Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 751 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 487 out of 751
  2. Mixed: 164 out of 751
  3. Negative: 100 out of 751

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  1. ThinkSamich
    Apr 3, 2015
    5
    Ehh.... Scholar of the First Sin starts off strong with better performance and some enemy placement that seems to make a bit more sense. Veterans of the series will be happy to find out the Heide Knights have found their way home and even seem to have gained some missing AI. Also, torches are finally necessary in some spots. For a moment, you start to feel as if this is the product weEhh.... Scholar of the First Sin starts off strong with better performance and some enemy placement that seems to make a bit more sense. Veterans of the series will be happy to find out the Heide Knights have found their way home and even seem to have gained some missing AI. Also, torches are finally necessary in some spots. For a moment, you start to feel as if this is the product we should have received during the original release, and From has come back to right all their wrongs.

    Unfortunately this "refinish" fails to take fight after the first few hours of the game. Some of the new enemy placement compliments the game, but a lot of it seems completely arbitrary, it left me saying to myself "what is this guy doing here, he doesn't fit here..." That's not the worst of it though, someone decided they would add in several more petrified statues to block your path, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal at first, but you soon realize all this does is cut your exploration options in half and leave you with a very strict path to follow early in the game.

    Finally, From decided to actually give us the Pursuer they promised from early game development. He's the same old guy though, just decides to pop in at the worst of times. Good luck fighting him with archers bearing down on you, and packs of dogs at your heels. This screams cheese, I don't think it's what anyone wanted from the fight.

    Verdict: This is still the formula I as a fan do not want the series taking. I firmly believe you should not "spice up" old encounters by dropping in 4-6 lesser enemies to stunlock me to death. For that reason the new pursuer feels cheap, as does quite a bit of the arbitrary NPC shuffling you guys did. Possibly the biggest disgrace here is deciding all of this was worth $50, even as a standalone it should have taken place of the $40 product at the very least. Players with existing copies of the game should have gotten this content for free, they should not be punished over the limitations a strict publisher caused the original game to suffer. I assume bundling the DLCs with this refinish is From's way of strategically circumventing that though.

    The majority of what you get with this product can and should have been pushed through with content patches. Players have been complaining about the hitboxes on the last giant since week one, so it's nice to know that From has finally responded by adjusting them and charging for the bug fix. While we're talking about what players shouldn't be charged for, they should not be paying for the lighting that was intended to be featured with the original product. The only thing that From could justify charging for at this point is the graphical upgrade, but even that is debatable after the massive downgrade the game suffered during the original launch. What can you do though? The bad decisions of From Software do not even surprise me anymore.    … Expand
  2. 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 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    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 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
  3. tswizzles
    Oct 25, 2015
    5
    a 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.
  4. newrandomage
    Mar 17, 2017
    5
    Good ideas executed very poorly. I've played all Dark Souls and this is the worst so far, weak areas in terms of design, unmemorable bosses, bad weapon/armor system and the most stupid, unnecessary traps in the entire saga. It's a must if you are interested in Dark Souls mechanics, but you won't want to go back after you finish the game on your first try.
  5. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    4
    My first unfortunate brush with the Dark Souls series, and one that almost turned me off it for good. The controls in this PC version are terrible. I felt consistently hamstringed and useless, and relied heavily on my friends to carry me through the game. And frankly, I dislike several of the series' core mechanics, most notably the invasion system. The idea of a game where someone canMy first unfortunate brush with the Dark Souls series, and one that almost turned me off it for good. The controls in this PC version are terrible. I felt consistently hamstringed and useless, and relied heavily on my friends to carry me through the game. And frankly, I dislike several of the series' core mechanics, most notably the invasion system. The idea of a game where someone can come into your story and deliberately **** you over is completely asinine to me. I felt underpowered and underwhelmed through out this game and honestly, I'm amazed I even bothered to buy Dark Souls III after this. Do yourself favor and skip this game.… Expand
  6. Lauw
    Aug 22, 2016
    6
    Don't get me wrong i love all Dark souls series but for Dark souls 2: Scholar of the first sin not really, why? one of the biggest problem for me is with the hit boxes, one example when i fought smelter demon. i often successfully dodged all his attack but somehow the game decided it still hit me, i know his sword is big as hell but i still can see clearly which hit that i dodge and whichDon't get me wrong i love all Dark souls series but for Dark souls 2: Scholar of the first sin not really, why? one of the biggest problem for me is with the hit boxes, one example when i fought smelter demon. i often successfully dodged all his attack but somehow the game decided it still hit me, i know his sword is big as hell but i still can see clearly which hit that i dodge and which one is not. my other problem is with the lock on mode, when i lock on the enemy and then i roll tried to hit them but a lot of times it failed. either i hit on the side or behind them and in the end i'm the one who got hit. the lock on mode in this game is a joke. compare with the first the Dark souls, Dark souls 2: Scholar of the first sin kinda sucks.… Expand
  7. PappyBakesCakes
    Jan 17, 2018
    8
    My favorite part of this game is the replayability that the other Souls games hold. Although this game does have some beautiful moments it fails a bit in the environmental storytelling and design. There is little evidence of an interconnecting world like in 1 and that follows suite for the enemies. Each area has its own little story which can be very interesting but this feels more like aMy favorite part of this game is the replayability that the other Souls games hold. Although this game does have some beautiful moments it fails a bit in the environmental storytelling and design. There is little evidence of an interconnecting world like in 1 and that follows suite for the enemies. Each area has its own little story which can be very interesting but this feels more like a well-designed AAA than a Souls game. The combat and diversity of spell, weapons and armor is very generous and interesting and this is what really keeps the game alive. The Souls combat style is still there, if not reigned in a bit in some areas that were a bit unpolished. All together a great game and a decent Souls game.

    Also, if for some reason it is still possible to get the original version of 2, don't even if this is more expensive as this has the DLC and Scholar came out with a recoordinated enemy layout, which was great btw, so this version is a lot less "artificially difficult". (and has some NG+ enemy changes too)    … Expand
  8. tomh
    Jan 18, 2016
    0
    Co-op for the game is useless, which was the only reason I bought it. Add to that the fact it's a poor console port with major control and interface issues, and there's just no reason to put yourself through this kind of disappointment. I can deal with hard games, but they'd better be hard because of worthwhile challenges and not because of frustrating gameplay issues.

    Heartily NOT recommended.
  9. sabaothkelly
    Jul 30, 2020
    0
    Dark Souls 1? Masterpiece.
    Light Souls 2? What a PIECE of TVRD, ¡seriously!? There are too many enemies and bosses doing s**t that is just just random, absurd or jank. Honestly, it's just barely above "Lords of the Fallen" trash mechanics.
    Dark Souls 3? Amazing.
    Sekiro? Very Good.
  10. LostAlone
    Apr 14, 2015
    6
    As a huge Souls fan, I'm genuinely sad to see much the game has changed through this expansion. That doesn't make Scholar bad, as such. It's still Dark Souls. But the most obvious changes in this version are almost entirely compounding mistakes and misunderstandings from Dark Souls 2.

    For most players the really obvious changes are to enemy placement and to their AI. In theory that    As a huge Souls fan, I'm genuinely sad to see much the game has changed through this expansion. That doesn't make Scholar bad, as such. It's still Dark Souls. But the most obvious changes in this version are almost entirely compounding mistakes and misunderstandings from Dark Souls 2.

    For most players the really obvious changes are to enemy placement and to their AI. In theory that should be good. The game certainly feels very different when you start playing. But quickly that stops being a good thing. DS2 already suffered from areas over-populated with enemies, and that's become even worse. And you'll handle them the exact same way, by pulling one or two guys at a time and dealing with them in manageable chunks. But now there's more of it and it's just busy work.

    Fighting multiple enemies has never been a strength of the series, but the new AI now makes almost every enemy substantially more aggressive, again, amplifying the existing problem. It's simply not practical to fight against three guys at once, that's just not how the game is really designed to work, but From seem to think that because these kind of fights are very hard they should throw them at you fairly frequently. Longer aggro ranges as well as a good number of additional ranged enemies placed so that they can be hard to spot or hard to reach before you get dog piled makes for a frustrating experience.

    The heritage of the Souls series has always been 'tough but fair'. That spirit feels like it's leaked out of SotFS, like it was designed by people who don't understand that the game needs to be more than just hard. Handling large numbers of enemies is certainly very hard, but it's not especially fun or interesting. It's still Dark Souls. But it's Dark Souls designed to capitalize on it's super-hard image instead of any of the aspects that made the original games so fun and unique.

    Honestly, I'm disappointed. I'll play it, I mean, it's still Dark Souls, but it's very disappointing to see all the worst parts of the game amplified, with all the best parts (like boss fights) being mostly forgotten. Especially if you are a veteran of DS2, the hardest parts of this release will by far by the mobs of enemies, not the spectacular boss fights.    … Expand
  11. Silatuyok
    Sep 2, 2015
    0
    So I downloaded this game having heard that all the concerns about the last port where fixed and that I could genuinely enjoy this game that everyone is losing their **** over. Oh boy, was that a mistake.

    So apparently FROM Software doesn't have a single person who is capable of reading who also has access to the internet, because it would seem that it was never brought up that THIS IS    So I downloaded this game having heard that all the concerns about the last port where fixed and that I could genuinely enjoy this game that everyone is losing their **** over. Oh boy, was that a mistake.

    So apparently FROM Software doesn't have a single person who is capable of reading who also has access to the internet, because it would seem that it was never brought up that THIS IS A PC GAME. I mean, I tried to do it their way, but no matter how many times I press A on my keyboard it just wouldn't work. Its almost like I am not playing on an Xbox or something when I decided to try the PC version of the game. Crazy right?

    Anyway, after finally getting into the game I found that they still haven't fixed the attack delay when using a mouse; you know, like a PC gamer. I suppose I could try all the third party fixes, but when paying about $30 for what fails to accomplish what should have been released as a hotfix the first week of the original dark souls 2 port I can't justify anyone buying this game for PC.    … Expand
  12. fludziom
    Dec 18, 2016
    6
    Having platinumed the game I think it's trash. Not even closely as good as the original Dark Souls. The atmosphere of the orginal is gone. Replaced by uninspired yellow grayish setting. 90% of the game's locations are deadly boring. In the orginal I loved to parry. In DS2 parry sucks all the way. Enemy placement cheap annoying frustrating. Poor knock off
  13. GAGMR
    Jul 13, 2016
    2
    After playing it for more than 100+ hours combined through Steam & other means of playing it I can safely say that it is terrible & it will always be terrible. The game itself griefs you in its overall design. It's like, that **** at a party who's just there to be an **** He wants to make you have a bad time, piss you off & **** your girlfriend while you're tied down forced to watch.After playing it for more than 100+ hours combined through Steam & other means of playing it I can safely say that it is terrible & it will always be terrible. The game itself griefs you in its overall design. It's like, that **** at a party who's just there to be an **** He wants to make you have a bad time, piss you off & **** your girlfriend while you're tied down forced to watch. That's pretty much DS2 in a nutshell. A hard game for the sake of being hard & an **** for the sake of being an **** **** this game in its entirety… Expand
  14. Woodencoins
    Apr 2, 2015
    1
    In as few a word as possible:
    Graphically, i have not noticed much of a difference than the first iteration of the game, played for several hours so far and the only real difference is that everything is much brighter than before, other than certain areas which although bright and perfectly visible while looking in from outside the relevant area (i.e. through a door way) as soon as you    In as few a word as possible:
    Graphically, i have not noticed much of a difference than the first iteration of the game, played for several hours so far and the only real difference is that everything is much brighter than before, other than certain areas which although bright and perfectly visible while looking in from outside the relevant area (i.e. through a door way) as soon as you enter the area/ room all light inexplicably vanishes forcing the necessity of torches where as before torches were pretty much useless.
    Enemy placement: it seems that From Software have just increased the concentration of enemies and placed higher level enemies in lower level areas (a lot of them hidden which is no doubt going to be considered very cheap tactics but From have sort of developed a reputation for being cheap so i suppose this was to be expected)
    Pricing: The fact that From have charged anything for this (pc version) is an insult but, as more and more people are realising, these game developers don't create games to please, they develop games to make money and that is what they have and are doing.
    Ultimately, we have all been played. (people who have bought Scholar of the first Sin after buying the first version of the game.)
    Do not buy this unless you have not already purchased the original, otherwise you might as well open wide and accept almost fascist capitalism.... maybe not quite that harsh but you get the message..... hopefully.    … Expand
  15. lhmtgame
    Jun 4, 2017
    2
    2 points for Dark Souls 2 graphics, its content is junk.
    - A PC version with "controller button" display... so good, hah..! Character creation is ugly, also item graphics design.
    - No object/quest tab to follow. Leveling does not improve anything much to character.
    I love adventure game, but this bullsh*t waste time and money.
  16. Kamamura
    Apr 5, 2015
    4
    I was initially quite excited by the game until I found out the game is basically broken.

    If you do not run it on 30 fps, many things will be broken because the developers tie gameplay mechanics to frames, not to real time. Therefore: - weapons degrade faster - enemies move faster - some controls (guardbreak) do not work The only solution is to cap the game to the unaccpetable    I was initially quite excited by the game until I found out the game is basically broken.

    If you do not run it on 30 fps, many things will be broken because the developers tie gameplay mechanics to frames, not to real time. Therefore:

    - weapons degrade faster
    - enemies move faster
    - some controls (guardbreak) do not work

    The only solution is to cap the game to the unaccpetable 30fps. Hello, developers, I am not buying the game on PC only to cripple it afterwards.

    In its current state, the game cannot be recommended for purchase.    … Expand
  17. arnolddanko
    Apr 2, 2015
    0
    They tweaked lighting effects, placed enemies in new spots, and expect me to buy this game again? The new placements are lazy - you even have the dull ember in the starting location (originally mid-late game)!! Where are the graphics from beta? Where is the darkness? Where is new content? This is ridiculous, they managed to make the game even worse. Don't buy this, original DSII withThey tweaked lighting effects, placed enemies in new spots, and expect me to buy this game again? The new placements are lazy - you even have the dull ember in the starting location (originally mid-late game)!! Where are the graphics from beta? Where is the darkness? Where is new content? This is ridiculous, they managed to make the game even worse. Don't buy this, original DSII with season pass is MUCH better. Don't let these greedy slackers get money for a 10 hour work.… Expand
  18. Avadon
    Apr 2, 2015
    3
    Note: The score reflects the "upgraded" version, and not the quality of the game itself.

    There are 2 improvements that require a lot of work and would upgrade the game significantly enough to warrant the price of this: 1) Implementing the full dynamic lighting system that they showed on previews some years ago. 2) Fixing the durability issue, which they say would require a    Note: The score reflects the "upgraded" version, and not the quality of the game itself.

    There are 2 improvements that require a lot of work and would upgrade the game significantly enough to warrant the price of this:

    1) Implementing the full dynamic lighting system that they showed on previews some years ago.
    2) Fixing the durability issue, which they say would require a significant engine rewrite (I believe them).

    Even one of those things would be enough for me to pay for the game again. Unfortunately, they did neither. It doesn't matter if From or N/B are responsible, what matters is that they are charging a premium price for virtually nothing. Why? The Shadow Warrior devs offered more of an upgrade on their game than From just a few days ago, for free. They added a brand new DX11 client, which looks significantly better and is ridiculously well optimized, to the point where I can max it out and play at downscaled 4k at 80+ FPS on a single GPU. I was floored. And it was a FREE patch.

    DS2 is a good game. Not a great one, but good. It suffers from some repetition occasionally, and the world design feels a bit out of whack, but it's definitely enjoyable. The DLC is also excellent. If you already own the base game and not the DLC, this is probably worth getting. If you own both, it's definitely not worth it. If you don't own it at all, again it's worth getting, but you might want to consider limiting it to 30 FPS, so your weapons don't blow up if you accidentally touch a wall. Absolutely ridiculous.    … Expand
  19. Panopticon
    Apr 13, 2015
    0
    Doesn't support PC controls, what a waste of my money.

    Looks very pretty with the waving grass and the toothless crones babbling gibberish at you but I'm not downloading third party scripts to fix it.
  20. AthanasiosT
    Jan 14, 2016
    0
    WARNING : Bad console adaptation on PC. Controls : What are "X" and "A" buttons ? Why can't I calibrate my controls ? Camera : Where is my character and where are my enemies ? etc.etc. As I've said in previous texts, all bad PC adaptations deserve a zero and that's what I'm giving now.
  21. WilliamWesker
    Aug 2, 2019
    0
    DS 2 is not even a true "DARK" game, in order to have the title of DARK SOULS in it, the 2013 DEMO of the same is, but the final version is definitely not. It has texture with a very poor quality in all its versions, including the one of PC, especially considering that it is a game of 2014, & in 2015 there were already games like The Witcher 3, which makes DS 2 to look like a game of aDS 2 is not even a true "DARK" game, in order to have the title of DARK SOULS in it, the 2013 DEMO of the same is, but the final version is definitely not. It has texture with a very poor quality in all its versions, including the one of PC, especially considering that it is a game of 2014, & in 2015 there were already games like The Witcher 3, which makes DS 2 to look like a game of a half a decade before the 2014, because of the difference with regard to the quality of textures between the two, something that it is really pathetic & embarrassing for the DS 2 piece of work. It allows the player to warp between Bonfires from the beginning, which literally murder in cold blood a great deal of immersion & exploration in it. The enemies are very badly misplaced in the levels. The animation of the sequences in the attacks are just terrible with respect to the lack of inmercion that it causes, to a player. Its system focuses on punishing the player when the same dies, at resurrect it with less life, instead of encouraging it to self-overcome, which is one of the main philosophies of the DARK SOULS series, Hidetaka Miyazaki himself confirmed that philosophy for the series. The writing level of the game is very poor. The NPCs are extremely depressing, & constantly encourage the player to surrender during the dialogues, instead of encouraging the player not to become Hollow, as they generally should with indifference responses like on DS 3 & ESPECIALLY in DS 1!… Expand
  22. Sunykamey
    Jun 13, 2018
    5
    This is a game about learning your environment and the enemies (patterns) within. Having a horrible hit detection is unacceptable, period. Also due to the change to the enemies spawn the maps feel much more crowded and in a bad way.
  23. shootidodge
    Mar 14, 2016
    9
    For me this game takes you to places that everyone needs to discover, and i dont speak about how visually the game is great but emotionally it feels amaaaaazing, i had fun every nanosecond spent in a world full of fantasy, i got to the point that i wanted not to finish it.
    TBH i played it a bit late but it was worth it because i didnt encounter any problem on my PC ,    For me this game takes you to places that everyone needs to discover, and i dont speak about how visually the game is great but emotionally it feels amaaaaazing, i had fun every nanosecond spent in a world full of fantasy, i got to the point that i wanted not to finish it.
    TBH i played it a bit late but it was worth it because i didnt encounter any problem on my PC , raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarely the FPS dropped but it was not a big deal it didnt affect my immersion. i was a happy child the whole playthrough ( im not a child though).
    9/10    … Expand
  24. DariushL
    Apr 28, 2017
    6
    single player review: 6/10
    It manages to be both boring and grippy..
    One good aspect is this game has a TON of contents and areas, but it's uninspired under every aspect and mechanically behind the original. Not a terrible game by any standard, but not brilliant either. Locations are plenty and goes from just pretty to mostly predictable and unoriginal. The genious in the level    single player review: 6/10
    It manages to be both boring and grippy..
    One good aspect is this game has a TON of contents and areas, but it's uninspired under every aspect and mechanically behind the original.
    Not a terrible game by any standard, but not brilliant either.

    Locations are plenty and goes from just pretty to mostly predictable and unoriginal. The genious in the level design of DS1(the connection from the undead parish to firelink shrine through elevator, for example) is nowhere to be found, or its a mere pale attempt of imitating of it.

    Bosses are really the worst in the series with no need for tactic or learning their attack pattern. You will kill many of them at the fist try. And like most NPC are ugly as the environment they inhabit(the colour palette is generally terrible and just too bright/vibrant for a Souls game) and are just scattered around the game with no real buildup to them.
    Enemies animations are terrible, most of the time ridiculous.

    The combat system feels slower than DS1 and just not as responsive; you'll get often swarmed by hordes of brainless, badly animated enemies and fight them in the same way over and over.
    Some design decisions are plain STUPID and BAD. Explosive barrels and poisonous vases(wich you cant recognize from normal barrels/vases)means the first playthrough will put you in situations where what matters is luck and even a perfect fight might get ruined by these objects placement.

    The game isn't bad and somehow still manages to keep you coming back; i wanted to love this... but as it is, it's just average. Also, the worst of all the Souls games.

    6/10    … Expand
  25. MillersWeeb
    Nov 16, 2018
    0
    Игра полная параша, филлер между первой частью и бладборном. В игре плохо практически все и играть в неё невозможно.
  26. krispintin
    Apr 7, 2015
    6
    By far the worst game From Software has produced in the "demons,souls,blood" games.

    After playing through the other games this one just feels awful and mediocre at best. The environments lack detail, the geography has no connection (area transitions are terrible). The story is even more vague than previous games and incredibly generic and lame once you understand it. Bosses are    By far the worst game From Software has produced in the "demons,souls,blood" games.

    After playing through the other games this one just feels awful and mediocre at best.

    The environments lack detail, the geography has no connection (area transitions are terrible).

    The story is even more vague than previous games and incredibly generic and lame once you understand it.

    Bosses are probably the biggest let down, very few are original and are mostly just reposts/reskins of previous bosses.
    for some reason in this game they are no more complex or difficult than strafing around them in circles and blocking, the hit boxes on many attacks are very strange so rolling is usually riskier, but even then the bosses can mostly be beaten on the first try with ease. The only idea of difficulty they add is by just adding mobs to the fights which really doesn't fix the fact that none of the bosses on their own are even remotely tough.

    Mobs are tougher than the bosses.

    to cut it short it blows my mind that people think this is a good souls game, let alone a good game.    … Expand
  27. Dartflight
    Apr 12, 2015
    7
    I've always been a huge fan of the souls series but this "add on" is not really what i expected.

    For me Demon Souls was great, Dark Souls as well and the prepare to die addition was ok. When finally dark souls 2 came out I played through it in around 30h but I rushed through the very end because I messed up a side quest-line. Anyways, the game took away the need, my need, to play it    I've always been a huge fan of the souls series but this "add on" is not really what i expected.

    For me Demon Souls was great, Dark Souls as well and the prepare to die addition was ok.
    When finally dark souls 2 came out I played through it in around 30h but I rushed through the very end because I messed up a side quest-line.
    Anyways, the game took away the need, my need, to play it again and to start all over because they included an item called "Soul Vessel". It allows you the relocate all your skillpoints!
    In the end, that was the reason why I did not purchase any dlc.

    Now i decided to upgrade my version to the "Scholar of the First sin" one.
    They changed the graphics, the mechanics and the environment.
    I like the design of the game but I am not going to judge the graphics because I just don't care.
    To the mechanics: They changed the backstab and the counter attack. Not the way they are executed but the way they work.You used to be invulnerable while the backstabbing animation is running. Now you take dmg! For me that completely destroys the flow of the game.
    My starting class is always the naked man... So my attributes just allow me to use a dagger at the beginning if im not lvling up. In dark souls 2 the normal version this weapon is enough make your way to the first boss and to kill him. After that I would normally lvl up with a decent amount of souls ( you need souls to lvl your character up).
    But now that i constantly take dmg when i parry and backstab enemies I can't do that anymore.

    To the environment:
    They decided to relocate half of the enemies... I have no idea why, it doesn't make the game harder, it doesn't make the game easier, they just did it.

    To conclude: Its still a good game eventhough you cant backstab and parry your way through it that easily anymore.. :( There is no way in a million years its as good as its prequel.
    The characters are still unique and the voiceacting is gorgeous. But I am not 100% convinced about upgrading when you already own ds2 + dlcs.

    Im well aware that my English lacks but since Im not a native I don't give a *** ;)    … Expand
  28. Masterhummel
    Apr 2, 2015
    7
    The pricing policy aside, Scholar of the First Sin sucesfully attempts to fix some of the originals shortcomings like uninspired enemy placement, simple ai and behavior. For the most part, it succeeds. The new placement probably won't challenge veteran players too much but the slightly altered encounters will be very enjoyable for the regular player.

    So, why just a seven you may ask?    The pricing policy aside, Scholar of the First Sin sucesfully attempts to fix some of the originals shortcomings like uninspired enemy placement, simple ai and behavior. For the most part, it succeeds. The new placement probably won't challenge veteran players too much but the slightly altered encounters will be very enjoyable for the regular player.

    So, why just a seven you may ask? It's because of the graphical sidegrade. While it is true that certain areas or encounters in the game look much better now (especially dark areas where a torch now is a viable option), there overhelming majority of the exterior just looks... off. Sometimes it even looks like you just loaded some low-effort SweetFX config. Colors are burned, shadows have the wrong saturation, textures are far too bright and washed out. Majula for example is so bright, you feel like you're on the surface of the moon (not kidding). I'm not really sure what to make of this, but it makes the game look far worse then the Original in some areas.    … Expand
  29. quake2th
    May 22, 2015
    2
    lol, wtf is this game?? Bad graphics, bad controls, mostly unplayable. I really don't understand what's all this hype for From Software games, they are BAD, it's amateurish stuff! Their games are full of bugs, mostly related to stupid camera controls, that makes them unplayable! Trying to avoid bug after bug is not gameplay, there isn't much gameplay here, it's just you against some verylol, wtf is this game?? Bad graphics, bad controls, mostly unplayable. I really don't understand what's all this hype for From Software games, they are BAD, it's amateurish stuff! Their games are full of bugs, mostly related to stupid camera controls, that makes them unplayable! Trying to avoid bug after bug is not gameplay, there isn't much gameplay here, it's just you against some very stupid bug. At least in Bloodborne you can choose to play offline, here you are forced to play online, which means you will be invaded by no-life kiddies that will one-shot you, again and again, basically halting your progress. So tell me, having to pull your network cable in order to play can be considered gameplay??? wtf is wrong with From Software? This is one of the worst game ever, don't believe the hype, it's bs.… Expand
  30. kcotten
    Apr 4, 2015
    8
    TLDR: Scholar of the First Sin is much closer to the mark than vanilla Dark Souls II, and worth the upgrade or the initial investment.

    Better than the base game in every way imaginable. However, it does have some issues that spark annoyance such as the unfixed item durability problem. Compared to Demon's Souls or Dark Souls the world still feels lifeless and barren, the story too up    TLDR: Scholar of the First Sin is much closer to the mark than vanilla Dark Souls II, and worth the upgrade or the initial investment.

    Better than the base game in every way imaginable. However, it does have some issues that spark annoyance such as the unfixed item durability problem.

    Compared to Demon's Souls or Dark Souls the world still feels lifeless and barren, the story too up front, spelling events out. The mystique inherent in it's predecessors is just plain missing.

    Twenty dollars is a pittance, and if that is a problem might I suggest a career change? It's far better than the four hundred and fifty dollars chumps shelled out to play Bloodborne. And I can't recall a recent game other than Europa Universalis IV or Skyrim that will provide the amount of content Scholar of the First Sin will.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Best PC Game of 2015
29
#29 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
87
#87 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. RPG Fan
    Feb 20, 2017
    72
    Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin offers only minor tweaks to serious gameplay issues of the original game. Nonetheless, it still remains a wholly enjoyable online experience, just don't expect much from the singleplayer experience.
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  2. CD-Action
    Jun 29, 2015
    95
    It’s a freaking masterpiece! Do yourself a favor and experience it if you haven’t done it yet. [06/2015, p.68]
  3. Games.cz
    May 4, 2015
    80
    A pleasant combination of revised version of Dark Souls II with excellent DLCs offers a brutal difficulty and a fantastic atmosphere - even more intense than ever. Although the Scholar of the First Sin is not a purchase for everyone, if you try you will not be disappointed.
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