Let me begin by saying that this may well be my favorite game ever. In the six months since its release in North America, I've played it through five times. I'm not bored yet (though I did take some breaks between playthroughs), and the DLC isn't even out yet (though the first one comes out in six days).

I was a huge fan of Dark Souls, and while I won't repeat everything I said about it in my review, much of the same applies. In short, while such a difficult game may sound like a recipe for frustration—and I won't claim it isn't at times—one must also consider the other side of the coin: by punishing lack of experience, the game rewards acquired knowledge and skill to an unparallelled extent. Add to that the perfectly tailored atmosphere, the carefully interconnected world, and the wealth of well-hidden secrets, and you arrive at a masterpiece.

Dark Souls II, on the other hand, was something of a disappointment. Although it was fun, it was nothing compared to its predecessor. However, this was largely because the lead developer of Dark Souls, who had shaped virtually everything about the first game, was busy with Bloodborne during the development of Dark Souls II. Many people worried that Dark Souls III would be a similar experience, but such worries proved unnecessary. Miyazaki, the first game's "brain-parent," so to speak, returned for the third installment and created another wondrous game.

Finally, we have Dark Souls III itself. As I have mentioned, it has much more in common with Dark Souls than it does with Dark Souls II. I'll admit that I prefer the world of Dark Souls over that of Dark Souls III, but the latter subtly reminds the observant player that many of the areas are the same ones present in Dark Souls, only with their beauty faded over the ages. Where Dark Souls fostered a feeling of solitude in a beautiful but unknown land, Dark Souls III strove for, as Miyazaki put it, an atmosphere of "withered beauty." It goes without saying that Dark Souls III has much better graphics, but I still feel more drawn into the world of Dark Souls.

In terms of gameplay, activity of the online community, and general playability, Dark Souls III shines through. I never played Dark Souls while its online community was at its prime, but the fact remains that it currently has rather little in the way of online interaction. Dark Souls III, on the other hand, is quite active, and it will likely remain so to a greater extent as it is the last installment of the series.

If FromSoftware released a remake of Dark Souls [edit: they did, and I'm personally glad despite the controversy] with better graphics, no framerate limit, and—most importantly—a renewed online community, it would likely surpass Dark Souls III in my opinion; I would certainly buy it. However, as things stand, both are among my favorite games, and the modernity of Dark Souls III wins out over the ambiance of Dark Souls.

Overall, 10/10: would did play again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and again . . .