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Rise of the Ronin Review Between Tradition and Change Reinvention can be risky, especially for a studio like Team Ninja that has built a reputation on linear, tightly-tuned design. Rise of the Ronin moves away from structured missions toward a full open-world RPG. Set during the Bakumatsu period, a time of political upheaval and the collapse of Japan’s isolationist policies, the game follows a wandering ronin trying to find a place in a country that is rapidly changing. It is a strong setup that naturally supports both personal stakes and larger historical conflict. The early game make a solid case for that direction, with a more focused experience that plays to the studio’s strengths. However, as the game opens up, that sense of direction starts to loosen, and the balance between scale and focus becomes harder to maintain. Like most of Team Ninja's games, combat is the star of the show. The studio's strengths are still very much intact here, with a system built around timing, spacing, and discipline rather than blind offense. Encounters reward patience and awareness, encouraging careful reads of enemy patterns instead of button mashing. The Counterspark mechanic is central to this, turning well-timed deflections into opportunities for heavy counterattacks and making each fight feel more like a dance. Weapons come with multiple styles that interact differently depending on the enemy, which helps keep encounters from feeling static. Success feels earned, tied closely to execution and decision-making rather than luck. In more contained fights, especially duels, everything works. These moments strip things back to fundamentals and highlight the precision the system is built around, giving the game a clear identity early on. This feeling carries through the early hours, especially in the missions, where enemy variety and encounter design keep combat engaging. Regular fights benefit from thoughtful placement and pacing, which helps maintain tension in battles. Once the player starts exploring the open world, though, that edge starts to dull. The map is large and filled with things to do, but many of those activities fall into familiar loops. Camps get cleared, fugitives are hunted, and map icons slowly disappear one by one. There is always something happening, but none of it changes over time. The structure works well enough on a basic level, but it rarely evolves, and that repetition slowly chips away at the experience. Before long, it starts to feel a lot like recent Ubisoft-style open worlds, complete with many of the same issues. [caption id="attachment_189669" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Clearing the map becomes the game.[/caption] Traversal helps break up that routine, at least to a point. The grappling hook adds vertical movement, making it easier to move through cities and approach encounters from different angles. It is a simple addition, but it makes a noticeable difference in how environments are navigated. The glider builds on that, smoothing out long-distance travel and cutting down on downtime between objectives. Together, these tools make movement feel more fluid and responsive, and they occasionally open up new ways to approach combat situations. However, they never actually change the flow of the game. Getting around becomes more enjoyable, but the activities themselves remain largely the same. It is a meaningful improvement, but it does not solve the larger issue. The game also tries to expand its scope through faction choices and character relationships. Set against the shifting alliances of the Bakumatsu period, missions often frame decisions around competing ideologies, hinting at a story that responds to player alignment. In practice, those choices do not have much impact on how things play out. The main progression stays mostly fixed, regardless of the path taken. Character bonds have a similar problem. They offer small gameplay benefits and bits of extra context, but they develop in predictable ways and never actually build strong emotional connections. The ideas behind these systems fit the setting well, but the result still feels poor. With that said, the setting itself is quite strong. The Bakumatsu era provides an excellent backdrop, defined by tension between tradition and modernization, along with the influence of foreign powers and internal unrest. The game captures that atmosphere effectively through its environments, presenting a version of Japan that feels unsettled and in transition. Different regions reflect those changes in subtle ways, and the overall world design reinforces the idea of a society in flux. Even when other elements start to lose focus, the setting remains engaging. [caption id="attachment_189683" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Classic Team Ninja combat, now in the open world![/caption] The story begins on solid ground, with a clear direction and a steady buildup of both personal and political stakes. At the start, characters are introduced with clear motivations, and the plot moves forward at a controlled pace that allows those relationships to develop. For a while, it feels like everything is building toward something bigger. As more characters are introduced, though, the focus starts to slip. The cast grows quickly, and no one gets enough time to leave a real impression. Some arcs feel cut short, while others fade into the background before they have a chance to develop. Later moments often rely on context that has never been established, which makes them less effective. By the second half, the story devolves into an incoherent mess. The structure shifts into a series of loosely connected events that lack a strong sense of buildup or resolution. Important story moments amount to nothing, and earlier decisions feel inconsequential as new threads are introduced without clear follow-through. Companion missions and bond events try to fill in some of those gaps, offering more time with individual characters and occasional changes in tone. A few of these stand out and add something worthwhile, but many fall into the same patterns seen elsewhere in the game. Pacing becomes one of the biggest issues as a result. Combat remains as strong as ever, but it is stretched across a world that does not change much over time. Exploration continues to provide a steady flow of objectives that ultimately never build toward a real sense of progression. The game settles into a rhythm early and largely sticks with it, which makes the repetition more noticeable the longer it goes on. There is plenty of content, but most of it feels unnecessary. Moments that stand out tend to do so in isolation. [caption id="attachment_189671" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Wait, who is this again?[/caption] The presentation has a similar issue. Character models and combat animations are detailed, especially in close-range fights where the movement and impact are easier to notice. However, the game's visual fidelity fails to impress compared to its contemporaries. Some environments, helped by strong lighting and art direction, create a more convincing sense of atmosphere, particularly during story moments or in areas that feel more carefully put together. Outside of those rare moments, though, the quality is inconsistent. Most locations feel flatter or less refined, and technical issues are far too frequent. It leaves the visual side of the game feeling inconsistent. The soundtrack does its job, mixing traditional Japanese instruments with more modern elements, but it quickly fades into the background and rarely leaves an impression. The English dub, on the other hand, is outright poor. Line delivery is stiff, emotional scenes fall flat, and the inconsistency in performances makes it hard to take key moments seriously. It actively undercuts the tone the story is trying to build. The Japanese voice track is a clear step up, with more natural performances and a better sense of emotion, but even that cannot fully carry weaker writing in places. The audio ends up supporting the game at a basic level, but it is not a strength. There are, of course, times where the game excels. A well-paced stretch of missions, a demanding duel that requires real focus, or moments where exploration and combat flow together naturally show exactly what the game is capable of. In these sequences, the experience becomes far more engaging. The problem is how rarely that happens. These moments stand out precisely because the rest of the game struggles to maintain that level. [caption id="attachment_189675" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Where the game briefly looks the part.[/caption] At a broader level, the game feels split between two directions. One is a precise, skill-based combat system that rewards timing, discipline, and player execution. The other is a sprawling open-world structure built around constant objectives and map clearing. Both ideas work in isolation, but they do not come together in a meaningful way. The open-world design stretches the combat too thin, while the combat itself is not enough to carry the repetition. What remains is a game that is consistently playable, occasionally great, but never truly excels. Rise of the Ronin is defined by that divide. Its combat system and historical setting give it a strong foundation, with occasional moments that genuinely stand out. At the same time, its formulaic open-world design and weak character development fail to build on those strengths. RPGamers should expect a game that offers rewarding combat and an engaging setting, weighed down by a predictable structure, pacing issues, and an incoherent story. The post Rise of the Ronin Review appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

Glory of Heracles III Retroview Free-Falling for Fun There exists a world that many RPGamers have never experienced, which involves exploring games never before released outside of Japan. Those who only played RPGs released on a specific console, or did not understand Japanese, missed out on quite a number of games. Thankfully, the internet alerted people to these hidden gems, and translators began working on making these games available to wider audiences. Glory of Heracles III is one of those games. It was never officially released outside of Japan, and the series itself only reached American audiences once through the DS title released in 2010. My time with the third entry in the Heracles series is mostly positive, with some minor setbacks that hamper the overall experience. Glory of Heracles III is set in the mythological Heroic Age of ancient Greece, where demons and deities mingle with the mortals that occupy the lands. Shockingly, RPGs centered around Greek gods were not a common occurrence during the SNES era, allowing the Heracles series to run with the concept. Players take control of a silent protagonist who has no memories of his past. He wakes up in a remote village, only to fall into an unbelievably large hole and land in the Underworld, somehow unscathed. It turns out the protagonist and most of his traveling companions are immortal and can't die. In fact, much of the game's mechanics revolve around falling off high places, proving to the locals that they cannot die. The heroes can also jump off short ledges on the world map, which helps them navigate to the next destination: when in doubt, fall from a nearby cliff. At the start of the game, the lone hero gets assistance in battles from an unlikely group of characters. Waves of pixies and Spartan soldiers will act like a second unit in battles for a set amount of time, or until their hit points reach zero. It's fun to watch an army of nine pixies follow the hero around, if only for a short amount of time. One of the companions who joins carries with him a journal that notates recent events. The journal updates pretty much after every story segment. It is a nice addition that adds to the characters and acts as a good reminder if the player ever gets lost and is uncertain where to go next. There is also a Myth Handbook that provides brief descriptions of characters and locations as the player progresses through the story. [caption id="attachment_189506" align="aligncenter" width="480"] You don't say?[/caption] The story of Glory of Heracles III revolves around the hero's journey to regain their lost memories. The early parts of the game consist of helping citizens and royalty solve the region's plaguing issues. There are rescue missions, stealth sections, mini-games, and even a few puzzles to solve during the hero's adventure. Staying at inns can also trigger dream sequences that offer small glimpses of the character's past, though they won't make much sense initially. The story is slow to unravel at first, but once the Gods get involved and all the secrets are revealed, it picks up. There are a few immortal characters that join the protagonist through his journey, and it is important to take these characters to the local Temple of the Gods so they can gain new abilities. Most locations have Temples dedicated to one particular member of the pantheon, and bathing in the magical waters of the temple grants characters new spells. The only character that does not get any benefits from this system is the titular Heracles, a magicless immortal who joins the group off and on during the adventure. A total of five party members eventually become playable. [caption id="attachment_189510" align="aligncenter" width="472"] The Underworld locales look a little bare bones.[/caption] Battles are turn-based, and the player can opt to control all party members or use the Trust system. There is a stat called Trust, which determines how much allies like the protagonist and, in turn, how smart their actions are in battle. There is also a mechanic in this game where if the player takes items from towns while party members are around, their Trust will lower. Unfortunately, this means searching towns for items is not suggested, though running away at least does not seem to have any effect on the Trust stat. For the most part, Glory of Heracles III is an easy game, with most battles being straightforward to complete. Early on, status effects can be a pain to manage, but most can be cured with items. There are only a handful of enemies where the difficulty ramps up. Glory of Heracles III's music has a distinct charm attached to it that is very reminiscent of what one might hear in a Dragon Quest game. The overworld and town songs are catchy and stand out in a positive fashion. The only issue is the lack of variety in tracks. Players will hear the same melodies throughout the game, at least up until reaching Mt. Olympus, where new themes are introduced. Overall, Glory of Heracles III is a fun RPG to finally experience. There is a lot to love about the setting, music, and some of the zany concepts the game pulls off. Being a game created during the early lifespan of the Super Famicom, the limitations are evident. The graphics are barely above 8-bit status, and the battle system is simplistic in nature. It is fun to walk around ancient Greece and interact with Gods and other mythological creatures, and the story begins to pick up during the second half of the game. This game has tons of charm, and it definitely is something I plan to replay down the road. Disclosure: This review is based off a fan translation and is purely comparing this game to other SNES RPGs The post Glory of Heracles III Retroview appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Closed Beta Now Available Owlcat Games has released its closed beta for sci-fi action RPG The Expanse: Osiris Reborn . The closed beta is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S for those who have purchased the $289 Collector’s Edition or $79.99 Miller’s Pack from the game's official website . It will run until the game's launch in spring 2027. The closed beta allows players to choose between a female character from the Belt or a male character from Earth, as well as whether they specialise in officer or hacker abilities. The full game will also let players select a Martian background as well as various other specialisations. Players are accompanied by their sibling J and veteran mechanic Zafar, as they explore a remote space station owned by their employer, Pinkwater Security. A three-minute video sees Game Design Director Leonid Rastorguev and Lead Game Designer Grigory Ponomarev introduce the contents of the closed beta. The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is billed as expanding upon the universe depicted in The Expanse TV and novel series, which is set in a future where humanity has colonised the Solar System. Players are put in the role of a customised Pinkwater Security mercenary who will need to lead a crew and take command of the most advanced ship in the Solar System. Players are joined by two squadmates in battle; squadmates have their own pasts and motives, with their loyalty impacted by player decisions. The game will include some familiar faces from the TV show, with certain actors reprising their roles. The post The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Closed Beta Now Available appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

Aion 2 Getting International Release NC America announced that it will be releasing MMORPG Aion 2 internationally later this year. The game, which released in South Korea and Taiwan in 2025, will be available as a free-to-play title on PC via Steam and PURPLE. It will include English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese language support. Aion 2 is set 200 years after the original Aion MMORPG that released internationally in 2009. The game is said to feature a world 36 times larger than the original. Taking place after the destruction of the Tower of Eternity, it sees the Elyos and Asmodian factions dealing with the repercussions while dealing with the empowered Balaur faction. The game features PvE and PvP built around freedom of movement and flight, with players having access to eight classes. PvE content includes over 200 dungeons covering solo, four-player party, and eight-player group play. PvP options include one-on-one and four-on-four arena fights, cross-server Realm-versus-Realm battles, and the returning faction-based Abyss from the original game. [foogallery id="189761"] The post Aion 2 Getting International Release appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

Foreign Sun Released on PC, Switch Final Scene Dev has released 2D choice-driven action RPG Foreign Sun on PC (via Steam ) and Nintendo Switch. The game is available for $19.99, with a 10% launch discount on Steam. Previously known as The Meridian Gate and initially envisioned as a port of 2020 title Biomass , Foreign Sun sees players explore a sprawling sinking metropolis while uncovering the secrets of the Eternal Lighthouse. Players traverse its interconnected world and deal with various different factions. Combat is built around dealing with enemies with melee or ranged attacks, deciding which is best to counter each enemy's particular attacks, including being able to deflect and reverse projectiles for extra stamina and health. [foogallery id="189773"] The post Foreign Sun Released on PC, Switch appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

Frosthaven Update Goes Into the Abyss Arc Games and Snapshot Games have released the third and final planned Early Access update for strategy RPG Frosthaven before its full release. The "Into the Abyss" update adds the Lurker storyline to the game, which is set in the depths of the Biting Sea, as well as two new playable heroes, a new pet, and a variety of gameplay and quality-of-life improvements. It is intended to act as the final large update before the version 1.0 launch. Ahead of the release, RPGamer was able to get a look at what's included in the update. Frosthaven is based on the board game of the same name and a spiritual successor to Gloomhaven . Featuring both single-player and online co-op multiplayer, it sees players taking on quests and fighting in turn-based, grid-based battles using action and movement cards that work together with cards held by their teammates. Players also build up their outpost, building and upgrading structures that unlock new features and mechanics. The two new playable characters introduced in the update are codenamed "Coral" and "Kelp", and fit right into the update's undersea setting. Coral acts more as a control character, making use of a Tides passive mechanic and battlefield positioning, while Kelp is a damage dealer, adept at assassinating enemies and collecting trophies that allow them to grow stronger. The update comes with plenty of unique battles; the first one shown was a battle that begins on the deck of a ship, before it ends up moving below decks, while the second takes place on a floating iceberg and requires players utilise a special balancing mechanic lest they get swept off and into the ocean with an immediate failure. The Into the Abyss update also makes a few changes to the existing "Blinkblade" hero. Players have the option to switch between the existing set of cards or to use a new set of cards that more closely match the Frosthaven tabletop game. The update features multiple new environments, including a colourful underwater cave, with some other smaller touches added to the visuals that include showing non-nautical characters wearing masks to enable them to breathe underwater. The update also features additional gameplay improvements, many of which have been heavily requested by players and include furthering the UI improvements made in the previous major update to make more information available but without overloading the screen. One of these is the ability to inspect the various modifiers currently impacting all the combatants. The game also now lets players choose which modifier to apply to attacks where the choice is available, as opposed to one being selected automatically, by toggling a relevant option in the game settings. Other additions include a calendar similar to that of the tabletop game that lets players know if events are coming, as well as a history of campaign events and various notifications highlighting when players can interact with buildings or have perk points to spend on heroes. The calendar and notifications help reduce the number of pop-ups in the game and work with a change to hero retirement to make it more intuitive while not holding up multiplayer gameplay. Frosthaven is available now in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store . It is expected to fully release later this year. The post Frosthaven Update Goes Into the Abyss appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

The Backworld Receives New Trailer, Demo Numor Games and Top Hat Studios released both a new trailer and a new demo for surreal horror RPG The Backworld . The demo, available on Steam , is intended as a vertical slice of the game's features and does not contain content from the full game, which is expected to launch later this year. The Backworld features a non-linear adventure as players slip between the cracks of reality into a broken world and explore endless dimensions to defy beings born out of pure chaos. The game features a mix of fantasy and sci-fi realms. Players can recruit various human and non-human characters to their party, each with their own abilities, personalities, stories, and unique battle resource. In addition to combat abilities, players can unlock action abilities for exploring, including a hoverboard, dodge-roll, and sprinting. Those looking to read more about The Backworld can check out Ryan Costa's September 2025 interview with Numor Games’ owner Nathan Jennings. The post The Backworld Receives New Trailer, Demo appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

Clockwork Ambrosia Releasing in May Developer Realmsoft and publisher OI Games announced that after fourteen years in development, side-scrolling Metroidvania Clockwork Ambrosia will launch on May 12, 2026. The game will be available for PC via Steam , with a new trailer viewable below. Clockwork Ambrosia follows steampunk airship engineer Iris, who is stranded on the island of Aspida after a crash. Her quest for survival turns into an investigation into the vanishing of the island's population, which has been replaced by machines and strange creatures. Gameplay is built around customising Iris's six available weapons, with 150+ modifications available to equip. [foogallery id="189725"] The post Clockwork Ambrosia Releasing in May appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 22

A Decade Later: Dark Souls Series Retrospective Incipience, Smoldering, Decay Just over ten years ago, Dark Souls 3 was released worldwide, bringing one of the most prominent and influential RPG series in recent memory to a close. If someone had told 13-year-old me in 2011 that Dark Souls and its yet-to-arrive sequels would not only spawn an entire subgenre of action RPGs, but that it would become one of my favorite games and most beloved series of all time, I’d have called them crazy. One of my closest friends, who was a Demon’s Souls fanatic, urged me to buy the game just a few months after release. Having just acquired a PS3 and looking to expand my horizons, I obliged. The adventure didn’t last long. I got to the Taurus Demon and quickly found myself hard-walled. I didn’t know it then, but I wasn’t quite ready… yet. After that initial experience, I didn’t understand the hype. Worse yet, I was put off and even scared. The “git gud” attitude of certain segments of the community and the general buzz around the game’s difficulty only amplified my hesitancy to jump back in. Some years later, when I got to college, and I had grown a lot as a gamer, that same friend urged me to give it another shot and helped me through Dark Souls . I struggled… a lot. But I started to notice that this didn’t seem as bad or insurmountable as people made it out to be. I loved a lot of the lore elements, and there were some insane thrills along the way. So, I started Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin , entirely of my own accord and totally fresh. Then, everything changed. [caption id="attachment_189326" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Teenage me was terrorized by the thought of this boss for years.[/caption] Dark Souls II is often seen as the black sheep of the trilogy by some fans, but it holds a very special place in my heart as the game that finally made everything really click for me. Much has been made about the numerosity of its bosses and how some of them are underwhelming, but I found the lack of grandiosity and their numerosity to be encouraging, as it felt like a wider test of a player’s full array of skills than the first game. But more importantly, I felt like Dark Souls II did something truly special: it was different, and noticeably so. With the rabid cult following Dark Souls had gathered, it would have been very easy to spit out another game with the exact same themes, setting, and call it a day. FromSoftware did not oblige, and Dark Souls II is unlike its predecessor in appreciable and important ways, both thematically and artistically. Dark Souls III follows this in its own equally interesting ways, offering a distinct visual style, themes, and a discrete metacommentary on the series. A decade after Dark Souls III put the series to an epic and valiant end, I wanted to look back at how Dark Souls succeeded at becoming the closest thing there is to a perfect trilogy. Dark Souls: Triumph of Fire More than its successors, it’s easy to recognize Dark Souls as one of the most historically important and influential games of the last twenty years. It came out at a time when difficulty in video games seemed to be falling by the wayside. More obvious tutorials and player guidance, seen by some as “handholding,” were becoming increasingly common, but Dark Souls stood out as a last bastion of old-school game design that even its sequels don’t quite emulate. It tells the player very little about its world, offers the briefest tutorial, and is very tight-lipped in nearly every regard, from the plot to the intricacies of gameplay. If Dark Souls could be summed up in one word, it would be uncompromising. Much has been praised and discussed about Lordran and its world’s seamlessness, interconnected pathways, and abundance of shortcuts. At every twist, turn, crevice, or path, there are countless cruelly placed enemies that will push stamina to the limit, test positioning, and force players to analyze and remember their patterns. Clearing these hurdles, players find their way back around to previously-trodden ground, and there’s a truly brilliant and organic sense of gratification and discovery. It’s only about halfway through the game – after surmounting some of the game’s roughest challenges – that Dark Souls decides to reward players with the convenience of fast travel, an aspect its sequels noticeably do not maintain. There’s a staunch air of oppression and fear that hasn’t quite been recaptured in the same way since. [caption id="attachment_189327" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The brilliant aura and gleam of the sunset cast across Anor Londo's ramparts and spires.[/caption] Despite all three games offering highly oblique storytelling, with much of the lore and worldbuilding coming through environmental storytelling or item descriptions, Dark Souls is the least layered and most comparatively straightforward of the three – at least on the surface. For much of the game, players are encouraged to link the flame, and on a casual first playthrough, it’s very easy to walk away after the credits roll, thinking a heroic deed has been accomplished. This is especially true if players don’t encounter Darkstalker Kaathe (most won’t!), the other side of the game’s light-dark dichotomy. The splendor of Anor Londo’s sunlit cityscape against the imposing castle is an unforgettable image that imparts the grandeur of light, of man, and of fire’s triumph and splendor. Dark Souls II: Disintegrating Darkness If Dark Souls represented light and its triumph, Dark Souls II takes a decidedly different approach, focusing more heavily on the folly of man. Darkness plays a more central role: psychologically, visually, and even incorporated into gameplay elements. In its incredibly surreal opening, the narrator states: “None will have meaning, and you won't even care. By then, you'll be something other than human. A thing that feeds on Souls. A Hollow." In Dark Souls , players step into the shoes of a hollowing Undead, or one who has been branded by the Darksign, slowly losing their Humanity; in Dark Souls II , this theme is far more ubiquitous. Every time players die, there’s a palpable sense of degradation not just in their body, but in their health as well, with maximum HP decreasing by five percent per death until it reaches half. It imparts a sense of doom, despair, even madness, at the plight of becoming Hollow. It’s even more uncompromisingly difficult in some ways, despite Dark Souls II giving the player so many more build options and mechanics to play with. But it’s not just the player character who experiences the impact of darkness – it’s readily apparent in the world, as well, consuming every aspect of Drangleic, the once-proud, prosperous setting of Dark Souls II . Many areas are draped in shadow so heavily that it’s nearly impossible to see without a torch. [caption id="attachment_189328" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The obsidian tower of Drangleic Castle looms large against the tenebruous, moonlit sky.[/caption] Where Dark Souls II cements itself as a masterclass sequel is in being a firm, wholly different rebuke to its predecessor. As players travel through Drangleic, there’s a much higher sense of dilapidation and ruination present throughout the world. Parallels are drawn to locations in Dark Souls , but they’re never one-to-one. Players can’t even remember their own name, and nobody really remembers much of anything about the past at all – entire eras, histories, and kingdoms rose and fell, only to fade into dark obscurity. This makes players ask, especially those who previously adventured through Lordran, what the point of linking the flame even was. Scholar of the First Sin , the expanded rerelease of the game, goes even further, asking players in one of its endings to perhaps picture something beyond the reach of light and dark entirely. Dark Souls III: Ashen Exhaustion Dark Souls III is the most popular and best-selling of the three games, having been released in 2016 and concluding the series. At this point, Dark Souls centered fire and the triumph of man, whereas Dark Souls II raised an important counterpoint, fully conveying the terror of darkness but also the futility of linking the flame while asking important questions about this duality and cycle – so what could Dark Souls III bring to the table? Ash. Ruination. But more clearly: Dark Souls III is tired. Many are fooled by Dark Souls III and its faster, Bloodborne -inspired gameplay or its retread of locations and themes from Dark Souls into thinking it’s a game rooted in fan service and mass appeal. That it’s meant to piggyback off Bloodborne ’s speed, or to placate certain subgroups of fans who felt burned by Dark Souls II ’s narrative and mechanical departures from the original. But this takeaway can only really be gleaned from the most cursory glance at its world, and, in fact, its artistic direction and visual style convey something wholly different from Dark Souls ’ gross incandescence or Dark Souls II ’s gloomy shadows. Dark Souls III is a big, gray pile of ash. [caption id="attachment_189330" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The hollowed-out shell of Anor Londo rests atop Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, an icy burgh.[/caption] In Dark Souls III ’s setting, Lothric, the Age of Dark is on its way once again, and the local ruler, Prince Lothric, has given up on his duty to link the flame, which flickers fainter and fainter each time it’s relinked. This underscores the game’s core theme: the emptiness and waste of perpetual cycles. Everything as far as the eye can see is caked in gray ash, and the revisit to Anor Londo or any number of other previous locations isn’t an exercise in fan service; it’s an exercise in fan disservice. The layers of countless kingdoms lay atop one another; ruins covered in snowy, lifeless, ashen waste. Anor Londo is distinctly frozen over, devoid of life, and plastered atop another location. There’s no triumph or ceremony at all; it feels… hollow. In fact, the most beloved memories and details within the castle are actively conveyed with clear disrespect and abandon, and the grounds have been wholly desecrated. It’s a way of saying to players, “Want more Dark Souls ? Want Anor Londo again? Really? Okay, here, then have it.” The beauty of Dark Souls III is perhaps best encapsulated in its final DLC, The Ringed City , which takes players to the far, far chronological reaches of the Souls universe: in fact, to the very end of time itself, after who knows how many cycles. Traversing down a cylindrical ashen vortex, players descend down the caked, stacked, ashen rings of countless ruined civilizations, all spiraling down to a pit of ashen oblivion. The mishmashed architecture of churches lay scattered in a mound of decay, with hopes, dreams, and entire generations haphazardly lost to the cruel repetition of the same cycle, doomed to repeat forever. Here, the final boss of the series brings everything to a most fitting close: it’s epic, but it’s also hollow. Everything is gray. There is no flame, no darkness. Spent ash can’t burn. It’s nothing. Hollow. And it was perfect. [caption id="attachment_189331" align="aligncenter" width="640"] It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down...[/caption] Snuffing Out the Guttering Ember Dark Souls, as a series, has been so instrumental, not just to my personal growth as a gamer and for sparking my love of action RPGs, but to the whole RPG landscape. So many games chase the atmosphere, allure, world design, and gameplay rush of Dark Souls , with countless Soulslikes looking to deliver uncompromisingly difficult thrills, that detached and environmental storytelling, or the stark sense of fear in a heavily oppressive world. To catch that first spark that started all the way back in 2011 and birthed an entire subgenre. But what makes Dark Souls so special as a series? It’s just how different its games are, even as part of a cohesive trilogy. It explored every aspect of its thematic considerations in three remarkably distinct and interesting ways. With Dark Souls III ’s success, it would have been very easy to turn Souls into a longstanding, flagship series. But FromSoftware was smart enough to recognize the series’ thematic cyclicality and realize when it needed to end, and the spark of Souls was rightfully and timely extinguished to make way for another path. The post A Decade Later: Dark Souls Series Retrospective appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 21

Episode 438: Year of Capcom – Q&A Quest In this episode, we discuss Pragmata in detail. We also discuss the legacy of the PlayStation 3. The post Episode 438: Year of Capcom – Q&A Quest appeared first on RPGamer .

RPGamerApr 21