The last one, Dark Souls II, showed marked improvements over the first port, but still had some failings with its controls and FPS. The first Souls game never made it to PC, and the second had some pretty major issues with the port. All this really emphasizes that combat is more about how battle is handled and navigated, and less about the player character's power. More hardcore players can choose the level 1 character and decide how they want to play and equip it for themselves. The character used for the review starts at level 9, other classes in the game start in the level 8-10 range and thus provide an established foundation for play. It's still got role-playing elements that run deep, though: Classes in Dark Souls III are constructed based upon stat point assignment, so the selectable pre-built classes are just characters with points assigned for their different equipment layouts. Dodging, timing, and the speed of attack outrank character building in the hierarchy of importance, furthering the series' focus on skill-based progression. Gameplay in Dark Souls III is more complex than the average, pedestrian hack’n’slash game.
