Dark Souls III

The closing entry in the trilogy, and the one that runs fastest. FromSoftware brought the combat speed of Bloodborne to a Souls skeleton, which makes it more aggressive than its predecessors without abandoning stamina management or the punishing checkpoint economy. Lothric is a kingdom at the literal end of its cycle, and the 2016 game leans hard into that: much of what you walk through is quoting earlier games back at you, and it assumes you will recognise the references. Level design is more linear than Dark Souls but far more coherent than Dark Souls II, with a small number of genuinely excellent interconnected stretches. Bosses are where it makes its case — Pontiff Sulyvahn, the Nameless King, Soul of Cinder and the Ringed City duo are as sharply designed as anything in the studio's output. Weapon arts add a per-weapon special attack that gives even conventional builds something to learn. It is the most approachable place to start with FromSoftware's older catalogue, and the most satisfying place to end it.