Developer: From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Tested on: Xbox One
Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel DLC – Review
Dark Souls III was probably one of the best titles for us in 2016, and as the second installment had a few fun DLC packs, it was only natural that part three would also have some DLC to prolong the digital masochist’s delight. Here we are, in de dead of winter, with the first DLC for Dark Souls III, which takes us to a winter terrorland. While ‘You Died’ may still pop up on our monitor now and then, this expansion had us sweating, puffing and crying a lot less than the base game.
As expected, the narrative of this game is again vague beyond redemption, forcing you to play through the new plot of this Painted World, which will sound rather familiar to fans of the initial games. Those who haven’t played the original game, fret not, you’ll manage just fine without the fun link to the foundation of the Dark Souls series. This time snowy plains make up your playing field, and in a rather wide format, meaning more enemies can come from all around you.
The start of this DLC proves to be quite tricky, simply because it starts with you getting swarmed, which will cause a slight annoyance if you’ve lost your ‘mojo‘ as you’ve probably finished the game quite some time ago, if you were an early adopter. Nonetheless, things get easier soon after, but you’ll notice that if you’re a fan of ranged weapons, things will move around a tad quicker compared to fighting up close and personal. Even so, this expansion will only take about five hours of your time, and a few more if you truly wish to look in every nook and cranny. If you’re aiming to get the most out of this expansion, we advise to do the latter, as the world of this DLC sometimes feels like a small piece of art.
Before long, due to the not-so-challenging enemies and the lack of bosses, it becomes rather clear that this DLC tries to lengthen the Dark Souls experience by adding a very welcome multiplayer experience to the genre, namely PVP where you can set rules for the fights. The latter is a first for the genre, as otherwise you were always at the mercy of the players that invaded your world, or vice versa, but now you can adjust the rules to create a more even, and fair, fight in the otherwise chaotic world of Dark Souls III. Truth be told, outside of the beautiful world you’ll find yourself in, this is this first DLC’s actual forte, and this alone, if you’re a fan of competitive play, will make this expansion worth your while.
Conclusion
Ashes of Ariandel is certainly a great first DLC for Dark Souls III, albeit at a somewhat lower difficulty and lack of many bosses that give the expansion a well needed edge. That being said, what it lacks in monsters and bosses, it makes up for in PVP elements. Fans of a more competitive play, who like a beautiful world and a heinously hard end-boss on the side, will get the most out of this decent Dark Souls III DLC.
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