By Anthony O'Connor
FromSoftware have carved a niche in the gaming sphere…a niche that is filled with unholy abominations that will tear you to pieces time and again. The Japanese company is responsible for Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Bloodborne, and the upcoming Dark Souls III. The cannier among you may sense a pattern with these games, specifically that they are punishingly difficult and notoriously obtuse in terms of storytelling. They’re also among the most exciting, compelling, and ultimately rewarding games ever – so it was with more than a little anticipation that we sought out three hours with the latest, and apparently final, chapter in the Dark Souls series.
At the Bandai Namco offices, on a steamy hot Sydney afternoon, a rotating roster of four players sat in a row and played through the first few sections of Dark Souls III. The aesthetic is pure Dark Souls, naturally, with the iconic armour, weapons, spells, and bonfires all making a return, albeit with improved next-gen graphics. The monsters and environments, however, owe a lot to Bloodborne, with one boss in particular looking as if it came oozing from the bloody streets of Yharnam.
Gameplay-wise, things feel a little slicker and faster, with FilmInk’s recent (worryingly obsessive amount of) Bloodborne time paying off, as we rolled and weaved, using our Assassin class to dodge more than we blocked. A chap playing a Knight on our left seemed to tank up more often, with heavy shields, and the bloke on our right was favouring ranged attacks. It seems that class type matters more in Dark Souls III than any other Souls game to date, which is good news for those that will, let’s face it, be playing through multiple times.
The initial standard environments (castles, creepy dungeons) soon give way to more surreal locales, like a village where spell-casting nightmare creatures swarm in imaginatively hideous formations. Cages brimming with skeletal limbs, cackling jesters who walk on the ceiling, and dead-eyed cultists worshipping corpse trees are just a few of the wretched monsters that stand in the way of your eventual, hard won victory.
Interestingly, the Dark Souls camaraderie was in full effect at this session. Despite being virtual strangers, players would look at the other’s screen and offer advice (“There’s a shield up those stairs”; “Watch out for the trap”) and give congratulations when a tough boss was bested or commiserations when yet another death endured. Most of the players made it up to a boss named Rotted Greatwood, who resembles a giant, tumescent tree covered in hideous, weeping sores.
In the session that we attended, none beat it, although FilmInk came teeth-grindingly close. Suffice to say that the Dark Souls magic is here, and with Hidetaka Miyazaki directing, the Souls series looks set to end on a high note…a high, punishing, controller-smashing note.
FilmInk will be there with a full review when Dark Souls III is released on April 12.
