When Is More Dark Souls Too Much Dark Souls?

I recently spent some hands-on time with Dark Souls III and came away impressed with the fast-paced combat. But at the same time, I felt a sense of déjà vu as I journeyed past crumbling walls and fought a series of deadly enemies. The third main entry in the Dark Souls series is actually the fifth Souls game if you count Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. I still had a lot of fun with the Dark Souls III demo, but I'm starting to wonder when the “more Souls” ideology will begin to wear thin.

The Dark Souls III demo takes place in an environment called the Wall of Lodoleth, which features the weak sun shining on a worn-down fortress. The Souls series has always excelled in art direction, and the Wall of Lodoleth is no exception. It reminds me of past Souls environments though, namely a mix between the Undead Burg in Dark Souls and sections of the Forest of Fallen Giants in Dark Souls II. Then again, the Wall of Lodoleth is likely an early area. The environmental designs only get more creative and twisted as players progress in the Souls games, and Dark Souls III will probably follow suit.

Other parts of Dark Souls III feel familiar as well. The weapons, armor, and shields all fall in line with what a fan would expect from a Souls game, though I admit the dual-wielding scimitars in the demo looked badass. Recognizable items also show up in the demo, such as estus flasks, firebombs, green blossoms, and divine blessings. The combat also touts plenty of similarities to past entries despite its increase in pace. There are still parries and backstabs, the latter of which I used liberally as I played through the demo.

The one novel mechanic I encountered in Dark Souls III was the introduction of battle arts. The top lefthand corner of the screen shows a number indicating how often a battle art can be used. They act as special attacks for individual weapons. When I held LT on the Xbox One controller with the battle axe, it created a red aura around the weapon and appeared to increase its power. The broadsword, on the other hand, has the ability to charge up huge thrust attacks that launches enemies high into the air or knocks down their shields. The Souls series has always allowed players to attack enemies in a wide variety of ways, and battle arts make encounters feel even more dynamic.

I hoped to see more even more new mechanics like battle arts in the Dark Souls III demo, but it's an admittedly small preview of a huge and expansive game. The multiplayer component in particular seems like an area in which the game could take some meaningful risks, and that's not the kind of thing shown in an early hands-on demo. Let's not forget that Dark Souls III comes out in early 2016, so developer FromSoftware still has some time to add or change parts of the game.

Even if Dark Souls III stays close to the Souls formula, I'll still probably enjoy my time with the game. But it will be the third series entry in three years following the releases of Dark Souls II in 2014 and Bloodborne this year. If there's another Souls game in 2017, I'm afraid I might start to feel burnt out on the series. I just don't want to see it follow the schedule of an Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty. But let's be honest, I'd still play it anyway. I'm in too deep at this point.