"The close of the age of fire. The Ringed City is said to be at world's end, past this heap of rubbish so far as one can go," says the narrator below of Dark Souls 3's final slice of DLC.
The "heap of rubbish" that the weary-sounding raconteur refers to is this game's interpretation of the Kiln of the First Flame—an area which housed both the original Dark Souls and its third series entry's final boss. In the second and final portion of Dark Souls 3's DLC—said to be the ultimate chapter of the Souls series itself—it seems we'll go beyond that to a placed named The Ringed City.
Said to be chasing the "Slave Knight Gael", The Ringed City will see players heading to the "literal end of the world" in search of the Dark Souls of Humanity. Judging by the above, this means business as usual on the brutally unforgiving enemies and bosses front. Here's publisher Bandai Namco's synopsis as per a statement released earlier today:
"At the close of the Age of Fire, as the world ends and all lands converge upon themselves, a lone adventurer descends into the madness of the earth and uncovers the secrets of the past. As players make their way to the fabled Ringed City they will encounter ancient beasts, a new cast of characters teetering on the edge of insanity, new armor, weapons, magic, and at the bottom of it all, a long lost city filled with new horrors for players to overcome."
Interestingly, as you'll spot up there, the winged boss featured before the title reappears looks to me like a demon. As previously chronicled by Souls commentator VaatiVidya (on the off-chance you don't follow his Souls videos, you should), the demon species' flame appears to be at its weakest in DS3 and, besides optional boss Old Demon King, the species appears all but on its last legs. I'd hoped for more on the hows and whys of this turnout from the base game, so I now have my fingers crossed we'll get the chance to dig into the demons' lore a little further in The Ringed City.
Either way, Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City DLC is due March 28, 2017.
