Dark Souls III Deluxe Edition

The game is a fantasy tale with a strong surreal Japanese influence which gives it a spooky supernatural vibe. Loosely the premise is to kill monsters and harness their souls, which are then parlayed into rises in level. Should you be killed before you can trade in the souls you are carrying, they are lost and you respawn at your last resting place, usually a bonfire.

You can, if you’re quick, gather up the souls before they scatter too far – but if you are killed again before you get them all, they are gone for good.

The screen can be filled with enemies which can be alarming – and it also encourages the rapid learning of tactical thinking! Quickly take out the ‘easy’ enemies, sneak up on and despatch the muscle, and pay careful attention to stronger, cunning enemies that are likely to unleash something nasty on you should you relax for an instant!

They’re Bosses for a Reason!

Bosses levels are intensely challenging, and some of them will leave you wrung out and exhausted, hands shaking and brain as traumatised as though you had been battling for your life for real! Tactics are your friends here, observe the enemy, looking for patterns and weaknesses as well as their strengths and the hell they can unleash on you.

Make sure you go into any boss level with a well-stocked inventory, plenty of ammunition and a clean bill of health: you will need all of it! However, the beauty of these challenging levels is the rush of victory when you do finally beat them: you get a real sense of accomplishment.

What a View

Every now and then, your character will climb to the top of a mountain, or find a sweeping panoramic view. Pay careful attention at these times as there is no handy game map for you to consult: you have to work out your own navigation based on clues provided by NPCs (non-playing characters) and these occasional wide-ranging glimpses.

Also pay careful attention to the apparently empty bits of the landscape – say, travelling from your latest battle towards the next hit of action glimpsed from on high somewhere. Sometimes the most innocuous decision – let’s have a look in this gully, for example – can lead you to discover a whole hidden level, or a shortcut that will save you hours, blood, sweat and inventory items!

Ways to Play

• Single player (PvP or Player versus Player): When you’re looking for a challenge you can leave a summon symbol where another player can find it. When they tap on it, they’re brought to your world, ready to do battle with you. It is the same if you want to be challenged by another player: simply leave a signal that the other player can initiate to pull you into their world, and the hostilities can commence!

• Co-operative multiplayer: This works in a broadly similar way to summoning and being summoned for single-player battles. The main difference is in the symbols used, and where they are left: signals – for either co-op or PvP – that are left in remote, rarely visited areas of the map are unlikely to be triggered!

• For both of the above, if you want to get together with a specific group of buddies, you all enter the same password into the Online tab of the Settings menu: everyone with the same password will be ported to the same area

• Multiplayer: Explore the game with a good internet connection and battle or help out any other players who cross your path. This is the default setting for the game and will be the way that most people play the game

Dark Souls 3 Deluxe Edition for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.