I’ve been playing through the entire Dark Souls series recently and I have to say that the third game really stands out when it comes to storytelling. The way they wrapped up character arcs and connected all the lore from previous games was amazing. The bosses felt more meaningful and their backstories were way more engaging than what we got in Dark Souls 1 and 2. Even the NPCs had better questlines that actually made me care about what happened to them. The whole theme of the fading flame and the end of an age was handled so well. What do you guys think about the story quality across all three games? Am I the only one who feels like DS3 had the strongest narrative?
Completely agree about the NPC questlines in DS3. Characters like Greirat and Siegward actually had proper story arcs that felt satisfying to follow through. DS1 had some great NPCs but half the time you’d accidentally mess up their questlines without even knowing it. DS3 made it way easier to actually experience the stories they were trying to tell.
I actually think DS2 gets way too much hate for its story. Sure, it was different from the first game, but the whole cycle of kingdoms rising and falling was pretty compelling. DS3 felt a bit too much like fan service to me sometimes, bringing back so many DS1 references. Don’t get me wrong, it was satisfying, but I liked how DS2 tried to do its own thing with the curse and memory themes.
The Soul of Cinder as the final boss was genius though, basically fighting every player who ever linked the flame
DS3 felt like a proper goodbye to the series. The way it handled characters like Patches and Andre coming back was pretty cool too.
I get where you’re coming from. DS3 does tie things together nicely, but the way the first game had that sense of mystery really hooked me. It felt like every little discovery mattered more back then.
DS3 definitely nailed the emotional moments but DS1’s environmental storytelling was just perfect