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Dark Souls III DLC: Ashes of Ariandel - review thread

T

takoyaki

Member
32ssox.jpg


Ashes of Ariandel is the first DLC for DS3, the second as yet untitled DLC will be release in 2017.

Release Date: 24/25 Oct, 2016 [update: up on Xbox ONE]
Price: $14,99 / €14,99
Platforms: PC/PS4/Xbox ONE

Info:

15 New Weapons and Shields
4 New Armor Sets
4 New Spells
New PvP exclusive map, called Hollow Arena
2 New Bosses
New Location:
Painted World of Ariandel

How to access the DLC area: video
You'll need to head to the Cleansing Chapel bonfire in the Cathedral of the Deep tab, and talk to the NPC at the shrine. If you don't see him, port out and port back in until you do -- it may take a few times



Reviews:

metacritic (PC) 74
opencritic 74


  • Destructoid 7/10
    Well, it's a patchwork job -- it's snowy, just like the Crown of the Ivory King DLC from Souls II, and it doesn't really go anywhere we haven't seen before. In fact, the entire thing is tenuously linked to the original, but mostly patched up with lore of its own.

    […]Veterans will likely take around five hours or less to conquer it all.
    Click to expand...

  • IGN 7.8/10
    […] Exactly how long that enjoyment lasts, however, may depend on whether you enjoy fighting players over bosses.

    […]Despite being able to access the new area early on, don’t expect this new Painted World of Ariandel to pull any punches, even if you’ve already beaten the final boss of Dark Souls 3.

    […] To make matters worse, Ariandel seems to continue Dark Souls 3’s tradition of an over-abundance of bonfires that made these bite-sized places feel even quicker – I never had to worry about retreading my steps.

    […] Expect to spend about five to ten hours depending on your skill and whether or not you stop to explore and smell the rotting roses.
    Click to expand...
  • Hardcoregamer 3.5/5
    The biggest disappointment with Ashes of Ariandel right off the bat is its length. It’s arguably the shortest DLC released for a Dark Souls game, taking us roughly 3 hours to complete, and then an extra hour to gather all the items and explore.

    […]For such a short piece of downloadable content, it’s surprising how many new and unique enemies have been crammed in.

    […]This wouldn’t be Dark Souls without the inclusion of strategic and increasingly difficult bosses, and Ashes of Ariandel more or less delivers.

    […]Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel is a short but sweet experience.
    Click to expand...
  • RPG Site 7/10
    If I were to attribute a time to how long it will take you to finish Ashes of Ariandel, I would say somewhere between 6-8 hours. I spent around 12 hours on the DLC before I felt that everything that could be explored had been properly.

    […]Ashes of Ariandel is by no means a drop in quality from the base game of Dark Souls 3, just one that lacks defining properties to help it stand on its own. If you are in the mood for more of that mechanic fineness and polish found in Dark Souls 3 already, then you will find plenty more here.
    Click to expand...
  • Shacknews no score
    No self-respecting Dark Souls fans will skip Ashes of Ariandel, nor should they. It's a solid offering that checks most, if not all boxes. However, anyone who waited with bated breath for six long months for another serving of crestfallen souls may find this sampler-sized expansion bittersweet.
    Click to expand...
  • Polygon 8/10
    In that sense, Ashes of Ariandel seeks to improve upon many of the key complaints players and reviewers (like myself) had with Dark Souls 3. And it largely succeeds, pulling players into a gorgeous and original new area that feels better designed than the core game — if over all too soon.

    [...]Still, if you’ve played enough Dark Souls 3 to have a character at the level necessary to tackle Ashes of Ariandel, I can’t imagine being very disappointed with what FromSoftware offers here.
    Click to expand...

  • Attack of the Fanboy 8/10
  • iDigitalTimes 3/5
  • PC INVASION 7/10
  • gamespew 8/10
  • cgmagonline 9/10
 
S

Soulflarz

Banned
Oof.
Will go about reading those now, but a 73 opencritics lower than I expected.

Edit: it doesnt sound that bad, just moreso that it's got some needless things going on in its level design and is short?
 
M

Magic Mushroom

Member
Seems its main problem is that it's light on content. Hopefully the second DLC will be meatier, otherwise they should've done an Old Hunters and release both as one DLC.
 
F

Ferr986

Member
Seems that they are like DS2 DLCs minus the challenge areas.

I guess people will keep comparing it with the Old Hunters, that was 2 DLC in 1, or so FROM says (not that I fully believe that, more like 1 and half DLC IMO).
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
I might wait to buy the season pass depending upon what gaffers say about the whole DLC package. The Old Hunters was a great one and done FROM DLC.
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
Ummm... can't read the reviews due to SPOILERS but why 7/10 ?!?!? That seems LOW for a new-age FROM SOFTWARE game :'''''''''''(

What were the DS2 DLC scores?
 
N

Nuno Pinto

Member
Hopefully the next DLC will focus more on PVE content since I don't really like the PVP in these games. Still bought though, can't wait to try the new weapons, especially Valorheart.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
100% the lower score because this is a pvp expansion which to be fair has me way less enthusiastic as well(not feeling the souls pvp right now especially since that DSIII has just soured me on that front with fight clubs, etc way less fun than in DSII). I think Peeves and other Souls pvpers might be a better source of information. I just doubt that any of those reviewers have anything of value to say about that aspect which seems to be the main focus of the expansion.
Of course I'll take that back if any of the reviews was diving into the new weapons and how they might stack up move set wise as well as the poise changes in any meaningful way.
But yeah highly doubt it.
 
M

Manu

Member
Holundrian said:
100% the lower score because this is a pvp expansion which to be fair has me way less enthusiastic as well. I think Peeves and other Souls pvpers might be a better source of information. I just doubt that any of those reviewers have anything of value to say about that aspect which seems to be the main focus of the expansion.
Click to expand...

?

It's focused as much in PVP as AoTA was. It's still a SP expansion first and foremost.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Manu said:
?

It's focused as much in PVP as AoTA was. It's still a SP expansion first and foremost.
Click to expand...

Dunno content wise it seems less and most features that I see that would put it on a similar value level to past expansions are pvp related.
It just doesn't seem like PvE was the main focus here like in past expansions also doesn't seem to be just me that gets that impression.

Arkeband said:
Over 7 months of development for 2 bosses... is this for real?
Click to expand...

PvP expansion I think they spend the most time on making different types of matchmaking solid and of course balance although I have no idea how good it is now balance wise. So that's where most of the work went I think instead of bosses.
 
V

Vamp

Member
Basically what they are saying is this: Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel is a short but sweet experience. I am fine with that, I love Dark Souls and I want more new stuff to play.
 
J

JerkShep

Member
It's strange that they took so long for a dlc that is light on content. Even if you don't count the coop areas DaS2 dlcs felt meaty, they were not AotA or Old Hunters but still...

It's even worse considering that they have already shown all the bosses in the trailers. This relationship with Bamco can't end soon enough.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
If the pvp part is really good like DSII good. It's not really going to be little content if you're into that.
Getting that stuff tuned and actually adding good matchmaking takes a lot of work guys.
It's not like they went lazy here, just that it's probably not the type of expansion most were looking forward to myself included.
 
R

Relaxed Muscle

Member
JerkShep said:
It's strange that they took so long for a dlc that is light on content. Even if you don't count the coop areas DaS2 dlcs felt meaty, they were not AotA or Old Hunters but still...

It's even worse considering that they have already shown all the bosses in the trailers. This relationship with Bamco can't end soon enough.
Click to expand...

This is basically DS2 DLC size, including number of bosses. Minus those awful extra areas that we are much better without it.
 
Beck

Beck

Member
Interesting IGN said 5-10 hours. I completed it in roughly three and basically explored every nook and cranny for an extra hour.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
5-10 hours?
How is it light on content then?

Genuine question, I'm on mobile just now and I'm not in a situation I can sit and read these reviews just now :/
 
N

Nuno Pinto

Member
Beck said:
Interesting IGN said 5-10 hours. I completed it in roughly three and basically explored every nook and cranny for an extra hour.
Click to expand...

With only two bosses 5 to 10 hours sounds really dumb (especially the 10 part). I'm expecting what you said, seems like the obvious lenght.
 
D

Dahbomb

Member
AHA-Lambda said:
5-10 hours?
How is it light on content then?

Genuine question, I'm on mobile just now and I'm not in a situation I can sit and read these reviews just now :/
Click to expand...
Some sites are saying 3 hours to beat and 1 hour extra to get 100% stuff in it. That still seems on the short side for these DLCs. But this is very big on PvP so hopefully the other DLC is more PvE oriented.
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
Well, that sucks. :(
I was hoping it to be a The Old Hunters kind of deal.

Do you need to be a specific point to do the DLC? Or can I do it with my completed save?
 
T

takoyaki

Member
I’m always excited for more Souls and have the DLC preordered, the reviews make it sound like a good but unremarkable add-on. That’s fine, but of course another DLC with the quality of Old Hunters or Artorias would have been better.

And it’s interesting how much reviewers' statements differ when it comes to playtime. Can’t wait for 3-10 more hours of DS3 ;)
 
C

Conkerkid11

Member
Ferr986 said:
Seems that they are like DS2 DLCs minus the challenge areas.

I guess people will keep comparing it with the Old Hunters, that was 2 DLC in 1, or so FROM says (not that I fully believe that, more like 1 and half DLC IMO).
Click to expand...
Dark Souls II DLC was fantastic though. But I'm not sure how critics viewed it compared to how they're viewing this.
 
D

DMTripper

Member
5 hours is a bit shit tbh. That's like an evening.

Dark souls 3 for me is the 2nd worse game out of all the souls type games.
 
Kudo

Kudo

Member
Sounds awful, there's only 2 this time and the first one falls flat like this? Dark Souls 2 had 3 and all were great.
Oh well, I already got the season pass so I'll enjoy this one extra session of DS3, not gonna make new character for this though as I usually would.
 
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