Ashes is definitely the shortest of the DLCs Fromsoft has done for any of it's games. It clocked in at about 4 hours for me, and that was with me doing a clean sweep of everything there was to find and/or kill.
It's also one of my favourites, not least as it evokes one of my favourite parts of the original Dark Souls.
Dark Souls 3 is the most self-referential of the Souls series. Naturally so, coming off the back of two games worth of rich lore with little connective tissue, it's a game that pushes the series' lore forwards rather than outwards, as 2 did, progressing the story of the world as a whole, of each decrepit gear as they turn, rust and break. Ashes of Ariandel is openly drawing from the Painted World of Ariamis in Dark Souls The First, and plucks on the heartstrings of fans in much the same way as the main game did, so if you were one of weird people that thought that somehow made 3 a lesser game this isn't going to do much for you. But for those of us who like such trivial pursuits as "enjoying ourselves" and "beings fans of things", Ashes is a pretty spectacular 4 hours.
The narrative unfolds at a lovely pace, with some great twists in and out of the various item descriptions. The main story thread and connections to the old Painted World take some very interesting and unique forms here, thanks to the framing(heheh) device of being inside a painted world. Framing devices like this have served From well in the past, being part of what made The Old Hunters such a spectacular thing. The way it's used here is more subtle than OH, but I'm still turning things over in my head trying to figure out what's real and what's representative in regards to a few side stories.
And there's something impressive: that something so short can even manage side stories. This DLC may be small, but it's also dense. Not a wasted moment to be found. You can skip past the opening half in less than a minute if you know where you're going (Not that you should of course). But that opening is packed with lovely atmosphere and scenary, unique encounters and lore. Good lore. Quality lore. Oof. Gimmie some lore. Right intae me vains.
My amusement at the phrase "Good Lore" aside, it's good lore. Very early on you'll get a revelation about an existing character that gives some interesting context to the events of the main game, and through the two main side stories there are to find you can get a pretty good grip on the nature of the place you've ended up in, laying the groundwork for the more direct story of the second half.
This second act is quite seperate from the first, with a new selection of enemies, new environment and a turn to more directly relevant events in the lore. I won't spoil things, obviously, but the narrative as it unfolds is one of my favourites in the Souls series, perhaps even benefiting from it's length. It has a fantastic climax too, with some interesting loose ends presumably to be followed up in the next DLC.
The new weapons and armor are all top-quality stuff. There's nothing boring here, everything stands out as unique with different weapon arts and in some cases completely new movesets. And the armors look baller as hell, yo.
As a final note on the bulk of the pack, the game recomends you tackle it towards the end of a playthrough, and I can't say I disagree. Sure you could go for it as soon as it becomes available relatively early in the game, but you'd be pushing against some hefty odds before you even get halfway. Not to mention an absolute trial of a final boss. Prepare to die indeed.
There's another aspect to this DLC though, for those of you who can find the secret boss. The Undead arena is a more traditional PvP experience than Souls players are probably used too, and an interesting little experiment if nothing else. It's a little thin, offering no rewards other than pride and honor, but balances the playing field nicely and makes little ghost crowns appear on people's heads, so it's all well and good.
So yeah, Ashes of Ariandel. A wonderful little package. If you're like me and have the season pass (because if you're like me you were gonna buy all those DLCs no matter what anyway), you'll have a grand old time here. I will say though, I could do with the second DLC being a little meatier on the singleplayer front.
I died a bit the last few weeks, in multiple ways. Illness and then work taking my life away. Hell, my ear's gone to fuck now too, I can't catch a break. Still, gonna try and get back to writing regularly. Got a thing about Phantom Hourglass and how it works as a kids game in my drafts, I'll see if I can't make that a thing,
It's also one of my favourites, not least as it evokes one of my favourite parts of the original Dark Souls.
Dark Souls 3 is the most self-referential of the Souls series. Naturally so, coming off the back of two games worth of rich lore with little connective tissue, it's a game that pushes the series' lore forwards rather than outwards, as 2 did, progressing the story of the world as a whole, of each decrepit gear as they turn, rust and break. Ashes of Ariandel is openly drawing from the Painted World of Ariamis in Dark Souls The First, and plucks on the heartstrings of fans in much the same way as the main game did, so if you were one of weird people that thought that somehow made 3 a lesser game this isn't going to do much for you. But for those of us who like such trivial pursuits as "enjoying ourselves" and "beings fans of things", Ashes is a pretty spectacular 4 hours.
The narrative unfolds at a lovely pace, with some great twists in and out of the various item descriptions. The main story thread and connections to the old Painted World take some very interesting and unique forms here, thanks to the framing(heheh) device of being inside a painted world. Framing devices like this have served From well in the past, being part of what made The Old Hunters such a spectacular thing. The way it's used here is more subtle than OH, but I'm still turning things over in my head trying to figure out what's real and what's representative in regards to a few side stories.
My amusement at the phrase "Good Lore" aside, it's good lore. Very early on you'll get a revelation about an existing character that gives some interesting context to the events of the main game, and through the two main side stories there are to find you can get a pretty good grip on the nature of the place you've ended up in, laying the groundwork for the more direct story of the second half.
This second act is quite seperate from the first, with a new selection of enemies, new environment and a turn to more directly relevant events in the lore. I won't spoil things, obviously, but the narrative as it unfolds is one of my favourites in the Souls series, perhaps even benefiting from it's length. It has a fantastic climax too, with some interesting loose ends presumably to be followed up in the next DLC.
As a final note on the bulk of the pack, the game recomends you tackle it towards the end of a playthrough, and I can't say I disagree. Sure you could go for it as soon as it becomes available relatively early in the game, but you'd be pushing against some hefty odds before you even get halfway. Not to mention an absolute trial of a final boss. Prepare to die indeed.
There's another aspect to this DLC though, for those of you who can find the secret boss. The Undead arena is a more traditional PvP experience than Souls players are probably used too, and an interesting little experiment if nothing else. It's a little thin, offering no rewards other than pride and honor, but balances the playing field nicely and makes little ghost crowns appear on people's heads, so it's all well and good.
So yeah, Ashes of Ariandel. A wonderful little package. If you're like me and have the season pass (because if you're like me you were gonna buy all those DLCs no matter what anyway), you'll have a grand old time here. I will say though, I could do with the second DLC being a little meatier on the singleplayer front.
I died a bit the last few weeks, in multiple ways. Illness and then work taking my life away. Hell, my ear's gone to fuck now too, I can't catch a break. Still, gonna try and get back to writing regularly. Got a thing about Phantom Hourglass and how it works as a kids game in my drafts, I'll see if I can't make that a thing,
Comments
Post a Comment