Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

1. OneEarth2

   Apr 3, 2015

   10

   There are a few things that need to be cleared up.
   
   First, this game does not cost $50 to owners of Dark Souls 2, like some poorly informedThere are a few things that need to be cleared up.
   
   First, this game does not cost $50 to owners of Dark Souls 2, like some poorly informed people say. If you already own Dark Souls II, you can upgrade for $30 and then you also get the DLC included in that price. If you already have Dark Souls 2 plus all the DLC, then you can upgrade for just $20. This DOES include all the DLC. This is actually a better deal than the console gamers are getting, oddly enough, probably because FromSoft knows how PC gamers tend to complain if they don't get special treatment. (Note: I'm a PC gamer and do not own a console)
   
   Second, the enemy placement is not random like some people say. The enemies are placed in lore-friendly locations, and the only time they're placed in new regions is when there's a sensible reason (like a couple Royal Swordsmen outside the Pursuer Arena, because the hawk carries people back and forth from the Lost Bastille.)
   
   Third, the game is not just brighter. It has more contrast than before. That means the dark areas are darker and the light areas are lighter. Additionally, the graphics improvement is very noticeable, and the only people dissatisfied with it seem to be complaining for the sake of complaining. No, it's not the best looking game in the world. However, it is one of the best optimized games in the world. It won't stress your GTX 970, but it will look beautiful and run great on your GTX 650 or equivalent, and it's not often that developers put in so much work to make their game run well on a variety of PCs, while still maintaining good graphics. For reference, this game runs flawlessly on ultra settings/1080p/45+ fps on my laptop with a GTX 860M. Yes, it's so well optimized that my mid-range laptop is matching Xbone/PS4 performance.
   
   Graphical changes I've noticed:
   -Improved sampling quality on ambient occlusion.
   -Light now acts upon textures based on the alpha channel (more realistic shading). This also means that the worst looking textures in normal Dark Souls II (the ones where the normal and diffuse are different) now react to lighting more realistically and look much better. This is probably how they intended the game to look to begin with.
   -More water reflections, including sky reflections.
   -More contrast (light areas can be truly white instead of light gray, and dark areas can be truly black instead of dark gray).
   -Certain areas of the game now have custom "pitch black" lighting templates, making torches actually necessary like the skull lantern from DKS1.
   -The antialiasing has been updated to FXAA3, so it now looks less blurry and does an even better job of reducing jaggies.
   -Object motion blur makes quick actions look more fluid, especially things like rolling.
   -Bokeh DoF is now used to make embers and other similar things look prettier.
   -Bloom has been increased around light sources like fires or the sun, adding that great "bright" look that light sources had in DKS1.
   -Large shadows have been added to the landscape, around things like pillars, mountains, etc. This gives the landscape more depth overall.
   -All spells now have light sources.
   -All light sources now actually cast light.
   -Texture filtering has been improved.
   
   General Gameplay Improvements that I've personally noticed.
   -A few hitboxes seem more precise, especially noticeable during dodges.
   -Enemies have been set up in places that complement their abilities (ie, turtle knights are now sometimes found in narrow spaces where their crushing attacks are most effective).
   -Skeletons like dark places.
   -Lore has been expanded in subtle ways, especially around boss fights which previously had little or no explanation.
   -Some sound effects that previously sounded muffled have been dramatically improved, making it easier to identify certain nearby objects and enemies, if you have decent ears and decent speakers/headphones.
   
   Overall, graphically and in terms of gameplay, this is a serious improvement over Dark Souls 2. I liked Dark Souls 2 at launch, but thought Dark Souls 1 was a little better. Scholar of the First Sin has made me decide that I like Dark Souls 2 more than Dark Souls 1.
   
   Many of the people criticizing it haven't even played the game, but rather are simply upset because of the rumors surrounding the launch (like the incorrect rumor that people would have to pay $50 to upgrade). It's like Dark Souls 1 all over again, where **** and random elitist forums rallied to rate this game a 0 just because they didn't play it and didn't even properly research it, but just wanted a scapegoat to hate.
   
   Keep in mind, however, this is a bigger upgrade for the PS4 owners and Xbone owners than PC owners. Mostly this upgrade was aimed at them, we simply get it because it'd be stupid if we didn't.… Expand

   • 23 of 45 users found this helpful
2. moonlight_shado

   Mar 9, 2017

   10

   Waaay better than slashy Dark Borne 3. I didn't enjoy original DkS2 that much, but SotFS improves the gameplay on every level. The dlc areasWaaay better than slashy Dark Borne 3. I didn't enjoy original DkS2 that much, but SotFS improves the gameplay on every level. The dlc areas are so good... They are incredibly difficult too. Honestly can recommend this game to any Souls fan. Way better than DkS3 (in my opinion), the amount of weapons and detailed setting makes this game as good as DkS1.… Expand

   • 0 of 4 users found this helpful
4. Pushpak

   Oct 26, 2018

   9

   TLDR: As an individual game, Dark Souls 2 is a beautiful, challenging and a worthy inclusion to the inventory of any RPG fan out there. As aTLDR: As an individual game, Dark Souls 2 is a beautiful, challenging and a worthy inclusion to the inventory of any RPG fan out there. As a sequel to Dark Souls, it stumbles a bit in some areas but eventually able to live up to the reputation as a Souls game. I would say 9/10, half point for a minute amount of poor boss designs and other half point for the hitboxes. Other than these very few setbacks, Dark Souls 2 is an awesome, must have game.
   
   Introduction: First of all this is not a comparison between Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2. My thoughts are presented by looking at this game as more of an individual game rather than just sequel to Dark Souls. Dark Souls 2 takes things a bit slower than its predecessor. So if you have played Dark Souls 1, you may feel the combat a bit sluggish. But it comes though as a monumental journey in its own.
   
   Areas: One of the most notable things that Dark Souls 2 has achieved is the aesthetics. Many areas of this installment are absolutely gorgeous. After spending countless hours on grinding the great souls, when you first reach the gates of enormous Drangleic Castle in the stormy rain, it’s really a sight for sore eyes. The breathtaking view of dragons flying around in Dragon Aerie, elegant lightning of Shrine of Amana and gem of a design that is Frozen Eleum Loyce are some of the best artistically designed areas. The ability of Dark Souls 2 to gradually pull up the difficulty level of the areas as the game progresses is commendable.
   
   Combat: As mentioned earlier, combat is slower than the first game of the series. In spite of that, Dark Souls 2 has improved a lot in this area. There are loads of new varieties in weapons. Twinblades and lances are, in particular, fun to use. You can even finish the game with just your fists. But the most appreciable feat has been the inclusion of power-stance system. The combat always feels engaging even after few playthroughs as there are lots of things to try out. And unlike DS1, you have much more freedom to max out and try multiple weapons. Not only are the weapons but also spells are in abundance this time around. All four schools of magic keeps your interest at peak throughout your journey.
   
   Gameplay: Dark Souls 2 tries to tone down the techniques that made first game hard while implementing new ways to impose difficulty. The bonfires are much frequent in this game compared to DS1. To compensate this your estus charges have been made limited. But again, the inclusion of lifegems further pulls down the hard nature. There are quite a few interesting stuff that this sequel has introduced. If you want to fight the same boss again without going to next game cycle, you have bonfire ascetics; want to try out new build without creating new character, there’s a soul vessel for you; feel the game is getting easy, you have a covenant to boost up the difficulty level of the areas.
   
   Bosses and Enemies: Enemies in this game keep the punishing trend going from Dark Souls. Slow/Delayed attacks match perfectly with the pace of the game. Blue Smelter Demon takes delayed attacks to the next level. Most of the enemies hits very hard leaving a very small room for error. The only issue with the combat I found was that Dark Souls 2 struggles to find variety in difficulty. When it comes to non-boss fights, facing horde of enemies at once seems to be the recurring and only way to pose difficulty throughout the game. DLCs, although, tries to offset against this. Putting aside a few shaky aspects of the game, there are numerous good bosses too. Fume Knight the punisher, innovative design of Executioner’s Chariot, intense fight with the Darklurker and the fastest boss of Dark Souls 2 – Sir Alonne are some of the coolest albeit challenging boss fights in the game.
   
   Memorable Moments: There are a few unforgettable moments from dark souls 2 that got stuck in my mind – Final and a very emotional encounter with Lucatiel, reaching Drangleic castle for the first time, surprise encounter with Freja in NG+, grand battle with the Ivory king and his knights, are a few among those.
   
   Conclusion: Dark souls 2 tries to carry forward the souls beacon, exposing a few weaknesses in doing so but eventually stands out as a remarkably engaging game. Dark Souls 2 has brilliant design, beautiful soundtracks and some good fights. It’s a very good game just not as good as the first one.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. TharosTheDragon

   Apr 24, 2018

   8

   I enjoyed it for a while but eventually it was just a grind. Progress became too slow so I quit.
   
   Maybe my experience was skewed because II enjoyed it for a while but eventually it was just a grind. Progress became too slow so I quit.
   
   Maybe my experience was skewed because I made it too hard by choosing "deprived."… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. Hack

   Apr 29, 2016

   7

   After finishing Dark Souls III I wanted a little more so when I saw Dark Souls II: SotFS up for sale I jumped on it and for the most part I'mAfter finishing Dark Souls III I wanted a little more so when I saw Dark Souls II: SotFS up for sale I jumped on it and for the most part I'm glad I did.
   
   First I want to talk about the port, which is great this time, the complete opposite of Dark Souls I: Prepare To Die on PC which we all know has a laundry list of issues and is only made somewhat playable by DSFix but I'm happy to say that's not the case here, I was getting a locked 60fps throughout on max settings and I didn't have a single technical issue in over 40 hours. The game looks, sounds and runs really nicely.
   
   Content wise it's a big game with the included DLC, I actually still have two optional bosses left to kill and I've sunk 43 hours into it already so you're getting plenty of bang for your buck (I'd highly recommend shopping around, I picked it up for £9.59). On the whole the game is enjoyable in a Dark Souls sort of way, but there were a few areas that went past "Dark Souls" and just ended up being extremely tedious, not hard or challenging just plain boring and those areas did tarnish the overall game for me a bit, but thankfully there's only a few truly poorly designed areas in the game so in the grand scheme of things it's not too bad.
   
   I found the bosses to be on the whole too easy, the base game bosses especially. I killed every boss in under 5 tries apart from a select few. The DLC bosses are much harder in general though, and the final boss of part II is currently kicking my ass after many tries, he's by far the hardest boss in the game and one of the hardest I've faced in the "Soulsborne" universe. I haven't been using phantoms or summons either, so I imagine if you do get truly stuck using these options will help you out a lot.
   
   For me it's worth playing if you enjoy these types of games, I actually put it above Dark Souls I purely because of the quality of the port, it was just more enjoyable to play without all the issues, but it's a few pegs behind both Bloodborne and Dark Souls III which is the top of the pile IMO.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
7. tswizzles

   Oct 25, 2015

   5

   a disgusting milking of the fanbase and moneygrubbing practice. These improvements should have been provided through content updates anda disgusting milking of the fanbase and moneygrubbing practice. These improvements should have been provided through content updates and patches, only a triple A developer can get away with this kind of nonsense.… Expand

   • 5 of 5 users found this helpful
8. bigjoint

   Feb 18, 2022

   0

   feels like it came out like 10 years before dark souls 1 its uninspired and clunky as ****

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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