Dark Souls II

So you'll all know how much I love the first Dark Souls and how much it means to me if you've read my review of it, but going back to Dark Souls 2, I suddenly remembered the rather copious amounts of hate this game gets, especially from fans of the first. And do I agree with it? Well, yes and no.

The basic gameplay loop is still the same, and still really great, and the combat has received some tweaks for the better, including backstabs no longer being an instant lock animation, so they're no longer as ridiculously powerful as they were in the first game, magic and miracle builds are now much more viable, there's a huge increase in weapons, shields, items, spells, armor, basically everything really, and poise has received a much needed nerf.

So gameplay wise, there's really not much to complain about. It's just Dark Souls but made better. The big bugbears mostly come in with the areas and the bosses. Most of them, especially compared to the first game, are just not that memorable or well designed. There's also a fairly decent amount of them that are just a flat out pain. Not challenging but enjoyably so, like most areas in the first game, just a pain. There are of course a few stand-outs, but it remains sorely lacking compared to the first. This also applies to the world design as a whole, which is nowhere near as tight or interesting as the interconnected world of the first game, largely because areas don't tend to lead into each other the way they did in the first game.

The presentation is...so-so. Somehow it looks graphically worse than DS1 despite coming out three years later, and although sound effects are still great, the music is, again, sorely lacking compared to the amazing score from before. The UI has improved a ton, but other than that there's not much to say about the presentation. Most enemies and characters still have really nice designs, even if the areas unfortunately don't as much.

As for the story, while I still enjoy the lore a lot, the narrative of the game as you're playing it really isn't as well paced as the first game. It starts off fine and the middle is still good, but by the end, it just starts to feel like it's sagging across the finish line with the lack of any stakes being raised.

But as you can tell from my rating, I do still really enjoy this game, even if it's not as much as DS1, and I would recommend that you not let the more negative opinions on it discouraging you from playing it if you liked the first one.

Second chapter of the game that marked the world. This chapter is terribly underestimated, because as far as the plot is concerned this game is the best of the saga, it is true the game play is not the best but it is valid even if not really excellent.

Waiting for the 2nd DLC of Dark Souls 3, I felt like going back to the previous entry for some extra experience, but was kind of worrying that after the phenomenal final chapter, this sequel wouldn't seem as great as the first impression. I was wrong. I had one helluva fun. It's certainly completely different from master Miyazaki's vision, but Yui Tanimura has nevertheless done an excellent job. No wonder that so many people simply become addicted to this franchise. While other games you play, Souls' games you have to survive, but for the time and patience they take, you'll get the unforgettably rewarding gameplay you'll be proud of for the rest of your life and will want for more.

I tried playing this game maybe 3-4 times, always sequentially (after DS1 & demon's souls, and before DS3 & Bloodborne), always for about 10-20 hours.. and then I quit every time.

My complaint back then (when I would've rated it a 5 or a 6 out of 10) was pretty much just "this doesn't feel like dark souls", and in a way I still stand by this quote... but no longer view it as a bad thing.

DS2 actually excels above the other games in a number of ways. It is the largest/longest game in the series by FAR, it has the most variety of playstyles/classes, which are actually better balanced in comparison to the other Souls games. Hexer class & dual-wielding any weapon are a massive addition to the series, and the PvP is the most balanced I've seen out of any of the games, with little capacity for twinking.

DS2 is definitely a different kind of world from the others. But if you look past the stylistic difference of this game and immerse yourself in the new world, you might find yourself loving it just as much-- or perhaps even more, than the other games in the Soulsborne universe.

From the acclaimed developer "From Software" comes one of the most anticipated video games of all time; Dark Souls 2; the third installment of the souls series. The souls is a franchise which tests your patience and skill equally and rewarding you handsomely for doing so. Except for some pro's out there, some people might not be aware of the reason why this game is so popular; Its' brutally punishing difficulty. You might slam your fists on your keyboard or throw your consoles across the room but at the same time you may dance around the house. The game balances difficulty really well, whilst you may find yourself learning from your mistakes each time you die.

If you are new to the souls series I would recommend you to follow the ign guide for Dark Souls 2.

Happy rage quitting!