‘The Ringed City’ is a fitting epilogue to ‘Dark Souls III’

We’ve bathed in the blood of demons, suffered the plight of the undead, and contested against mighty dragons. The Soulsborne games have brought us some of the most intense action RPG experiences in the past 8 years – and it has all come to an end.

But that doesn’t mean developer From Software can’t have one last hurrah with the seminal series. “The Ringed City,” the second and last DLC for “Dark Souls III,” is our final opportunity to traverse the mist and immerse ourselves in the dark, withering beauty of the Soulsborne realms. And if you’re aching for a challenge only these games can provide, then consider yourself warned; “The Ringed City” is hellish, and will have you gnashing your teeth one second, and pondering the meaninglessness of your efforts the next.

Put a ring on it

The story of “The Ringed City” is as obscure as they come, but it does have you, as the Ashen One, visiting one of the trippiest regions in the Soulsborne games. The first area is a surreal mishmash of ruined kingdoms culled from various ages of eons past, with ash-covered towers and walls merging with each other at bizarre angles to produce a nightmare landscape to make Picasso proud. It’s simultaneously beautiful and unnerving, which pretty much sums up “The Ringed City” and the entirety of the Soulsborne games.

“The Ringed City” introduces only two main locations, but the second is subdivided into several subareas, each with a unique look and tone. It may not be the longest Soulsborne DLC, but its brevity is offset by its pure inventiveness and excruciating difficulty – both of which will keep you playing longer that you’d expect.

As we’ve come to expect from the series, environments are wonderfully designed, boasting numerous branching avenues, some of which circle back to create much-needed shortcuts. And if you’re the type who loves secrets, “The Ringed City” is chockfull of them. You’ve got hidden pathways, fake walls, and even one optional boss. There’s also an intriguing new NPC by the name of Lapp, whose questline will lead you to one of the most abstruse puzzles you’ll ever encounter in gaming – not to mention exciting revelations about “Dark Souls.”

In fact, if you’re a sucker for “Dark Souls” lore, there’s a lot to chew on in “The Ringed City.” Clues are embedded in item descriptions, enemies, and the environments themselves, each tidbit of information adding more meat to the series’ already expansive mythos. It’s quite a heady trip that will leave you both satisfied and asking for more.

Said trip is also the most difficult you’ll ever embark on in the entirety of the “Dark Souls” franchise. The contents of “The Ringed City” can only be accessed right before the very end of the game, meaning From Software assumes you’ve already honed your skills to an exceptional degree.

Enough blood to sate a dark soul

Soulsborne games have always been generally fair. But by kicking the punishment levels up several notches, “The Ringed City” crosses the line into unfair territory on several occasions. From Software is really banking on making this last journey as memorable as possible by searing its grueling difficulty into your brain.

Let’s just say there are extremely powerful enemies that can’t be killed the usual way. They will consistently harass you, using any and every opportunity to bombard you with devastating magic. You’ll have no choice but to run and seek shelter. This not only forces you to be constantly on your toes, but also to sharpen those investigative skills as you try to find a way to dispatch your tormentors in as small a window of time as possible. It’s quite frustrating, as the key to their defeat is either well-hidden or well-defended, and as long as they stay alive, you won’t be able to explore locations at your leisure.

If previous Soulsborne experiences urged you to be cautious, “The Ringed City” compels you to be stealthy. Time and again you’ll find yourself ducking behind walls, or jumping down ledges to avoid getting impaled in the face by three dozen mystical arrows. Once you’ve bested these monstrosities, the elation that washes over you is a thing of sublime beauty.

The lesser enemies are themselves no pushovers. While most feature combat behaviors that are variants of previous foes’, there are a couple on whom tried-and-tested strategies will fail, so you’ll have to learn some new techniques. This, however, is not what makes “The Ringed City” so tough. In this DLC, it’s much more common to get overwhelmed by the enemy’s sheer numbers. Is one Ringed Knight too hard for you? Well, here’s another one just ‘round the bend! And while you’re at it, here’s a conga line of faceless behemoths lumbering up the stairs.

As for the bosses? They’re an odd bunch. One is surprisingly easy – unless you’re unlucky. Another is an acceptable and gratifying level of challenging. Two (including the optional one) are ridiculously tough, and will have you frothing at the mouth. I pride myself in never needing the assistance of allies to defeat bosses; this time, I had no choice but to summon help – and the battle was still tough!

Nevertheless, the Soulsborne magic is alive and well in “The Ringed City,” and it’ll keep you playing no matter how close to wit’s end the tortures take you. Victory will still give you an unparalleled sense of achievement, the feeling that you’ve confronted the impossible and prevailed.

The ringing of steel

Like any DLC, “The Ringed City” offers new weapons, armor, and spells. Many of these are absolute fun to use and are worthy additions to your arsenal.

Weapons either have secondary moves, or secondary forms. For example, there’s a tiny dagger that transforms into a longer energy sword, and a blade that becomes wreathed in flames at the touch of a button. New armor come in sets, from the intimidating Iron Dragonslayer set to the sexy Desert Pyromancer set.

Magic is just as varied and entertaining. If you’re the holy sort, you can zap targets with Lightning Arrows. If you’re a pyromancer, you can fry your foes with Fan Flame or Seething Chaos. There are others to suit players’ disparate needs and styles.

A fine epilogue to the Soulsborne games

“The Ringed City” is agonizingly hard, even by Soulsborne standards. But it proves as irresistible as the series has always been, punishing you for your mistakes, then heaping rewards upon you for your persistence and intelligence. Add to this exotic, atmospheric locales; excellently crafted levels; dangerous, hideous monsters; amazing equipment and items; and fascinating secrets, and you’ve got something worth risking your sanity for.

All in all, “The Ringed City” is a fitting epilogue to the “Dark Souls” saga and the Soulsborne games as a whole. It’s an experience that can be best described as bittersweet. But while the series has come to a proper close with this DLC, the Soulsborne games will live on as long as there are people brave – or crazy – enough to test their every limit. — TJD, GMA News

Rating : 9/10

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows