So first things first, the game actually has a disappointing and lame early period. Level design, the enemies, it all feels and looks like it's just cruising on Bloodborne. But really, looking like Bloodborne isn't really an objective con, but doesn't at all feel like the medieval, slightly gothic or dark fantasy setting that I picture when I think of Dark Souls. The actual sin of this early point of the game is that most enemies are just 0 poise, slightly taller than you zombies with assorted improvised weapons, that you just cut down like mowing grass. It's dreadfully unexciting, and I spent the first two hours of the game feeling concerned, or rather fearful, that the rest of the game might disappoint me like that.
The only shining light giving me hope during this point of the game were the occasional Lothric Knights spread about, that actually had the ability to defend themselves and take a hit and even trade with me! Not only that, but the knightly enemies even made me remember that yes, indeed, I'm playing Souls, not Bloodborne!
But many times, it was just Souls. As in, Demon Souls. This game is so fucking Demon Souls. Of course haha hurr durr Demon's Souls Dark Souls same shit xD but they're pretty different, at least atmospherically. Of course haha hurr durr Spinach the ebin MLG gaymur caring about atmosphere. Not like it's actually a major problem to me, I liked the tone of Demon's Souls, which managed to be a bit unnerving/creepy in its level and enemy design, rather than imposing/grand like Dark Souls 1 and 2 were. But there were so, so, so many zones in the game that looked like they were ripped straight out of Bloodborne or Demon's Souls, that at times I thought maybe I bought the wrong game and was playing Demonborne instead. Irithyll Dungeon and Lothric Castle are the absolute WORST offenders, being literally Tower of Latria and literally Boletaria, but better. That's an important thing to keep in mind while I complain about the huge amount of Demon's Souls bleeding into the game.
No matter what you do when you copy from Demon's Souls, you're almost certainly going to make that thing better than what it originally was in Demon's Souls. That's just the way the cookie crumbles, and it's not Demon's Souls fault that Miyazaki keeps reusing the good ideas he used to make that game but keeps improving them every time he does so, but boy I actually started to get annoyed at it. I distinctly remember putting my controller down in the middle of Irithyll, resting my chin in my hand and audibly talking to my monitor, asking it as if it were a Fromsoft representative that could actually answer me, "what the fuck is this Latria shit you fucks?"
That's about it for the big cons really. I guess I could say boss fights are too spread out, but that's kind of minor, and the bosses are mostly stellar so I didn't mind it.
Well, except Yhorm. Because that fight was a sequel to a Demon's Souls fight that was, actually, not good from its very concept. It almost feels like a cutscene, both in DeS and DkS3, how you realize the boss is absurdly stupidly tedious to kill, until you see the shiny toy that lets you kill it effortlessly. I actually spent my first attempt trying to kill Yhorm WITHOUT using the Storm Ruler, largely out of stubbornness, and managed to take off a sizable chunk of his HP before finally dying like the little bitch I am.
But let's talk about the GOOD bosses, because there are a few. There's also one not so good one (What's-His-Face, the Consumed King) but he falls more in-between, as mediocre, rather than offensive or outstanding. Funny enough, the most spectacular fights basically feel like they were plucked straight out of Dark Souls 2. Huge, heavily armored knights who come at you aggressively, hitting hard and hitting fast with large attacks. Champion Gundyr and the Dragonslayer Armor are actually stellar fights. Gundyr in particular, having a moveset that covers basically all angles, so you actually have to fight him instead of just getting in the spot he can't punish you at and hacking him to death. But I won't give those two all the credit, because aside from Yhorm actually being a sinful existence undeserving of being in the opening cinematic, the two other 'main' boss enemies are fucking great.
Aldrich and the Abyss Watchers are really cool fights. Of course, I think the Abyss Watchers could be a little more difficult, or perhaps just had some more HP on NG (IDK how NG+ is yet), but it was still fun. Aldrich though was great. Cool design, surprisingly amount of obvious narrative dedicated to him, more than most bosses get, so you actually feel eager to fight him as you progress. Then there's how he very VERY blatantly cements DkS3's sequel status to DkS1(it almost feels like DkS2 is forgotten, save for some items and other references [Faraam's set description is a callback to the "go beyond death" advertising slogan kek] but Yhorm did to a degree feel like a followup to DkS2, but his horrid execution haunts even that...). Then it's actually a pretty fun boss. It's like playing 2hu, but in Dark Souls! I also won't lie, I got a bit of a tingly feeling just fighting him in that familiar room. In fact, the entire time I was revisiting Anor Londo, I felt giddy. Like lightning was running up and down my spine, tickling my balls and my brain.
Also uh Lothric Castle is super duper fucking fun despite being Boletaria 2.0, and the actual last boss, Soul of Cinder, might be the best Souls boss, like by far. The phase 1 being some weird fanservice to the players, "hey he's using pyromancy, sorcery, miracles, all these different weapons, holy shit it's like all those builds I went through wait is that the Chosen Undead??" and the transition into phase 2, Gwyn Lord of Cinder playing softly in the background while the Soul of Cinder replicates his old attack patterns. It was really a fanservicy fight, but it felt organic, like even without these things being nods to the previous games, it still would have been a good fight.
I guess that's all I can think of at the moment. I'll probably pick the game up and play more tomorrow, after some rest. I did just play through it all in one single sitting, basically only leaving the desk to get water, use the restroom, and at one point to eat some cold leftover pizza.
As for my build if anyone is interested, it was a very manly Strength build using almost exclusively axes. I ran the Battle Axe for a large portion of the game, dipped into the Executioner's Greatsword for a short time (most of the Cathedral, basically), then picked up the Greataxe(this weapon is lovely), eventually grabbed Yhorm's Great Machete, then got a Black Knight Greataxe, which I upgraded ASAP and used the rest of the way. Total playtime upon credit roll was 15h55m.
Originally Posted by black1blade
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