Dark Souls III - The Lord of Cinder

In a new Dark Souls III cinematic trailer introduces us to the Lord of Cinder in the kingdom of Lothric, which does contain spoilers.



More information.

Spoilers? Can't spoil this series for me. I have hundreds of hours between DS1&2 and have no idea what the stories about. I remember uniting flames or some such.

At one point I even watched a video that was supposed to explain the story and, well, I've actually forgotten what they said.

No matter, give me the usual exploration, atmosphere, tension and combat and I don't need any story.

Better be careful or I'll turn in to the Brumbek of Dark Souls or maybe it's already to late.

Must not watch. Resist the temptation!

Stay. Strong!

Originally Posted by sakichop
Spoilers? Can't spoil this series for me. I have hundreds of hours between DS1&2 and have no idea what the stories about. I remember uniting flames or some such.

At one point I even watched a video that was supposed to explain the story and, well, I've actually forgotten what they said.

No matter, give me the usual exploration, atmosphere, tension and combat and I don't need any story.

Better be careful or I'll turn in to the Brumbek of Dark Souls or maybe it's already to late.

Nah. To be thoroughly brumbecian, you have to be able to relate the story as well

Originally Posted by sakichop
Spoilers? Can't spoil this series for me. I have hundreds of hours between DS1&2 and have no idea what the stories about. I remember uniting flames or some such.

At one point I even watched a video that was supposed to explain the story and, well, I've actually forgotten what they said.

No matter, give me the usual exploration, atmosphere, tension and combat and I don't need any story.

Better be careful or I'll turn in to the Brumbek of Dark Souls or maybe it's already to late.

Hilarious! I'm in the same boat.

Originally Posted by sakichop
Spoilers? Can't spoil this series for me. I have hundreds of hours between DS1&2 and have no idea what the stories about.

Well put about spoilers! I usually would never watch an opening cinematic until release, but this one is just a bunch of nonsense like the whole series.

Don't get me wrong…I've played every Souls game multiple times, loving the exploration and sense of character progression…but this is just getting tedious now. It's clear FROM never actually made a real story…they just come up with interesting tidbits, but the soul (no pun intended) is empty.

You can probably tell I'm getting a bit jaded about the series…I'm frankly glad Dark Souls III is the final game of the series, supposedly.

Originally Posted by sakichop
No matter, give me the usual exploration, atmosphere, tension and combat and I don't need any story.

My gameplay hours totally agree with you, but my heart yearns for more!

Originally Posted by sakichop
Better be careful or I'll turn in to the Brumbek of Dark Souls or maybe it's already to late.

How do you think I feel, actually *being* the Brumbek of Dark Souls?! Again, I love these games. I've put more hours into them then almost any other game. They have much in common with Dragon's Dogma: amazing worlds with great combat that almost never gets old!

The difference is Dragon's Dogma actually goes to the effort of having a story with a payoff (one of the best payoffs ever!). Again, I love the Souls games, but the whole "mystery" thing has changed into "it's clear you guys didn't bother to write a story" in my opinion.

There's only so long we can hear about Gywns and Primordial Slitherings and Flame Altars and Serious Narration with Weird Names. It needs to matter! Stories need payoffs!

Dark Souls is all setup with zero payoff, and it's becoming clear FROM isn't trying hard enough to make anything matter.

Originally Posted by Steinawarjar
Nah. To be thoroughly brumbecian, you have to be able to relate the story as well

Brumbek knows all, sees all. He is the furtive pygmy of RPGs!

But yes…I can obsessively praise Dragon's Dogma because it's the complete package. It has an emotional hook in me as well as a very strong gameplay hook! The Souls games have the gameplay hook for sure, but their nihilistic storytelling leaves little room for true passion. By nihilistic I mean a lack of any meaningful human interaction (almost no NPCs that matter, no higher purpose or quest).

Other opinions or feedback on my thoughts is welcome. Maybe I'm asking too much to have a real story…but Dogma has spoiled me (and Dogma has better combat, FACT!!).

I love the Souls style of story-telling. It doesn't get in the way of actually playing the game but the narrative is there if you look for it.

Originally Posted by Brumbek
but Dogma has spoiled me (and Dogma has better combat, FACT!!).

Turn it up.

DS storytelling is the best storytelling imo. explaining everything is mediocre

Originally Posted by borcanu
DS storytelling is the best storytelling imo. explaining everything is mediocre

So what's the story it told you and how did it tell you it? I need more than just saying it the best, please!

Originally Posted by Brumbek
So what's the story it told you and how did it tell you it? I need more than just saying it the best, please!

He's talking about these fine ladies and their penchant for quirky dialogue.



Very deep and mystical.

Originally Posted by Brumbek
So what's the story it told you and how did it tell you it? I need more than just saying it the best, please!

How does a picture speak 10,000 words?

Originally Posted by SirJames
How does a picture speak 10,000 words?

Here's a perfect end-cap to this whole discussion: Namco Offering $10,000 to Anyone who can Explain the Dark Souls Story.

All three of those videos are brilliant, especially the first mockumentary one.

This is the one of the longest dark souls threads I've seen and it about the story.

Anyone else playing this on release? It would be nice to have some fellow watchers ( DS fans, I don't need anyone popping in to spam about grinding- yes that means you Joxer. ) to discuss the game with.

Originally Posted by sakichop
This is the one of the longest dark souls threads I've seen and it about the story.

Anyone else playing this on release? It would be nice to have some fellow watchers ( DS fans, I don't need anyone popping in to spam about grinding- yes that means you Joxer. ) to discuss the game with.

Absolute day one purchase for me. I look forward to comparing notes!

Lots of the lore was on item descriptions and narrative symbolism.

Originally Posted by Pongo
Absolute day one purchase for me. I look forward to comparing notes!

Day one purchase for me, too. I waited to purchase the prior games, but I'm very excited for Dark Souls III with its faster combat and Bloodborne-level visuals (at 60+ FPS on PC of course).

My list of day one purchases is always very tiny, but for 2016 we already have two: Dragon's Dogma obviously (only cost $22 anyway) and Dark Souls III since both games easily give me 150+ hours of epic times.

Originally Posted by Void000
Lots of the lore was on item descriptions…

True. Nothing more immersive than reading UI text that somehow describes each item (just being a bit sarcastic today). You ever wonder how your character knows this stuff about the items they find? I mean you find a sword…and you just magically know "A sword forged from the pits of hell by the demon-lord…Tim."

EDIT: thinking more of item descriptions, the obvious truth is all items probably come with their tags still on them. I'm thinking like the "DO NOT REMOVE" warning labels. That makes most sense to me.

Originally Posted by Brumbek
You ever wonder how your character knows this stuff about the items they find? I mean you find a sword…and you just magically know "A sword forged from the pits of hell by the demon-lord…Tim."

It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to come up with answers to questions like this. From derivations of oral histories, observations in nature and the world around you, to history passed down via literature, accumulated esoteric knowledge of the occult and the history of ideas and associated myths and symbols. Thus, I don't think it's a case of something just becoming "magically known". Each player will naturally make conclusions of their own based upon their characters and perhaps a bit of suspension of disbelief…

Players are invited to weave in and out of these abstract stories at their leisure. In the first game, these concepts most certainly captivated me immensely. In the sequel, not so much, as I was driven more towards a more gamist and objective oriented "gaming of the system" and to concentrate on getting ahead in the game itself.

The Infinity Engine games, particularly Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate, explore lore through item descriptions exceptionally well. It enriches the game experience a good deal, especially if one is familiar already with their worlds from other sources.

Reading is obviously subjective from player to player; as to how much this will immerse and indeed what their preferences are for story deliverance, will also play a role in the enjoyment of this.