'Dark Souls 3' Updates: 'Ashes of Ariandal' DLC Out on October; Features and Season Pass Pre-Orders
Game publisher Bandai Namco dropped a bomb Tuesday, announcing the release of the first downloadable content pack for Dark Souls III on October.
The DLCs—another one is anticipated next year—may be bought separately, but both would be available through the game's season pass. It also includes access to a new snow-covered PlayStation 4 theme.
The update, named "Ashes of Ariandel," guarantees players new weapons, spells and further content.
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Hard as hell
The Dark Souls franchise, banking on its extreme difficulty, had enjoyed immense success and approval by the gaming community.
The first game to come out of the series, developed by From Software, boasted an open world, where players can explore an increasingly depressing area known as the Undead Burg.
The sprawling darkness, however, offers tons of hazards, from treacherous ledges to frog-like creatures which can Curse a player and halve their health bar.
Players are also confronted with savage bosses, including a winged creature with an axe-tail and an alligator-cat.
To level up and purchase important, life-saving items, one must collect souls from boss-kills, which get tougher and tougher as the game progresses.
Thus, the game is playable for around 50-60 brutal hours, in all its sadistic glory.
Third time's not so charming
While the first game features apocalyptic difficulty, Dark Souls III, as an IGN review puts it, takes players diving into apocalypse itself.
Promising to be as hard as its predecessors, the third installment takes place in the Kingdom of Lothric, with new bosses and NPCs, as well as returning characters.
The vast landscape of enormous walls, towers and dungeons provide players with plenty of activities to do and places to explore, but also nags even ultra-high-end PCs with dramatic frame rate dips.
The great landmarks do not just stand there for no reason, too—they were designed for players to be able to track their progress.
The game also adds a new bar below one's health bar, which tracks Focus Points (FP). This new feature can be used to perform weapon arts, another addition to the franchise through which the in-game character can now learn various moves with a single weapon. FPs are restorable not only through the iconic bonfires, but through the use of flasks called Ashen Estrus as well.
There are also a plethora of new weapons and armor in store for players, including sets that imitate the look, feel and signature moves of certain bosses and characters. To further the progress in weaponry, players can now enjoy a dual-wielding combat system.
All these innovations have helped Dark Souls III skyrocket through the shelves, having already shipped 3 million copies as of last May.
Aside from the October release, Bandai Namco has yet to update players on what is in store for them in the coming updates. Meanwhile, the Season Pass is now available for pre-orders at $24.99.
