Dark Souls 3 Is Bringing Back These Features

From Software's Dark Souls III is one of the most highly anticipated games set to release on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The game features a lot of different changes but it's also bringing back a lot of features from Demon's Souls, Dark Souls II and Bloodborne.

Game Informer did a rundown on a ton of the different features that will be altered or returning in the upcoming Dark Souls III.

Fast travel will be a returning feature and it will make its way into the game early on so players can get from one area to the next with ease. The ability to respec will also be available in Dark Souls III for players who want to re-specialize in a different play-style by reassigning souls. This also ties into the game's new magic system, where players will be able to make use of brand new magic abilities.

In a separate article on Game Informer, Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that...

blockquote> We will make sure that they are not just the same type of spells with different attributes (i.e. Spear type, lightning type) but actually have specific characteristics that can enhance the players' play styles and strategies,

Players will be able to have more criteria to accurately choose the different types of spells to best fit their tactics and strategies. This is similar to the thinking behind the characterization of each weapon and their specific battle arts.

In addition to this, Miyazaki explained that a more traditional MP bar would be implemented for magic casting, similar to other action-RPGs.

One of the more interesting tweaks to Dark Souls III is that the game will attempt to find a balance in durability. It'll no longer be about weapons breaking too soon or not breaking enough. According to Miyazaki, they want to find something in between both Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, where in the former's case the designer felt weapons didn't break enough and in the latter's case he felt that weapons broke too easily. It is good to have a nice balance between weapons so that players are constantly hunting and scavenging for new ways to dispense enemies, but to the point where it becomes too tedious, which was one of the problems in Far Cry 2.

Hidden walls will also make an appearance but they'll be tied to the game's combat. So players swinging and fighting will likely uncover them by mistake. This is to give the game a more organic approach to finding secrets instead of running alongside the wall and pressing the activate button.

Replay will also still be a big factor for the third Dark Souls game, and they will have a New Game+ feature right out of the gate for the title.

Summoning and invasions will also be present but they won't be using the bell tolls from Bloodborne, instead it will be similar to previous Dark Souls games but they'll also including a soul level matchmaking feature so players of equivalent stature will journey together or face off against each other in PvP.

Dark Souls III is due for release on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC in 2016 next year.