I recently completed my journey through Dark Souls 3 and I can hardly believe how good it was
It’s my first time experiencing this trilogy, and for years I thought these tough games weren’t for me. But I was totally wrong – I adored the first game and really had fun with the second one too.
Initially, I planned to take a break after finishing Dark Souls 2, maybe read a book or tackle some home projects, and then come back to conclude the trilogy. However, within a week, I felt the urge to dive back in. I told myself I’d just install the game and start a character. Next thing I knew, I was battling the tutorial boss and admiring Firelink Shrine.
The atmosphere was captivating right from the start
Dark Souls 3 has a vibe that I didn’t realize I missed from the second game. It feels far more intense, with enemies moving in a truly unsettling way, and their sounds are downright eerie. From the moment I began, the ambiance just clicked for me.
The design of the locations is absolutely breathtaking. The towering castles, the intricate ruins of cities, and the odd crooked buildings in the settlement areas are incredible. Some of the late-game areas have these amazing structures piled on top of each other from different eras all teetering into oblivion. Honestly, the visuals are among the best I’ve seen in any game.
The combat feels fantastic
The gameplay is very smooth and responsive. I primarily used scythes (which are relatively slow), but even then, the overall movement felt agile and fluid compared to the previous installments.
However, the standout feature is undoubtedly the boss fights, especially towards the end. The sequence of enemies is simply phenomenal – Pontiff, Dancer, Dragonslayer Armor, Champion Gundyr, Nameless King, Twin Princes, Sister Friede, Demon Prince, Midir, and Gael – it’s just an array of brilliant battles.
Midir particularly stands out because it defies the typical Dark Souls strategy of dodging into attacks. If you try that with him, you’ll find yourself underneath him where he can unleash unseen attacks. The key is to stay back and keep him in sight. Once I figured that out, I was able to defeat him fairly quickly.
But that ending…
I genuinely didn’t want the experience to end. I took time to chat with all the NPCs one last time, tried to complete some side quests but sadly couldn’t help everyone. I’d heard whispers of a secret ending if you perform a specific action at the very end, but I had no idea what it entailed.
So when I faced the final boss and summoned the Firekeeper, my instincts shouted “secret ending!” and I attacked her. The cutscene that followed was a nightmare – my character stepped on her head and stole the fire. I was left in shock and didn’t even earn an achievement for completing the game.
I’m definitely planning to replay it, experiment with various weapons, finish the side quests I overlooked, and aim for a proper ending. This game easily tops the trilogy for me and stands as one of my absolute favorite games ever.