Dark Souls III

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Dark Souls III
Dark souls 3 cover art.jpg
Developer(s) FromSoftware
Publisher(s) Bandai Namco Entertainment
    Director(s) Hidetaka Miyazaki
    Isamu Okano
    Yui Tanimura
    Designer(s) Shigeto Hirai
    Yuya Kimijima
    Hiroshi Yoshida
    Junya Ishizaki
    Programmer(s) Takeshi Suzuki
    Composer(s) Yuka Kitamura
    Motoi Sakuraba
    Series Souls
    Platforms Microsoft Windows
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox One
    Release date(s)
      Genre(s) Action role-playing
      Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

      Dark Souls III[1] is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The fourth entry in the Souls series,[2] Dark Souls III was released in Japan in March 2016, and worldwide in April 2016.[3]

      Gameplay

      Dark Souls III is an action role-playing game set in a third-person perspective, similar to previous games in the series. According to lead director and series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game's gameplay design followed "closely from Dark Souls II".[4] Players are equipped with a variety of weapons including bows, explosives like fire bombs, greatswords, and dual-wielding swords to fight against enemies, and shields that can be used to deflect an enemies' attack and protect the player from suffering damage.[5] Each attack has two different styles, with one of them being a standard attack, while the other is slightly more powerful and can be charged up, similar to FromSoftware's previous game, Bloodborne. In addition, attacks can be evaded through dodge-rolling.[6] Bonfires, which serve as checkpoints, return from previous installments.[7] Ashes, according to Miyazaki, play an important role in the game.[8] Magic is featured in the game, with a returning magic system from Demon's Souls, now known as "focus points" (FP). When performing spells, the players' focus points are consumed and decreased. There are two separate types of Estus Flasks in the game, which can be allotted to fit a players' particular play style. One of them refills hit points like previous games in the series, while another, newly introduced in Dark Souls III, refills focus points.[9] Combat and movements were made faster and more fluid in Dark Souls III,[10][11] with several players' movements, such as backstepping and swinging heavy weapons, able to be performed more rapidly,[12] allowing players to deal more damage in a short period of time.[6]

      Throughout the game, players encounter different types of enemies, each with different behaviors. Some of them change their combat pattern during battles.[5] New combat features are introduced in Dark Souls III, including weapon and shield "Skills", which are special abilities that vary from weapon to weapon that enable unique attacks and features, at the cost of focus points.[5] The game puts more focus on role-playing, in which the character builder is expanded and weapons are improved to provide more tactical options to players.[13] The game features fewer overall maps than its predecessor Dark Souls II, but were created larger and more detailed, which encourages exploration.[7] The adaptability stat from Dark Souls II was removed in Dark Souls III, with other stats being adjusted.[7] The game features multiplayer elements, like the previous games in the series.[14]

      Plot

      Set in the Kingdom of Lothric, a bell has rung to send a sign that the First Flame, responsible for prolonging the Age of Fire, is dying out. As has happened many times before, the coming of the Age of Dark produces the undead, cursed beings that rise up after death. The Age of Fire can be prolonged with the linking of the fires, a ritual in which great lords and heroes sacrifice their souls to kindle the First Flame. Unlike the previous times though, this time the destined undead, Prince Lothric, has abandoned his duty and left the First Flame to die out. The bell is the last hope for the Age of Fire, raising previous Lords of Cinder, heroes who have linked the flame across aeons, so that their essences may be combined to rekindle the almost completely dead First Flame. However, most of the Lords of Cinder abandon their thrones rather than linking the fires, only one of them remaining, and an undead known as the Ashen One rises and takes on the responsibility of preventing an oncoming apocalypse brought about by the endless conflict between fire and dark. In order to link the flame, the Ashen One must return three other previous Lords of Cinder, as well as Prince Lothric, back to their thrones in the Firelink Shrine. The Lords include the Abyss Watchers, a group of warriors sworn to protect the land from the abyss and linked by a single soul, Yhorm the Giant, who was once a conqueror of the very people he then sacrificed his life for, and Archdeacon Aldrich, who was forced to become a Lord of Cinder despite an enjoyment of consuming both men and gods. Because the Lords' decisions to leave, the Ashen One must return their essences and power back to their throne by defeating them and returning their ashes to the shrine. Once the Ashen One succeeds in returning the Lords of Cinder including Lothric to their thrones, they travel to the ruins of the Kiln of the First Flame. There, they encounter the Soul of Cinder, an amalgamation of all the previous Lords of Cinder who had linked the flame in the past. Once the Soul of Cinder is defeated, four endings are possible based on the player's actions during the game.

      Development

      File:Hidetaka miyazaki.jpg
      Series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki returned as the game's lead director

      The development of the game began in mid-2013, prior to the release of Dark Souls II, whose development was handled by Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura instead of the series creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki.[15] The game was developed alongside Bloodborne, but was handled by two mainly separate teams. Miyazaki also returned to direct Dark Souls III, while Isamu Okano and Tanimura, the directors of Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor and Dark Souls II respectively, served as co-directors for the game.[16] Despite Miyazaki originally believing that the series would not have many sequels,[17] Dark Souls III would serve as the fourth installment in the Souls series. Miyazaki later added that the game would not be the last game in the series, and instead would serve as a "turning point" for both the franchise and the studio, as it was the last project by FromSoftware before Miyazaki became the president of the company.[18] Multiple screenshots of the game were leaked prior to its initial reveal at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015.[19][20] The game's gameplay was then first shown at Gamescom 2015 in August.[21]

      Miyazaki said that Bloodborne's limitations made him want to return to the Souls series.[22] According to him, the game's enemies and map layout were designed to kill players.[23][24] The improvement to archery, specifically draw speed, was inspired by Legolas from The Lord of the Rings franchise.[8] The game's visual design focuses on "withered beauty", with ember and ash scattered throughout the game's world.[14] The game's original score was primarily written by Dark Souls II and Bloodborne composer, Yuka Kitamura, and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Additional music was written by Dark Souls composer Motoi Sakuraba, with a single boss theme each by Tsukasa Saitoh and Nobuyoshi Suzuki.[25]

      Dark Souls III was released in Japan for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 24, 2016,[26] and was released worldwide, along with the Microsoft Windows version, on April 12, 2016.[27] A stress test for the game, which allowed players selected by Bandai Namco to test the game's network functionality before release, was available for three days in October 2015.[28] The game has three different special editions for players to purchase, all of which cost more than the base game. Players who pre-ordered the game had their game automatically upgraded to the Apocalypse Edition, which has a special case and the game's original soundtrack. The Collector's Edition contains physical items such as the Red Knight figurine, an artbook, a new map and a box. The Prestige Edition features all the content of The Collector's Edition, and has an additional Lord of Cinder resin figurine, which can form a pair with the Red Knight figurine.[29]

      The game's first downloadable content (DLC) expansion will be released in late 2016, with two more to follow in 2017.[30][31]

      Reception

      Reception
      Aggregate score
      Aggregator Score
      Metacritic Lua error in Module:Video_game_wikidata at line 295: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
      Review scores
      Publication Score
      Destructoid 8.5/10[32]
      Famitsu 38/40[33]
      Game Informer 9.25/10[34]
      Game Revolution 4.5/5 stars[35]
      GameSpot 8/10[36]
      GamesRadar 4.5/5 stars[37]
      IGN 9.5/10[38]
      PC Gamer (UK) 94/100[39]
      Polygon 7/10[40]
      The Daily Telegraph 5/5 stars[41]
      The Guardian 5/5 stars[42]

      Dark Souls III received critical acclaim upon its release, with praise given to the game's visuals and combat mechanics, reminding reviewers of its faster paced similarity to FromSoftware's previous game, Bloodborne.[35][38][34][32][43] Chloi Rad of IGN awarded the game a 9.5 out of 10, stating she thought that "If Dark Souls 3 truly is the last in the series as we know it, then it's a worthy send-off."[38] Rich Stanton of Eurogamer rated the game as "essential", and also stated that "Dark Souls III is a fabulous game" and was "a fitting conclusion" to the series.[43] Steven Strom of Ars Technica wrote that he thought the title still had the "smooth and impressive rendering of the series' signature style" and some of "the best boss fights in any Souls game".[44] Simon Parkin of The Guardian gave the game 5 out of 5 stars, and wrote that while Dark Souls III "may not have the novelty of the first Dark Souls", it was "the more pristine and rounded work" of the series.[42]

      However, criticism was directed at issues with the game's frame rate and performance,[40] linear map design,[35][44] and the way Bandai Namco handled the launch.[45][46] Philip Kollar of Polygon rated the game a 7 out of 10, stating disappointment at the lack of surprises and the arbitrary nature of the game's design, writing that "in so many important ways -- its world design, its pacing, the technology powering it - Dark Souls III falls short of the mark."[40] A later patch, released on April 9, fixed some frame rate and technical issues reviewers had with the game.[47]

      Sales

      In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version sold over 200,000 copies in its first two weeks of release. Sales for the Xbox One version were not reported.[48] It became the fastest-selling video game published by Bandai Namco Entertainment America, becoming the company's most successful day-one launch.[49] On May 10, 2016, Bandai Namco announced that Dark Souls III had reached three million total copies shipped worldwide, with 500,000 in Japan and Asia, 1.5 million in North America, and one million in Europe.[50]

      It was also reported that Dark Souls III was best selling software in North America in the month of release.[51]

      References

      1. ↑ Dark Souls III (ダークソウルIII Dāku Sōru Surī?)
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      32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
      33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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      35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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      40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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      42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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      47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
      48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
      49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
      50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
      51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

      External links

      Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

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