In part two of an epic journey through the world of Dark Souls III, our writer ventures to the High Wall of Lothric. He embarks through uncharted territory to encounter enemies, both human and not so human.
Take a look below to read part two of our writer’s Dark Souls III adventure:
On the fence about ‘Dark Souls III?’ Here’s its opening moments to help you decide
After resting for a bit at the shrine, it’s time to be off again — this time to the High Wall of Lothric.
Thankfully, the bonfire can teleport me there quickly and easily, but this is the only time it will take me somewhere new. After this I will only be able to teleport to bonfires I have already visited. I find myself in a small circular room with a doorway leading out. After opening the door, I am greeted by one of the most amazing views I have ever seen.
The castle is sprawling, beautiful and downright enormous, and I have no idea where to go next. There is a bonfire just below the door, so I rest up and get ready to head into the unknown once again.
Two separate paths lie ahead of me onto the battlements, one left and one right. After a bit of deliberation — and seeing many figures with swords lining the right path — I choose the left. After killing a few enemies I find myself next to an enormous dead dragon, its scales flaking off in the breeze, and many emaciated figures praying to the once mighty beast.
This cannot bode well for my journey if dragons roam the area. I, however, must still press onward, so I head down and into a dark room where a few more enemies await me. Down another ladder I see two paths again, one up the stairs and another straight into a horde of enemies.
It turns out that the obvious choice was not the correct one. After getting up the stairs, another dragon — this one living — lands on the battlements and fries me to a crisp with its fiery breath. Undaunted, I head back to see if I can beat the beast. No. Definitely not. Toward the horde it is then.
Fortunately, it seems like the dragon does not like them either, so as I head toward them it spews fire, killing all but one of them and leaving a relatively easy path forward. Up a few more sets of stairs and past a knight — who I may have led back to the dragon to be cooked in his armor rather than face him alone — and I find myself at another bonfire to catch my breath, as my healing items had just run out.
I head back outside to find yet another dead dragon — this time being very careful not to touch it just in case — and a rooftop on which I am killed yet again by a horrifying monster exploding out of an unassuming enemy.
It is around this time that I begin to feel a bit of that classic Dark Souls annoyance, but I press on regardless, grabbing my souls back after waking up again at the bonfire and running for my life. I kill a few more enemies, head down a ladder, run from a very large man with a halberd and head up an elevator.
It’s here that I find I have unlocked a shortcut from the first bonfire — the path to the right I would have been unable to take due to a locked door. I go back down only to find a huge door at the end of a large arena — again, a Dark Souls sign of bad things to come. I walk to the end to begin a short cutscene. My fight then begins against a huge, frostbitten armored monstrosity with a mace that promptly smashes me into dust.
Fine. No more Mr. Nice Guy, it’s time to try some multiplayer. I bring in one of my friends as a golden phantom into my world to help me in this fight, give him an enthusiastic wave and we begin. After a few minutes of intense fighting, rolling, blocking and running out of the way of its charges, we finally defeat it.
The door is open and I can see the next area sprawling in front of me. After collecting myself at the new bonfire, it’s time to head off into the unknown again, slowly but surely exploring this immense world.
