Disclaimer: This is not a multiplayer review. I barely play Dark Souls PvP, so if you want that, you want to look elsewhere.

In my humble opinion, Dark Souls III is the weakest installment of the series. However, that is not to say it is *bad.* This game's gameplay and graphics have been vastly improved upon compared to the previous games, and some might say that is all they're looking for in a successor.

I must admit to being a little bit more critical.

First off, the bosses. Some were harder than others, some were painfully easy. Some were gimmick boss fights (i.e. boss fights you can "cheese" by knowing a certain strategy and possibly one-hit-kill; as a matter of fact, there were THREE of these in the game), which hurt the game more than they aid them, especially if one of the gimmick boss fights is one of the "big four."

You can see where I'm going with this. The boss design is, in my opinion, not quite up to par with the previous games. They were too uninnovative, too alike to their buddies from previous games, too easy—I mean, hell, I beat the final boss of the game (no spoilers) without dying *once.* If the last boss of the game is also the easiest, you have a problem. (Granted, being the last boss, it means I got in a lot of practice before getting there, but my point remains.)

Secondly, the level design. While not inherently *bad,* they were—like the bosses—a bit uninnovative. If you haven't played the previous games at all, you'll love this game's level design—but as someone who has completed both Dark Souls and Dark Souls II several times, I can only say that every single area in Dark Souls III mimics (no pun intended) an area from one of the previous games.

The progression irked me especially. [Minor spoilers for all Dark Souls games ahead] In the first game, the progression was the starting area -> the Hub -> a fortress -> a village -> an underground swamp -> a more difficult fortress -> city of giants -> ... -> Demon Ruins ... -> catacombs -> ... -> a library -> ... -> the final ashen area.

In the second game, the progression was the starting area -> the Hub -> a fortress -> a forest -> ... -> some more catacombs -> a more difficult fortress -> a dragon area -> the final ashen area.

Dark Souls 3 is a mix of both, except unlike either of the previous games, it features virtually no NEW elements in its progression. There's the starting area -> the Hub -> a fortress (surprise!) -> a village (surprise!) -> a forest (surprise!) -> a swamp (surprise!) -> a cathedral -> catacombs (surprise!) -> Demon Ruins (surprise!) -> an ice area (this one's good) -> ... -> city of giants (surprise!) -> a more difficult fortress (surprise!) -> a library (surprise!) -> a dragon area (surprise!) -> the final ashen area (this one can be excused as flame and ash is the main interconnecting theme of the games).

Yeah, I didn't particularly like the level design very much at all. Taken on its own, it would be good, but with the previous games in mind, it just lacks *new* stuff.

Despite all that, it's still a good game that only has potential to get better—potentially with some more creative and innovative level and boss design—in the DLCs, so if you liked the previous games, you'll probably like this game, but it's unlikely you'll like it *more* than the previous ones.

If this is your first Dark Souls game, go at it, man. This one's for you.

Disclaimer: This is not a multiplayer review. I barely play Dark Souls PvP, so if you want that, you want to look elsewhere. In my humble opinion, Dark Souls III is the weakest installment of the series. However, that is not to say it is *bad.* This game's gameplay and graphics have been vastly improved upon compared to the previous games, and some might say that is all they're looking for in a successor. I must admit to being a little bit more critical. First off, the bosses. Some were harder than others, some were painfully easy. Some were gimmick boss fights (i.e. boss fights you can "cheese" by knowing a certain strategy and possibly one-hit-kill; as a matter of fact, there were THREE of these in the game), which hurt the game more than they aid them, especially if one of the gimmick boss fights is one of the "big four." You can see where I'm going with this. The boss design is, in my opinion, not quite up to par with the previous games. They were too uninnovative, too alike to their buddies from previous games, too easy—I mean, hell, I beat the final boss of the game (no spoilers) without dying *once.* If the last boss of the game is also the easiest, you have a problem. (Granted, being the last boss, it means I got in a lot of practice before getting there, but my point remains.) Secondly, the level design. While not inherently *bad,* they were—like the bosses—a bit uninnovative. If you haven't played the previous games at all, you'll love this game's level design—but as someone who has completed both Dark Souls and Dark Souls II several times, I can only say that every single area in Dark Souls III mimics (no pun intended) an area from one of the previous games. The progression irked me especially. [Minor spoilers for all Dark Souls games ahead] In the first game, the progression was the starting area -> the Hub -> a fortress -> a village -> an underground swamp -> a more difficult fortress -> city of giants -> ... -> Demon Ruins ... -> catacombs -> ... -> a library -> ... -> the final ashen area. In the second game, the progression was the starting area -> the Hub -> a fortress -> a forest -> ... -> some more catacombs -> a more difficult fortress -> a dragon area -> the final ashen area. Dark Souls 3 is a mix of both, except unlike either of the previous games, it features virtually no NEW elements in its progression. There's the starting area -> the Hub -> a fortress (surprise!) -> a village (surprise!) -> a forest (surprise!) -> a swamp (surprise!) -> a cathedral -> catacombs (surprise!) -> Demon Ruins (surprise!) -> an ice area (this one's good) -> ... -> city of giants (surprise!) -> a more difficult fortress (surprise!) -> a library (surprise!) -> a dragon area (surprise!) -> the final ashen area (this one can be excused as flame and ash is the main interconnecting theme of the games). Yeah, I didn't particularly like the level design very much at all. Taken on its own, it would be good, but with the previous games in mind, it just lacks *new* stuff. Despite all that, it's still a good game that only has potential to get better—potentially with some more creative and innovative level and boss design—in the DLCs, so if you liked the previous games, you'll probably like this game, but it's unlikely you'll like it *more* than the previous ones. If this is your first Dark Souls game, go at it, man. This one's for you.