This will be the last game of the "Dark Souls" series.
People who preordered on the Xbox One got a free copy of the first Dark Souls game.
The Painted World of Ariandel, is a restored version of The Painted World. The previous Painting was hinted to be destroyed by flame. Ariandel and Elfriede chose the Painted World as a refuge to escape the cycle of relinking The Flame.
Numerous locations and characters from the first Dark Souls make a reappearance in this installment.
Why The Boreal Valley is a frozen waste trapped in eternal night is something that is relatively unknown, yet is highly critical given the area's overall importance to the setting and the unique presence of frost here. No ingame item descriptions, dialogue, or lore exists to properly explain this geographic phenomena, however, snowy areas in the souls series are extremely rare, and there exists sufficent evidence in the series to make somewhat educated guesses as to the origins.