This full-fledged expansion is no less than amazing and has delivered on many occasions through it’s addictingly raw gameplay. It holds some of the best boss fights in Souls history and the level design has improved from previous DLC entries. While I managed to gain a positive experience from Ashes of Ariandel, there were a few things that bothered...
Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel2016
Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel
2016 Bandai Namco Entertainment73Good
Playtime
ShortIt typically takes about 5 hours to finish the game.
Playable on
Available on
- $14.99
Game modes
Details
- Launch
- October 24, 2016
- Developer
- FromSoftware
- Publisher
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
Overview
Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel is the first DLC expansion for Dark Souls III, released in October 2016. It introduces the Painted World of Ariandel, a new, snowy environment filled with challenging enemies and tough bosses. The expansion also adds new weapons, armour, spells, and a PvP arena. Ashes of Ariandel expands on the game's lore, exploring themes of corruption and the decay of painted worlds.
Screenshots
Reception
Press71
Players86
GoodGreat- Metacritic71from 27 reviews
- OpenCritic71from 43 reviews
The final boss fight is challenging and worth the DLC, while the PvP arena will keep fans busy for some time, but ultimately the world of Ariandel is bleakly beautiful if unsatisfying.
To me, Dark Souls 3 was a good curtain call. Ariandel, however, feels like perhaps the series has come out for one round of applause too many, and my hands are starting to hurt now from the perpetual clapping. The combat and visual design are fantastic – that was never in question – and I enjoyed Ariandel for its short runtime of four hours, but it’s...
Ariandel is polished, but the entire package can be sped through in a way that’s uncharacteristic for the series.
Evocative and visually inspired, Ashes of Ariandel is a brief but masterful amalgamation of the Dark Souls series' greatest strengths.