Dark Souls Trilogy

Dark Souls Trilogy is an anthology of three hardcore action RPGs with a third-person view for PS4 and Xbox One consoles, which includes: Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin , and Dark Souls 3, as well as all expansions and updates.

The action of the Trilogy unfolds in an alternate reality over several millennia, in a fantasy world frozen in the Middle Ages.

Long before the start of the first game, the world of Dark Souls was shrouded in darkness and cold, and the Dragons and other life forms oppressed by them existed outside concepts such as life, death, and even time. This was the Age of Ancients, as it was later called, and it ended with the arrival of the Flame, which emerged from the ground and brought warmth and light, life and death.

The age was marked by the appearance of four Great Souls. Three of them were obtained by giants - the necromancer Nito, who controlled death, the witch Izalith, a powerful fire sorceress, and Gwyn, the Lord of Light and a mage capable of hurling huge lightning bolts.

The fourth soul, called the Dark Soul (since the Flame gives not only light but also shadow), was obtained by a dwarf named Pygmy. And although the first three souls granted incredible power, it was in the fourth that true power lay, as Pygmy shared his soul with all the "undead." Thus, the human race began, and all humans born later had a part of his soul.

Having accumulated enough power, the alliance of Lords (Nito, Izalith, and Gwyn) waged war against the Dragons, and after their victory, the trio became true gods. The world of Dark Souls began to flourish, and incredibly beautiful cities appeared. Humans multiplied, and the gods stood above them. The first kingdoms were founded, with gods at their helm.

Over time, the world reached its peak, with many kingdoms scattered far apart, each with its own religions, knight orders, magic, and unusual medieval weapon and armor production technologies.

1,000 years before the start of Dark Souls, the Flame began to fade, and the world started to decline. The power of the three Great Souls weakened, panic spread through the kingdoms, and the Lords and gods tried to recreate the original Flame, but these attempts failed. Chaos was unleashed, spawning demons, mutants, various monstrosities, and other dangerous creatures.

Each game in the anthology has its own protagonist, as hundreds or even thousands of years pass between events.

In the first game — it is the Chosen Undead. During various rituals of the gods , a curse spread among people, turning many into living undead, who resurrect after death and wander as restless beings. They retain their sanity and motor functions but eventually turn hollow - true zombies.

The protagonist spends his last days as a zombie surrounded by hollows, but by a stroke of luck, he is freed from the cell where he was imprisoned. Later, he learns of a prophecy that an undead who reaches Lordran (the kingdom of the ancient gods) and sacrifices his soul to keep the Flame burning can change the fate of all the undead and rid the world of the curse.

The protagonist of Dark Souls 2 is a person who lost their memory, recently died, and was resurrected before the events of the game. He is called the Cursed because curses have become a gameplay element in this part. Guided by the plot, he sets off to the once-thriving kingdom of Drangleic, founded by a strong personality on the ruins of Lordran.

The Cursed is required to clear everything in his path to reach the royal castle and free the local lands from the curse. It is important not to lose sanity, for which he will have to absorb the souls of encountered enemies. The hero is motivated by the possibility of saving his soul, but he will have to find and absorb four great bosses.

In the third game, it is the Unkindled, a special class of characters in the game world. They are a kind of failures who tried to change the fate of the undead, like the protagonist of Dark Souls, but were rejected. They must find those who managed to prolong the cycle of the Flame and who have been reborn, defeat them in battle, collect their ash, and return it to the Firelink Shrine.

The idea of the Dark Souls writers is to show the cycle of life. But to understand this, you will have to work hard: the protagonist is silent, the encountered characters give abstract monologues, cutscenes do not reveal the essence, and information about the world is hidden in notes.

The Flame is, in a way, the soul of the people, who owe their existence to the Chosen One. Over time, any Flame fades, the leaders possessing the Great Soul weaken and degrade, and their attempts to hold on to power only worsen the situation. Ordinary people require more and more Humanity (a special game term) to maintain a normal life.

Since the Flame cannot burn forever, it fades, and at this moment darkness approaches from all sides, with which the game identifies an extensive bestiary of various freaks, monsters, and huge bosses. At such a moment, more and more people become "living dead," kingdoms crumble, and a sacrifice is needed to reignite the people's flame.

But ten or twenty centuries will pass, darkness will approach again, and another sacrifice will be needed – this is how the cycle of life occurs. In the Dark Souls Trilogy, it is always possible to retreat and leave the world to its fate.

The Dark Souls Trilogy is known for its tough gameplay. The protagonist has two main characteristics – health and stamina, so it is not possible to swing a weapon endlessly. The character gets exhausted after a few hits or a short run, and needs to be at rest for a few seconds to recover strength.

Enemies have high vitality and strength, killing with a few missed hits, but poor agility, allowing dodging attacks with rolls or simply evading. Killing bosses in the Trilogy is very difficult, as each uses different skills and can summon minions. Often, specific equipment and battle tactics are needed.

In the games of the anthology, you need to create your character and choose a class (ranging from 8 to 10), possessing certain characteristics (physical strength, intelligence, faith, and so on). Besides the usual Knight, Warrior, Mage, and Assassin, the player can take the class of Beggar, Cleric, Thief, or Wanderer, with all classes having different base characteristics and using different equipment.

The feature of the RPG system is that any class can upgrade any characteristics, use all suitable equipment according to the requirements, but different weapons. Knights have swords, while sorcerers have staves. Герой в конце игры может сильно отличаться от начального класса.

Почти все оружие и броню в Dark Souls Trilogy можно Улучшить, повысив его характеристики, получив эффекты к атаке или защите. Также можно провести Изменение – сложное улучшение, которое, в случае успеха, полностью изменит природу оружия. С этим процессом справится только кузнец, которому потребуются редкие ресурсы.

Прохождение всех игр Dark Souls Trilogy схоже между собой. Игрок бродит по вручную созданным уровням, преимущественно коридорным, убивает многочисленных рядовых противников и мини-боссов, рассматривает оставленные записи, узнает детали сюжета.

Каждый уровень имеет короткие ответвления в места интереса и к уникальным боссам, но заканчивается всегда битвой с сюжетным боссом на уникальной для боя арене. Многие уровни созданы так, чтобы максимально замедлить продвижение игрока.

Чтобы восстановиться после боя и долгих странствий, пополнить фляги здоровья и остановить кровотечение, сохраниться или повысить уровень героя, в игре используются Костры. Присев отдохнуть, игрок может находиться так долго, как пожелает, но все убитые противники (кроме боссов и ряда мини-боссов) возродятся.

Управление – отдельная сложность. Протагонист в каждой игре не умеет прыгать, медлителен сам по себе, а на команды реагирует с задержкой. У героя простая анимация, не позволяющая перепрыгивать через препятствия и паркурить, поэтому нужно заранее уклоняться от ударов и не задерживаться в бою, предпочитая тактику «бей-беги».

Из игры в игру, Dark Souls Trilogy предлагает практически одну и ту же концепцию мультиплеера.

Игрок призывает других игроков в свой мир или самостоятельно вторгается в случайный. При этом каждый из игроков останется в своем мире, а оппонента видит как призрачного Фантома – проекцию из другого мира.

Многопользовательский режим позволяет проходить игру совместно, в кооперативе (полезно для убийства особо сложных боссов), или же выяснить, кто сильнее при помощи PvP-режима (на подготовленных локациях или отдельных аренах). В каждой игре антологии мультиплеер имеет свои нюансы.

Среди других видов сетевого взаимодействия – возможность оставить кому-то послание (или получить его от кого-то), увидеть последние секунды жизни другого игрока (встав на «кровавые пятна»), либо в ходе обычного прохождения заменить призрака (другой игрок, находящийся рядом с вами в данный момент в своем мире).

В сетевой игре придется воевать с более мощными и опасными версиями монстров, демонов и боссов из обычного режима, есть также уникальные для мультиплеера враги.