Dark Souls II

Dark Souls 2 is by far one of the most painful yet enjoyable gaming experience I've ever had. I have never played a game that's made me so conflicted before, I'd say I definitely have a love hate relationship with Dark Souls 2, from all the positives to all the negatives. The story stands apart from Dark Souls 1 and 3, taking place outside the main narrative yet expanding the lore in unique and compelling ways. The world building and level design is some of the best in the series while being absolute hell to traverse. Gameplay is heavily limited alongside controls like dodging at the start of the game unless you level up adaptability, also the lock on system sucks and hitboxes are insanely broken. Enemies can aggro onto you from across the map making it frustrating to go through areas without being cornered by 10 guys, then there's some of the worse boss runbacks in any game I've ever had to experience in my entire life, like don't even get me started on boss like Lud and Zallen or the damn Ancient Dragon, the pure embodiment of pain and suffering. Dark Souls 2 Is an experience like no other that'll truly test your limits. There's an even amount of things to like and hate about this game, but I still enjoyed the journey, just spar yourself the trouble of going to the Frigid Outskirts and most optimal bosses as well, unless you're going for a kill all bosses playthrough like I did.

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.

Its sorcery simulator. dont like the roll system(i frame time is so little) in this game but the game itself is amazing but its not a masterpiece for me.

I love the first DS and as for this one, I just find it ok. Just ok. I had fun while playing it but after 35hrs I was like, "when does it end?" and not because I found it hard but because I felt it dragged during the final hours. I consider the first one a total masterpiece and I guess my main problem with this one is it's just "the next one."

If you're reading this, you're probably already familiar with the Souls game series and what makes it famous: difficulty. If not, then welcome to Hell.

Dark Souls 2 manages to adequately follow Dark Souls by offering an equally hard and addictive yet flawed experience. I'm glad to say that FromSoftware saw fit to fix/improve a few things over DS1. Graphics are better, there's a much wider variety of weapons, you can fast travel right from the start, and the game's about as difficult yet rewarding as DS1. Unfortunately, this game also suffers from problems that plagued DS1. The story is almost identical to DS1 and is explained just as much... which is to say hardly at all. They just tell you to find powerful souls. That's it. No indication of who/what is carrying said powerful souls or where you're even supposed to take the souls once you have them.

I thought I'd try the game at first without consulting any sort of guide. Big mistake. I know you're supposed to play the game with trial and error (that's how you figure out which weapons you like best and how to fight each type of enemy), but honestly, like in DS1, there are a myriad of things you need to know to progress that you most likely wouldn't figure out without consulting a guide, or by dying over and over (as the developers intended, no doubt).

In short, this game is better and worse than its predecessor in certain ways, yet I still found myself going back for more. I highly recommend having the game's wiki open while playing to avoid excessive frustration. Overall, though, I feel like this game is worth a try if you enjoyed (err... survived) DS1.

TL;DR: For anyone who's curious about this game and has played the first Dark Souls:

Pros: Upgrading equipment and obtaining boss weapons is easier. Regular enemies are a bit tougher to kill. New Game Plus really ups the ante. Durability is replenished by resting at a bonfire. Soundtrack is awesome and less throat-singing heavy than DS1.

Cons: Some bonfires are less than 10 feet away from an enemy mob. Still no clear instruction for what to do story-wise. Have to go back to a certain area to level up. You can be invaded while hollow. Bosses are kind of lame; most of them are humanoid and heavily telegraph their attacks. Optional bosses are a grind since they have massive health pools and can kill you with one hit.