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DARK SOULS™ III
Give it 3 hours
Gets good by 3h almost every game dips in hours 2–3
Fully opens up by 20h rated like by long-time players
Reach the ending at least 28% of players who started
Started playing 94% of owners
Steam reviews 94% positive of 442,156
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 3 reviews are negative (31%); after 20h it's 1 in 25 (4%).
- Fully opens up by hour 20.
- At least 28% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “Iudex Gundyr” and “Vordt of the Boreal Valley”: from 91% to 72% of starters.
- 94% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 443,166 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 38.1h for positive, 23.6h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (93.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Iudex Gundyr Defeat Iudex Gundyr. 91% −9
- Vordt of the Boreal Valley Defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley. Most players quit here 72% −19
- Crystal Sage Defeat Crystal Sage. 61% −11
- Lords of Cinder: Abyss Watchers Defeat the Abyss Watchers, Lords of Cinder. 59% −3
- Deacons of the Deep Defeat the Deacons of the Deep. 58% −1
- Pontiff Sulyvahn Defeat Pontiff Sulyvahn. 53% −5
- Lord of Cinder: Yhorm the Giant Defeat Yhorm the Giant, Lord of Cinder. 51% −2
- Lord of Cinder: Aldrich, Devourer of Gods Defeat Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, Lord of Cinder. 50%
- Dancer of the Boreal Valley Defeat Dancer of the Boreal Valley. 51% +1
- Dragonslayer Armour Defeat Dragonslayer Armour. 48% −3
- Lord of Cinder: Lothric, Younger Prince Defeat Lothric, Younger Prince, Lord of Cinder. 45% −3
- To Link the First Flame Reach "To Link the First Flame" ending. ≥28% −17
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (43)
story milestone ending side
- Enkindle Light a bonfire flame for the first time. 100%
- Embrace the Flame Become a Host of Embers for the first time. 92%
- Iudex Gundyr Defeat Iudex Gundyr. 91%
- Vordt of the Boreal Valley Defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley. 72%
- Covenant: Way of Blue Discover Way of Blue covenant. 70%
- Curse-rotted Greatwood Defeat the Curse-rotted Greatwood. 65%
- Covenant: Blue Sentinels Discover Blue Sentinels covenant. 64%
- Crystal Sage Defeat Crystal Sage. 61%
- Lords of Cinder: Abyss Watchers Defeat the Abyss Watchers, Lords of Cinder. 59%
- Deacons of the Deep Defeat the Deacons of the Deep. 58%
- High Lord Wolnir Defeat High Lord Wolnir. 56%
- Covenant: Warrior of Sunlight Discover Warrior of Sunlight covenant. 56%
- Pontiff Sulyvahn Defeat Pontiff Sulyvahn. 53%
- Covenant: Watchdogs of Farron Discover Watchdogs of Farron covenant. 52%
- Dancer of the Boreal Valley Defeat Dancer of the Boreal Valley. 51%
- Lord of Cinder: Yhorm the Giant Defeat Yhorm the Giant, Lord of Cinder. 51%
- Lord of Cinder: Aldrich, Devourer of Gods Defeat Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, Lord of Cinder. 50%
- Old Demon King Defeat Old Demon King. 49%
- Dragonslayer Armour Defeat Dragonslayer Armour. 48%
- Oceiros, the Consumed King Defeat Oceiros, the Consumed King. 47%
- Untended Graves Reach the Untended Graves. 46%
- Covenant: Rosaria's Fingers Discover Rosaria's Fingers covenant. 46%
- Lord of Cinder: Lothric, Younger Prince Defeat Lothric, Younger Prince, Lord of Cinder. 45%
- Champion Gundyr Defeat Champion Gundyr. 45%
- Supreme Weapon Reinforcement Reinforce any weapon to the highest level. 45%
- Archdragon Peak Reach Archdragon Peak. 43%
- Ancient Wyvern Defeat Ancient Wyvern. 43%
- The Nameless King Defeat Nameless King. 39%
- Covenant: Mound-makers Discover Mound-makers covenant. 37%
- Covenant: Aldrich Faithful Discover Aldrich Faithful covenant. 36%
- Ultimate Bonfire Reinforce a bonfire to the highest level. 34%
- Covenant: Blade of the Darkmoon Discover Blade of the Darkmoon covenant. 34%
- Ultimate Estus Reinforce the Estus Flask to the highest level. 33%
- To Link the First Flame Reach "To Link the First Flame" ending. 28%
- The End of Fire Reach "The End of Fire" ending. 23%
- The Usurpation of Fire Reach "The Usurpation of Fire" ending. 17%
- Master of Infusion Perform all forms of infusion. 9.3%
- Master of Sorceries Acquire all sorceries. 8.1%
- Master of Pyromancies Acquire all pyromancies. 7.5%
- Master of Miracles Acquire all miracles. 7.0%
- Master of Expression Learn all gestures. 6.7%
- Master of Rings Acquire all rings. 6.5%
- The Dark Soul Complete all achievements. 5.4%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-20.