At its core, Dark Souls is about fighting. That's not to say that the game is nothing but swords and shields throughout, but it's clear that From Software built the game with combat in mind.
If you ever needed any proof of this, well ... just take a look at the bosses.
From Demon's Souls to Bloodborne, From Software has proven itself a master of creating amazing boss fights — and from the looks of things, Dark Souls III will be a perfect example of this. Up until now, fans have only ever caught a glimpse of the most powerful enemies in the game, and so far, they've all looked fantastic. Gone are the days of Dark Souls II's ho-hum humanoid encounters, replaced with genuine monsters designed from the ground up to beat players into bloody submission.
These fights are at the forefront of the Dark Souls III launch trailer. Sure, there are a few small story snippets tucked away in the teaser, but the true stars of the show are the new enemies that fans can look forward to fighting.
First things first: if you hadn't already noticed, the trailer begins with a condensed version of the monologue from the opening of the original Dark Souls. From Software has made it clear that Dark Souls III is both a continuation and conclusion to the themes from the original game, and nowhere is that more evident than with this intro.
From there, the trailer jumps between a series of different shots: the first appears to be some sort of shrine to the Everlasting Dragons, while the second focuses on some sort of goblet. While the shrine appears further on in the trailer, the goblet's presence stands out — could this be some new form of Lordvessel, or is it simply some new artifact that players will find along their journey?
In between those shots is a glimpse at a new boss: while it's hard to tell exactly who it is, it looks quite a lot like Yhorm the Giant, one of the Lords of Cinder that players are tasked with hunting down. This is the first time that players have seen him without his trademark flames surrounding him, but his sheer size and face-obscuring crown seem like a dead giveaway.
That slick, scale-less skin, that crystalline glow — all signs point to the return of Seath the Scaleless. It could be part of a flashback, or some sort of illusion ... or maybe Seath really did find the secret of immortality before players confronted him outside the Duke's Archives.
Save for a brief glimpse at his combat style, there's really no telling who this man is — but he does bear a striking resemblance to the Hunters from Bloodborne. Considering the two games take place in separate universes, there's no chance of a crossover, but it does look like a subtle reference to From Software's last game.
This crow-like enemy doesn't appear to be a boss, but that transformation is too good to skip over.
Next up is a relatively simple worm-like demon. They don't necessarily look the same, but the size and flame-filled arena definitely feels like a callback to Dark Souls' Centipede Demon boss fight.
This one is interesting: the "king" featured in the photo doesn't necessarily look like anyone in particular from the series, but he moves much like the player does — a sign of intelligence and humanity that many Dark Souls bosses lack.
It's a giant crab. There's nothing really anything unique about it, but ... who doesn't like a good crab fight?
Out of everyone shown in the trailer, this rider stands out. There are only a few bosses throughout all of Dark Souls that wield lightning in such a way — Gwyn, the original Lord of Cinder, and Dragonslayer Ornstein. Given the giant bird and his lightning rod-esque weaponry, it's easy to assume that this is one of Ornstein's Dragonslayer brethren ... but there's always a chance that the first game's final boss is back for a rematch.
Given Dark Souls' reputation for boss fights, the characters featured in the trailer are likely just the tip of the iceberg. Thankfully, it won't be much longer before fans can finally go toe-to-toe with them: Dark Souls III is due out on April 12.
