Elden Ring vs. Dark Souls 3: Which FromSoftware Game Should You Play First?

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For most first-time FromSoftware players, choose Elden Ring if you want to explore at your own pace and try different approaches when you get stuck. Choose Dark Souls III if you prefer a more directed journey through connected areas and want to enter the concluding chapter of the Dark Souls series. Neither choice is universally easier: the publishers describe the games’ structures and features, but that does not establish which one every newcomer will find more manageable.

The short answer: choose by the kind of journey you want

The main difference is not that one game is “for beginners” and the other is not. It is how each game gives you room to move forward. Elden Ring is explicitly presented as an open-world action RPG set across the Lands Between. You can explore, experiment with your play style, and use spirit allies against tougher enemies. That gives a player who hits a wall options beyond repeating the same approach.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		ELDEN RING: Tarnished Edition - Nintendo Switch 2	$79.00	Buy on Amazon
2		Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version)	$34.00	Buy on Amazon
3		Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS4)	$47.44	Buy on Amazon
4		ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition | Digital | Nintendo Switch 2 Digital Code	$79.99	Buy on Amazon

Dark Souls III takes place across a variety of locations in an interconnected world. Its path is more directed than an open world, but it is not accurately described as wholly linear. If you would rather move through connected areas along a more guided journey—and are interested in the Dark Souls trilogy’s concluding chapter—it is a strong first choice.

• Pick Elden Ring if setting your own pace, exploring broadly, and having several ways to adjust your approach matter most.
• Pick Dark Souls III if you want a more focused route through connected locations and the trilogy context appeals to you.
• If you are still torn, decide whether you would rather choose where to go next or have the journey more clearly directed. That preference is a more useful guide than an unsupported promise that one game is objectively easier.

Both are action RPGs from FromSoftware, and both offer challenging combat. The descriptions published by Bandai Namco for Elden Ring and Bandai Namco for Dark Souls III support comparing their structures and stated features—not ranking their difficulty for every player.

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A useful way to make the decision is to separate three things that are often bundled together: the world you move through, the options you have when a challenge feels difficult, and whether the history of a series matters to you. Elden Ring is the clearer fit for a player drawn to a broad world and flexible pacing. Dark Souls III is the clearer fit for someone who wants connected locations and values reaching the latest chapter in the Dark Souls series. Neither description says that newcomers should avoid one of the games.

How their worlds shape your progress

Elden Ring: exploration can set the pace

The open-world structure makes exploration a central part of the experience. Bandai Namco’s launch announcement describes traveling through the Lands Between on foot or on Torrent and discovering areas to explore. The practical appeal for a newcomer is flexibility: you can make exploration part of your own route rather than treating progress as a single, tightly directed sequence. The official page also labels the game “Open World.”

That flexibility is useful when you want to vary your pace or look for another way to approach a difficult stretch. It does not mean every obstacle can be avoided, that exploration guarantees an easier time, or that the game will suit everyone better. It means the world structure gives you more opportunity to decide how to spend your time and what to try next.

If you enjoy making your own decisions about where to go, that freedom is a meaningful part of the recommendation—not a promise that you will never feel lost or unsure of what to do. The publisher’s description establishes the open-world structure, but it does not prescribe one ideal route or tell every player how much exploration they will want. Choose Elden Ring for the possibility of shaping your own pace, not on the assumption that every moment will be more straightforward.

Dark Souls III: connected areas provide a more guided journey

Bandai Namco describes Dark Souls III as taking place across a variety of locations in an interconnected world. This is a useful distinction from Elden Ring’s explicitly open-world presentation: the areas connect, but the overall journey is more directed. If you prefer a clearer sense of moving through a designed sequence of places rather than setting your own pace across a broad world, that structure may be a better fit.

“More directed” does not mean “a straight line with no connections.” The official description specifically emphasizes an interconnected world, so calling the game wholly linear would flatten an important part of its design. The choice is better framed as broad, self-paced exploration versus connected locations along a more guided route.

That distinction may matter if you find a large map full of possible destinations exciting—or, instead, prefer the feeling of progressing through a sequence of connected places. It is a preference about the shape of the journey, rather than evidence that one world is better designed or that one game has less content. The publisher’s description supports the contrast in structure, but it does not provide a comparable measure of world size or playtime.

What to do when a fight or stretch is difficult

Elden Ring gives you several ways to adapt

Bandai Namco’s launch announcement highlights experimenting with disciplines, equipping weapon skills, and summoning spirits to aid against tougher foes. These features matter to a newcomer because they provide alternatives: you can try a different play style, use a weapon skill, or call on a spirit ally rather than assuming one fixed approach is the only way forward.

That is a reason to favor Elden Ring if you value options, not proof that the entire game is easier. A feature may help in a particular encounter without removing the challenge of learning the game. The publisher’s materials do not establish a universal difficulty ranking or guarantee that every player will find these options sufficient.

The key point is not that the game will automatically solve a difficult encounter for you. Rather, its documented features give you different things to consider trying. Someone who likes to experiment may find that appealing; someone who prefers a more focused route may care more about Dark Souls III’s structure. The sources do not provide a measured comparison of how much any particular option changes difficulty, so it is best to treat these as available approaches, not as a guarantee of a smoother experience.

Rank #2

Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version)

• Collaborating with George R.R. Martin to create the ELDEN RING mythos has been a genuinely delightful experience and a source of wonderful inspiration. The team is working hard to ensure that the world of ELDEN RING will be a fascinating place for players to explore, filled with peril and wonder from its furthest reaches to its lowest depths. This is a FromSoftware title through and through, rich in fantasy and RPG action. We sincerely hope you look forward to it.
• Building the world of ELDEN RING with Miyazaki-san and his team was a treat! The graphics, mythos, and action-RPG gameplay will deliver an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait for people to see what ELDEN RING has in store for them.” Said George R.R. Martin.

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Dark Souls III emphasizes combat and personal play style

Bandai Namco’s official description foregrounds sword-and-sorcery combat and personal play style. That supports choosing it if you want to focus on a more directed action-RPG journey and shape how you play within that experience. The available description does not provide a like-for-like inventory of assistance options that can be compared with Elden Ring’s named spirit summons and weapon skills, so it would be misleading to turn the difference into a claim that Dark Souls III offers no ways to adapt.

For a first game, think about what you want available when you struggle. If having explicit alternatives—including spirit allies—is appealing, the documented features point toward Elden Ring. If you are comfortable with a more directed route and prefer to choose Dark Souls III for its world and series role, do not let a blanket difficulty claim decide for you; the sources do not establish that one game is easier for all newcomers.

The comparison is therefore about what the publisher specifically highlights, not a complete accounting of every possible tactic in either game. Elden Ring’s launch materials name experimentation, weapon skills, and spirit summons. Dark Souls III’s official description emphasizes combat and personal play style. That difference can help you decide which pitch sounds more inviting, but it does not justify concluding that one game has no flexibility or that the other lacks challenge.

Does the Dark Souls trilogy mean you should start elsewhere?

Dark Souls III is not a standalone series entry in the same sense that Elden Ring is a new action-RPG world. Bandai Namco describes it as the latest chapter in the Dark Souls series, while Elden Ring is presented as a new action-RPG franchise and world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin.

If you care about approaching the Dark Souls trilogy in sequence, that context may lead you to start with an earlier game rather than either title in this comparison. But if your choice is specifically between these two, the publisher’s description does not establish that you must play earlier Dark Souls games before Dark Souls III. Choose it first if its more directed, interconnected journey and place in the trilogy interest you; do not treat prior entries as a stated requirement.

That makes series context a deciding factor only if it matters to you. Elden Ring offers a new world rather than another chapter identified as part of the Dark Souls series. Dark Souls III is explicitly positioned as the latest chapter. The available descriptions do not establish that a newcomer must know earlier games to begin Dark Souls III, nor do they offer a comparison of how much prior knowledge each title assumes.

Bandai Namco’s February 25, 2022 launch announcement described Elden Ring as bringing FromSoftware’s action-RPG gameplay and fantasy storytelling into “its biggest title to date.” That is the publisher’s characterization of the game at launch, not independent proof that it is the better place to start. The more useful distinction for a new player remains the one the official descriptions support: a new open-world setting versus the latest chapter in a series.

At a glance: structure, features, online play, and platforms

The platform and edition information below reflects Bandai Namco’s official pages and announcements available as of October 2026. Availability and edition contents can vary by region and platform, so confirm the exact listing before buying.

The online details establish that both games include online features; they do not establish current player populations or how easy it is to find other players. Do not use the presence of online play alone as a reason to assume either game has more active players today.

For Elden Ring, the current official page labels the game both “Open World” and “Single-player,” while also listing online play. It gives online capacities of up to three players and up to six in Arenas. Those labels describe listed features; they are not a measure of how often a player will need or want to use online play. The 2022 launch announcement also describes cooperative and competitive multiplayer. For Dark Souls III, Bandai Namco says online interactions are integrated with single-player play. In either case, the information supports knowing online features exist, not assuming that you need other players to enjoy the game.

Rank #3

Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS4)

• A New Fantasy World – Journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Unravel the mysteries of the Elden Ring’s power. Encounter adversaries with profound backgrounds, characters with their own unique motivations for helping or hindering your progress, and fearsome creatures
• World Exploration in the Lands Between – Elden Ring features vast fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly. Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, foreboding castles and other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title
• Genre-Defining Gameplay – Create your character in FromSoftware’s refined action-RPG and define your playstyle by experimenting with a wide variety of weapons, magical abilities, and skills found throughout the world. Charge into battle, pick off enemies one-by-one using stealth, or even call upon allies for aid. Many options are at your disposal as you decide how to approach exploration and combat

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If online play is part of your buying decision, check the current listing for your platform as well as the publisher’s description. The details above do not compare matchmaking activity, current community size, or the likelihood of finding players at a particular time. Nor do they establish a reason to choose one game over the other based on population. Treat online features as one part of the package, while making the main choice around world structure, play-style flexibility, and series context.

Which game should you buy for your platform?

If you are choosing based on hardware, the official platform lists differ. Bandai Namco announced Elden Ring for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam at its February 25, 2022 launch. Its current official page also lists Nintendo Switch 2. On August 28, 2026, the publisher announced the Switch 2 availability of Elden Ring Tarnished Edition, and said new Tarnished Pack content was available for purchase on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

The official Dark Souls III page lists PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If you are buying on a specific console, check the store listing for your country and the exact edition: a platform appearing on a publisher page does not, by itself, confirm local stock, pricing, or the contents of every retailer’s bundle.

The platform difference can settle the question before you consider anything else. Elden Ring is listed on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2; Dark Souls III is listed on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If the only device you plan to use is a Switch 2, the official platform listing points to Elden Ring, not Dark Souls III. If you have another platform, compare the exact store listings available to you rather than assuming the same editions or availability everywhere.

The release information also has two dates worth keeping straight. Bandai Namco’s launch announcement says the original Elden Ring released on February 25, 2022, for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. The publisher’s August 28, 2026 announcement concerns the Switch 2 availability of Tarnished Edition and notes the availability for purchase of new Tarnished Pack content on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. These announcements describe different products and platforms, so check which one a particular listing refers to.

Check what an edition includes

• Elden Ring expansion: The official page says Shadow of the Erdtree requires the base game. The listed Shadow of the Erdtree Edition includes the base game and expansion.
• Elden Ring on Switch 2: The publisher identifies the Tarnished Edition as including the base game and expansion, alongside additional content. Its announcement separately says new Tarnished Pack content was available for purchase on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam; check the relevant listing to establish the exact contents and availability for your platform.
• Dark Souls III add-ons: The publisher lists Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City. It describes Ashes of Ariandel as adding areas, bosses, enemies, weapons, armor, and spells, and calls The Ringed City the final DLC pack. The official page also notes a Fire Fades edition; verify its contents in the regional store listing rather than assuming what is bundled.

There is no price comparison here because a price depends on region, platform, edition, and current store listing. Compare the exact versions available to you, especially if one listing includes an expansion or DLC and another does not.

A sensible purchase check is to confirm four things in the listing: that the game is available for your platform, that the edition is the one you intend to buy, whether the base game is included, and which add-ons are bundled. In particular, do not buy Shadow of the Erdtree on the assumption that it is a standalone game: Bandai Namco says the expansion requires the base Elden Ring. The Shadow of the Erdtree Edition includes both, and the Switch 2 Tarnished Edition is described as including the base game and expansion plus additional content. For Dark Souls III, the publisher names both DLC packs and a Fire Fades edition, but the exact bundle should still be checked in your regional store.

No single price or value verdict follows from those listings. Costs can vary by platform, region, sale, and edition, and the available official information does not provide a current like-for-like price comparison. The useful comparison is the total cost of the specific version you want, including any expansion or DLC you expect to buy separately. If you only want to try one base game, make sure you are comparing base-game listings rather than a complete edition on one side and a standalone version on the other.

What the sales figure does—and does not—tell you

In its August 28, 2026 announcement, Bandai Namco Entertainment America reported that the original Elden Ring had sold more than 30 million units. That is the publisher’s reported sales figure for Elden Ring; it is not a like-for-like comparison with a Dark Souls III sales total, and it does not show which game is a better first experience for you.

The figure can provide context for the scale of Elden Ring’s release, but it should not substitute for the actual choice. Sales do not show whether you will prefer an open world, whether you want spirit summons, or whether the Dark Souls trilogy’s final chapter is more appealing to you. Because the publisher figure concerns the original Elden Ring, avoid treating it as a comparison between equivalent editions or against an uncited Dark Souls III total.

Rank #4

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• ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition

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A practical decision in three questions

1. Do you want to set your own pace? If yes, favor Elden Ring and its open-world exploration. If you prefer a more directed journey through connected areas, favor Dark Souls III.
2. Would you value explicit options when stuck? Elden Ring’s documented weapon skills, play-style experimentation, and spirit summons may give you more approaches to try. Treat that as flexibility, not as a guarantee of lower overall difficulty.
3. Does trilogy context matter to you? If you want the concluding chapter of the Dark Souls series, Dark Souls III fits that interest. If not, the comparison does not establish a need to play earlier entries first.

Once you know which experience sounds more appealing, check that the game and edition you want are listed for your platform and region. For many newcomers, the deciding point is simply whether open-ended exploration or a more guided, interconnected journey sounds like the better first step.

If none of those preferences settles it, use your platform and purchase plans as a tie-breaker rather than trying to identify a universally “correct” first game. The official lists are not identical, and an expansion or DLC bundle can change what a specific edition includes. Confirm the listing, decide whether you want add-on content now, and then choose the world and route style that sound more appealing. The evidence here supports that preference-based recommendation; it does not support a ranking of difficulty, quality, length, or boss design.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Elden Ring easier than Dark Souls III for a beginner?

The official descriptions do not establish that one is easier for every newcomer. Elden Ring gives players documented options such as experimenting with play styles, weapon skills, and spirit summons, which may offer alternatives when stuck. That is flexibility, not a guarantee of lower overall difficulty.

Do I need to play earlier Dark Souls games before Dark Souls III?

Bandai Namco describes Dark Souls III as the latest chapter in the Dark Souls series, but the official description does not say that you must play earlier entries first. If trilogy sequence matters to you, consider that context; it is not established as a requirement for choosing between these games.

Which game has an open world?

Elden Ring is explicitly described as open world, with exploration across the Lands Between. Dark Souls III is described as featuring a variety of locations in an interconnected world, making it more directed without being wholly linear.

Can I play either game online?

Both have online features. Elden Ring’s current official page lists online play, with capacities of up to three players and up to six in Arenas; its launch announcement describes cooperative and competitive multiplayer. Bandai Namco says Dark Souls III integrates online interactions with single-player play. These listings do not establish current player populations.

What platforms are Elden Ring and Dark Souls III listed for?

Bandai Namco lists Elden Ring for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Its official Dark Souls III page lists PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Check your region’s store for current availability and editions.

Does Shadow of the Erdtree include Elden Ring?

The expansion requires the base game. Bandai Namco lists a Shadow of the Erdtree Edition that includes both the base game and expansion. The Switch 2 Tarnished Edition is also described as including the base game, expansion, and additional content; verify the exact listing for your platform and region.

How much do the games cost?

There is no single supported price comparison: prices vary by region, platform, edition, and current store listing. Compare the exact versions available to you, including whether an expansion or DLC is bundled or would need to be purchased separately.

The Bottom Line

Choose Elden Ring if you want open-world exploration, control over your pace, and documented options such as weapon skills and spirit summons. Choose Dark Souls III if you prefer connected areas along a more directed journey and want to play the latest chapter in the Dark Souls series. Neither is proven universally easier; check platform, region, and edition contents before buying.

Quick Recap

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Bestseller No. 2

Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version)

$34.00

Bestseller No. 3

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$47.44

Bestseller No. 4

ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition | Digital | Nintendo Switch 2 Digital Code

ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition

$79.99

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.