Dark Souls III PS4 PlayStation 4 Screenshots 1

To report on the rumour or not to report on the rumour – that is the question. Screenshots of Dark Souls III, a game which we first heard about earlier in the week, have apparently leaked – but they've stemmed from the same source as that god-awful Silent Hills report a few weeks back. This time, though, Rooster Teeth have got screenshots and myriad gameplay details, so we'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

First up, the obvious stuff: the game's coming to the PlayStation 4 and the screenshots show DualShock 4 icons. This makes it likely that the title will debut, as rumoured, during Sony's press conference, as it looks like publisher Bandai Namco's planning to demo the game on the Japanese giant's device. Of course, that's assuming that this is all true in the first place – but the YouTube channel's got its hands on a lot of screens and artwork, and it all appears to be brand new.

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Speaking of which, the images look like a mix between previous Dark Souls titles and Bloodborne; the medieval fantasy of the former series is present and correct, but it appears to have been tinged by the gothic leanings of the latter brand. This fusion of styles is perhaps best evidenced by two boss shots: one is a knight in straightforward armour, while the other resembles a giant otter, spewing pus and other unspeakable bodily fluids.

There's also word of several mechanics which sound like they'd stem from purported director Hidetaka Miyazaki's twisted mind. To summon other players, for example, you'll apparently need to conduct a body burning ritual, which will likely be just about as convoluted as you can possibly imagine. There are hints at a world 'heat' system as well, which may resemble Demon's Souls' tendency mechanic. And there's mention of tons of new weapons and armour sets, as you'd expect.

Given the already shaky source, our instant reaction was to slice this up like a stray dog rife with rabies, but there's so much artwork and info here that it's simply got to be legit. Moreover, this is the second time that we've heard about the supposed sequel in a very short span of time. As such, while we'd always advise approaching these kind of stories with caution, we suspect that this one probably is the real deal.

[source youtube.com]