I knew From Software before it was cool but admittedly never liked their low-budget games until Demon's Souls turned them around. This 5th entry in the larger series feels like the advertised conclusion, and more variations will (and should) come but this is a good place to end the DS narrative. The story is easier to figure out that in DS II and most of it is a semi-sequel to the 1st entry. Reference to my beloved Berserk manga (one of the inspirations for the franchise) are also at an all-time high and the overall experience is best described as a "greatest hits" of what came before. The upgraded presentation comes from Bloodborne, the world is best compared the DS 1 and the combat is a refined version of DS II. The infamous difficulty is hard to judge, as I became too accustomed by now, but it should fit in the middle, with Demon's Souls as the hardest and Bloodborne as the easiest entry. The always fun multiplayer works as it should and the ability to summon up to 3 helpers (1 additional enemy will then also get a chance to invade) will ease the sometimes merciless bosses. Half of these were the only "real" challenge to me and I settled on the Havel armor and the Fume Ultra Greatsword. Tank for life! I further recommend to show the highly atmospheric game to someone else, as my mother uncharacteristically watched the 2nd half of my run with great fun Newcomer should lastly start with DS1 or the faster Bloodborne and graduate to DS3. This "final" dish needs to be savored after all and I could use a polished Armored Core reboot.