Dark Souls III - Preview @ Eurogamer

Eurogamer has a preview of Dark Souls 3 based on a hands-off session with Hidetaka Miyazaki.

In the ashes of the aftermath, we pick up a greatsword, and begin to test out the new adjustments to Dark Souls' combat system. The biggest of these thus far, a mechanic that seems to have been at least partially borrowed from Bloodborne, has players capable of deploying different stances for different types of weapon. It's not entirely clear how this will work yet, but in the case of the greatsword, players can perform a strong, two-handed upward stab motion which will actually launch enemies into the air.

From Software is calling this new mechanic 'Weapon Arts,' and it's designed to give specific arms additional, unique attacks. Essentially, it's adding a little something extra to the system regular Souls fans will now be intimately familiar with, without changing the basic mechanics too much - giving you more choice than simply 'normal' and 'heavy' attacks and contributing to the role-play element of the game. With a standard-looking straight sword, for example, you can enter into a 'ready' stance that will allow you to perform two special attacks; a heavy swipe to break an enemy's shield guard, and a running sweep to thrust them forward quickly. When we find a Legion Scimitar towards the end of the demo, we're able to dual-wield it with another and perform a spin attack, a move that can kill off multiple undead enemies at once. Miyazaki warns that it isn't a move you'd want to try on, say, a Knight (another Souls staple that returns in 3) - but used for a crowd-control on a bunch of low-level enemies, it's effective. Weapon Arts aren't exclusively the preserve of melee weapons, however; short bows can be fired quickly and consecutively during battle. You can still line up and take shots from afar, but this new streamlined mechanic will likely make them a much more viable option during prolonged, engaged combat.