If the first Dark Souls depicted a world gracefully drifting toward the apocalypse, Dark Souls 3 shows one spiraling feverishly into it. It’s a fierce, punishing behemoth of a game that dares you to take a step forward, only to knock you back again, and again, and again. Yet, I always felt compelled to return, eager for that familiar thrill of overcoming even the most exacting challenges.

Beyond a few disappointing boss fights, Dark Souls 3‘s epic scale, aggressive obstacles, and rich lore make it the grandest and most intense Dark Souls adventure yet. Exploration is the cornerstone of this series, and Dark Souls 3 does a lot to reward an inquisitive and thorough approach. You could easily spend hours in a single area, investigating every dark corner or side road, and consistently be rewarded with new story revelations, gear, mini-bosses, and even entire secret areas.

The Kingdom of Lothric and the lands that lie beyond contain some of the most visually striking locations developer FromSoftware has ever created, though many of them feel like rehashes of familiar locales. The world isn’t as interconnected as in the first Dark Souls, but individual areas still weave their own branching paths together seamlessly, creating twisting mazes of overlapping passages and shortcuts that were a joy to lose myself in.

The brutality of Dark Souls 3‘s world and the beasts that roam it are matched only by its vicious new weapon arts, which add variety and style to an already strong combat system. One moment, I’m crushing enemies with the devastating weight of my greatsword, and the next, I’m transforming the massive blade into a graceful propeller of destruction. Some of the most visually impressive weapon arts, like the greatsword and dagger combo, let you perform sweeping slashes followed by a final mid-air blow. You can even lock onto new enemies mid-chain, prioritizing the most dangerous threats to maximize the effectiveness of your attacks.

Having access to this versatile arsenal of destruction is essential because Dark Souls 3‘s roster of relentless horrors hits harder—and sometimes faster—than ever. Enemies are unusually crowded and agile, while AI invaders fight with the speed and aggression of skilled PvP players. This adds a new but welcome layer of challenge and provides great opportunities to make the most of the weapon arts.

I found myself approaching combat with even more caution and planning than usual, and I kept several types of weapons reinforced to handle all manner of foes. The tight-knit resources used to upgrade weapons are plentiful in Dark Souls 3, so no excessive farming is needed to keep your options ready.

Dark Souls 3 also experiments with the boss fight structure, introducing two-phase battles similar to Bloodborne. New movesets and sometimes even a fresh health bar halfway through boss encounters kept the tension high and prevented me from becoming lazy with my tactics. Some bosses have well-placed weak spots that must be targeted to deal damage, while others require more puzzle-like strategies to take down. These ideas were interesting in concept, but more often than not, they led to fights that felt underwhelming. For instance, taking down a hulking giant in four hits feels like a waste of an otherwise great boss design, even if the method to defeat it is cool.

Additionally, dramatic frame rate dips, even on an ultra-high-end PC, sometimes marred otherwise fantastic-looking fights. However, the awe-inspiring designs, moves, music, and lore surrounding the bosses made Dark Souls 3‘s battles incredibly memorable, and sometimes even surprising.

If Dark Souls 3 truly is the last game in the series as we know it, it’s a worthy send-off. Weapon arts bring stylish and versatile new moves without tarnishing the purity of the combat system. Lothric’s stunning locations provide visually breathtaking arenas for rigorous exploration and fierce face-offs with deadly enemies and even more deadly bosses. While not all the experimental changes land as smoothly as others, Dark Souls 3 is a powerful journey and the sequel the Dark Souls series truly deserves.