Does Dark Souls III follow Dark Souls and Dark Souls II in the storyline?

Is there a significant storyline that progresses from the first game to the third game? Such a story line would cause a player who started with the first game to be incredibly confused, and causing the games to be linked in order. The alternative is that they are all based in the same world, and there are certain parallels I will miss not having played the other games, the latter I can live with, the former, not so much.

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Best Answer

Again: no.

My previous answer was actually without any involved experience of the game (YouTube mostly), so, as stated in the comments of the answer, it was very much a "shortcut answer". However, having now actually played the game in depth, and explored the lore a fair bit more, I can elaborate further.

So, no, Dark Souls 3 is not a "direct" sequel of the previous games. There are familiar faces, areas, and items that you might recognize if you play any of the previous games, including, once again, the ever-present Moonlight Greatsword.

To divert from my original answer though, Dark Souls 3 does set the theme of "the end". While yes, there are faces form both Dark Souls 1 and 2, even though only areas from 1 are present ("Time is convoluted") - the theme starts off as "this has been done again and again... linking the flame over and over, and everyone is just getting tired of it."

But, once again, the fire must be linked, and as stated previously, themes of fire, rather than darkness are more present, but the mindset is generally "Bored of this cycle. I'm going to get takeout. Be back never", and your job is to force them to do it, or find an alternative.

Comparing this to earlier games, the "cycle" appears to be dwindling over time. The ending of 1, next to 3, are very different, and honestly, 2 is just appearing to be filler, the more I look at it (no one is really trying to do anything about the cycle, they're just looking at ways to fix the symptoms, not the cause).

So to answer your question: no, you don't have to play any of the prequels, if you're just looking to play a good game. However, if you want to figure out what's going on, the rabbit hole will likely lead you to the previous games regardless.

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Is Dark Souls 2 related to Dark Souls 1 and 3?

There is no direct connection in the story between Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, but the two games share a similar core, according to Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Does Dark Souls 2 take place after Dark Souls 3?

Dark Souls 2 either takes place AFTER Dark Souls 3 or is set in an Alternate Timeline : r/darksouls3.

Is Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 3 connected?

Dark Souls 3 uses the familiarity of Dark Souls 1 imagery to provide contrast between the player's memories of the first game and what is laid before them. This pulls the player's mind between how they once understood a character or place and how this element fits into the world now.

Is Dark Souls 3 set after Dark Souls 1?

There is no timeline or calendar, the only canon, concrete information is that Dark Souls 3 is after Dark Souls, and Dark Souls 2 isn't canon.

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