Gameplay:

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City features two primary locations: the Dreg Heap and the eponymous Ringed City. The former is a burnt-out, ash-smothered sprawl of castle and cathedral wreckage comprising the smashed constructs of different ages. The Dreg Heap is a gray, charred confluence of ruined civilizations all slowly sliding and crumbling and decaying. The design of the area is uncommon for the Souls series, focusing on vertical navigation and avoidance of long-ranged enemy hazards that incentivize a restrained, cautious pace for the player. Some critics praised the employment of these angelic enemies that require exploration to defeat, while others judged the game unfit for such an inclusion.

The Ringed City is the more expansive of the two locations, with three of the pack's four bosses dwelling within. Partially encircled by a ring-shaped wall of rock, the city is a bright area with shimmering domes, low gardens, massive buildings, and an expansive purple swamp dotted with sinking structures. Julie Muncy of Wired called the Ringed City "beautiful, strange, and mysterious" and wrote, "I've never been anywhere quite like this before".