Bandai Namco and From Software’s definitive version of Dark Souls III is out today on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with a haunting new trailer released to celebrate its launch. The video provides an overview of all the content packed into the Game of the Year edition, which includes both last year’s Ashes of Ariandel expansion and last month’s Ringed City. The re-release follows a similar trend started with the original Dark Souls’ Prepare To Die Edition, which compiled the base game and its Artorias of the Abyss DLC together onto one disc (or download).
Dark Souls III‘s own version is sure to delight those that have held off on buying the RPG’s additional content on launch day, but I can’t help but feel From Software may have missed a trick with The Fire Fades. Dark Souls II is frequently regarded to be the black sheep of the family due to the noted absence of series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki in the director’s chair, but it certainly had the best and most justifiable re-release.
Besides including the Lost Crowns DLC, Scholar of the First Sin elaborated on the middle child’s often cloudy lore as well as completely upturning enemy placement as an added incentive for those that already purchased the game once to make a second one. Alas, we’ll just have to accept that today’s release is likely to be the last we’ll be hearing of Souls for a good while. Miyazaki and, by extension, From Software have already distanced themselves from the series for the immediate future, preferring instead to pursue new projects. There’s no news yet on what shape those titles will take, but with any luck, we’ll hear more at this year’s E3 or, failing that, Tokyo Game Show.
For those yet to give one of 2016’s best releases a shot, find our review of Dark Souls III here.