New details on Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City are out this week, following a recent hands-on demonstration for select members of the press. And we aren’t just learning more about the next set of locales we’ll visit in DS3. Early reports suggest many community complaints about Ashes of Ariandel, the first Dark Souls 3 expansion, won’t be an issue when The Ringed City debuts.
The new information on Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City comes courtesy of GamesRadar, after reporter Lucas Sullivan was given hands-on time with an early build of the expansion. A build so early that, rather than make Sullivan discover the doorway to the next DS3 DLC, FromSoftware began the demo from the expansion’s first area. The reason?
The studio hasn’t decided how players will access Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City yet.
Because so many people hated the first expansion, FromSoftware needs to place the entrance in an area where it would be still accessible to those who skipped out on Ashes of Ariandel. And it sounds like the studio has some ambitious plans to ensure Dark Souls 3 players don’t walk away from The Ringed City with a similar sense of disappointment.
Based on GamesRadar’s reporting, it sounds like FromSoftware devised an interesting variant of the mechanics it usually employs when the developers want to force players to move through a zone faster than they’re comfortable with. And it sounds like the studio’s new twist should be at least slightly less maddening -- even if it’s just as patience trying -- as trekking through another Blighttown. The Ringed City will toy with the community’s expectations in other ways, like forcing players to take enormous (but non-life threatening) falls from heights that would be fatal in the base game.
Those interested in learning more about the next Dark Souls 3 DLC are strongly encouraged to read the entirety of the GamesRadar preview. And for an early look at the expansion, check out the Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City announcement trailer published late last month.
Dark Souls 3 is currently available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game’s final expansion, The Ringed City, hits all three platforms on March 28.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dark Souls 3 news in 2017 and however long FromSoftware supports Dark Souls 3 in the months ahead.
