The game's difficulty is increased each subsequent playthrough up to NG+7. Players will retain all equipment, upgraded character attributes, and consumables with the exception of keys. After the player has finished the game, they have a choice to begin a new game immediately or at a later time via the bonfire in Firelink Shrine.
Players are able to reallocate stat points as well as reconfigure character creation at the Rosaria's Bed Chamber bonfire in the Cathedral of the Deep up to five times per playthrough. Similar to Dark Souls II, fast travel is available from the beginning of the game provided the player character places the Coiled Sword at Firelink Shrine.
To survive this event, the player character must face the Lords of Cinder, previous heroes who linked the fire, as the cycle of Light and Dark continues and no matter what you do, darkness will return and repeat itself forever. Set in the Kingdom of Lothric, the player is tasked to survive an oncoming apocalypse brought about by the ongoing conflict between the Age of Fire and those branded with the Darksign as with previous iterations of the series.
