4/5 ★ – MechaniChris's review of Dark Souls III.

For whatever reason, I found this to be the hardest of the series by far. Not only were the bosses tougher, but the areas were brutal. I was in that swamp for what felt like weeks. It edges closer in gameplay to Elden Ring, but it is still missing that grand scope and the satisfying element of a mount. It’s really hard to say which of the Dark Souls titles are superior to the other as they are all nearly identical. As usual, what story is there is deep lore that is not at all apparent when casually playing. The DLC is pretty good on this one, but it’s not as if we haven’t seen the painting world before. I think that’s what makes Elden Ring stand out so much. More than any of these, it feels like it’s own thing, whereas I could easily confuse any of the areas or enemies of these games with being in a different one. Of course, all of this to say that it’s still very good, but it’s not really more good than the original, except in terms of graphics and performance (which is more than a recent Pokémon entry can say). If you want more Dark Souls then this is an absolute necessity, but if you’re looking to elevate the experience, you could basically play any one of the Dark Souls games and then jump to Elden Ring. Dealer’s choice really.