Dark Souls III: The Final Chapter

Having played through the entire Souls series, from Demon’s Souls to Dark Souls III, I find myself wracked with sorrow at the news that the game’s ingenious director and CEO of From Software, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has decided to end the Dark Souls series with the last DLC “The Ringed City”.

The Souls series as a whole has been a fascinating adventure into a gothic world in which we, the players, are not privy to the full details of what is going on in the background. This decision led to the excellent use of indirect storytelling, allowing us the chance to piece together the truth of the events prior and during the game by reading item descriptions, details inferred by NPC dialogue and even looking at the architecture.

This on its own is an achievement worthy of celebration as it brought all of the players together in an epic hunt to find the secrets held by the game, leading some YouTubers to stardom on their knowledge of the series alone. Creators like Sanadsk, Sunlight Blade and VaatiVidya were among the many people to put themselves at the head of the lore-hunt campaign, to name but a few.

 With the release of what is dubbed “the final chapter of Dark Souls”, The Ringed City DLC is a fitting ending to the series. A culmination of the failing kingdoms of the first flame, the Ringed City is the place where we expect to find the answers to the most pertinent questions of the series. A place of complete decay as the dark snuffs out all but the embers of the first flame, the Ringed City houses some new characters to help us on our journey.

One in particular, Lapp, is a helpful fellow who will help you out by gathering items from a swamp in which you are attacked by angels. Knowing that your good buddy will be getting those pesky items whilst you run around and try to evade the light spears thrown at you by the flying horror makes progressing through that portion of the area that much easier on you. Lapp’s story is a tragic one: he has hollowed to the point where he can no longer remember his own name.

Throughout the DLC you will be hinted at where to go by our good old buddy from the Ashes of Ariandel DLC Slave Knight Gael. Having left messages for you throughout the Ringed City, Gael leads you to the final boss of the Dark Souls series.

If there is one thing I can say with absolute certainty it’s that The Ringed City DLC is full of the same twists and turns that we have come to expect from the series. With optional bosses and some truly beautifully designed armour and weapons, The Ringed City is definitely a fitting end to the series. Miyazaki has stated that this marks the end of the Dark Souls franchise for now, with possibility for follow up games in the future. Though The Ringed City doesn’t answer all of our questions, it does give us more of a glimpse into the truth of the series. When one world dies, another is born.