The idea of looking at the end of a trilogy as celebrated as Dark Souls is dizzying, so it is appropriate that the beginning of The Ringed City make us take great leaps to the almost unrecognizable ruins of what were one day Lordran , Drangleic and Lothric .
The constant cycles of fire and darkness have claimed many victims throughout the ages, from gods to heroes as we embody delivery after delivery, and now it is time for the world to suffer the same fate. In From Software , and more specifically Hidetaka Miyazaki,
know that there is no better way to burn something than repeat it over and over again, so take advantage of this last DLC to illustrate it with a metaphor that works at several levels. Years after the first Dark Souls, some new ideas continue to come to light,
but they are spread along a sea of ashes that extends as far as the eye can see. The Ringed City looks towards a future that seems scarce, but it does not do it with sadness, but with the acceptance of who knows that it has exhausted its natural course.
While Ashes of Ariandel took a short break to establish a new corner, and to some extent independent of the rest of the Souls universe, this new expansion does not shirk its obligations and acts as a conclusion to the plot opened by its predecessor (although it is not strictly
necessary to play the first DLC to start the second ) as the base game , and even the first Dark Souls. Of course, always from the peculiar perspective of the saga, which is translated in the form of ambiguous dialogues, architectural clues and descriptions of items that will only light the bulbs of those who have a more or less exhaustive knowledge of the work of From Software.
So nobody expects a grand finale: The Ringed Cityoffers new pieces for a puzzle that is still incomplete , something that may disappoint those who expected revelations that would make everything fit together, but that ultimately allows the mystery to be maintained as an integral part of the community, now with new elements to theorize.
The latest challenges of Dark Souls
Dark Souls is a saga built on audacity . The audacity to ask the player to connect the points on their own. That you experiment with the various mechanics to discover the most viable way to move forward. To overcome frustrations when they inevitably appear. Since
The Ringed City is literally the last portion of the last game, the last test they will submit us to until further notice, his insistence on using the system of clues (usually relegated to tutorials and interactions between players) is a bit shocking to make clear what are the safe jumping points. In a way it is understandable, they had never introduced such a vertical exploration
before and probably feared that the years of habituation to another type of logic would cause a jam in some users. However, to deprive the player of the
sensation that produces to test a leap of faith is something so “little Souls” that one can think that From has begun to soften after all. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A few minutes after entering the pile of waste , name given to this initial area, we are greeted by a kind of angels who give us no respite and eliminate us in a matter of seconds if we do not run towards some coverage .
Their projectiles are as accurate as they are deadly, and although it is possible to eliminate them from a distance with a bow, the only thing we achieve is to lose time, arrows and self-esteem when they discover that they regenerate instantly.
These enemies get that, regardless of our ability or level, the start of The Ringed City gives us back the feeling of fragility that many of us could have lost
. Although they can be confused, they make exploring the area a slower and more laborious process, potentially irritating (especially when combined with an old friend, the swamp that poisons), at least until we discover the trick.
That of course there is, and ends up simplifying things a lot, revalidating the maxim that finding the right tactic is always more productive than going crazy and trying your luck.
