The Ringed City, unlike Ashes of Ariandel or even Dark Souls III itself, features a visually enticing and deeply captivating opening, which instantly conveys the story behind the apocalyptic setting of the third and final entry of the Dark Souls series. And this is because the second the player begins the approach to the titular Ringed City, he/she is welcomed with a tremendous sight of a world which is in progress of consuming itself through fading of the fire. Castle towers lay flat on the shallows of forest swamps, cathedrals are embedded into cliffs, and layers of thick, bright ash covers it all. The world of The Ringed City is in fact so grimly beautiful, that it outshines anything that can be found within the basic experience that Dark Souls III has to offer.
The world which can be found within the confines of The Ringed City is truly breath taking, but unfortunately, visual facade, no matter how impressive, can’t make up for other shortcomings which this DLC is unfortunately full off. And the term ”shortcoming” is a key in this case, as all the in-game areas not only feel like they’re incredibly short, but also at times feel like they are nothing more than simple A to B corridors. Yes, from time to time one will stumble upon a larger, more complex area, but even then the complications which arise from the inclusion of multiple corridors are nothing to worry about, as in the end all roads lead to Rome.
Within the entirety of the DLC, one will feel like his/her exploration simply does not matter as all routes lead to exactly the same end point. There are no significant secret areas or dead ends, there’s only one way, and it leads straight to the finale. And this phenomena comes across most strongly during the early stages of the DLC, on the approach to the first major boss of the expansion. This particular area, which I like to call ”The Old Yarnham”, because quite frankly it feels like it has been ripped brutishly straight from Bloodborne, sees you run through old, decrepit environments while fighting weak mobs and a hostile NPC, while avoiding ranged attacks. And while doing all this, The Ringed City gives you an impression that you’re not just running through a set of simple corridors, but through a complex maze of tunnels and open plains. But once you travel through this environment a couple of times, you’ll see that each and every time you end up in the exact same places, following the same routes, and ultimately achieving the same outcome.
Ultimately, simplicity is not always a negative thing, some titles even use such to their advantage. But when a series which has built itself upon exploration of complex, foreign and extremely hostile environments, especially one as highly regarded as Dark Souls, completely shifts its formula and transforms itself into a simple A-to-B adventure game, it ultimately loses a lot of its charm. And one could debate whether such drastic transition has come from change in artistic vision, financial constraints, or simply a loss of passion, but in the end he/she still has to agree that The Ringed City is a solid piece of content, and unlike the Ashes of Ariandel, it is worthy of being considered a major part of the Dark Souls universe. And in more ways than one, an end to it all.