Dark Souls III: The Fire Fades Edition - PlayStation 4

TLDR - you don't need to have played the previous iterations, but if you are new to the dark souls series you will have bad impressions initially- awkward controls ( buttons not customizable), no jumping, unimpressive graphics, frustrating movement and targeting mechanics, lots of dying. But once you push past that first few hours and your first boss fight you become genuinely addicted to it. The level designs, character upgrade customizations, game atmosphere, story telling, npc interactions, level design, enemy design, epic boss fights are truly masterfully well thought out and executed. This game is truly remarkable if you're into the diablo feeling, medieval type, old school Single player non-open world type RPG. It's truly addictive. And you never feel alone if you're online because of the messages other players leave and the player ghosts ( and even player and npc assists ) you'll see as you're going through the game. It's quite brilliant. I've yet to experience a dull moment.Music score is also fitting and brilliant for the settings of the game.Now the long version:Wow. I'm new to the Dark Souls series and it's worth it to note that no previous experience in the series is required to enjoy this game. This is the best single player RPG experience I've had since FF7, Zelda, Diablo - I haven't played games in years. I understand why this series has such a strong cult-like following now.As new player that's unfamiliar with the series, you really have to push through the initial learning curve to really start appreciating the game for what it is.What do I mean by that?It's a game that doesn't leave good first impressions in my opinion - my first impression of this game was that it was lack luster. The graphics I thought looked like crap compared to other games like battlefield one, Until dawn, and so on. I thought the controls were stupid - I can't jump, the enemy aiming initially felt bad and confusing. I couldn't even customize the button actions to make it all better and had to adapt to what the game forced me to use and that led to an intial frustrating experience as I struggled to dodge, block, hit enemies and even just general movement across the starting area lead to death from falls off cliffs and unexpected enemies. And the game gives you no breaks, you can't even pause in the game which is what I'm used to. If I want to take a break I just press the pause button, but not in this game you have to be in a safe zone if you want to rest or just plain quit the game ( and there is a special menu option for you to quit , you can't just hit the PS4 button and close the app ).So yes, the game doesn't leave a good first impression, but if you can push past that and give it a few hours, defeat the first boss, learn the controls and start getting better weapons and understand the upgrade system, you start to be able to appreciate what this game has to offer and I think it's a rare thing to have quality RPG games like this. It is genuinely addictive.To be up front with expectations:It's not an MMO like World of Warcraft and not an Open world RPG like Elder Scrolls so don't come into this game expecting that. It's actually more closely resembles a third person version of Diablo I from the old pc days. What you should expect is awesome draw into the medieval world of the undead with great atmosphere and epic boss fights unlike any other. Lots of tidbits of lore here and there about the spirits that inhabit this place and their terminology and tragedies that unfold before you. It all adds to an atmosphere that is unique and believable to you as you role play your custom character and the character customization itself is awesome for the intentions of this game ( the stats on your player determines weapons and abilities you can have and it's well done if you understand them - and what you use and what gear you wear really makes for an awesome looking character you feel proud of and it's all up to you if you want to look like a knight, hobo, thief, sorceress, slayer, swordsman, priest etc ). And how difficult the game is is ultimately up to the player depending on the players equipment and how much time you spend leveling your stats before progressing.Gameplay:It's hard to explain the game play without experiencing it yourself. Watch a few game review videos if you want an idea, but the gist of it is that it's not a button mashing game. It's a third person RPG that requires enemy targeting and some level of strategy. Every enemy can be a challenge and has the ability to kill you if you are carelessly swinging. You need to know their attack patterns and know when to attack and if you're really into it, what to use for attacking that works most effectively. It's casual enough that you can just jump right in but not so casual that you can just hack and slash your way through the entire game ( if you're new ).Besides that, the game offers a pretty unique way to level up, but the stat adjustments are typical of the genre but with a twist here since the game has unique attributes associated with each stat. There are no skill branches, just attributes, weapons, armor, weapon/armor upgrades, spell purchases, but it's varied enough that you can have near unlimited choices to make the character you want. And the game can be as hard or as difficult as you want it to be depending on the time you spend upgrading/leveling.Game progression:The game progression itself is rather linear with forks in the quest line that you can choose to do and affect outcomes at different parts of the game with NPCs and game endings, but it's done so well that you never mind that it's linear since there is enough freedom that it makes the player feel they have control of what they want to do next. There are enough things players can do and side areas to explore if they so please. Basically it has an open world feel in terms of side quests vs main storyline but the map areas are pretty closed with hidden and optional areas but the level designs are so well done ( the best I've ever seen ) that I rather prefer that than exploring a boring barren open world.Boss battles:If you're looking for epic boss fights then this is the right game for you. The fights can be brutal but impressive and no two bosses behave the same way or have the same attacks. They are enjoyable and I hesitate a little every time I see the door that could lead to the next boss fight because I just don't know what to expect.Game replay value:I am only going through this game my first time and I'm hooked. The game does have a lot of replay value , different endings, new game difficulty after your first run, and different faction enlistments , different character attributes /customizations / weapons armor you may want to try, and quest lines that could have been missed the first time around, npcs you may want to kill etc. the game is brilliantly designed so it never really gets old even if you revisit an old level. It will offer hundreds of hours gameplay if you choose no doubt. Even just one play through will probably require at least weeks or months to complete if played casually about a few hours a day. The game levels / areas are deceptively huge. They feel large and natural and will take time to explore if you don't have maps or a game guide.With that said if you're a busy working professional and just want the one play through and want the most out of it I strongly advise to use a walkthrough and map guide as there are things that happen in the game in a sequence that can have big irreversible consequences are not obvious in any way. Otherwise just enjoy the surprises you'll have a hell of a time figuring out what you're supposed to do next.

This is a good investment for new players, collectors, and for people that want to be able to play this game years from now without hassle. Your old save file will work if you have the original btw.This game has top of the line graphics, popular multiplayer, and incredible player vs enemy. This game is not considered easy by some people. I personally thought that bloodborne was less difficult for melee combat because you can dodge faster in bloodborne. Spell casters at a certain point in Dark souls 3 have an advantage in players vs enemy. Spells make Dark souls 3 pretty simple for some players. The PvP community is popular at all levels but levels 80 to 160 seem optimal.The bosses and areas have a lot of replay value. New game plus offers a boost to the enemies up until around NG+7. The online multiplayer can be fun when helping others get further into the game. The spells are pretty cool looking, and especially the new DLC spells. The DLC weapons and their weapon arts are fun to use and effective as well. This makes the game fun again for experienced players. You have a decent amount of bosses and content with the new DLC. There are new PVP arenas for people interested in player vs player.The new bosses are aesthetically pleasing and the music is beautifully done. Expect multiple boss phases as usual, and possibly a higher difficulty. The DLC bosses weapons are pretty fun, but the weapons dropped from npcs and found are even better in some cases. The armor sets look awesome.Most weapons are good in PVP. Range and strategy is important. Players that are difficult to beat like to poke and run. Players enjoy trading attacks, and experimenting. Backstabs and riposte are frequently used by some players with fast internet.Praise the sun and prithee be careful.

This is a 5/5, its in the top tier and the best any game can hope is to be as good as this.The series trademark challenge is intact, with a return to form after DS2 failed to deliver on many of the finer points of what made DS1 famously 'hard but fair'.The controls and combat are great, a perfect balance between the weight of DS1 and the tightness of Bloodborne. The bosses are likewise a great balance between what made those games good.The story does a good job of ending the series, closong the book on a lot of plotlines and filling in holes left by the first game. The NPCs are well-written and performed, and their side plots give the game a good amount of replayability (as does the class system, with classes being different enough to give a second playthrough some freshness but still being similar enough that players will benefit from skill built up the first time around).Finally, the setting and graphics are superb for the budget and technology. Graphically nothing here is cutting-edge, but the creative design still leads to some breathtaking moments, with massive gothic structures and striking frozen vistas creating a fitting atmosphere for the dark, Berserk-inspired character designs. The backstory, hidden just below the surface per the series' blueprint, is just as intriguing as the process of piecing it together.Dark Souls 3 is a worthy conclusion to the series, I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who likes challenging action games and dark fantasy settings.This edition includes the two DLC, which wer criticized at release for some of the publishers' decisions - specifically, splitting what was clearly one cohesive DLC into two full-priced releases - but contains excellent content. Some of the series best (and hardest) bosses are in the Painted World and the Ringed City, so while the base game provides a full experience and you wont feel like something is 'missing' if you play that, this is definitely the 'definitive' version of the game.