Dark Souls III... 6 Years Later

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Essay on Dark Souls III. How does it hold up after 6 years?
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction
1:20 Game Design
20:05 Combat & Difficulty
33:22 Late Game & DLC
46:21 Conclusion
#darksouls #darksouls3 #eldenring #ad

[@SmoughTown]

I always loved Dark Souls 3; I found some pockets of lore to be superb, the gameplay was slick, the vistas were awesome and as you say it has the best boss fights. Twin Princes still lives in my head rent free and always will.

[@KonnyKhaos]

SMOUGHTOWN!!! Love your stuff man!

[@loladas9]

I feel the same about the princes. They aren't even hard or challenging, but there's just something about that fight that I Iove

[@SmoughTown]

@@KonnyKhaos Thanks Konny!

[@SmoughTown]

@@loladas9 Yeh exactly, it's just a good bit of storytellng and epic as hell

[@Maffo__]

The lore god has also incredibly based opinions on bosses, to the surprise of no one. Twin princes is amazing, OST too! I've been loving your long form lore videos on ER, keep up the great work man

[@Retrovoider]

I've played 500 hours of Elden Ring so far, and with careful consideration I can say, in my opinion, Dark Souls 3 is still better.

[@KonnyKhaos]

I’ve put a lot of thought into this same thing, and for me I think it’s because I prefer the semi linear style.

[@Retrovoider]

@@KonnyKhaos same. Something about being able to run through the game with minimal time between bosses and not a ton of open nothingness just feels better.

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

ER is the worst of the souls games because it has eliminated the prospect of being invaded, removed tension like trying to get to the next bonfire, destroyed the threat of losing your souls. I played Elden Ring half asleep most of the time. I never ever did that with previous souls games. ER may look spectacular but it is a borefest

[@lahunica2726]

No Elden Ring is vastly superior to ds3. DS3 is extremely uninspired, borrowing a lot from ds1 and Bloodborne in references and concepts, making it not as distinct as even ds2, and not as good as the games it takes inspiration from. The flaws go from the linear world design which makes following playthroughs repetitive, to nearly all enemies in the last part of the game being recycled, to mediocre areas especially in the first half, to half the bosses being either not good, giant guys in armors with similar features (flaming swords, magic arrows), to a more generic soundtrack than other games. There's other things to say about it, but the matter is ds3 is still an excellent game, but better than Elden Ring ? Absolutely no chance.

[@KonnyKhaos]

@@lahunica2726 You’re arguing something that is completely subjective.

[@ihateallthethings2683]

Dark souls 3 might be my favorite game of all time. It was my first go at a souls game and the feeling of nostalgia and love I have for it isn’t matched by anything

[@04mzwach]

Yeah its much better than ds1 or ds2 imo.

[@LeUberTroll]

There’s definitely a bias of liking your first souls game most. It’s like that for everyone I’ve talked to. It explains DS2 fans

[@ihateallthethings2683]

@@LeUberTroll I suppose but dark souls 3 does something for me I can’t explain

[@TooDeepForSleep]

@@LeUberTroll yep. Everyone that praises ds2 always has some kind of story where their older brother gave them the playstation and then they fell in love with the game

[@LeUberTroll]

@@ihateallthethings2683 Gael is my favorite boss in the whole series, I totally get it.

[@tonybaker1268]

600+ hours for Elden Ring 1500+ hours for DS3 The build diversity in Elden Ring is amazing. The bosses in DS3 are my favorite.

[@internetinternet9610]

Holy shit how do you have so much free time

[@tonybaker1268]

@@internetinternet9610 no idea 😂 I work full time but I've played DS3 for years

[@JusticeforLiberty]

I agree , the bosses in ds3 are my favorite. Except for the nameless king , he is the worst boss every created. Zulie the witch proved his fight all comes down to RNG. He has several moves that can miss your hit box but you still take damage. On my last couple of play throughs , I just cheesed with the crossbow so he couldn't hit me with his dash or swipe attacks.

[@yamnbam4346]

@@JusticeforLiberty does he really? Are you talking about phase 1 or 2? Cause the second phase is a really smooth fight. The first phase is dogshit though. Edit: and Fire Giant or placidusax are easily worse imo

[@alexanderscott5492]

@@JusticeforLiberty I’m not sure that’s entirely true. I always have trouble with nameless, but when I finally get my head in the game, and I dodge through all his attacks, it’s really not hard

[@Gakusangi]

The Cathedral of the Deep is a fantastic bit of level design, how it all loops back to the same bonfire is very much in the spirit of that classic Miyazaki style. The only thing I hate about it... the enemy types and enemy placements there, which essentially turns the initial run of it into an unnecessary gauntlet rush. Otherwise, that areas design is rock solid.

[@theshekellord]

Cathedral of the Deep could have been one of the best areas in the game if it didn’t end with the lamest boss in the entire game.

[@Gakusangi]

@@theshekellord Oh yeah, it doesn't help that it culminates into a really bad gimmick boss. I almost forgot about the Deacons, they're such a non-entity XD

[@skinless5136]

Very frustrating to go through sometimes for me

[@Gakusangi]

@@skinless5136 Yeah, the roster of enemies in that area and where they've been put makes it hard to admire the layout.

[@TrueKivan]

Stuck there for 3 days now, love it. That first real shortcut after the bonfire at the doors is a real grinder, in like 40 attemps only managed to break through twice.

[@johnathonlongtin2275]

I loved elden ring, my first playthrough lasted 130 hours, it’s was amazing. But it’s the first Fromsoftware game I havnt immediately started a new game+. What I did immediately do was play dark souls 3 again.

[@foster5819]

Probably because it was 130 hours.

[@KeimpeJ]

I did play Elden Ring again. With a complete other character. Certain areas that were easy at first are now hard.

[@ddipster9342]

@@KeimpeJ it’s so weird how much more I struggled on my second elden ring run than my first

[@KeimpeJ]

@@ddipster9342 Same here. I played a magical character the second time. Lucardia was hell. :D

[@darkdivergrandahl4913]

elden ring is definitely a flawed masterpiece....hate that oxymoron but its the best way ive heard it described. I have 6 toons and 2 are on ng+. ds3 was def one of my faves though....fucking beautiful.

[@lordofcinder8884]

Came back to this game after elden ringand I have done 3 playthroughs immediately, the game is so addicting especially the bosses

[@rumplstiltztinkerstein]

There are some great mods that expand the game even more.

[@masterjenkins632]

Dancer was such a good boss fight, i felt like i was dancing with it as i was dodging

[@TooDeepForSleep]

its a perfect game

[@templarkid.]

The best bosses of the series indeed

[@sjsmmsms9245]

@@templarkid. I wouldn’t say that

[@Lynxx52]

DS3 was my first souls game and even I felt the weight of the final boss and his accompanying song truly a masterpiece

[@SirEggo2412]

Plin plin plon😭😭😭

[@amauriherrera6022]

Well, that's just another callback to vets from DS1 the final boss of DS3 is Gael at the end of time, as it s the thematic culmination of what the overarching conflict of all 3 games, as well as the conflict of DS3.

[@Xenotypal]

final boss as in gael or soul of cinder? in my opinion, gael is the best video game boss fight of all time. great a e s t h e t i c s, incredible lore, good mechanics, just everything. not sure if gael could ever be topped, honestly.

[@paulroche7588]

I totally agree about the twin prince’s fight, that fight felt so incredible, the atmosphere, the music, the fight all incredible, and I’ll never forget my first time playing through, the phase change cut scene, when Lothric whispers in his brothers ear “raise if you would, for that is our curse” holy goosebumps

[@DannysMyNanny]

Twin princes fight definitely one of the best in the series. That and gael are probably my favorites in DS3

[@ultimatewolfexists2378]

One thing I like about DS3 is that you truly do *become* better in the game. In other games the level upgrades and better weapons truly do carry you through late game. With DS3, after NG+++ I played a SL1 playthrough and was surprised how much easier it was than my first playthrough, because I improved.

[@poreba1153]

bo9 me.

[@popcornfilms1]

@@poreba1153 black ops 9

[@whatthediddle6859]

Not sure how you didn't get better when replaying the previous souls games, I've had a much different experience than you

[@sand_sand7304]

ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING ELDEN RING

[@OiMitch]

Was ds3 your first souls game?

[@matteodemaso8160]

My issue with Elden Ring is the pacing. DS3 is my favorite game of all time and huge part of that is its replay value. I can easily go through the entire game in less than a fifth of the time it takes me to complete ER. This allows me to make many more builds to experiment with in PvP. A great balanced experience that everyone must try. I’m still waiting for that Dark Souls 3 2!

[@AtreyusNinja]

Im sorry did u Just Said that ds3 have a good replayability and also good builds?

[@DarkspiritLyllianaTV]

truly. mid level PvP encourage a far more diverse build compare to meta one.

[@scotaloo77g73]

@@AtreyusNinja Elden Ring's replayability is horrible because of the boss design. They barely allow the player to use their build since bosses are so fast and aggressive the overwhelming majority of the fight will be nothing but roll spam.

[@AtreyusNinja]

@@scotaloo77g73 yes i'm totally fine with what have u just said, is the same thing i noticed since my first experience, but as well cuz the massive open world, i enjoy trying to do much as i can, take it slowly, trying to find every "secrets" around, is what i did from my first experience and i would never repeat something like that, instead, i can do that in theyr old games

[@ivanchaki372]

@@scotaloo77g73 that's a you problem chief

[@tommapar]

One thing to keep in mind, whilst the progression is semi-linear (I compare it to Resident Evil games, in which you hit a lock door, go back to the fork in the road, head the opposite direction, and get the key for said door) the levels in in of themselves are all but linear. They have verticality, branching paths, loop-around shortcuts and all that good shit people expect from Dark Souls level design.

[@Walamonga1313]

Yeah I love this aspect of Souls too. I'm a huge RE fan so I love that semi linear progression, not a fan of true open worlds

[@the4given196]

thats what i think is disappointing about elden ring. everyone always gets annoyed at swamps and too open areas, but this is liek 90% of elden rings map. the only areas in true soulslike style are stormveil, raya lucaria,mount gelmir, lyendell castle, the dragon place (cant remember the name rn) and the haligtree. and at least imo only stormveil comes close to the better ones of ds3. lothric castle, cathedral of the deep, irithil, grand archives + dlc locations all overshadow the ones in er. and these areas arent even really connected to the open world. stormveil can only be entered from margit boss fight, raya can only be entered from the elevator, mount gelmir can only be entered through a hidden wall and by using the abductor and cheesing your way into the actual area, lyendell can only be entered from the bossfight with the weird cavalry boss, the dragon area can only be entered by teleport and the haligtree can also only be entered by teleport. its not like they made an openworld envirement that has the same feeling as the old soulslike areas, theyve jsut done an old soulslike area and put it into the open world without connecting it more than necessary.

[@ryzae6202]

Right. Just because you can't play the levels in any order doesnt mean the levels themselves are linear. I like that it maintains the difficulty curve The swamp is a giant loop and in the center in an optional mini-boss that if you break his tail he has an optional animation and its hilarious.

[@neamraven]

Yeah, DS3 has the best world in the series. People who say it has the worst world are either parrots or don't know what they're talking about.

[@thaearthquake]

@@the4given196 it’s almost like… it’s an open. world. game?? You just hate ER, and that’s fair but to say the level design of the legacy dungeons are worse than DS3? You sound delusional 😂

[@tristinfrazier1687]

DS3 was my first playing introduction to a souls game. I played it co-op with my friend who I wasn't too close with at the time. After playing and beating the game w him I loved the game. Some of the best memories I've ever made. After beating the nameless king and all the DLC bosses we marathoned all the souls games. This game is a masterpiece and will remain with me forever. Just like every other souls game. Im glad I made the choice to play it.

[@ramrodbldm9876]

Awe did you end up marrying your bf?

[@ramrodbldm9876]

Did you end up meeting yout bf?

[@mt2r-music]

The feeling of defeating a boss for the first time in DSIII is something no other game can recreate.

[@ppnfilms3532]

@Boulderbruh323 lmao exactly

[@kapoink835]

@Boulderbruh323 Dark souls III has the best bosses of the series by far. And I don't mean individual bosses, but bosses as a whole. Ds3 has way less gimmicky fights than the previous games, and the fights are always fair no matter what unlike in ER. The average boss fight quality is highest in Ds3 by far.

[@kapoink835]

@Boulderbruh323 I said the older games are more gimmicky, and Elden Ring is more unfair. Read my comment again if you're having trouble.

[@jbtakedown23]

@Boulderbruh323 crystal sage isn't gimmicky its a gank fight. Yhorim, wholnir and deacons were the only 3 fight in the entire game that were gimmics. 3/24 bosses being gimmicks imo makes a ton of sense. That being said I can say i only really loved roughly 15-20 fights in elden ring out of 100+. The ratio in ds3 is by far the best.

[@jesterdayplays771]

I think this means you started playing Soulsborne with DSIII. DSIII was my second Soulsborne game, and Iudex Gundyr was already down in the first ten minutes on my first try, not really a remarkable experience at all for me. I defeated most of the bosses in the game in my second or third tries, I even defeated some of them on my first like Gundyr. If you are talking about bosses in general, there were some standing out yes. Abyss Watchers, Pontiff Sulyvahn, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Twin Princes, Nameless King, most of the DLC bosses were good fights. But I wouldn't say the same for Curse-Rotted Greatwood, Crystal Sage, Deacons of the Deep, High King Wolnir, Old Demon King, Yhorm the Giant, etc. I think half the bosses in DSIII is boring and forgettable.

[@trissy2446]

Still my favorite game from FS. Absolutely beautiful, so Damn fun and had the most replayability to me.

[@smoker5989]

I thought people said DS2 has the best replayability and DS3 was so linear.

[@t0q14s9]

@@smoker5989 the linearity is what makes it so replayable for me. The best thing about open world games is the exploration but when you already know where everything is it just feels like the world is really littered.

[@lewanbroski504]

@@t0q14s9 same I love how linear it is and you just make your way to the next boss no fucking around do or die. Elden ring was great but I love ds3

[@mbh9566]

My favorite Souls game regardless of its issues. Each game in the series has issues. Dark Souls for example has a seemingly rushed second half. Part 3 has the best bosses in my opinion and also feels the most polished. All that being said, it’s the only one that I haven’t Platinum’d yet… someday.

[@weaponizedautism3269]

Let me guess All miracles trophy is missing?

[@mbh9566]

@@weaponizedautism3269 Nope, I’m missing the ‘Master of Rings’ Trophy. I haven’t grabbed the NG++ only rings yet.

[@marvjrb0531]

Use Heavy Armor, use Vordt's Great Hammer. Use Fap ring,Wolf Ring, estus ring, Havel's ring. Level up - strength,vigor, vitality, endurance Look up a checklist for 107 rings Play till grand archives ng++

[@nextnash14]

Haven’t got platinum either because I need like 30 proof of a concord kept

[@reesespieces8173]

I don't really get the idea that DS3 is somehow NOT the best Souls game. It clearly is in pretty much every single way. DS1 is awesome but DS3 BLOWS it out of the water. How is any other opinion real? DS3 is a near flawless masterpiece.

[@zainkhan69420]

DS3 Characters and questlines were top tier. Hawkwoods redemption from being a crestfallen coward, Grierats yearning for adventure and meaning and Siegward's promise to yhorm just to name a few. Elden Ring didn't really have this level of questline and character quality, except for Diallos and Alexander who were great.

[@buggy5079]

I liked Ranni and sellen personnaly, Ranni quest was super interesting, learning the lore around the eternal cities and rannis motivations for wanting to destroy the golden order (she wants to have free will) Sellen quest was great because of the lore, a lot of lovecraftian vibes, she becomes an abomination in search for knowledge

[@mingQWERTY]

I do think that Ranni's, Fia's and the Volcano Manor's questlines deserve to be on that list. There's just so much content in them and it's great to explore more of the factions and their motives. I do agree with your statement on DS3 characters and questlines. Hawkwood is probably one of my favourite characters in the trilogy. A problem I have with Elden Ring's questlines is how it doesn't give you any direction. The system works in DS3 because the game is much smaller and linear. FromSoft already have markers in the game for NPCs and important locations so why not give them to every questlines? They also used a genius idea in the form of glowing messages (with Varre) but never used it again. I think that could be a substitude for any markers because it tells you where to go but you still need to explore and find the place.

[@gogetathestrongestfusion]

Thinking about it Sigward and Alexander characters are very similar

[@praisemidir]

u forgeting ranni, millecent , and many more

[@miratulmemalik1101]

ds3 questlines are just reskin ds1 questlines you probably played ds3 before ds1

[@wolf1nsoul]

Thank you for finally making a retrospective on DS3 Thrust! I know that many SoulsBorne fans criticise it due to being similar to DS1...But this game honestly means so much to me and is still my favorite FromSoftware game (excluding Sekiro). The OST, faster gameplay, builds, lore, loot varriety, level design, characters, THE FREAKING BOSSES?! I feel like From haven't toped themselfs ever since DS3 came out - Gael, Midir, Nameless, Twin Princess, Champion Gundyr, Abyss Watchers, Sister Friede, Dancer etc. The bosses are the perfect combination of top tier design, OST, and lore. Glad you're enjoyed it so much❤️

[@evn556]

Yes dude. There’s just something about Ds3, including all that you listed, that remains untouched and intoxicating. Something so special there.

[@Don_Fucius]

Agreed! The boss fights in this game are my favourite boss fights in any game ever made.

[@lahunica2726]

Although bosses you named are great, there are things I don't like about ds3 bosses. Half of them are bad or mediocre, especially in the first half of the game so half the bosses. The popular bosses are pretty much giant guys in armors, using at some point a fire sword and magic arrows, obviously referencing ds1 bosses (Priscilla, Gwyn, Seath, Gwyndolin) and using for most of them epic soundtracks with some of them being as generic as possible. It's like the game can't live outside ds1's shadow. Ds3 doesn't have as much variety in boss encounters that ds1 brought, even if it wasn't always well executed but at least there was variation and surprises. Not even mentionning that Bloodborne already did better bosses before and Sekiro and Elden Ring did better bosses after.

[@the4given196]

@@lahunica2726 elden ring didnt do better bosses tho (cant talk about sekiro and bloodborne havent played them). a fight like malenia will never be as fun as something liek gael or twin princes, because the lategame bosses in elden ring feel overpowered. in ds 3 i want to play through the game with different builds jsut to fight gael again. in elden ring i see myself going back to the meta after i fight morgott (the last truly good fight in er imo), because i dont feel like the bosses are rewarding with themed builds.

[@lahunica2726]

@@the4given196 I find Placidusax, Godfrey, Maliketh, Morgott, Radahn, Godrick, Mohg better to fight than Gael and Twin princes.

[@BroonDad]

I’ve beat ds3 probably close to 100 times by now, I’m level 600 something on my main, beat it with no armor and only a katana, a dagger only run, and I could still play it right now and have a blast, idk what they did to make it so fun but it’s got me locked down

[@retye4290]

I only got this game a few weeks ago, but I’ve already put over 70 hours into it across multiple characters, and am currently looking for new challenge runs to do

[@jinougawithchocolate9329]

@@retye4290 I've never had the urge to immediately replay a game as much as with ds3, it's insane lmao. I'm currently on my 5th playthrough and doing sl1 and at the twin princes on it. I literally beat the game twice with the dlc within like 3 days, I'm absolutely hooked.

[@adamyohan]

I haven't finished the video yet (15mins in), but I enjoy the pacing of the video and the voice over. Many people don't realize how important these are to keep the audience engaged.

[@canadiangopnik7007]

The other day, I was messing around in NG+5, and decided to finally try out the Twinkling Dragon Torso Stone and Dragon Head Stone, it was fun playing as an Anorexic Reindeer, but it was pretty underwhelming. But then, an epiphany struck me, "I must do PvP as a dragon" so I did, I immediately threw on the Aldritch Faithful covenant, and after some time, I was summoned, however, the host was already being invaded by a dark spirit, so like the gentleman dragon I was, I patiently waited my turn, in that time, another invader appeared, a fellow Aldritch Faithful. I was having fun being a friendly, occasionally spitting flames in the host's general direction and other nonsense, so I let my fellow Faithful go first, before long it was just me and the host, there we stood, face to face, note: this entire time, I had no weapons in hand, just my bare fists, and he was wearing heavy armor, so I first activated my Dragon Head Stone to hit him with a single tick of fire damage, not much, then again, then I punched him once... still no retaliation, so I activated my Twinkling Dragon Torso Stone. For those who are unaware, the Twinkling Dragon Torso Stone unleashes a slow buildup, relatively low damage, low range, knockdown blast right in front of you, it's not a good source of damage, however, It does MASSIVE stamina damage to shielding foes, It's essentially a free stagger, and I can only assume that my hapless opponent was unaware of this fact, because his response was not to roll away as I assumed he would, but to bring up his shield. This was his greatest mistake, upon him becoming staggered, I was in awe, I hadn't expected this, but this was my chance, I seized the opportunity and riposted him, and plunged my scaly dragon fist into his gut then slammed him to the ground, Victory, not in the traditional sense, I did less than 100 damage, but damage was never my goal, I quickly activated my Black Separation Crystal, and I was gone, that man will have to live with the knowledge that he got styled on and outplayed by a malnourished moose. I have never once felt like more of a Giga-Chad in my life. 10/10 - This is the best game ever

[@Blandy8521]

Malnourished Moose made laugh

[@madmansprinkles]

"GNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" - dark souls 3 dragon form

[@MissChambers]

I actually much preferred 3 to 1 for the combat system. I don’t really have the nostalgia for 1 since I was 12 when it came out, and because I played ER and DS3 before DS1, the age really showed for me. And that’s not because I don’t play old games, I loved Bioshock and RE4.

[@gbadebooyelakin2546]

Yeah. I think nostalgia is a very potent factor. I also don’t have that nostalgia factor as DS3 was the first soulsborne game I played; then BB, followed by Sekiro. DS3 is the one I love most, and I think this is because of 2 reasons: DS3 made me fall in love with FromSoft games, and it helped me get through a very difficult phase of my life. I actually tried playing DS1 and 2 and just couldn’t get into them. I think I am just gonna have to wait till they remake the game like they did Demon Souls.

[@Walamonga1313]

I don't have nostalgia for DkS1 either because my first Souls was Demon's. To me DkS1 never felt like discovering fire (pun not intended), because I already found it with Demon's. DkS3 on the other hand, is still my fav FromSoft game to this day. My most played by far.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

Yeah I played 3 before 1 and it feels absolutely ancient. Without nostalgia it's hard to ignore.

[@indrast5203]

I mean it had more time to get refined.

[@whaleshey]

i played ds3 first and then ds1, and ds1 is still my favorite of all their games

[@T--wg7qc]

This was my first souls game and also the first multi-player game I ever owned. Had some great times figuring it all out. I still remember this dude in pontiff who showed me the ropes and taught me of the etiquette. This dude basically trained me, it was a great experience. I never talked to him or got his gamertag though, it was all through emotes. I think of him everytime I run into a noob in elden ring and hope I can train them as he trained me. I'm not that good but I have trained a couple noobs and it feels good.

[@superninjapirate19]

I really hope that FromSoft does not abandon the more linear approach of DS and Bloodborne. The fact that they were not open world was really refreshing to me. I’m not hating on elden ring, I just can’t dedicate the time required to play such a massive game.

[@Walamonga1313]

Same. I did 100% Elden, twice actually, but it gets old before you even beat the first playthru. At one point I literally just rode with the horse collecting items not fighting anything because I couldn't be bothered to

[@MrTheDarkKnightFan]

Really exhausted with the amount of Open world games since GTA 5. Linear games are so good & much more story focused.

[@hodir1914]

Sounds like a you problem. Not to hate on you, but criticizing Fromsoft for doing something new with their formula and call the linear approach refreshing is a little bit strange in my eyes. Like they have made 6 linear games before this one.

[@TC70]

@@hodir1914 because elden rings design for story and sidequests function like linear dark souls quests, but they are in an open world Elden ring as a first entry into open world for fromsoft is poor, everything it does right, dark souls 3 or prior games did first, and everything unique about it is done poorly or done better by other games.

[@matthewsmithers8273]

@@TC70 tf you mean poorly done

[@Yamsauce]

The time spent on input delay and how design is built around it is a nuance i dont find much in other game channels. Good job, your video quality is improving since I began watching 4+ years ago. Keep at your craft man.

[@jacobvaness975]

the cathedral actually does have an optional path. you can teleport to the painted world and then after completing the final boss of the DLC you have an option to warp to the ringed city DLC. it is a dead end path however it is another path

[@devindalton4688]

That's dlc dude, that's not an optional path, lol. It's an npc interaction that opens up additional content that you paid for that wasn't part of the base game, it hardly qualifies.

[@kylemalone1263]

@@devindalton4688 In my opinion this game review was still biased for the simple fact it's not ds1

[@anonisnoone6125]

@@kylemalone1263I don't get what ur saying.

[@goldeneagle987]

I can't believe it's been 6 years already. It feels like yesterday on my 16th birthday when I got this game as my first souls game. I remember dying to Gundyr at least 30 times lol.

[@LoveFactoryParties]

the editing and general quality of the production in this video is so on point

[@amiga4ever]

Ive finished Elden Ring and now playing again DS3..and...I love it more than never before! Wow im soo hyped to beat it again (after 6 yrs I bateley remember anything)

[@DownwardThrust]

Enjoy brother

[@JunyurrX]

This is my first souls game (I had sekiro before ds3 but thats a whole other thing) and I bought it on sale on xbox and its amazing.

[@calvin624]

It's heavily implied that Farron Swamp is Oolacile, or the Dark Root Garden from the first game, so it makes sense for there to be an abundance of trees.

[@harlanschafer8287]

on your too many tree in swamp complaint, when i first played it i didn't realize what i needed to do at first until i climbed up the bridge to the stray demon and noticed them fire towers poking out over the forest. ended up being a cooler discovery of the puzzle for me

[@johnyoung8745]

As an og demon’s souls player, ds3’s linearity, more frequent bonfires and teleporting to areas is actually a strong positive. I never beat dark souls 1 and not because the combat was hard (as I said I beat and loved DeS) but the getting lost unsure of where to go and long treks from same bonfire that just made me give up on dark souls 1. DS3 takes care of those issues with more clear guiding without hand holding, better distinct areas in the same zone and the teleporting makes soul farming more viable a strategy.

[@Walamonga1313]

As another og Demon's Souls player, I loved DkS3. I prefer the pacing and the gameplay is so tight and smooth, music so cool, bosses so fun... DkS1 is a good game but I never found it to be legendary. I still think Demon's Souls was the better experience, even if DkS1 is the better game with more content and mechanics/polish

[@Rivr_Shen]

Linearity is not inherently bad. A lot of games put you on one path that you can't deviate from. Obviously Dark Souls got progressively more and more linear, but I think that strengthened the gameplay and the world-building, in DS3 especially.

[@bartagame_3070]

"Linearity is not inherently bad" Finally a sane Person

[@c.l.a.u.d.e]

Premise is true, but it doesn't apply to an RPG such as this. Even BB had a more linear progression than FROM's previous titles, yet didn't sink as low as barely having any optional content. Even Sekiro could have gone fully linear and still decided to offer an entirely optional Hirata Estate and three post-Blazing Bull branching paths.

[@Rivr_Shen]

@@c.l.a.u.d.e the optional content in DS3 is far more extensive than BB. Archdragon Peak, Smoldering Lake, and Untended Graves all have decent to amazing bosses, and offer great exploration. Yes one is a copy paste of the starting area, but it serves to tell the story of the best opening boss in the series. As for choice in progression, you have options, just not ones that are as impactful. You could go beat Wolnir first and save a bit of time, or go to the Cathedral and get the doll first. You can choose to take down Yhorm first for an easier start to get the ball rolling, or take down Aldrich to get him out of the way. You could even clear out Lothric before Farron Woods. I don't know why people don't realize you can do Lothric Castle first.

[@Rivr_Shen]

You can go up until Grand Archives, at least.

[@c.l.a.u.d.e]

@@Rivr_Shen Both Smouldering Lake and Untended Graves are mediocre at best: the former is a large empty field with some extension of the catacombs you've already gone through underneath, it presents the great number of exactly 1 (ONE) new enemy, the Demon Cleric, and its related machine gun-like gimmicks; while the latter is simply the tutorial with some new additions, none of which you haven't seen before, and a completely pointless invasion that awards no drop at all. Archdragon Peak is ok, but they had to throw a bad gimmick into the mix, otherwise it wouldn't be a DS3 area. ALL and I mean ALL early game choices are an illusion: it doesn't matter if you clear Lothric Castle first or/and the Cathedral of the Deep first, you HAVE to go through these areas anyway and the same applies to going first to Anor Londo or to the Profaned Capital. Doing Lothric Castle as early as possible is also entirely pointless, as you won't find the 6 Titanite Shards needed to get your weapon to +3, making all successive rewards useless until the Undead Settlement is cleared, and both the Miracle Tomes and Boss Souls require the exploration of said area to be put to use. And the best part is that you can't even complete the castle itself, because entering the Royal Archives requires all the other Lords of Cinders to be defeated for a key to appear out of the blue.

[@gauravbarman3731]

That soundtrack in the firelink shrine after giving the fire maiden her eyes always gives me the chills.

[@Jayleon72]

Hey dude just wanted to say how I appreciate your work. Been following you for several years and I very much respect how you do things. In many ways you're a typical gamer, which is great because you often approach things will reflect how a typical gamer will feel about any given game and it means it's easy to trust your options through that common ground. But the real core strength you have is indeed the whole point of your channel. And that strength is that you are not only will but active working to challenge your own reactions, assumptions and bias. This is something many games say they are, but few follow through on. You're a great example of how gamers should be and I hope you are pleased with your successful approach to your job.

[@erikhendrickson59]

The Abyss Watcher is one of the best boss-fights in any game, ever. Also worth noting is that the Bonfire is *_very_* close to the boss arena, allowing newer players very little frustration for repeated attempts.

[@Bolt2049]

Only real problem with the Watchers fight imo are the three or so darkwraiths fighting the ugly Farron monstrosities right in front of the boss door, not a huge problem but they will clip you easily if you try to run through

[@Bolt2049]

But apart from that yeah the best early game fight in DS3 no doubt

[@masson5775]

@@Bolt2049you can run to the right side of the way up to the boss and there are only two poisonous enemies there that you can easily run by and get to the arena with no trouble

[@Bolt2049]

@@masson5775 tysm for replying dude, I already know that since I've beaten the game 3 times so far in the year or so since I first played it. I just mentioned that comment from a new player's perspective, the runback is just a slight annoyance of course, nothing serious.

[@tomascruz1353]

It’s funny but I played dark souls 3 too, this weekend and Oh boy, I’m having a blast with the bosses, the thing is that it feels like a duel unlike in elden ring, where you have to wait minutes until the boss is done with their combos, just like in the end game of er, I love ER, but dark souls 3 has my favorite boss fights: abyss watchers, pontiff, friede, gael, dragon slayer armor, dancer, demon prince, midir, twin princess, naneless king, champion gundyr, omg, what a line up

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

ER is a spectacular looking borefest

[@notheccs8974]

@@BBQcheese minutes is an exaggeration but for me bosses like margit are kind of bullshit with his 10+ hit combos and input reading

[@martinsergo6108]

@@BBQcheese even if you think Margit is easy and provides plenty of consistent openings (fair I guess), it's a lot harder to extend that courtesy to Morgott, Malekith, radagon (to a lesser extent maybe) and especially Malenia with her bullshit waterfowl dance and 20 second clone move in phase two. Not only do they go on forever in some cases, the windows for getting in damage are inconsistent since the recovery time from an attack is so high and the bosses have optional extensions for some combos that can't reasonably be predicted. It seems like a lot of the late game bosses in particular are just built around summoning becasuse they're unreasonably hard if you choose to fight them one on one. Getting hits in for ds3 feels so much more consistent, even with an ultra. I love ER but it's bosses are a huge step down from ds3 and Sekiro. The exploration and visuals are the parts that stand out much more.

[@tomascruz1353]

@@BBQcheese maliketh, malenia, hoarax lux, dragonlord, even margit, I recommend you to watch joseph anderson review on elden ring

[@user-vi4zw6zu4c]

The OST "Epilogue" still gives me chills to this day

[@xtanagaming1017]

Three additional areas could have made this games map a 10/10 Lothric dungeon: a connecting area between farron keep and the high wall of lothric. Would be accessed just after the stray demon fight and lead up to one of the unused doors at the high wall (ideally the one by the tower where the longbow is) Well of the deep: connecting area between the cathedral of the deep and the catacombs of carthus. Accessed after deacon fight or from somewhere in the catacombs (connection would work both ways, meaning abyss watcher fight can essentially be skipped until the endgame, allowing the pvp Hotspot to remain active) Lastly just make the profane capital an actual area

[@Kixolisjous]

Fantastic video! Going through DS3 at the moment myself for the second time achievement hunting, and loving every moment of it.

[@SubIndy]

When I first played DS3 I was so disappointed the world wasn’t interconnected like DS1 was, that I kind of didn't notice how solid DS3 is. Then years later I deiced to play it again and had super awesome time! Lol

[@roosyie7965]

Did you use a mod for the shading and colour? And if so, which mod? The colour of the footage is super crisp I love it.

[@Count_Meowza]

I happen to like every gimmick fight that I've played in the soul series. Including the bed of chaos. I feel like it's a breath of fresh air in between your usual boss and it's definitely nice to have to use your brain a little bit.

[@Budd631]

I loved this game. I platinumed Demons Souls, DS1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring, too. The OST, the bosses, quest lines, fashion, builds. The game just “works”. The DLC as a whole package was a great send off.

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

DS3 is my favourite in the trilogy. Specifically for the atmosphere, the colour. The world feels so cold, I could almost feel the cold on my skin when I think about that world.

[@cosmiclikesminecraft]

Genuine question, what colour, that’s my biggest problem with the game is how the areas all blend together, in all the other games, you can show my like a random zoomed in part of an area I can instantly tell where I am on colour palette alone. Without that brilliant vibrance the games areas all blended together, and the game generally lacked the stunning vistas of say, Shulva, Demon ruins and Heide’s tower of flame. DLC 2 showing you the beautifully twisted and warped ringed city was the closest it came. While I do love all 3 equally for different reasons the areas of DS3 have always held the game back for me, I can see merits in all of Miyazaki’s games to the point that I can’t pick a favourite tbh

[@-opus]

DS2 for its complexity, creativity, replayability and 3 good DLCs

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

@@cosmiclikesminecraft I mean DS2 is defs the most colourful, I guess I mean the colour shading, I don’t know I’m talking with my emotions there’s no logic to it 😂 but ya I’ve always felt an emotional connection to the areas in DS3. Might also be the excellent ambiences in the sound design that imprinted themselves on the environments for me. Spent hours just standing around the Road of Sacrifices with my headphones on listening to those ambiences

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

@@cosmiclikesminecraft when I say colour I don’t mean to imply colourful. Just that the colours and colour shades used evoke a coldness for me that I resonate with. A game could have a limited colour pallet and still be visually engaging I think at least. I mean look at Bloodborne, that games got like 2 colours lol but they’re well used.

[@cosmiclikesminecraft]

@@the.bloodless.one1312 you know what fair enough. I’ve spent a lot of time jsut vibin with the fair lady/the bottom of blight town

[@Keeks33]

Found your video today and you are one of the few people I've heard mention that ER honed your skills so much that it made DS3 a lot easier. I am absolutely loving DS3, yet frankly can't believe how much I miss the level of difficulty of ER. Great video.

[@kevinhadap6463]

Glad you mentioned the mechanics. One of my biggest frustrations with Elden Ring is that all the calm and controlled manner with the button inputs goes right out the window. I'm not sure what it is, but at least on my main install / gaming rig (PC) button presses are just dropped altogether. And I don't mean buffering. I mean, straight up when I want to roll (not queued during another action - like if I'm sitting there, patiently waiting to time a roll, and press roll) - it sometimes just doesn't fire. If anything, Elden Ring has encouraged me to button mash to ensure I can get an action to go, and then button mash some more to override queues... all because sometimes the buttons inputs are just not accepted. This NEVER happened in Dark Souls 1-3. Not sure if it's the new engine or what, but I know it's going to be hard to go back to the reliable button presses of Dark Souls 3.

[@pdcandis]

Yesterday I beat the dlcs for the first time, it was amazing.

[@jakubpuawski3875]

for me, ds3 was the first FromSoft game I've played, so I never had to fight nostalgia for ds1 and it does remain my favourite From game to this day (Elden Ring has some amazing moments, but also many problems). I appreciate you changing your mind on it, I really believe that it is Souls formula refined to perfection - ER couldn't have been that for obvious reason (open world).

[@kendrickleibenguth1154]

Is this a scam or no because I got it to

[@jakubpuawski3875]

@@kendrickleibenguth1154 Im gonna let you figure this one on your own :D

[@CharlieKellyEsq]

Dark souls 3 is easily the most polished and best experience of any souls game; due to it's linearity. It isnt even close really. The upgrade materials are locked behind difficult challenges, and the guidance towards the player is so incredibly well done. It's the only souls game that was neither too easy or too frustrating throughout the entire playthrough.

[@tvernile]

The delay attack & stamina regen roll showcase is a great example of the meticulous detail that makes this video so good.

[@vanquish5023]

Dark Souls 3 still has the best boss roster in the series. Including Bloodborne and Elden Ring.

[@hodir1914]

No it has not, the early game bosses of DS3 suck in comparison to BB and ER

[@manea7074]

Sekiro

[@robsonchagas7632]

@@hodir1914 no they do not ?

[@lucam.m]

Great video, I recently completed the game for the first time and absolutely loved it. Definitely one of the best games ever.

[@waltersullivan2727]

Easily my personal favorite in the trilogy. The movement is just so clean and it offers a lot of amazing bosses. The vistas really can be amazing like how the Highwall. Can be seen from so many areas towering over you. It kinda foreshadows your return to the very top. I can understand peoples gripe with it be more linear. But that wasn’t something that really bothered me too much. The levels are still pretty tightly packed with stuff. And I’ve gone through these games countless times. I love the cold and corrupt atmosphere of many of the areas like COTD and Irithyll. I’m also a huge fan of the lore/pacing there’s quite a good bit of interesting NPC’s who follow you. The Lords of Cinder are pretty fleshed out at least having one if not more NPC’s tied to them. On a side note just like DS2 it implemented a respec system which I consider huge. No respec greatly hurts exploration imo. If you find something and it doesn’t fit your build you’re kinda screwed. This games hub is also incredible it has so many resources. It’s great just how full of with other characters it can get like DS2. Can’t forget the music it’s some of my favorite!

[@LukaTheGod]

I played games in order of ds3 then ds1 then ds2 and now the newest entry elden ring , and imho by the amount of fun and enjoyment I had while playing the game it was ds3>elden ring>ds2>ds1, the problem is that after beating ds3 with dlc ds1 was just too easy, and for people who may think I didn't gave the games a chance I have beaten all the bosses in every title all the way up to ng+7

[@Lead1121]

Darksouls 1 holds a special place in my heart and I played it AFTER my first bloodsouls game (bloodborne). Bloodborne is beyond my favorite and I think the best game/story. I love the feel of DS3 for sure but not my favorite

[@sasaki999pro]

Bloodborne is the souls combat refined to perfection and its a shame that later games abandoned what made it work, I cant believe Rally is not a mandatory staple mechanic of the subgenre at this point, you should atleast be able to get a ring(Talisman = Elden Ring) that enables the function as a starting gift, and locking the feature behind end game progression merely exasperates the issue instead of solving it. Also not having the ability to swap spells out of your inventory freely like your weapons is so asinine. And I have still yet to see a souls magic meter that is superior to the "Quicksilver Bullets" system.

[@evn556]

Bloodborne was my least favorite souls game personally. Ds3 /DS1 tied for best games of all time.

[@LuM4rex]

I'm not trying to be smelly, I finished bloodborne yesterday, and to be honest, hand on heart, I don't understand the hype. The game is good when it comes to the uniqueness of the world setting, design and character speed. Especially tricky weapons. But the bosses weren't nearly as good, except for the DLC. In some cases, if you're a Lovecraft fan, you should really like it, but for me it's still below DS1/3 and Sekiro, ahead of games like DS2/ER/DeS

[@Lead1121]

@@LuM4rex To each there own, just like I think Sekiro is the worst out of all of them. Just personal opinions I guess. which is fair

[@Walamonga1313]

I used to have BB at the top but in time its flaws just brought it down to around 3rd spot (prob tied with Elden). DkS3 and Sekiro are just super consistent quality wise, whereas BB has some questionable bosses and mechanics. That said, BB DLC is still my fav and Ludwig probably my favourite boss ever in any game.

[@Makszi]

DS3 is my fave game of all time. It refined and purified the DS experience and closed the loop on open threads of story from previous Souls. Almost perfect in my experience. It's only contender is other Souls games and Elden ring

[@themanicman8458]

32:59 - 33:22 this phenomenon has actually been talked about when it comes to the "Flow State" What someone needs to be able to learn at an effective pace is challenge that isn't ridiculously high above what they're capable of but also not below what they're capable of If it's too low you don't learn anything and if it's too high it can bring about stress frustration or even anxiety which makes it harder to learn anything If the curve of the challenge remains consistent throughout then your ability to learn is consistent so you learn at a steady pace

[@captainbeefster]

One of my biggest problems with Elden Ring is the bosses aren’t that fun to fight anymore. Dark Souls 3 achieved perfection in my eyes with that style of combat. The attacks are well telegraphed and have ample recovery time for you to attack or heal, and if you make a mistake they generally aren’t terribly damaging. All the bosses in DS3 (apart from the bad 3) feel like fun back-and-forth duels that are intensely rewarding. Compare that with Elden Ring’s bosses that seem to have endless combos, very little recovery time, can jump away or instantly start another attack based on animation reading, and by the end of the game will kill you in one or two hits if you don’t obsessively level vigor.

[@seandevlin4059]

After Elden Ring, I realized that DS3 was far more enjoyable to me. I think that the linearity plays a major role.

[@JohnSmith-mc2zz]

Dark Souls 1 and 2 have the best worlds and they don't feel linear. DS1 is especially not linear.

[@joelaugustin6407]

The ratio of game time to fun bosses is so high in DS3 compared to Elden ring and the other souls games. I haven't played demon souls or Bloodborne mind you, but I think that's the thing that keeps bringing me back to DS3 over the years. Elden ring is a beautiful game that's amazing to experience at least once, but only a few of the unique bosses stuck out to me. I'm not sure why.

[@wilfredwayne7139]

Just got into this after trying for so long took me about 10 hours to make it to the greatwood didn't play for years and now I've nearly finished it.

[@michaeljohnson1576]

I just started watching your videos, Downward Thrust. Your tone of voice is so calming and your review style is awesome. I subscribed!

[@Papersky01]

I got lost in firelink shrine because I didn't know you could fast travel for like three hours I was just searching the entire of firelink and found the tree slip because of how desperate I was

[@thessop9439]

I had to look for a tutorial

[@Konyad]

Yes, it should be more obvious

[@rily2885]

yeah, this is definitely the most consistent one and I feel like its a fair trade for the freedom, I had a hard time getting lost in every other souls game because those games allow me to get lost in difficult areas sooner, tbh I like this freedom to screw myself but ds3 is probably one of the best souls if you are new to series, even better than elden ring in some aspects, I still miss the branching paths but the lack of them doesn't make it worst when the intended path is this good

[@moonasha]

i think sekiro did it best. best combat in the series (if you count it as a souls game anyways, might as well if elden is), best map in the series, a good mix of linearity and openness, and the best story and characters...

[@murkywters]

Dark Souls 3 was by no means my first FromSoft game, but I played it before Dark Souls 1. Out of all the Souls-games DS3 is by far my favorite, and perhaps one of my all time greatest gaming experiences ever.

[@ShadowDrakk]

Great video, some interesting viewpoints. For me personally having finished all as they were released, ds3 is the hardest. I didn’t struggle so much with Elden ring. so much so I don’t feel a need to go back to it anytime soon. Ds2 is my personal favourite but ds1 has the best memories.

[@justrandomstuff6828]

Some of the criticisms also apply to DS1, there are literal walls stopping you from going places, you must go through the depths, you must go through the undead berg, you choose now or later, the world is open, but you still need to follow a path, you can't access DLC before the middle of the game, and c'mon, running around that big open map that slowly, is just not fun, being lost is not fun, making progress is, also, saying it's more linear, i don't see that as a criticism, it's the way it is, being different than the first doesn't mean it's bad, that goes for everything

[@Blandy8521]

You don't actually need to go through the depths. With the master key or going through Valley of Drakes you can enter blighttown through a path that skips the depths.

[@user-vi4zw6zu4c]

It's weird, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, although flawed, are my favorite From Games, but I think DS3 and Sekiro are literally perfect. Each part of the game is so finely tuned that it's honestly insane... It's because of that perfect balance that I still am more likely to replay DS3 or Sekiro, even though Bloodborne is above everything for me...

[@MassimilianoCavalera]

I agree with everything you said

[@bluepirategamer7655]

Dark souls 3 is my first dark souls cause my dad already owned so I decided to play it first since each game has their own story the first boss was hard but I enjoyed it cause it made me think what I should do and that's where I found out of your not guarding with your shield your stamina goes up faster so I did that and seeing the second stage generally was shocked by it and froze but I beat him and I remember when I got killed by a mimic and then I asked my dad how I join my friend and he helped a lot my friend wanted me to get dark souls in the first place but we're almost at the 5th boss counting the tree guy he's helped me alot but we only really join each other when fighting bosses and then we stay on a call dark souls 3 is fun

[@thesyndicatea.t.k7528]

idk what filters you've added but the game looks beautiful 💯 just got to the part where u explain it lol

[@KonnyKhaos]

I threw 1500 (thank you PVP community!) hours into this game the first 3 or so years. It was my first introduction to souls and many could say that is the reason it’s my favorite of them all, and I would partially agree. Either way, I fell absolutely and completely in love.

[@kendrickleibenguth1154]

Is this a scam

[@KonnyKhaos]

@@kendrickleibenguth1154 nah man. I love the game.

[@kendrickleibenguth1154]

@@KonnyKhaos no someone replied to one of comments saying I won something that's what I was asking was a scam or not

[@nishallall781]

dark souls 3 feels very dangerous and epic at the same time. its got that aura too it. very medieval very magical .

[@b-lotus5145]

This was my first "souls" and my fav game ever. Playing it for the first time is a feeling I'll never forget or feel again.

[@leemurtoad5186]

You missed a lot in the combat area. Walking forward allows inputs to come out faster by cancelling end frames of previous animations. You can also immediately cancel R1 and R2 from rolling. There's so much more I dont have time to type here but it is far more complex

[@_yllw6155]

DS3 is the best in the series and imo, one of the best games of all time. Fight me. Who cares that it's linear? the game performance, story, items, fights, quest lines, and dlc all make up for it. I always feel like the criticisms of this game are unfairly specific to DS3. Gimmick fights? They're in every souls game. Poison swamps? Again, a souls tradition. This game is a masterpiece unlike any other

[@michaelcameron4337]

DS3 is the greatest game of all time. Will always be my favorite, such an incredible story. Amazing lore and gameplay. It was the peak.

[@ryanvandoren1519]

Yeah I think it's FromSofts magnum opus.

[@eligreg99]

My first fromsoft game was ER and I have 2 level 200 characters. I just started DS3 and just beat the abyss watchers on my first try. I did the same with the first two bosses. So far I haven’t had much trouble early compared to when I played DS1, ER and Sekiro

[@ShampooTime]

oh wow, really well written, just amazing, also will you being doing any new cooking hero meals videos?

[@cristianrotila7444]

My only issue with Elden Ring: the open world. As somebody who likes to search any nook and cranny in these fromsoft games, Elden ring makes it overwhelming. The problem is not on the first playthrough, it's on succeeding playthroughs where I would like to focus specific builds, but that just takes too much because "I need to cover this area and that area first before I can go to the area where my weapon is". The linearity of DS3 made it so much easier

[@s.l5691]

that's your problem, not the game's. lmao

[@ivarisalie8759]

Sounds like a “you” issue

[@Bunnibunnibunni]

I felt the same about elden ring except on first playthrough, still haven't completed the game just because I lost interest after spending probably 60 hours riding a horse around in empty places or fighting overworld enemies, 5 hours on weak catacombs and maybe 7 on actual dungeons that were good. Wanting to explore every corner but every corner being empty or having one of those shitty dungeons and not getting real souls areas was exhausting. Have at least a thousand hours in every other souls game, elden ring is just a diff type of game and has a ton of padding

[@ponponpattapon]

Ds3 is by far the most rounded of the series. It doesn't have the looping level design of ds1, but traded it out for a more sprawling and grand adventure

[@RickyGrove]

What a wonderfl, thoughtful essay. I appreciate the time you took to create this excellet video. Thank you! (Subscribed)

[@IAmFuntimeee]

I personally really liked the Farron Keep because it is a maze and you have to climb to Lothric’s great bridge to see where to go, whereas I found that the ringed city swamp was empty and didn’t desserve any purpose

[@danielpayne7194]

Personally, Farron Keep is one of my favourite areas in the whole FromSoft series. Archdragon Peak I dislike but Nameless King I love. Well, phase 2.

[@yamidanne]

The negative part about the input buffer is when you press dodge too late. Not only will you get hit by the swing you just tried to dodge, but you'll also most likely be hit one more time by the follow-up swing because your character will be locked into not only the hit recovery animation but now also the queued up dodge animation you messed up from earlier.

[@flamingmanure]

fromsoft need to stop tying the dodge and sprint in the same button, thats whats messing up the dodge que the most. because of this dumb design decision, u dodge when u let go of the dodge button, and not when u actually press it. cancerous design that needs to die off! sekiro killed it but ER brought it back and its complete ass.

[@matguimond92]

as soon as I get my sharp astora's greatsword I'm good. it gets s scaling in dex at +5.

[@gentriggerTTRPG]

I think I'd like to push back just a tiny bit about the trees in Farron keep. Mostly because you can circumvent this navigational issue by getting a higher vantage point either through them much more visible bridge strut tower with the wolf of farron in it, or from the hills with the towers that are usually more raised. It sucks to not be able to see the towers always but I think getting your bearings then trying your hardest to not get lost while slogging through the mess down below is a valid part of the challenge. It's really cemented itself as the most poison swamp of the poison swamps, usually the first I think about when remembering the fromsoft poison swamps so there's something to be said about that. I will hate against the slow running though. It's joyless and the giant enemies who use projectiles are sadistic while doing it, though maybe that's to put pressure on you to not get seen by them or deal with them in some way. I can't deny that there's intention.

[@jacksonheiniger80]

One of my favorite channels. Keep it up!

[@C_O_N_C_E_P_T]

Finally someone that agrees with me as elden ring being the harder of the bunch. I’ve heard people say ds3 is harder than elden ring but it really isn’t. But also depends how you play elden ring because everything can be trivialized and made easy in that game if you want it. I didn’t play ds3 till after elden ring and didn’t have much issue getting through it. I started with bloodborne onto demons souls remaster and then elden ring. All games have had 3-4 playthroughs with elden ring racking up the most time and most of my challenge runs with include no hit boss fights with some of the hardest bosses in these games. So ds3 wasn’t too bad. I saw what came from ds3 in elden ring with a ton of the weapons and special moves but I also realized that I like a lot of the weapons more on ds3. Ringed city weapons are insane. There’s no trick daggers in elden ring, no very unique spears or straight swords like those in the ringed city in elden ring(miquellan knight sword having its own unique heavy attack which is amazing though). No lothric knight straight sword moveset in elden ring. At least they have stance for straight swords but why not on greatswords? Great swords in elden ring feel not wonderful compared. They dropped the running spin attack of the but have a running heavy which is slow and angled. Just doesn’t work the same because of it. The best greatsword in the game is still the claymore. There is no hollowslayer type greatsword with its rolling poke even though they have they similar low attack greatsword. They also dropped rolling heavy attacks which is sad because they are very fun and useful in ds3. Most all greatswords in elden ring get that rolling slam down attack which I hate and also that side swipe heavy which I’m not a fan of. A lot have it in ds3 but at least they have better movesets otherwise. I feel like they put more love in the weapons in ds3 honestly after platinuming it and having spend 175 hours on the game doing so. The saving grace for elden ring is the dual wielded movesets. Ds3 did have its own unique dual wielded weapons you just couldn’t combine ones for singles. Anyway, I can talk about these games differences and strengths/weakness’s all day long. I love this breakdown of ds3. I really love this game and I’m sad I took so long to play it.

[@sirtetris]

imo elden ring is harder only if you take the total difficulty, the difficulty per boss is easier than ds3 (especially if you count enemies felled as bosses) and difficulty per area is easier than ds2

[@praisemidir]

elden ring is not harder wat? its the easiest souls game i played. and before you asked i ran through the whole game with a lordsworns straight sword so i didnt cheese. what part gave you trouble ? the only shit thing about this game is the unbalanced ganks and elden beast being impposible to no hit without good rng but the movesets themselves are very forgiving. you even get an extra flask to restore 50% of hp

[@C_O_N_C_E_P_T]

@@praisemidir not hard. I mean I’m doing no hit runs and no hud runs against the hardest bosses in the game. But compared to the other souls games this is the most challenging. Go back and play ds3 after elden ring. It’s pretty simple. Bloodborne is pretty hard first time playing it also. I also don’t play with summons and no ranged stuff. I’m all melee. No shields either. I also went up north in the map earlier than I should of because I like things very hard and I was underleveled. I went to get the map pieces pretty early on. Elden ring can be very easy with things you can use if you want it like that. I play it the way I play dark souls and bloodborne. No shield only a weapon. Demons souls remake is the easiest by far. I never had issues with any of the bosses all the way till ng+5. The dlc in ds3 the bosses where the hardest for that game but I still think bosses in this game are harder.

[@Walamonga1313]

Anyone who says Elden is easier used magic, spirits or any of the multiple cheese weapons

[@DourFlower]

good video! I really appreciate how you delved into balancing/linearity and how the game compares to a beast like elden ring in terms of that balance

[@gen0cider]

13:30 youre meant to go atop the bridge with the wolf covenant to get a view of the land. You can see all 3 from up there.

[@utisti4976]

My first and favorite Fromsoft title. Like Skyrim, Divinity Original Sin 2 and RDR2, DS3 marks a milestone in life for me. It was a major confidence booster to me. It took me a year or so to get into it, but once I found a build I liked I was hooked. Loved every second of it. Watching the end credits roll by on the verge of tears is my most fond gaming memory ever.

[@itsprod.472]

Elden ring is indeed the better game combat wise and design wise but the vibes DS3 brings is so good and the story is also good. I really hope Bandi does something more with it then just games. Looking forward to what From has in store

[@liquidwater1133]

And ds3 bosses are fromsofts best

[@atoonontheweb]

How do your make your game's colors pop out so much?! It looks so good!

[@TriptuneRadio]

I had a very similar time to you breeezing through ds3 after elden ring. I had fun playing through it, but I felt like it was just a little too easy. Im gonna run through it again with no embers this time bc I felt like embers made the bosses more trivial

[@zachpeterson9605]

NG DS3 is too easy. I have played the game a lot of times and the first playthrough is really easy because you can just upgrade your weapon super fast and kill all the bosses in like 20 hits or less. It gets a bit harder in the NG+s IMO because the bosses actually deal damage to you and stop dying in like 2 hits. I'm talking like NG+ 5-7 btw NG+ is proabably easier than NG lol

[@Laocoon283]

@@zachpeterson9605 How can you upgrade your level super fast when all the upgrade materials are locked to certain sections? I remember getting a maxed out black knight sword after the second boss in dark souls 1. Nothing like that is possible in dark souls 3 I don't think.

[@YodaSmokes]

Best Souls game. Best bosses, best combat. Far too many improvements over the original for the few things the original did better to matter.

[@thaearthquake]

And they still couldn’t get poise right

[@peewhocantbeaimed6954]

I remember finishing up Demon Souls, (before the Dark Souls franchise came along), and hoping for a Demon Souls II. I still hope this will happen 🤘🤕🤘

[@Morgan_Blackhand]

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but FromSoft doesn't own the rights to Demon's Souls. Dark Souls 1 IS what Demon's Souls 2 would have been, though

[@natel7382]

@@Morgan_Blackhand Bubble bursteddddddd

[@Walamonga1313]

I LOVE Demon's but I don't really hope for nor expect a Demon's 2. The only thing I really wanted was for the remake to be faithful or if it wasn't, to try to recreate the 6th archstone. Sadly, neither outcome happened

[@Anomicchaos]

@@Walamonga1313 how was the remake not faithful?

[@Anomicchaos]

@@BBQcheese I don’t remember plague pool being by the maiden astrae fight if that’s what u mean. I don’t remember tower of latria being much different tho

[@MegaCaza1]

Thank you for this analysis! This was the game that got me into the Dark Souls franchise. Loved every bit of it, have done multiple play throughs on this game and still have lots of fun revisiting the world. I think what I loved about it was the linear aspect. It’s very good for players getting into the franchise, in fact I’d argue it’s the best game to play for newer people into these games. I think if I started off with Dark Souls 1 or 2 I would’ve been overwhelmed with where to go and what to do in what order etc... Dark Souls 3 just does an exceptional job like you talked about, wi5 the games order of progression. It gives you a set route, some areas you can divert slightly but all in all you have to do most of the areas to complete the game. The only other game in the franchise that I loved the order of progression was Sekiro. That’s another game with the level design I always felt was well done, in fact I’d say Sekiro level design wise takes the best things from Dark Souls 3 and adds to them like giving you slightly more freedom of progression middle late game but ultimately needing to do the areas to access upgrades etc.. The dlc to Dark Souls 3 is in my opinion the best dlc the games have ever had. The Ringed City still stands for me as one of the greatest dlcs I’ve ever played with arguably two of the best bosses in the game. Has such an amazing climax, I was completely in awe throughout that dlc. Ashes of Arindel I dudnt initially like on my first play through, mainly because I disliked the whole tree section with the heavy snow and Viking enemies. Friede is one of the bosses I struggled with tremendously as well. I felt 3 phases was a bit too much. Had that fight of just went to father and friede and then into dark friede I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more, although I must admit the cutscenes in that boss are beyond amazing. I came to appreciate Ashes a lot more though on subsequent playthroughs. Cutscenes I thought were done well though throughout this game, especially if you did certain quests to unlock unique cutscenes with certain bosses. I was disappointed that Aldrich didn’t receive a cutscene though, other than the intro. He’s such a unique boss, like so much lore behind him and the build up to him is really good. I think if there’s a negative with bosses it’s that not all bosses have cutscenes or some important bosses just open with a boss fight without any real context, but I can understand why they weren’t given, like Pontiff is more intimidating just having you walk down an empty corridor watching the boss approach you, compared to a cutscene which mightn’t create the same effect. Overall though I loved this game, and once again would like to thank you for such a detailed analysis of this game!

[@Peyoux]

Awesome video, I've been coming back to all From titles after ER and many bosses, areas and tough enemies that back in the day I got stuck at now felt fair, or even easy in some cases. Ultimately, what happened to me wasn't that other DS titles were easier, it was simply me finally getting gud.