It’s finally landed, the footage all us masochists have been waiting for, a real look at Dark Souls III. Premiering earlier today at Microsoft’s Gamescom, Hidetaka Miyazaki finally let us have a real glimpse of the highly anticipated game. First impressions…

It looks insane!

Starting off in the typical Souls manner, we’re shown eerie locales, accompanied by the usual cryptic narration that fills you with dread. Some of these places look oddly familiar, a lot of these towers and castles look like they’d be at home in Undead Burg or even Anor Londo. Perhaps the rumours of us returning to Lordran are true after all?

Then all hell breaks loose and we get a true glimpse of the visceral new combat mechanics that Dark Souls III has to offer. It’s faster, meaner and more terrifying than ever. The enemies here look relentless and your player character seems to have a lot more moves at their disposal. This could even give Bloodborne a run for it’s money in the combat department and I’m hoping it does. From Software clearly learnt a lot from developing the Souls’ sister franchise and what we’re seeing here is a refinement of their brand.

The biggest positive that I can see is the return to the darker, more psychotic art style of the first game, leaving behind the gleam from Dark Souls II. Having Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki back at the helm has clearly given the the franchise the focus that was lost in the sequel.

It’s safe to say that we here at VGU are very excited for this one. Expect to see Dark Souls III hit shelves in early 2016.