Bear in mind that it's quite difficult to get a feel for everything in a 20 minute, hands-off demo!
In one sentence, what's it like?
It's similar to Bloodborne in terms of graphics & quality, and heavily draws from Dark Souls 1's feature set.
Did you see any influences from Bloodborne?
LobosJR noticed that blood-splatter effects remained, and that the character & environment became splashed with blood (albeit less than in bloodborne)
Have they said if it will be simultaneous release across all 3 platforms?
They didn't mention. Based on past experience the PC version might be delayed, but we'll have to see!
Is the backstab a thing in DSIII?
Yes! It's functionally identical to DS1's backstab. That said, he only pulled it off against a clumsy enemy - the knight enemies we fought had excellent tracking and didn't leave themselves open to backstabs. Hopefully it's not as easy to abuse in DSIII.
Does the HUD resemble the DS1-inspired HUD from the leaked screenshots?
The gameplay demo had the HUD turned off.
Is it fast like Bloodborne or more like the old dark souls games?
Pacing seems very much like the other Souls games, not like Bloodborne. Souls games have always been about tactical combat, and that still seems to be the case. That said, the character was wearing a lot of armor & still fast-rolled.
Do you know what the setting will be?
I believe the zone we spawned in at was called "Wall of Lordeleth"? There have been no location reveals AFAIK.
Are there four-directional rolls?
I'm 95% sure there is any-directional rolling. It's hard to get a feel for the game though, since we were only watching.
What's this about making your own bonfires out of corpses?
I don't know! They didn't show off this feature in the demo - remember that this is only a leaked feature, at this point. That said, a lot of promotional artwork shows a character stabbing a sword into a character similar to a bonfire. I'm curious how this will work.
Was that the Giant Lord at the end of the trailer?
I'd say so, though they didn't confirm.
Is the Lord of Cinder for DS3 actually Gwyn or is it the player character from the first game?
it's hard to say. When asked, Miyazaki seemed to emphasise that there could be multiple "Lords of Cinder" - which makes sense since there have been multiple ages of fire!
What is the future of Soulsborne after DS3? Ending of a trilogy?
Dark Souls 3 is confirmed NOT the end of the Souls series. Miyazaki mentioned that FROM Software has developed other titles than Souls..like Armored core..tenshu..and that the DS3 would likely be a turning point for the series. We could see a sci-fi souls or Ninja souls in the future!
How does movement and combat look? Is it grounded and impactful like DkS and Bloodborne, or floaty like DkS2?
Animation quality is on-par with bloodborne, though some animations are clearly from Dark Souls 1 - like backstabs, parries & running. Definitely less floaty than DkS2.
Combat flows similarly to other Souls games, and enemies will have more clearly telegraphed attacks. In bloodborne, there were some attacks that were ridiculously fast.
Will it be as easy as the first two?
Difficulty and a sense of satisfaction in-keeping with the series was emphasised.
What do you think the storyline will be? Is the hollowed part of the curse beaten?
At the end of DS3 we acquired a crown that allowed us to ignore the hollowing effects. In the trailer we saw a crown that appeared to have the Darksign on it..perhaps that crown that cures hollowing still exists?
Story takes place in an apocalyptic world. We will walk through the ruins of past civilisations, and hunt down the previous Lords of Cinder. We are called a "Dark Hero". There are themes of migration & resurrection in the trailer. Pretty sure that's all we know!
Do you think it will be a prequel or a sequel?
Hard to say. Personally I think it will carry on from Dark Souls 2, but it could also be before DKS2 and after DS1. Definitely takes place after DS1, since there is at least one "Lord of Cinder".
How do the sword arts work?
I believe that each category of weapon has a different "weapon art" associated with it, that can be activated when a button is pressed (probably L2).
When wielding a short sword, our character went into a different fighting stance once L2 was pressed. From here, we could perform different attacks! There was one to break an enemy's guard, and another that quickly closed the distance between us & our opponent.
When wielding a greatsword, we had the ability to slam an enemy (presumably with hyper armor, without being staggered) and also the ability to do this huge uppercut that flung our opponent into the sky.
The dual-wielded scimitars had a variety of spin attacks.
Personally I hope that we can customise these weapon arts - I remember miyazaki saying something along these lines. Hope that answers your question!
Enemy design?
Very Dark Souls (dark fantasy, medieval)..but there were a lot of enemies that had the more "deathly" bloodborne look. The dogs for example had these sunken, creepy faces like the pthumerians from Bloodborne.
We saw hollows, hollow soldiers, knights, dogs, a stone dragon, a hollow that turned into this black mass..and a boss.
The boss was called the "Dancer of the frigid wastes" I believe. It was tall, thin, with midnight blue armor and elongated limbs. It didn't attack, rather..it danced. It never had any jarring movements, and it was difficult to see where its attacks were coming from. It was awesome - you had to learn its dance to fight it!
Is movement like DS1 or 2?
Dark Souls 1. That running animation is identical, and so are parries & backstabs.
Will any of the classic armors be in Dark Souls 3?
I believe it was leaked that many armors from previous games would make a return.
Who has the best beard in Soulbrandt?
Barneezy's was very well kept & trimmed, and peeve's was more rugged and manly. Depends on your preference.
Is the game going to ditch dark souls 2's high fantasy setting and go back to the original dark fantasy style?
Hard to say definitively from what we've seen. Miyazaki said that they're going for a "withered beauty" theme, so expect to see a lot of old civilisations that are crumbling..
Level design?
Miyazaki is personally heading the level design. Expect DKS1 & Bloodborne's convoluted level design to return! Woo
Same sort of dodge roll from the first two games?
We only saw the standard dodge-roll.
What was the thing you disliked most?
The enemies followed the same archetype as those in Boletaria 1-1 and the Undead Burg. They're certainly keen on that formula for the early levels.
Did they say who is the composer of the soundtrack in DS3?
Nope
How do you think Miyazaki-san also managed to work on this?
In an interview they mentioned he has someone to help him with the logistics of organisation, but that he has a lot of control over design decisions & direction.
How much influence from DS2 do you see in DS3? Or is the game being ignored?
They certainly avoid mentioning DS2 in favor of referencing Dark Souls 1. Multiple reasons for this:
1. Miyazaki allegedly didn't work much on Dark Souls 2
2. I've heard development began really early, so perhaps Dark Souls 2 wasn't very far along
3. Dark Souls 2 had to be partly scrapped part way through, so perhaps it's a sore-point for them
Any information about Soul Memory being removed or changed?
No more soul memory! Miyazaki mentioned they'll be going with Soul Level.
Is it locked to 30FPS on PC?
This wasn't asked, though I doubt it. Probably 60.
Did you see any NPC's?
No
Did you see any stats?
No
There was gameplay shown?
Yes, though not publicly. Expect a demo to hit conventions like Gamescom maybe!
Do you think they will go with the fewer, more varied weps like BB, or more move-set sharing weps like DS1/2?
I expect a wide variety of weapons, in keeping with the Souls style.
Who is director of this one?
Miyazaki!
Will there be reincarnations of DSI / II bosses?
Yes. They confirmed a poison smelter demon (it gives off a green aura that poisons you), as well as a rainbow brigade of smelter demons in various colours, hues and elemental damages.
(They didn't say)
Was it more atmospheric than Dark Souls 2?
Hard to get a feel for that in 20 minutes. Felt pretty standard for a first Dark Souls level. I hope they do something new.
How did they present PvP?
There was none in the demo, though it is confirmed to return. They said they didn't think they'd have an arena, but to stay tuned for unique ways to invade. Pretty sure they'll keep the standard Souls invasion methods.
I've heard it has an "Ashen" theme. Was the color palette limited to reflect this?
The ashen theme is likely more in reference to the "fire" theme. Words like cinder, flame, ember were thrown around..and the boss used a sword of ash and a sword of fire. Colours seemed more saturated than the faded look of Dark Souls 2.
How does it compare to DSII when it was first revealed?
The game looks pretty gorgeous. It looks about on-par with PC Dark Souls 2 with lighting mods. It doesn't have the over-the-top effects that pre-release dark souls II had, though.
Were covenants mentioned or shown?
No.
