For the time being this is going to be a negative review, don't get me wrong the game is great and all but I would like to point out a lot of aspects that just make the game bad and no I am not going to rant about the bad optimization but rather the overall feeling of the game and how the "PVP" works.

Right let's start it off with this game is not hard, the bosses themselves feel quite easy to kill especially with adapt not being in the game anymore its not so much of a challenge to roll out of certain attacks or for the most part you don't even have to roll at all you just use a shield and block all of the attacks yes that is possible now and makes the fights feel just that much easier.

Here is an example of a new player to the souls series taking down Pontiff Sulyvahn on their second try:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZoyDD6uiMI&app=desktop

For the PVP it feels like a step back from the Dark Souls 2 more strategy orianted PVP to more Bloodborne mixed with Dark Souls 1 which was okay but that was 2011 and I would like to see an upgrade not a downgrade. For parrying it doesn't even feel rewarding anymore because its so easy to pull off unlike in Dark Souls 2 where you had to know your timings very well to do the parry.

As for the rest of the PVP R1 spamming is more rewarding along with shield whoring not only that but its nearly impossible to break through greatshields also I would like to point out that the weapon arts feature feels like its a thing for newcomers to the Dark Souls series because you get a skill with a push of a button like seriously earn your kill don't rely on a in game "skill" to help you win.

Two more things I would like to point it is the chugs, iframes and HP as an invader. In Dark Souls 2 you would have adaptibilty as your source of iframes and your chug speed which was a great idea it would stop the host from trying to chug and if he had phantoms with him they were not allowed to chug and the host could not heal them by chugging which made ganking situation more fair in a sense that you had a chance to kill the phantoms and the host.

However in Dark Souls 3 there is no adat and everyone can chug and also the host has extra 300hp bonus thanks to the ember how does that make things fair I mean sure you can chug so what if the other phantoms can chug too I do know that you get an estus for each phantom you kill but that doesn't necessarily mean that its more "fair".

Overall the setting of the game and feel is fantastic the game immerses you very well into its world and is very nostalgic so many things to remind you of the past and I really do love Miyazki for brining back most of these things that we loved about Dark Souls 1 but nostalgia cannot save the game alone.

If the PVP does change which it will of course they have to balance out the game but in its current state I will leave this review as it is and when the game changes ovetime I will re-write my review and give my definitve answer.

For the time being this is going to be a negative review, don't get me wrong the game is great and all but I would like to point out a lot of aspects that just make the game bad and no I am not going to rant about the bad optimization but rather the overall feeling of the game and how the "PVP" works. Right let's start it off with this game is not hard, the bosses themselves feel quite easy to kill especially with adapt not being in the game anymore its not so much of a challenge to roll out of certain attacks or for the most part you don't even have to roll at all you just use a shield and block all of the attacks yes that is possible now and makes the fights feel just that much easier. Here is an example of a new player to the souls series taking down Pontiff Sulyvahn on their second try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZoyDD6uiMI&app=desktop For the PVP it feels like a step back from the Dark Souls 2 more strategy orianted PVP to more Bloodborne mixed with Dark Souls 1 which was okay but that was 2011 and I would like to see an upgrade not a downgrade. For parrying it doesn't even feel rewarding anymore because its so easy to pull off unlike in Dark Souls 2 where you had to know your timings very well to do the parry. As for the rest of the PVP R1 spamming is more rewarding along with shield whoring not only that but its nearly impossible to break through greatshields also I would like to point out that the weapon arts feature feels like its a thing for newcomers to the Dark Souls series because you get a skill with a push of a button like seriously earn your kill don't rely on a in game "skill" to help you win. Two more things I would like to point it is the chugs, iframes and HP as an invader. In Dark Souls 2 you would have adaptibilty as your source of iframes and your chug speed which was a great idea it would stop the host from trying to chug and if he had phantoms with him they were not allowed to chug and the host could not heal them by chugging which made ganking situation more fair in a sense that you had a chance to kill the phantoms and the host. However in Dark Souls 3 there is no adat and everyone can chug and also the host has extra 300hp bonus thanks to the ember how does that make things fair I mean sure you can chug so what if the other phantoms can chug too I do know that you get an estus for each phantom you kill but that doesn't necessarily mean that its more "fair". Overall the setting of the game and feel is fantastic the game immerses you very well into its world and is very nostalgic so many things to remind you of the past and I really do love Miyazki for brining back most of these things that we loved about Dark Souls 1 but nostalgia cannot save the game alone. If the PVP does change which it will of course they have to balance out the game but in its current state I will leave this review as it is and when the game changes ovetime I will re-write my review and give my definitve answer.