Dark Souls III + Ashes of Ariandel DLC Review
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Introduction
According to From Software's president and visionary Hidetaka Miyazaki -- the man who gave birth to the series with Demon's Souls and made From Software the internationally respected studio it currently is -- Dark Souls III will be "a turning point" for the franchise. The Japanese developer would later specify that, while it's possible that the series will be resurrected in the future, Dark Souls III is meant to be the last Dark Souls game.
This isn't trivial information. The third chapter of the dark fantasy action-RPG series produced by From Software is indeed a send-off, and every facet of its gameplay betrays this mission statement. It's an amalgam of Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II and Bloodborne, rife with callbacks. Most uncharacteristically for the series, it's a game that seems to be more interested in galvanizing players than surprising them, a point perfectly encapsulated by its impressive final battle.
It does so to such an extent, in fact, that it makes Dark Souls II retroactively look more innovative and daring than it actually was, and Dark Souls II (a game I otherwise love passionately, its reception be damned) was a game I'd already criticized for being too in love with its own past. Seen through this lens, it's easy to be disappointed with Dark Souls III. And yet, it is such an accomplished title that I find negativity entirely undeserved. If this is the end of the Dark Souls series, then few series have had such an impressive output throughout the years.
Core Gameplay and Progression Systems
If you have already played a Souls game in the past, you can safely skim these paragraphs and focus on the relevant information for you. I'll try to keep general explanations brief, but it's necessary for the sake of those who have never gotten into the series before. Dark Souls III puts the players yet again in the shoes of an Unded, a special Unkindled this time around, who fights enemies through a series of increasingly challenging and non-linear areas. Upon death, players respawn at a bonfire without their own souls, a currency used to level up and buy items, though they have the chance to regain them by touching the bloodstain they left before dying.
Combat is a relatively simple affair involving blocking, strafing, dodging, and attacking. However, as veterans of these games know well, the variety of movesets, loadouts, enemy abilities, and level layouts provides a hidden layer of depth that isn't immediately apparent. It should be clear already why Dark Souls has a reputation for being challenging. That said, a large amount of tension in combat is due to the management of stamina, a core component of the game's combat system. Every action takes a certain amount of stamina, and having 0 means the character will be unable to perform any action except for normal movement and using consumables. All these ingredients together put together have always made for a satisfying core game, but they're also supported by simple but robust progression systems and a very interesting approach to online integration.
It's in the details that the differences between Dark Souls III and its predecessors start to become apparent. Dark Souls III's approach to controls resembles that of the original game much more than Dark Souls II's. This means that the recovery time between actions is generally shorter, movement is more fluid, and attacks can be chained together much more quickly. The pace of the combat is also faster than either of its predecessors and perhaps a tad faster than even Demon's Souls. This is partly due to the general feel of movement and partly due to the fact that enemies have been adjusted so that that they can keep up with the players more easily, something that didn't happen in previous From Software games, with the exception of Bloodborne. There are, however, a few aspects of Dark Souls II that were preserved. Jump controls still offer the same options, rolls go in eight directions rather than Dark Souls' four, and parries have start-up frames that vary depending on the shield or weapon used.
The progression system is also very similar to what has been offered before, though attributes have yet again been slightly reshuffled. Vigor is the attribute governing HP, Attunement governs FP (more on that later) and Attunement Slots, Endurance governs stamina, Vitality governs equipment load, Strength influences the attack rating with heavy weapons, while Dexterity influences the attack rating with more dexterous ones, Intelligence influences the power of sorceries and pyromancies, Faith influences the power of miracles and Pyromancies, and Luck increases item discovery and also governs the build-up of certain status effects such as bleed. It's a balanced spread of attributes that also have a number of additional minor effects on defenses and statistics, though Vitality ended up shortchanged compared to its Dark Souls II version. Pre-release, I was worried Luck might be a dump stat. Thankfully, while many builds will ignore it, it's very useful for others and works far better than it did in Demon's Souls.
Changes have been implemented for items too, of course. One of the most notable ones concerns the basic healing consumables. Gone is the large array of consumables that would let players recharge health and spell uses without ever touching Estus from Dark Souls II. Dark Souls III goes back to a system similar to the original, but this time Estus is split between normal (heals HP) and Ashen (heals FP), due to the addition of the FP resource, the equivalent of mana in Demon's Souls. FP is also used for the weapons' Skills, though, which at first glance would make one think that it's a resource useful for all characters. Weapon Skills are one, perhaps the only, major addition to combat implemented in Dark Souls III. Every single weapon and shield has one. Some are shared across categories and others are unique. Most of them are, unfortunately, inconsequential, and while they add an extra wrinkle to the dynamics of combat, they often don't feel very relevant in PvE. Both Ashen and normal Estus Flasks draw from the same pool, and the distribution can be edited at any time by simply talking with the blacksmith at the hub. Because sorcerers need Ashen Estus to cast their spells at a reasonable rate, while warrior types can ignore them altogether, sorcery-focused build feel less attractive in Dark Souls III, a problem that is further compounded by aggressive and quick enemies with strong attacks. It's a far cry from the "magic as easy mode" we've come to expect from previous titles.
Those very same weapons I mentioned earlier use the same system for upgrades that From Software first implemented in Dark Souls II, with ascensions upgrading their statistics up to 10 times and infusions changing their properties, but this time the distribution of materials feel far more gated. In practice, this creates an environment where the designers always have a very good idea of the level of a player's weapon when approaching a particular area, especially since Dark Souls III is far less prone to sequence breaking than any other game in the series. Infusions that improve Strength and Dexterity scaling make a return from Demon's Souls though under different names, elemental infusions are middling, and a new Luck-based infusion called Hollow further complicates the game's already convoluted lore while also being a very welcome gameplay addition. It's worth noting that armors also can't be upgraded anymore, and instead scale more aggressively based on a character's attributes, reducing the need for titanite (the upgrade material) and further helping the designers predict a player's statistics and balance the game around them.
Speaking of items, there are a couple of changes that I consider downright bizarre. Some of the gaming press focused on the confusion surrounding the Poise attribute for items, which players struggled to figure out around release. While in previous Dark Souls games, Poise governed a character's resistance to stagger (details varied depending on the game), Dark Souls III characters seemed to stagger at the lightest attack, regardless of whether they were naked or wearing heavy armor. A recent rebalance brought to light that the system was meant to govern resistance to stagger while performing attacks, but it wasn't until values were completely readjusted across the board that the attributes started feeling useful. While the original game's implementation had its own problems, it's bizarre to see the game ship in this state.
Another change that perplexed me is the addition of an item slot specifically dedicated to covenant items, separate from rings. On face value, this change would suggest a deepened and more complex covenant system. That's far from the truth, as a cursory analysis reveals covenants that share the same problems as Dark Souls II's while also carrying over less of the positives. I might have misunderstood what was simply a quality of life choice, of course, but I was disappointed nonetheless. Finally, power stancing was replaced by specific twin weapons that can be used to their full potential when two-handed. This is a sensical change and is easier to understand than the previous system, but removed the thrill of experimentation for me, which is ultimately the reason while I list it among negatives.
Level Design, World Design, Enemies and Bosses
Looking back at the time when I reviewed Dark Souls II, I can safely say that one mistake I made was to overvalue its level design. I felt, and still feel, that Dark Souls II's main problem was its disconnected and sometimes nonsensical level design, but there's something to be said for the fact that levels also felt less like spaces and presented less room to explore and an often more linear progression. This is easy to say in retrospect, of course, because it's a flaw that Dark Souls III corrected. Overcorrected even, though that word carries a negative value that I don't want to imply here.
Dark Souls III's areas are massive, sprawling, and filled with secrets and multiple routes. This design philosophy is employed since the very beginning of the game, in the Cemetery of Ash, which provides side routes and opportunities for difficult early encounters, and the Firelink Shrine hub, with its multilevel layout and hidden items. Indeed, with the exception of a bizarrely abrupt area in the Profaned Capital, almost every area in the game is at least very well-realized, when not exceptional.
The game also fares well in terms of mise en scene. Its spaces are reasonably realistic, though of course always stylized to a degree, and feel lived-in, and any bizarre geographic element and transition is usually justified by the game's apocalyptic lore, which hints the very fabric of reality is ruined beyond repair. The idea of various lands converging around the kingdom of Lothric -- evocatively exposed by the narrator in the game's intro sequence -- prevents the game from achieving the same cultural and environmental cohesion of the original game, but it also makes for a far better world than Dark Souls II's unintentionally dreamlike collage of separate areas.
Gameplay-wise, however, Dark Souls III's world design errs too much on the side of caution and guided progression. I'll be more blunt. Dark Souls III is linear. You're occasionally granted a bifurcation in your path, yes, but essentially every player will go through the same areas at the same time, meeting the same bosses in the same order. Gone are the days of using the Master Key to go through Blighttown first, or killing Dragon Rider to buy the Silvercat Ring and subsequently drop down to the pitch-black Gutter.
Even the single opportunity for sequence breaking, which is morbidly afforded to players with the inclination to murder a defenseless NPC, is short-lived and loops back to the main path. Whether that's ultimately due to From Software choosing to implement bonfire-based fast travel and a separate hub yet again (the same structure was used in Dark Souls II, though with the hub connected to the rest of the world, and Bloodborne) or because of the need to provide a more directed experience, remains to be seen, but ultimately it's not very important. Whether that's a flaw or a quirk of the game, depends on whether the game is seen simply as a combat engine with a great atmosphere or as more of an adventurous trek. Personally, I like to see myself in the second camp, and while I think Dark Souls III is a fantastic game, I can't help but think of this particular characteristic of the game as a downgrade. It's also the only real, notable flaw in the game's approach to level design and space. While I was disappointed by the lack of gimmicks and innovation (something that characterized Dark Souls II and its DLC in particular), it's hard to see it as a fault when previous designs have been iterated to nigh-perfection.
The occasional callback can also be bizarre, in that it can highlight how the series never seemed to hit the same atmosphere again. I'm talking about Irithyll Dungeon, which comes immediately after the game's most inspired area (Irithyll of the Boreal Valley) and apes the starting area of the Tower of Latria of Demon's Souls. It lacks the same thoughtful enemy placement, and while it intersects with the Profaned Capital in interesting ways, it has a weaker layout than its inspiration and replaces its dreadful atmosphere with cheap jump scares. If I were more critical I'd call it a dud, but there are still enough strange enemy designs and secrets to discover that it's hard for me to write off the area entirely.
Given I mentioned enemy placement, it's worth noting that the enemies in the game are generally thoughtfully placed and fun to fight. Dark Souls III features a varied roster that encompasses all manners of humanoids and monstrosities, with complex behaviours and characteristics. Some have stances that mirror the player's own weapon Skills, some rile up other enemies in the area, some are suicidal and will do anything to destroy the player character, and those are all enemy types that can be met in the first third of the game. Players who found Dark Souls II to be excessive in terms of aggression and numbers will likely be similarly dissatisfied by certain areas of Dark Souls III, such as the beautifully constructed Cathedral of the Deep, but I found the encounter design to be fair and far from repetitive. With the exception of a few grab attacks and a few attacks that will probably be avoided anyway thanks to the generous invincibility frames, hitboxes seem generally as fair as the encounter design, which is important given bonfires are less plentiful and the enemies never despawn, unlike Dark Souls II.
Finally, the bosses of the game are some of the best in the series, but the entire roster lacks a certain amount of variety that made the other games feel more surprising and inventive. This is a complicated subject to broach, and to avoid seeming too negative, I'm going to be clear in that I think the vast majority of the bosses in Dark Souls III is fantastic. Bosses such as Pontiff Sulyvahn and the Dancer of the Boreal Valley are incredibly fun to fight, with complex movesets, high but varied modes of aggression, and surprising gimmicks and tricks. However the problem is that, as varied as they are, almost every single boss is a high-aggression killing machine with an enraged second phase, with perhaps the exceptions of Crystal Sage, which few people would consider a highlight, and a couple of bosses that are trivialized by their gimmicks and far too boring to fight legitimately. With a relatively small roster of bosses, it's easy to see why From Software went in this direction, but I really wish there was more space for slightly slower and perhaps less melee-oriented fights. All that said, Dark Souls III still features several fights that would end up on an hypothetical "Top 10 Bosses of the Souls Franchise" article from me, so I'd say it does pretty well in that department.
Online Gameplay
There really isn't much to say about Dark Souls III's online interactions that hasn't already been said for the other games. Essentially, there are a few ways that allow for players to interact online. First of all, players can drop messages, made of preset sentences, nouns and ghostly gestures, to inform or trick other players. This has been a staple since Demon's Souls, and the feature serves exactly the same purpose in Dark Souls III.
Secondly, players can drop summon signs to be summoned by other players for co-operative play. As spirits, players can then help other players fend off enemies, discover secrets, and defeat bosses, and obtain rewards for the effort. Defeating bosses is indeed the final goal for every summon, as Dark Souls III dropped the short, time-limited Small White Soapstone signs that Dark Souls II introduced. I miss them, but it's a small detail in a complicated web of systems. It's possible to summon up to two players normally, and an additional third by using a consumable that also raises the number of possible invaders.
Invaders have always been a subject of contention for some Dark Souls players. They are, as the name implies, other players that can drop into another world to kill its host, in the guise of dark spirits. They are limited to players that have opened themselves to direct online play by using an Ember (an item that also significantly boost HP until death), but can face significant obstacles, in the form of either additional help on the host's side, or simply the race against time of getting the drop on a host before they cross a fog gate to a boss.
These interactions are slightly complicated by the return of covenants, guilds of sorts that can be joined to play a role online. The Warriors of Sunlight covenant, for example, indulges in co-operation and gets rewarded for helping a player defeat a boss. It quickly becomes clear, however, that the covenant roster is lackluster. Way of Blue provides protection from invasions that players will probably never need, simply opting instead to never use Embers (or only use them immediately before boss fights). The Blue Sentinels and the Blades of the Darkmoon hunt invaders, though the netcode for these two covenants seems to be either incredibly tempermental or just downright broken. Mound-makers are an interesting addition, as they can help or antagonize a player depending on their whim, but they are rewarded only for kills, making their intentions easy to predict for anyone with the slightest experience in the game. Finally, the Watchdogs of Farron and Aldrich Faithful are summoned to protect certain areas from players, covering essentially the same design space.
It's a disappointing regression from Dark Souls II, which offered covenant-specific arenas and interesting (if certainly flawed) gimmicks such as the Rat King covenant, members of which could summon unsuspecting players to their personal trap-filled playground, while also shouldering all the risk of the possible battle. The lack of gimmicks and interesting gameplay opportunities could be excused if the covenant of the game at least were deeply intertwined with the game's lore, but dialogue is essentially non-existent (most covenants don't even have a covenant leader to converse with) and the suggestions in terms of story and writing are weak at best, when not totally inconsequential.
Dark Souls II proved that From Software has developers that are really passionate about its online mode, in spite of its buggy netcode and its inherent limits as an offshoot of an essentially single player game, and the project director of that game apparently transitioned over to the sequel specifically to help with that side of development. I'm aware that at release straight swords (and the Dark Sword in particular) dominated the PvP scene, but what I saw when I recently dabbled in PvP myself was a pretty balanced offering of builds and playstyle. I lost far more than I won, but I enjoyed myself, and I'm confident that the return to soul level-based matchmaking and the fact that developers are constantly toying with balance in patches will keep the scene alive for a long time, grumblings on Reddit notwithstanding.
Lore and NPCs
If the original Dark Souls presented the end of an era, and Dark Souls II presented a cycle frustrated by its need to negotiate its reverence to the past with its inability to reproduce it, then Dark Souls III presents the end of that cycle. The First Flame is fading, old Lords of Cinder are being resurrected to relight it, and when they refuse to do their job, it's up to Unkindled Ash, those who didn't link the flame in the past, to force those Lords to complete their task. It's a quiet apocalypse, where geography and time seem to have lost all meaning. It's not, however, a far cry from the game's predecessors. Dark Souls III still leans on the same castles and catacombs as the original and its immediate sequel, with their history delivered yet again through vague item descriptions, cryptic dialogue, and carefully placed environmental clutter. While the game introduces a number of new elements and reprises the concept of cycles introduced in Dark Souls II, it seems mostly concerned about being an alternative sequel to the original. Yes, Dark Souls II is referenced in item descriptions and some characters even return for brief cameos, but for the most part Dark Souls III calls back to the original in a way that feels cheaply nostalgic. It's only been five years, and yet it feels like thirty.
Similarly, a large number of NPCs are designed specifically to evoke previous games. The Handmaid Shrine is one of the retired Firekeepers from Dark Souls II, the Firekeeper is essentially the Maiden in Black from Demon's Souls, Blacksmith Andre is literally Andre of Astora from the original Dark Souls, Patches returns yet again. Other characters attempt to use their callback as a springboard to do something new, like Siegward, who looks like a Siegmeyer clone at first glance. In truth, the character does have his own arc, but it's too stunted to really be worth exploring for any reason other than completionism.
Indeed, character arcs are a significant problem in Dark Souls III. NPCs have very complex, arguably convoluted questlines, but they rarely have worthy emotional payoffs in the same way they have had in the past. For every Irina of Carim, whose quest ends on a tragic and powerful note, or Hawkwood, who starts as a Crestfallen Knight and develops awkwardly into his own character, there is a Siegward, a Sirris, a Cornifex, or an Orbeck, characters whose hints of personality never come together to mean something. It's a pity because, while occasionally rather badly signposted, quests for these characters are genuinely complex in a way they haven't been in previous games, especially Dark Souls II. There were plenty of opportunities to offer character development, but From Software squandered them all.
Art and Soundtrack
Dark Souls III confirms yet again From Software's knack for finding beauty in darkness, and their ability to vividly portray a world and its creatures. Compared to Dark Souls II, and even the original game, it's a title that leans slightly more towards horror, with more disgusting and emaciated creatures than ever before. The color palette is also more restrained, with plenty of environments opting for an almost monochromatic look with splashes of colors only occasionally used as highlights. For example, the High Wall of Lothric is painted in hues of pale yellow with the exception of the occasional sickly greens of its leaves, blues of its shadows, and red bricks of its roofs. It's a choice that can feel constraining at times, because the game rarely uses a wider gamut of colors, even when it could potentially help to create contrast and help players navigate environments. That said, outside of that specific problem, the visual results and general atmosphere are impeccable.
Another factor that contributes to the game's dark and oppressive atmosphere is its use of sound effects. The game is filled with enemies that approach while making guttural sounds or letting out high-pitched screams, and it's usually possible to figure what kind of enemy they are simply based on their sound effects. In the long run, the game's insistence on gross, nausea-inducing sound effects is also a limit -- it personally started wearing on my nerves in Cathedral of the Deep -- but it's inarguable that it's a large part of its atmosphere. The final factor that helps Dark Souls III being such an engrossing experience, is its sparing use of music. Yet again, music tracks are only used to highlight the hub and boss battles, and this time composers went all out, with magniloquent but melanchonic tracks. Again, if there is a flaw to be found, is the insistence on touching on the same emotional note over and over, but quality-wise we're dealing with some of the best tracks in the series.
Performance and PC Port
I've played Dark Souls III on PC, so it seems sensible to dedicate a brief paragraph to the game's technical makeup and its PC port. While the series' first foothold on PC was far from rock solid (Dark Souls' PC port is almost legendarily bad), the series is now much more playable on the platform, though no one would mistake the title for one that is native on PC. From Software handled the port in-house and offered a large range of graphical options, though it's not a completely spotless selection. There is no choice of antialiasing method, for example, only an on/off switch, and some graphical options are underdescribed.
In my experience, performance is also not spotless, even though the game is not a technical marvelhouse, and the framerate cap is only 60 fps, which will inevitably disappoint owners of high-refresh monitors. The silver lining is that, this time around, playing at 60 fps doesn't cause any bugs, and the experience is in line with consoles while also being much smoother. Keyboard and mouse controls are also pretty decent, but unfortunately the game only provides controller prompts, for no discernible reason. It's a strange oversight that doesn't hurt the experience but slightly cheapens it. All that said, I'd still say that the Dark Souls III PC port is a very good way to experience the title.
Conclusions
If you wanted Dark Souls III to surprise you and make you feel like when you discovered Demon's Souls, then you'll inevitably be disappointed. The ship has sailed in that sense, and there's no knowing whether From Software or another developer will capture the same spark with a new franchise. That said, there is no doubt that, even when realistically approached as a sequel, Dark Souls III is a very conservative game.
Can a victory lap be an excellent game, then? Yes, undoubtedly. And after a string of excellent games, From Software has certainly earned the right to self-indulgently celebrate its triumphs. Should another Dark Souls title come out and refuse to innovate on the formula, I'll be more disappointed. For now, I'll still enjoy Dark Souls III. I'm not blind to what it is, but what it is is still great indeed.
Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel
Let's start with the negatives. The recently released Ashes of Ariandel is, without a doubt, the worst piece of downloadable content for a From Software game. Dark Souls and Dark Souls II all received downloadable content of higher quality, and all reports point to Bloodborne's DLC as also excellent, though I haven't played that one yet. That said, if we take a step back and consider the high level of quality of the content released so far, this is in my opinion less of a problem than it might seem at first.
Ashes of Ariandel adds a completely new, separate area, that can be accessed near the middle of the game, but is meant to be completed by endgame characters. It's a new Painted World, yet another callback to the original Dark Souls, but one that goes in a very different direction, gameplay and story-wise. Where the Painted World of Ariamis focused on the same kind of spaces as the main game, the Painted World of Ariandel employs a strong blizzard effect to make its wide spaces seem even wider.
It can be daunting to explore at first, given the combination of wide open fields and limited visibility creates the impression of an open world, but it avoids the pitfalls of similar previous experiments in the series, like the Frigid Outskirts in Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King. Eventually, open fields give way to a small township and a number of interiors, in a way that is not at all dissimilar to the progression in Artorias of the Abyss, the lauded expansion for the original Dark Souls. In fact, both Ashes of Ariandel and Artorias of the Abyss share many of the same limits and many of the same qualities, though in different measures.
In both of the downloadable expansions, the open fields can quickly become exhausting. Where Ashes of Ariandel succeeds while Artorias of the Abyss failed, is in its enemy placement and the abundance of secrets available. There are plenty of hidden items, crevices and secret encounters, which, while often holding only mediocre loot, are very rewarding to find. Enemies also feel placed more carefully, often either in packs of easy enemies that compensate each other weaknesses, or as single strong enemies that can be avoided or fought with ease due to the ample space available. The tension is kept constantly high, however, which feels tiresome on the long run, and the DLC would have benefited from a slower introduction to give the player a taste of the enemies' abilities, so that they could more easily formulate a counterattack plan when pitted against groups of them.
In other areas, however, Artorias of the Abyss still takes the crown. Oolacile Township, for example, is a much more accomplished area than the comparable Corvian Settlement, which can feel rather short and unrewarding to explore due to its overtuned encounters. Bosses are also somewhat interesting as a matter of comparison. So far, I've only mentioned Artorias of the Abyss, but it's worth noting that every single Dark Souls DLC previously released features more bosses than Ashes of Ariandel. While sometimes Dark Souls II's downloadable content would resort to recycled and slightly tweaked creatures to up its boss count, those bosses can easily be compared to Dark Souls III's DLC only optional boss, the Champion Gravetender, a fight that is only slightly more polished and features some rather overplayed mechanics.
The final boss of Ashes of Ariandel is comparatively a much more accomplished fight. Indeed, if judged simply based on its moveset and the amount of work that went into it, it would be one of the best bosses in the series. I can't personally share that opinion, though, and there is a simple reason for that. Dark Souls bosses have to walk a fine line, especially all these years after the release of Demon's Souls. Players understandably expect them to be polished and exciting on all fronts, from the visuals to the mechanics, and most importantly, they expect them to be challenging.
Usually, the downloadable content has been an outlet for the developers to provide more challenging boss fights that an average player might have more difficulties with. In this case, though, I feel like From Software went too far, presenting a battle that feels more like a test of endurance and patience than a true test of skill, due to the abuse of the phase mechanics already implemented in the original title. I ended up summoning a player and an NPC to help with the fight, just because I wanted to get done with it, and I don't feel the least bit ashamed.
With only two bosses and a similar-sized area as Artorias of the Abyss and the Dark Souls II DLC, it's easy to see why there has been disappointment concerning the DLC's size. Still, there are a lot of opportunities to explore, and I feel like the strong atmosphere and the vague story are some of the most evocative material Dark Souls III has to offer. It's a bittersweet DLC that, PvE-wise, might either end up being ultimately redeemed or condemned by its promised 2017 successor, on which we still have no information.
Finally, I should mention that the DLC introduces a new PvP arena mode. So far, only a single arena is available, but what's available is still very, very fun. The presence of brawls and team-based duels with precise rules and UI indicators will help players who so far have had to self-regulate with "fight clubs" and provides new gameplay opportunities that simply weren't present before. Considerations concerning weapons, spells and armor have to be revised to take the new conditions into account, and even a mediocre player like me had a chance to hold his own simply by reading the battlefield. The mode doesn't offer much in the way of rewards, and the gameplay it provides is perhaps a bit outside of the norm for the normally stark, serious and cohesive Dark Souls III, but it's a break that I greatly appreciate.
All in all, Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel is perhaps a bit of a disappointment, but still a very worthy piece of downloadable content in the grand scheme of things, and one that will certainly become a mainstay in my next playthroughs of Dark Souls III.
