Dark Souls 3 is now listed on Steam, along with a note saying the game will be available from 12 April. On the page is a vague plot description, which reads as follows:
“As fires fade and the world falls into ruin, journey into a universe filled with more colossal enemies and environments. Fans and newcomers alike will get lost in the games hallmark rewarding gameplay and immersive graphics. Now only embers remain…”
According to the page, the game has received a Pegi rating of 16 – the same as both Dark Souls and Dark Souls II.
Dark Souls 3: Everything we know so far
When Demon’s Souls arrived on the scene in 2009, it stuck a stick in the churning spokes of spoon-fed gameplay. It kicked the focus away from handholding and pushed it towards death, death and more death. It was hard, but rarely felt unfair. It was oblique, but there was a rich story tucked beneath the surface of its environment. Next came Dark Souls, then Dark Souls 2, then this year’s Bloodborne. Now on the horizon is Dark Souls 3 – potentially the final chapter in the Souls series.
Dark Souls 3 is coming in a post-Bloodborne world, and it looks like that’s going to bring more than a few changes to the weighty gameplay we’ve learnt to expect from Souls titles. With that in mind, here’s everything we know so far about Dark Souls 3.
Dark Souls 3: Release date
From Software and Namco have pinned a release date to Dark Souls 3, along with info on two special editions and a new trailer that shows off four minutes of gameplay – including a fight with what looks like a tipsy Ent around the 1:34 mark.
Dark Souls 3 will come to PC, PS4 and Xbox One on 12 April in Europe and North America. Japan will get it slightly earlier, from 24 March. Pre-orders are now open, and those pre-ordering through Game in the UK will receive a version of the game called The Apocalypse Edition.
The Apocalypse Edition costs £50, and comes with:
- A copy of the game
- The official soundtrack CD
- A metal case
Alongside the pre-order Apocalypse Edition, the UK will get an additional two special editions of the game. As well as the game, the Collector’s Edition (£100) comes with a Red Knight figurine, a metal case, an official soundtrack CD, a cloth game map, a hardcover artbook, three iron-on patches and an exclusive box.
The Prestige Edition (only available via Amazon UK and no word yet on price) will come with all of the above plus a 40cm Lord of Cinder hand-painted figurine.
Dark Souls 3: Is this the final Souls game?
In a recent interview with Gamespot, Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki laid out his future plans for the Souls series – or the lack thereof:
“I don’t think it’d be the right choice to continue indefinitely creating Souls and Bloodborne games,” he said. “I’m considering Dark Souls 3 to be the big closure on the series. That’s not just limited to me, but FromSoftware and myself together want to aggressively make new things in the future. Dark Souls 3 will mark the last game where the development project began before I became president.”
That’s pretty clear, although it doesn’t write future Souls games off completely – rather it shows that Miyazaki and co. are intent on breaking out of a Souls-shaped pigeonhole, at least for the time being. Power to them. Miyazaki is a master of game design and it’ll be great to see him working on something entirely new. Intriguingly, in that same interview, Miyazaki hinted that Dark Souls 3 could suggest the future direction of FromSoftware’s next game:
“The next title will be a game that was conceived while I was president. I believe that FromSoftware has to create new things. There will be new types of games coming from us, and Dark Souls 3 is an important marker in the evolution of FromSoftware.”
Dark Souls 3: Gameplay
Gameplay staples of the Souls series will be returning in Dark Souls 3, including bonfires, Estus Flasks and world invasions from other players. The emphasis on shield defense and tactical movement will likewise be present and correct, but Miyazaki has funneled a great deal of Bloodborne’s fast-paced combat into the mix – edging the focus slightly more towards offense.
There will also be an extra layer of combat in the form of Weapon Arts, which let the player perform special attacks with existing weapons. This includes a number of Stances, such as the Ready Stance, where you’ll be able to perform guard-breaking attacks on enemies.
Weapon Arts will extend to ranged weapons, giving some much needed love to the effectiveness of long-ranged combat in the game. Using a short bow, for example, you’ll be able to shoot arrows rapidly while dodge-rolling. Dark Souls Legolas anyone?
Magic will be in the game as well, and have its own equivalent of Weapon Arts (presumable called Magic Arts). Magic in Dark Souls 3 now hinges on a mysterious blue bar. How do you fill that bar? Well, you use a new Estus Flask – the Ash Estus Flask. Miyazaki has said that ash will feature heavily as a theme in the game, which brings us to…
Dark Souls 3: Story
Ash. Lots of ash. In the gameplay demo, we’ve seen ash falling from the sky, charred dragon corpses and players gulping down Ash Estus Flasks. We’ve also seen an intriguing Ember item that throws an “Embed Restored” notification on the screen and makes you look like you’re singed under your armour. Could Ember replace Humanity from the previous games? Will you no longer be playing an undead corpse and instead be a walking piece of charcoal?
Ash could also be a more general thematic concept, in a similar way to the way blood formed a running motif throughout Bloodborne. Aesthetically, Dark Souls 3 looks like it will have plenty of Bloodborne DNA, with the high gothic vistas looking like a crossover between Lordran and Yharnam.
Bloodborne was a fantastic game, and we think adding the best elements of that title into Dark Souls 3 could be a smart, progressive move. What do you think? Are you excited by what you’ve seen so far? Or it is time to stub the flame of this particular death-laden series?
Next: Why you should start getting excited about the next Hitman game.
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