We should’ve all learned our lesson with Stretch Armstrong-pull too hard and you find out it’s just corn syrup in there. That’s the point in some cases, sure, but what else can be said with an apocalypse narrative besides, fuck it, everything dies someday? What else can we learn about Lordran, Gwyn, Varric, Frampt, the demons, dragons, magic, life, death, and the dark soul that we don’t already know?įrom Software making further Dark Souls games would only pile on the secret codes and messages and UFOs, driving anyone with a passing interest in the story further away and those who are invested further down a cold pit with no resolution. Serpents disappear altogether except in statues, and so many of the places we visit and items we get are direct repeats, or echoes of stories we’ve already heard. Lordran goes unvisited and Gwyn conveniently has another secret kid to serve a new plot in The Ringed City. I tried to crack the crab case (opens in new tab). Worst of all, we never get an answer as to why there are so many damn crabs running around Dark Souls 3. How? Why? Poring through message boards for conclusive theories on inconsistencies like this is just an exercise in futility, much like the central theme of the series. Like The Demon Prince-I thought the Old Demon King was it? You can’t really repeat the same sad catharsis of wiping out a questionably evil accident again. The DLC is internally consistent, but points at and pulls from the entire series with little regard for the impact certain beats might have on previous plots. But watching the final lore videos on The Ringed City roll out made me wonder what the point of even having recurring characters and locations with deep histories was. I’m not sad for VaatiVidya and the like-he and the rest of the community have produced some of the most in-depth, authoritative analysis I’ve ever seen about games. Lore YouTubers will pick over the rubble for years, I’m certain, but all they’ll ever find is another plausible theory, because nearly every Dark Souls theory is plausible. If the hosts of the the most popular Souls podcast, one that started because of their love for the series, feel tired and sad and coming up empty with nearly every aspect of The Ringed City, then it’s a good sign From should be putting their baby to bed.

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