Dark Souls III: The Ringed City

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City is the second of two downloadable content (DLC) packs for the 2016 action role-playing video game Dark Souls III. Released on March 27, 2017, the content pack was developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It drew favorable reception from critics, with several seeing it as a proper end to the Souls series.

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City
Developer(s)FromSoftware
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
Director(s)
Composer(s)Yuka Kitamura
SeriesSouls
Platform(s)
ReleaseMarch 27, 2017
Genre(s)Action role-playing

Background

Unlike previous games in the Souls series, Dark Souls III was launched alongside a season pass, confirming that two downloadable content packs were planned from the beginning.[1][2] On January 3, 2017, Dark Souls III: The Ringed City was announced.[3][4] The Ringed City and the preceding content pack, Ashes of Ariandel, were conceived as the final entries in the Souls series.[5][6]

Plot

Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of Dark Souls III and creator of the Souls series, said that the story of the two Dark Souls III packs was intended to cover the primary themes of the main game from a new perspective rather than wrap up the series at large.[7] The pack sees the player pursuing a character known as Slave Knight Gael to the end of the world while he hunts for the titular "Dark Soul of Humanity".[4][8]

Summary

Following The Ashen One's victory over the Soul of Cinder or Sister Friede, they arrive at the Dreg Heap, a land of ruins and ashes consisting of thousands of years of history smashed together. The Ashen One makes their way through the dangers, such as angels, and arrives to the Earthern Peak Ruins, where they kill the Demon Prince and several summoned gargoyles, and is transported to the Ringed City.

The Ashen One travels across the city, where they meet a variety of its inhabitants - some still loyal to Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and some who worship the Abyss and preach of the coming Age of Dark. Notably present is the dragon Darkeater Midir, who is being slowly corrupted by all of the darkness he has eaten as a part of his duty to the vanished Lords. The player is implored by one of Gwyn's remaining servants, Shira, to put down Midir before the darkness within him destroys what is left of his identity. Also lurking in the city is the warrior Halflight, one of the Spears of the Church who protects Gwyn's last daughter, Filianore.

Upon defeating Halflight and entering a church within the higher reaches of the Ringed City, the Ashen One meets Filianore. Upon touching her "embraced shell", she is awakened and the Ashen One is transported to a mysterious location similar to the one seen in the game's opening cinematic - an endless, lifeless desert. On the hill, the Ashen One encounters Slave Knight Gael, having apparently been killing the Ringed City's rulers, the Pygmy Kings and collating their fractured soul into The Dark Soul. Having long gone mad, Gael challenges The Ashen One, prompting them to 'hand over' their soul. The player battles him; after killing him, the Ashen One gives to a Painting Woman the blood of the Dark Soul to finish her painting to create a new Painted World, offering to name it after the player. If they decline, she will instead name it 'Ash.'

Setting and gameplay

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City features two primary locations: the Dreg Heap and the eponymous Ringed City. The former is a burnt-out, ash-smothered sprawl of castle and cathedral wreckage comprising the smashed constructs of different ages.[9] The Dreg Heap is a gray, charred confluence of ruined civilizations all slowly sliding and crumbling and decaying.[10][11][9] The design of the area is uncommon for the Souls series, focusing on vertical navigation and avoidance of long-ranged enemy hazards that incentivize a restrained, cautious pace for the player.[12][11] Some critics praised the employment of these angelic enemies that require exploration to defeat, while others judged the game unfit for such an inclusion.[13][14]

The Ringed City is the more expansive of the two locations, with three of the pack's four bosses dwelling within.[12] Partially encircled by a ring-shaped wall of rock, the city is a bright area with shimmering domes, low gardens, massive buildings, and an expansive purple swamp dotted with sinking structures.[15][12] Julie Muncy of Wired called the Ringed City "beautiful, strange, and mysterious" and wrote, "I've never been anywhere quite like this before".[15] The first required boss in the city comes in the form of an enemy that other real players can control. Some critics saw this as a positive move to increase player versus player activity and heighten the pack's longevity,[16][11] while others thought it was a "throwaway" confrontation that felt "out of place".[12] The final fight of The Ringed City is against a character named Gael who was introduced in the previous content pack.

Reception

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City received "generally favorable" reception, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[17][18][19] Several critics saw The Ringed City as a fitting end to the Souls series.[22][9][23][10] Writing for IGN, Chloi Rad said the pack has "found a way to revisit the past without a cheap reliance on nostalgia, wrapping up the story of Dark Souls in a way that will be satisfying for fans who enjoy digging into the rich lore the series has been building for the last few years."[11] Daniel Starkey of GameSpot thought the pack ended too quickly, but praised its locations, themes and enemies.[21] Push Square's Ben Tarrant wrote, "It's a meaty installment and a welcome deviation from the practices seen in Ashes of Ariandel, while still interlocking with and continuing the complex narrative."[12] Jeffrey Matulef of Eurogamer especially lauded the pack's boss fights,[23] and Steven T. Wright of Rolling Stone appreciated its difficulty.[22] In a more lukewarm review, James Davenport of PC Gamer wrote, "Gorgeous but empty, challenging but not always fair, The Ringed City is a weak reflection of the series' best traits."[13] William Hughes of The A.V. Club called The Ringed City's locations beautiful and lush, but thought that the Souls formula was growing stale.[24]

References
  1. Chalk, Andy. "Dark Souls 3 season pass appears on Steam". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. Sheridan, Connor. "Dark Souls 3 Season Pass will include 2 DLC packs". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  3. Frank, Allegra. "Dark Souls 3's final DLC stops by The Ringed City this March". Polygon. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  4. O'Connor, Alice. "Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City DLC ends series in March". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  5. Donnelly, Joe. "'Dark Souls is completely done as of The Ringed City,' says Hidetaka Miyazaki". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  6. Romano, Sal. "Dark Souls III director not concerned about whether or not his next game resembles Dark Souls". Gematsu. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  7. Miyazaki, Hidetaka (September 21, 2016). "Dark Souls III Round-Table Interview" (Interview). Tokyo: Bandai Namco.
  8. Weber, Rachel. "Watch The Creepy Trailer For 'Dark Souls III' DLC The Ringed City". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  9. Alexandra, Heather. "With Dark Souls 3's Newest DLC, The Series Finally Says Goodbye". Kotaku. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  10. Kozanitis, James. "Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  11. Rad, Chloi. "Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City Review". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  12. Tarrant, Ben. "Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Review (PS4)". Push Square. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  13. Davenport, James. "Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City Review". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  14. Craddock, David. "Review: Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City – Ups and Downs". Shacknews. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  15. Muncy, Julie. "Dark Souls 3 Ends the Torture with a Devilish Final Expansion". Wired. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  16. "Dark Souls III: The Ringed City DLC review – prepare for closure". Metro. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  17. "Dark Souls III: The Ringed City for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  18. "Dark Souls III: The Ringed City for PS4". Metacritic. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  19. "Dark Souls III: The Ringed City for Xbox One". Metacritic. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  20. Carter, Chris (March 27, 2017). "Review: Dark Souls III: The Ringed City". Destructoid. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  21. Starkey, Daniel. "Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  22. Wright, Steven T. "'The Ringed City' Brings 'Dark Souls' to an Epic End". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  23. Matulef, Jeffrey. "Dark Souls trilogy ends on a high note in The Ringed City". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  24. Hughes, William. "The Ringed City is Dark Souls at its most hollow". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.