I’m sure the developers did all of this as a nod to Dark Souls, trying to bring things around to show how similar the cycle is to how things were. Not that the Ringed City shares design similarities to Anor Londo, but the splendor and initial arrival is the same.

One of the things that this part of the DLC does, for me, is rip a lot of imagery straight out of Dark Souls to the point where I wonder if they just layered these images over the same models from before. They carry the Player through thick clouds before dipping down and showing off the trueness of the Ringed City and all of it’s splendor.įrom a lore perspective, this is a clear nod that we’re going to be seeing things related to the first royal family of Gods, but from a gameplay perspective this is clearly meant to ape the same imagery as when the Player arrives in Anor Londo in Dark Soulsafter clearing Sen’s Fortress. What’s really great about it is the build-up. So this, with the Anor Londo/ High Wall of Lothric batmen coming and swiping the Player up and then taking them over the golden view of the Ringed City, contrasting the dreary view we’ve been staring at for so long, is great. Dark Souls III has had its fair share of awesome cutscenes: The Dancer’s arrival is haunting, the Nameless King slaying the King of the Storms and then turning to face the Player is rad, Friede and Ariandel becoming consumed by the vestiges of the painting’s flame is super cool. It’s well-directed, which is a weird thing to say about a Dark Souls series cutscene.

It’s one of the more beautiful cutscenes in the series, and certainly the entire game. This area certainly opens better than the Dreg Heap does. Is the second half of the DLC any different? The beginning is decent, the middle is harrowing, and then the run to the boss bonfire is nightmarish. With the Dreg Heap, the best part is at the end: the twin Demon fight. Normally, you get the really exciting part at the front end and then the rest of the ride tries to carry that momentum until you come back in the station and tell everyone how awesome the ride is based on the first drop. The Dreg Heap was, essentially, one big roller coaster in reverse. *SPOILERS FOR THE RINGED CITY AND DARK SOULS III*

Ds3 ringed city get past dragon