To say that this optional boss is Gwyn’s firstborn is stating the obvious. Such ambience is fitting, for the Peak is where we can also encounter the Nameless King. The area is uniquely set at the time of day when both the sun and moon are visible on opposite ends of the sky. It is a sacred place, and not just for dragon faithful. Transcending feeling and entropy as eternal rock is the key facet of dragon worship, and the cut Bridge Key even references the ritual as a “sacrament” (秘跡) in its Japanese description. Taken together, people have come to free themselves of the mortal coil and find enlightenment, namely the means to becoming archdragons. Like in past games, their draconification is part of a “secret ceremony” we perform with dragon stones. Situated in the remote mountains far removed from chaotic everyday human life, we find various draconified individuals performing Zen meditation on rugs whilst surrounded by candles as well as incense burners and bowls, thuribles similarly hanging overhead. Archdragon Peak is the quintessential product of this differing approach, and its contribution to the overall history reminds me how glad I am to have not sworn off the series after the blunders of its first sequel.Īrchdragon Peak features a temple styled after a medieval Islamic mosque, though it functions more as a Buddhist monastery. And it isn’t as if the events of DS2 goes completely ignored either, though its offerings are limited by design. From a storytelling angle, a lot of this ends up retreading past ground in more explicit ways, but it also adds many new subtleties to decrypt and incorporate into past information. (DS3) Whereas Dark Souls II (DS2) threw out its old setting in a vain attempt at a soft reboot, DS3 wholeheartedly embraces it, building upon the world and plot threads from the original Dark Souls (DS1) to weave something new. I hold an unabashed love for Dark Souls III.

Eternal Kingdom Battle Peak free