Finally, there are people who really understand how fundamentally flawed and uninspired dark souls 3 really is . I played about half-way through and was absolutely surprised at the mostly positive reception that it received. Where dark souls 2 actually took more risks and really elevated the series with new ideas and concepts, dark souls 3 seems more like a rehash and too much fanservice for no reason.
The part that really cracks me up the most is that it really does seem like the game was rushed out. The locations are boring and generic, as they are just more or less what to expect from a dark souls game. Sequels, especially a third game in a franchise should be more bolder, bigger and at least a little more ambitious and broader in scope (witcher 3, mass effect 3 and so on) . New ideas and concepts should be pushed, and for all of the criticisms of dark souls 2, dark souls 3 repeats most of them and no one complains..........because......Miyazaki.
The one thing I've learned about this franchise is that a good amount of the fan-base are mostly hypocrites. Other game franchises would've been critically mauled for failing to advance the series and playing it too safe/relying on nonsense fan-service.
Dark souls 2 was a great sequel, it had flaws due to restarted development, but it really tried to introduce new elements to the series to freshen up the now stale formula. It had a story thread that was simplified but easy to follow and understand, an example of good storytelling. Ambiguity does not equal good story-telling no matter how intricate a lore is. The game had an identity and a running theme that wasn't a rehash of the first game. It tried a new theme with its story, and whether or not it was successful at it is a different topic, but it tried something different.
Dark souls 3 on the other hand feels more like a rehash. It's a good game, but not a great one in my opinion. Too many technical issues and ridiculous game balance makes it even worse, and, the most damning of them all, the introduction of the bloodborne-esque combat severely hampered the game. Bloodborne was a great game and the combat system worked for it as the entire game balance was designed for that style of combat. Dark souls 3 on the other hand suffers for throwing away the slow and methodical combat that the series was known for. Now enemies don't really operate by the same rules, poise is functionally broken or changed and combat balance is now out of the window.
In the end, this series should end or go back to the drawing board. The formula is growing stale and ideas are thin. It's really clear that this third game really didn't have much going for it in terms of inspiration hence the over-reliance on nostalgia and fan service. Rehashing the same tropes over and over again (how many times must a dragon freaking land on a building/bridge and rain fire again and again), and trying to hide badly designed npc quest-lines and story threads under ambiguity.
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