I did play all 3 games in their order of release . I did not play any of the 2 PS exclusives DeS and BB . My favourite 1 st playthrough was Dark Souls 3 . The one I played the most is Dark Souls 2 . The one I remember the most fondly is Dark Souls 1 . Go figure . It depends on what you enjoyed . Mechanically , Dark Souls 3 is superior to Dark Souls 1 . I much prefer the soundtrack , the art design , and the graphics are more modern to boot in Dark Souls 3 . Animations are great too . I generally prefer Dark Souls 3 bosses over Dark Souls 1 too , nostalgia aside . . I ' d say lore wise I ' m like both about the same . I think both Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 3 are mechanically inferior to Dark Souls 2 combat mechanics , etc . however , but I also think that Dark Souls 2 is weaker in every other area . The only thing Dark Souls 1 excels Dark Souls 3 is in level design . Dark Souls 1 ' s level design and interconnectivity between areas is just not there in Dark Souls 3 . In don ' t give much of a shit about PvP , since I can ' t tolerate any form of peer to peer lag , so I can ' t comment on that . In short , Dark Souls 3 is fantastic . I enjoyed my first playthrough more than my first playthrough of Dark Souls 1 . However , for repeated playthrough , there is something a bit more magical with Dark Souls 1 , and it all boils down to level design . After you ' ve explored Dark Souls 3 ' s level a few times , you start to recognize them for how linear and small they are . Mind that , it ' s a bloody fantastic game regardless . In short , yes , you should buy it .