Recent reviews by rufsarN

First off, let’s get this straight: I don’t think Dark Souls 3 is the best Dark Souls game. I’m coming at this from a DS1 -> DS3 perspective (never finished DS2, but I’m familiar with it).

Unlike DS2, which made me wanna wax my testicles, DS3 is actually fun. It’s more approachable, especially for newer players, with a smoother difficulty curve. The early game is well-balanced, with simple but effective level design, manageable enemies, and a natural sense of progression. The best part is undoubtedly the combat. It’s faster, smoother, and more responsive, with faster rolling and more I-frames. It feels closer to Elden Ring than DS1 or DS2, though panic-rolling is way too forgiving in my opinion. The fact that I can continuously get away unscathed just by spamming roll says a lot about the game's overall difficulty. (that kinda thing would not fly in Elden Ring thankfully)

There’s also a bigger variety of weapons, spells, and armor, and pyromancies feel way more balanced now that they use FP instead of limited casts. That said, you usually just end up commiting to a single build per playthrough, leaving most weapons unused. Miyazaki's will says we all have to use the ultra greatswords after all.

Unfortunately, DS3 stumbles in a few key areas. The level design? Pretty bad. It lacks DS1’s interconnected world and ends up feeling awfully linear, forcing you from bonfire to bonfire. And while DS2 had its own issues, at least it had variety. DS3’s environments mostly boil down to castles, swamps, and more crumbling fortresses, all painted with a boring green/brown/greyish color-palette. Irithyll being the only exception. Irithyll looks amazing, but that just makes the rest of the game feel even more forgettable. And even then, the pontiff knights are so obnoxious to fight against.

Another weird design choice: why do I have to warp back to Firelink every time I want to level up? Sitting through two loading screens just to increase my Strength by one point is just completely pointless. Thankfully, Elden Ring fixed this with Melina.

As for the bosses? Honestly, a bit underwhelming. They look cool, but most aren’t that difficult. The best (and more challenging) fights are found in the DLCs. Many of the main-game bosses feel frustrating or gimmicky (for the wrong reasons) rather than fun. Instead of designing more creative encounters, FromSoft just went with the "more is better" approach. This means longer combos, excessive AoEs, and relentless attack chains that drain stamina and leave barely any left to fight back with. Some fights feel like skill tests, but others feel like endurance matches against bosses who just want to show off their best Beyblade impression *cough cough dancer*. nevertheless, the faster combat makes it more than manageable. It's about patience and learning the boss patterns, after all.

So, should you play it?
Yeah, of course. It’s not FromSoft’s best, but it’s still an essential Dark Souls experience, and miles ahead of DS2 in everything but level design.

perhaps the worst possible sequel imaginable. clunky movement, unreal hitboxes, terrible enemy-placement, and probably the worst early-game i've ever experienced. sorry bud, imma skp this one like everyone else

timeless banger. recommended to anyone interested in getting into the souls-franchise

yuh, skating raccoon
honestly a good game for the price.

softlocked after using all my money on beer.

go touch grass instead wth

yeah. but why play this when ff14 has a free trial including the award winning heavensward expansion with unrestricted playtime up to level 60??

passed the test of time

"green monster energy"-energy

I wanna make it clear that if you have less than 2k hours, your opinion about it is completely irrelevant. However, from the past 12 years of playing, i can safely say that the game has declined significantly after cs2 update. Nowadays, it just straight up sucks. The hitreg is awful, performance is terrible, matchmaking sucks and the game is riddled with more cheaters than ever. Nevermind the underage gambling issues, thats a whole other cup of tea.
Despite all this, counter strike seems to be the only game capable of scratching that one certain itch.