Dark Souls III: 8 Niggling Concerns No Fan Wants To Admit

Praise whichever celestial body you please - Dark Souls III is real and it's coming next year. Queue the increased sales of every previous title and a spike in hours spent online in Lordran and Drangleic - training has begun in anticipation of a new world that will try it's damnedest to kill you in every which way possible.

But are we jumping the gun by assuming that the newest release in the series will be anything other than fantastic? On paper, at least, one would think that the prospect of Dark Souls III turning out be a disappointment would be impossible. 

For starters, series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki is back at the helm this time around after taking a hands-off approach for the development of the middle child - and many consider his input to be what makes the games so popular. There's also fervent talk of the so-called 'Sword Arts' and a ramp up in speed for the combat system. Are such changes big enough to surprise Souls veterans, and are they even what anyone wants?

Changing the established formula too much is sure to get under the skin of all the purists out there, but not doing anything to mix things up is a surefire route to the words 'stale' and 'formulaic' being thrown around like hot potatoes.

That's just the starting line of potential problems that await Dark Souls III though, read on to see the other hurdles that stand in its way.

Dark Souls made its name through the championing of its self-proclaimed difficulty - something that has largely been lost in modern gaming. It was a throwback to the olden days of gaming, when checkpoints and hand-holding tutorials were abstract concepts that nobody had ever dreamed of using.

No, I'm not an idiot in suggesting that Dark Souls III needs to be easier, but I am a fan of the series who's concerned with how sustainable such a selling point is. 

We're at a point in the life cycle of the Souls series where sequels are being designed specifically for gamers that have already familiarised themselves with the ins and outs of how not to die in the resolve-destroying worlds of Boletaria, Lordran and Drangleic. 

The problem is over-familiarity. How exactly does one continually make a game like Dark Souls maintain its image of unforgiving difficulty when fans have already become accustomed to the challenges they're likely to face?

The rule of thumb is that whatever Souls game you played first is the hardest, due to not knowing what the hell you're doing or how to survive - each subsequent entry being easier.

I'm honestly not sure if its an issue that can be overcome without resorting to wiping the memory of anyone who's ever played a Souls game. Bloody muscle memory, it's all your fault.