do DS 3.

Great scenarios, great music, great enemies, great everything

This was my first souls games. I got my ass kicked the first time around, legit spent one entire day beating the final boss. Now, I'm completely hooked into fromsoft games. If Miyazaki shits, I eat. Dark Souls 3 is special, it has the most memorable boss fights from the series and shifts into a more dynamic combat relative to the other two. Although the level design is not impecable like the first one and there are not really many creative new mechanics, I still love to replay this one from time to time, absolutely recommend. Beware though, you are going to die. Don't you dare go hollow.

I remember trying this game a long time ago and getting 1 shot by the first boss. I thought it was terrible and refunded it. Then Elden Ring came out, and it quickly became my favorite game of all time. After beating Elden ring, I came back to DS3 and started tearing through everything.

Now, I feel DS3 is superior to Elden Ring in many ways. There's something about this game. It's my happy place. I've put in 300 hours, and feel like nothing even comes close to it's greatness except Elden Ring. It's a masterpiece, 10/10 game, and there's nothing I'm looking forward to more in this world than DS4.

dark souls is quite possibly the only game where you can kill the very gods themselves and then immediately afterwards go and die to a damn rat in a pit

10/10

Difficult game, but then again I was playing with only one hand, thanks Fire Keeper

First Dark Souls game I ever played when i bought it for ps4, made me a fan of the souls series ever since.

Absolutely loved it, the game that got me into the souls, so slightly biased, but no soul will ever get to me like this one:3

É jogável também, o único peak da franquia é o 1 fodasse a opinião alheia

First souls game I played. Definitely the best recommendation for anyone who wants fast combat over the more paused and slow combat of DS1. Just hate some of the stats builds and items that feel wasted, but overall good fanservice souls experience. 8/10 game

This game stands as the grand finale of FromSoftware’s legendary trilogy, a melancholic swan song that perfectly encapsulates the series’ themes of decay, futility, and fleeting embers of hope. It is, in many ways, a love letter to long-time fans, tying together lore threads that have dangled since the original Dark Souls. However, while the narrative and atmosphere reach impressive heights, the game’s approach to build variety feels like a step back, especially when compared to the sprawling arsenal of Dark Souls 2.
On a technical and artistic level, Dark Souls 3 is a masterclass in world design. Lothric’s interconnected, ruined beauty is a haunting sight, echoing the best of the first game’s level design philosophy while improving upon it with smoother traversal and verticality. The lore is rich, weaving in references to past games in a way that feels reverent rather than redundant. Gwyn’s legacy, the Undead Curse, and the ever-repeating cycle of fire and dark all find resolution here, bringing a sense of finality that Dark Souls 2 never fully embraced.
However, where Dark Souls 3 falters is in its gameplay variety. Compared to the sheer level of options in Dark Souls 2, which boasted an almost overwhelming number of weapons and builds, Dark Souls 3 feels streamlined to the point of limitation. The removal of power stance mechanics, the reduced dual-wielding options, and the emphasis on a faster-paced, aggressive combat style cater more to a specific meta rather than the ‘choose your own playstyle’ philosophy that defined the series. While the introduction of Weapon Arts offers some variety, they often feel underwhelming compared to the adaptability and unique movesets from previous entries.
Magic builds also suffer from this streamlining. The separation of FP from individual spell casts allows for more sustained magic use, but the nerfs to spell damage and the overall slower casting times make them feel underpowered, especially in PvP. Meanwhile, faith builds—once a cornerstone of versatility—are left with little to stand on outside of buffs and healing.
Despite these limitations, Dark Souls 3 still provides an immensely satisfying challenge. The boss fights, from the relentless Nameless King to the poetic tragedy of the Soul of Cinder, rank among the best in the series. The combat is more fluid than ever, encouraging a mix of aggression and careful stamina management. While the game may not offer the sheer experimental sandbox that Dark Souls 2 did, it refines what it does have to near perfection.
Ultimately, Dark Souls 3 is a worthy send-off for the series, closing the loop in a way that respects its past while pushing forward into a bleak yet beautiful unknown. It may not offer the same level of build variety as its predecessor, but as a final journey through the dying embers of this world, it remains unforgettable.

this is more a review for people who already play the game.
short and sweet.
the slumbering dragon ring is the best ring in the game IMO. its like adding more paths and options to the game.
PLEASE UPGRADE A BOW AND USE IT HO-LY
ignore the silver knights covenant, do the wolf covenant and get the best curved greatsword in the game.
the bone shackle covenant has a katana i never see get used but its super fun.
PLEASE for the love of god try other weapon types besides the straight swords you will enjoy the game more.
i think this game has some of the best combat but IMO IMO the levels are just not super great, especially on NG+
like holy shit the snowfields, the swamps all of them, the demon ruins maze. the enemies in these levels are mostly just fine but not when you fight 5 at once.
Midir is a fun boss once you fight him a few times.
idk i like the game a lot more now than before I started my last playthrough showing a friend through the game, before the seamless mod lol.
and the tree boss is not bad at all, shes fun

After Elden Ring being my first souls game and playing it for over 1000 hours Dark Souls 3 is a pretty fun experience. I used a straight sword through most of my playthrough and infused it with bleed or mainly used the frost sword that came with frost which was really good through the entire game.

I loved a good bunch of the boss fights namely, Peak Gundyr, Abyss Watchers, Dragonslayer, Nameless King only second phase tho, Soul of Cinder and my fav Slave Knight Gael. only a couple of times bosses made me change my play style with Pontiff being my first challenging boss, making me switch to light roll and Midir making me use a thrusting ultra greatsword also with light roll.

Some bosses I really didn't like one bit (nearly all the duo fights and npc fights) Greatwood was didn't need the other enemies in the arena, crystal sage was barely a boss cause I no hit them by mistake, Deacons was easy but boring, Wolnir was easy when he didn't spam spawn a bunch of skeletons in a crampt ass arena, Aldrich just was a spell spammer, ancient wyvern was just total wipeout to insta kill them at the end, then the dlc well Sister Friede should have been a 2 phase removing the phase in between and was just an annoying fight cause she just kept running away or going invis, Gravetender was bearly a boss and died way to quick the wolf was cool just needed more health and a second phase to be more of a fight and Halflight was basically pvp gank.

Finally I have been going for the 100% achievements for this and man fuck covenants, pvp in this game is not fun 1 bit you either get triple teamed on or you get a pvp sweat that has all the best pvp weapons and just destroys you or even worse you get killed by a hacker which happened twice during the grind, which after grinding 10 for one covenant i decided i'm gonna find another way only to see every covenant item has a 1% drop chance in pve, but fuck it, doing that was way more enjoyable than doing the shit show that is souls pvp.

The environments in this game are amazing the Boreal Valley being hands down one of the prettiest areas i've seen in a fromsoft game and i feel that Firelink Shrine is a miles better hub than the Roundtable Hold but there are some places that just suck being the Catacombs of Carthus and the Grand Archives I also didn't really like the Painted World of Ariandel but it does look cool tho,

The weapons are pretty cool shame theres no ashs of war system in this cause i'd love to use some different skills on my weapons and not be just stuck with one, the boss weapons are really unique but some don't really fit the boss like idk why midir gives you a katana just a weird choice in my eyes. The armour wow they went crazy with the armour in this game 100 times better than elden ring for sure, Ringed Knight armour Peak, Dancer armour peak, Dragonslayer armour also peak, Fallen Knight Armour perfect.

I give Dark Souls 3 a rating of 8 Desert Pyromancers out of 10 :) time for ng+

Jeebies just when I thought I could never be so cool as to enjoy dark souls... well... here I am... Yeah its amazing what did I even expect, its dark souls. The gorgeous set pieces, the awesomest bosses, and a world so.... filled to the brim with lore. Yeah I like soulsgames now.

Setting and Themes
Dark Souls III brings the series full circle, set in Lothric, a kingdom at the brink of the end of the world. The theme of rekindling the flame versus letting it die is at the forefront, making it feel like a culmination of everything the series has built. The lore is richer and more intertwined with the original game, featuring callbacks to characters, places, and storylines from both Dark Souls I and II.

Refined Combat and Movement
The combat is noticeably faster and more fluid than previous entries, drawing inspiration from Bloodborne. Weapon Arts, unique abilities tied to specific weapons, add more depth to combat and create opportunities for unique build strategies. Stamina management feels more balanced, allowing for aggressive yet calculated approaches.

Bosses are the highlight of Dark Souls III, offering some of the most epic and visually stunning encounters in the series. Fights like Pontiff Sulyvahn, Abyss Watchers, and Soul of Cinder push the limits of both gameplay mechanics and visual spectacle. The DLCs, especially The Ringed City, add even more challenging and lore-rich content.

Visuals and Atmosphere
The game’s aesthetic is grand and haunting, blending gothic architecture with a world on the verge of collapse. Areas like Irithyll of the Boreal Valley and Anor Londo are visually breathtaking, providing a sense of tragic beauty. The dynamic lighting and improved graphics engine give the world a somber and eerie feel.

Multiplayer and Replayability
Dark Souls III features a robust multiplayer system, with a vast array of covenants that encourage both PvP and cooperative gameplay. New Game Plus remains a strong feature, offering additional challenges and allowing for deeper exploration of lore and character builds.

The pinnacle of dark souls gameplay. its as universal as super mario. everyone should play this game.

Overall Good experience, Lock on system could have been improved upon. As usual the game is visually stunning. Dark Souls 1 would still be my go-to for new players just starting out in the Soulsborne Genre.

This is, in my opinion, the best souls game. It was epic, not a single minute of it was wasted. Almost all of the bosses are good, and some are very challenging. The areas are very interesting. I would definitely play it again. I will come back for the DLC eventually.

another one of my favorite experiences i've had with a game since getting into it the past couple months

causal prison that enshrines and ensnares life's greasiest gamers

if you feel the urge to turn red, do not let it take you. you will never escape.

5/5 Masterpiece!

The end of the Dark Souls narrative, and Fromsoft has put everything in their disposal (Including poison swamps).

Pros:
+ More of the rewarding style of gameplay
+ Immersive and rich level environment
+ Exciting boss battles
+ Conclusion to the story was handled very good

Cons:
+ Quite linear flow compared to Dark Souls 1

DARK SOULS III is a game you HAVE to play at least once in your life. If you haven't played ELDEN RING yet then start this before getting it because you will not be disappointed, Each boss is unique and feels like a greater challenge than the last, this is easily the best game in the DARK SOULS trilogy.

This game is truly a masterpiece!

Dark Souls III was my introduction to the Souls franchise, and it didn't disappoint. I went into the game clueless and didn’t expect it to make me want to play every Souls-like game. The game made me want to explore every bit of the areas instead of heading straight to the boss, and experimenting with weapons and fighting the bosses was so enjoyable. The bosses offer both a challenge and the feeling of a fair battle. The last boss is so well-designed, testing you with attacks that you have encountered throughout the game—absolutely the peak last boss fight. The story was hard to get into, but once I did, I was excited to uncover new lore and piece it all together.
For others who are looking for a challenge, an amazing story, cool enemies, and incredible gameplay, Dark Souls III delivers.

The Steam store page said this game costed 60 dollars but this game actually costed me 4 new keyboards, 3 mice, and 1 monitor. Thanks FromSoftware.