Like all fans of the Souls series, I pretty much revere creator Hidetaka Miyazaki as a saint/saviour figure, coming down from on high to test and ultimately reward us with his intricately designed masterpieces. All hail Miyazaki.
Still, even I was a bit surprised to see Dark Souls 3 announced at this year’s E3, and even more so to see the big man himself return to the series after his absence from the previous game (he was busy with PS4 exclusive Bloodborne).
So it’s great to hear him talking the next entry up, even if what he’s saying seems to ultimately boild own to: “if you liked the other ones, you’ll like this”.
“The basic gameplay elements, the sense of accomplishment experienced by overcoming difficulty, or the unique online features that allow players to loosely connect with other players, are still in the game. But we’ve now evolved and deepened those basic gameplay elements,” he told VG247 recently.
For instance, each weapon in the game will be unique, each packing a unique special move that offers a new tactical option. “We will be deepening the features attached to each weapon,” explains Miyazaki. “That will widen the range of the tactical options that the player has during a battle and the role-playing elements of the game.”
It also sounds like the game’s going to faster-paced than players might expect, perhaps more in line with the quick and aggressive Bloodborne, rather than rewarding the measured, hide-behind-a-shield approach beloved of Dark Souls players.
“The player character moves faster than the previous two installments and can be controlled more intuitively,” Miyazaki confirms. “There are a lot of tough situations waiting for players but at the same time we’re offering reasonable solutions, (such as) this faster moving character control system.”
Dark Souls 3 drops in early 2016 for PC and consoles.
