"Dark Souls III" has finally gone live for Western fans, as the game released this week. Meanwhile, since the latest installment is the last one in the trilogy, will "Dark Souls III" live up to the hype as the best game in the series?
According to Tech Times, while the story is riveting in "Dark Souls III," it is still overshadowed by the franchise's original installment. The story of the original "Dark Souls" is more straightforward, as it still takes players to the end of the journey even with a few missed quests. "Dark Souls III," on the other hand, tends to "be a bit muddy at times," which makes its story inferior to that of the original.
The industry observer also said that in terms of gameplay, the original "Dark Souls" still comes out on top, and this is proven by the staying power of the original title. Indeed, "Dark Souls" is still such a popular game that Microsoft even bundled the original game with the pre-order of "Dark Souls III" as part of Xbox One's backward compatibility program.
However, The Guardian counters that since "Dark Souls III" is the end of the trilogy, it is fitting that developer FromSoftware pulled out all of the stops and made the latest installment a "grandiose end to an unmatched trilogy." "Dark Souls III" being a comeback title in the series for original creator Hidetaka Miyazaki also did wonders not just with the story, but the overall gameplay and effect.
The AV Club agrees with this and considers "Dark Souls III" at the crux of everything the developer has done for the past seven years. Since the new game marks the end of an era for hardcore fans, FromSoftware has blended franchise familiarity with what is known as the "Miyazaki Touch." While it is too early to tell if "Dark Souls III" will have the same staying power as the original, the latest game can still capture hardcore fans of the series.
