By Athanasios 09.11.2016
Dark Souls III. Oh, what a lovely, passed away world. Punishing, and not as perfect as its hardcore fan base proclaims it to be, but it's addicting nonetheless, and hard to let go - even after dying for the umpteenth time… on the same boss… in the same freaking way. What's better than an expansion of this fantastically bleak world? Thus, came the first of two DLCs from the popular Japanese developer, and, boy, does it look awesome. Looks can be deceiving, though.
Like with almost all FromSoftware's DLC releases, managing to get sucked into the painted world of Ariandel proves to be far from a simple step. The man who'll let you experience this new realm (and make you choke from laughter after watching the way your badass knight will enter it) is just a simple someone, who awaits thee… somewhere. In other words, those in a hurry to get a taste of Ashes of Ariandel better go online for some walkthrough scholarship.
After finding out how to get there, it's easy to stand in awe at how beautiful everything is. A view-obstructing blizzard, living trees, Viking-like imposing knights, giant wolves, and all sorts of grotesque monsters - it's like Skyrim… but with a Dark Souls heart and soul, and that's certainly a good thing. Lore-wise, while this chapter skilfully pulls a few nostalgia strings, don't expect something that fills the plot holes of the main deal. Of course, like with any Soulsbourne instalment, the emphasis is still more on atmosphere and immersion than traditional storytelling.
Rest assured that this is a tough place to be, because it expects the player to be a veteran before entering - veteran in terms of skills, not level. It's not that the world is extremely treacherous (despite its icy mist), it's not that the checkpoints are rare (in fact, they are plentiful and conveniently placed), and, no, it's not that enemies are so much harder. The main reason why death comes here very often is the fact that you will frequently get outnumbered, a fine example being one of the best battles versus a pack of wolves in recent video game history.
New content-wise, this includes a few new weapons, and provides a neat arena where PvP combatants can simply choose a battle mode before going in for some sword and sorcery fun, which is a nice alternative to the somewhat obscure multiplayer component of… all Souls games. The crown jewel of Ashes of Ariandel, though, is definitely the bosses, with the best amongst them being the main one, which, while not the most innovative, will surely rise the adrenaline levels, and will be adored from those who like endurance tests.
There is a flaw here, however, and it's quite a big one. Like exploring every crack and crevice? Finding every single item and taking a good look at every scene and piece of decoration? Exhausting all possible dialogue options? Well, even if you do all these, the clock will have only moved on for about four to five hours, tops! That's pretty lame on the developer's part, not because the price isn't a reflection of the content at hand, but mostly because Dark Souls III is supposed to be the closing chapter of the series, with this being the first of only two expansions.
Quality always beats quantity… almost always, because Ashes of Ariandel is surprisingly short for the price tag that it currently comes with. Its desolate, frozen world is majestic, the challenge is high, the bosses are pretty neat, but it's only a small taste, when it could very well be a full meal. Hopefully, Dark Souls III's next (and final) DLC will be way more satisfying than this one.
5/10
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