Preview: Dark Souls III – The Ringed City

It’s going to be difficult to let go of the Dark Souls franchise. Really difficult. Like, get-your-arse-handed-to-you-in-the-first-seconds-of-this-final-DLC difficult. Do not be fooled, The Ringed City isn’t a love letter to fans so much as it is a scathing essay of hate designed to shatter your ego. This isn’t a fond hug to say adieu, it’s a goddamn chokehold.

Our hands-on started at Dreg Heap, the farthest end of the world. It’s basically the rubbish pile of a reality tearing itself apart; various remains from different historical periods have accumulated over time, resulting in high towers, keeled-over castles and a ‘living nightmare’ aesthetic that looks more Bloodborne than Souls. At the gateway to our first arse-kicking we meet an amnesiac hollow in plate-armour. He calls himself “Rap”. Sadly, he doesn’t bust out some Tupac, but we mentally note him to be a reliable, summonable fellow.

Just beyond him is an open plain of sorts, if that’s what one could call the side of a tipped-over keep. We note a series of curiously spaced-out, gutted huts. Our instincts kick in and we dive roll away from a nonstop, homing blast of air-to-ground fire from some sort of zombie angel. Off to a great start. Without spoiling too much, angel-boy becomes the bane of our existence for a while. He’s like the spear-hurling Giant from the vanilla game. Except he follows you everywhere and doesn’t want to be friends. We spent ten minutes and fifty arrows chipping him to death. He respawned. Son of a…

This opening area is the perfect trial by fire. Using your head and the environment around you, rather than brute force, is what will get you through this DLC. It also teaches the player that whenever FromSoftware offers them a solution with one hand, a smack with the other is not far behind. For example, the huts in the valley become blessed foxholes which (mostly) shield us from incoming fire. The downshot: a few of them are home to Thralls, tiny hollows that are very agile, move rapidly, and can deal heavy damage.

Individually, these cowardly and opportunistic goblins are very small threats. Their real danger lies in their tendency to mob players or ambush them while aided by other enemies. Speaking of which, we’re surprised when we chop a few down and observe others retreat outside only to be targeted for termination by the angel. Aside from a few instances of dogs attacking hollows, monster-on-monster violence was fairly rare in the original. It’s enough to make me wonder if this is an introduction of a broader “third-faction” dynamic.
We really don’t want to spoil any more than that. But we will say that Ringed City impressed by constantly wrong-footing us with new enemy types. Likewise, being on a rubbish heap means the ground is never solid. Expect to fall into awful, awful situations and have no immediate way to do a tactical retreat. Better yet, From is taking a much needed look at PvP matchmaking, and if you didn’t get the last DLC, the playerbase isn’t being split (all of MP maps shall be yours). The quality is up from Ashes of Ariandel, the only worry we have is about length.

 

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