Dark Souls II

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3117 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,992 out of 3117
  2. Mixed: 521 out of 3117
  3. Negative: 604 out of 3117
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  1. EmpireNO
    Sep 28, 2014
    4
    I was a huge fan of Demon's Souls, I even loved Dark Souls despite the abysmal port. Now several years later I had higher hopes for DS2, it is better but these guys really don't know anything about PC and how a game should work on PC. My niggles are too many with this game.
  2. mselene
    May 11, 2014
    4
    I really do not understand the praise this game gets. Don't kid yourself: this isn't a PC game, it's a console game that's been ported to PC, and not particularly well. While most people talk about how difficult and "hardcore" the game is, I found most of the difficulty to come from the awful controls, not the gameplay. Let me repeat that because I can't stress it enough: the controls areI really do not understand the praise this game gets. Don't kid yourself: this isn't a PC game, it's a console game that's been ported to PC, and not particularly well. While most people talk about how difficult and "hardcore" the game is, I found most of the difficulty to come from the awful controls, not the gameplay. Let me repeat that because I can't stress it enough: the controls are -awful-. Awful. Ranged combat is a joke - their idea of making it "difficult" is that you aim without a reticle and unless you get the game to "click" and recognize the target you are trying to aim at - which is difficult and random, and has no visual queue to let you know you've done it - you miss wildly, wasting ammunition/spells that are rather precious in a game like this.

    If you can get past all that, you'll probably enjoy the game. And if you are a sadist, you may even praise the terrible controls and aiming as somehow making the game "hardcore". As for me, I just wish I could get my money back.    … Expand
  3. adff500
    Apr 27, 2014
    4
    1. AMD graphics card owners (7870,7970....) prepare yourself as you pay to become betatester.
    2. When you finaly run the game,you will see tutorial and interface with xbox controller prompts. (press LS and A....)
    3.Graphics are average at best.
    4. No LAN support.
    5. Wait for sale or bargain bin with patches included.
  4. FirStie
    May 11, 2014
    4
    This is the most overrated phenomena in video game industry to this day. Don't get me wrong: I prefer to play games on high difficulty, I appreciate the challenge, but only when the game is decent, fair and rewarding. This game is neither of that: terrible controls, off-key hit detection, clumsy combat system, lack of any balance, and, of course, the infamous "hardcore difficulty" set byThis is the most overrated phenomena in video game industry to this day. Don't get me wrong: I prefer to play games on high difficulty, I appreciate the challenge, but only when the game is decent, fair and rewarding. This game is neither of that: terrible controls, off-key hit detection, clumsy combat system, lack of any balance, and, of course, the infamous "hardcore difficulty" set by default, rendering any newcomers helpless and confused - even if you'd like to learn to play better, it just doesn't let you.
    It is an unpopular opinion, but I've got to spill it out: this game is awful. It's not worth it. The cult created around it is just hipster kids trying to go hardcore. I'm afraid you are doing it wrong.    … Expand
  5. sliderh2o
    May 28, 2014
    4
    I normally go with the critic ratings when it comes to reviews. That was a mistake bigtime ! The players have it right on this game! 9.2 critics rating is completely wrong. This game looks pretty, but if it's game play you like this isn't your cup of tea. You know why this game is hard? Because the controls are a joke, that's how they made it hard. I don't mind hard, if the controls wereI normally go with the critic ratings when it comes to reviews. That was a mistake bigtime ! The players have it right on this game! 9.2 critics rating is completely wrong. This game looks pretty, but if it's game play you like this isn't your cup of tea. You know why this game is hard? Because the controls are a joke, that's how they made it hard. I don't mind hard, if the controls were responsive but there not. I give this game a 4 because it is pretty, but shame on the critics for getting this one wrong! I wasted $50 listening to them, should have listened to the players.… Expand
  6. jheinone
    Apr 25, 2014
    4
    The controls are really, really borked in the PC version. Felt like something that existed 15 years ago.

    All hints and tips in the tutorial are for controller players, so unless you use that, you are screwed, or you just have to man up and randomly mash buttons to see what goes where in the mapping... Not very helpful to know that "B" or "LS"-button does something on the controller if    The controls are really, really borked in the PC version. Felt like something that existed 15 years ago.

    All hints and tips in the tutorial are for controller players, so unless you use that, you are screwed, or you just have to man up and randomly mash buttons to see what goes where in the mapping... Not very helpful to know that "B" or "LS"-button does something on the controller if you are using mouse & keyboard.

    tl;dr:If you use keyboard + mouse combo, don't even bother.
    Graphics and general feel is so-so.    … Expand
  7. DelMann2
    May 21, 2014
    4
    I finished DS1, game was fun, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Not this time. There are quite a lot of bugs, game got "cheaper" - 360 dodge hits, through wall hits. You can't fight in tight spaces with certain weapons and the game is a piece of cake with spells. (from what I've seen and heard)

    Unbalance and glitches are the main issues at the moment - and of course - if you are a determined    I finished DS1, game was fun, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Not this time. There are quite a lot of bugs, game got "cheaper" - 360 dodge hits, through wall hits. You can't fight in tight spaces with certain weapons and the game is a piece of cake with spells. (from what I've seen and heard)

    Unbalance and glitches are the main issues at the moment - and of course - if you are a determined keyboard user, you might have a bit of problems.

    Few patches down the line and the game could be on a pedestal again, but it simply doesn't have the feel like the previous game had. I don't believe I will ever enjoy it as much as its predecessor.    … Expand
  8. MadJaples
    May 7, 2014
    4
    What do you mean it's only worth FOUR!? HEATHEN!!

    Well it's only worth four, simply because these bastard devs keep producing (and I *do* notice it is distinctly from the Japanese end of the market and it's **** annoying as HELL) these games that look so damn good, sound great, have godawful long FMV sequences so it's as good as renting a friggin movie, only to discover....the controls    What do you mean it's only worth FOUR!? HEATHEN!!

    Well it's only worth four, simply because these bastard devs keep producing (and I *do* notice it is distinctly from the Japanese end of the market and it's **** annoying as HELL) these games that look so damn good, sound great, have godawful long FMV sequences so it's as good as renting a friggin movie, only to discover....the controls on the keyboard **** really.
    No really they are, and worse still, when you pull up the controls list, it's all displayed in the most un-user friendly manner possible, with a mixture of colour co-ordinated key press on gamepad you don't have, with letter press on keyboard you DO have, and that simply has to be probably THE most annoying thing about **** ports. And that's why it's a **** port.
    If you have a controller, all power to you, because you'll probably actually be used to twiddling yer thumbs on two sticks and pressing all of 8 or 9 buttons on a controller, but once again, this friggin annoying annoyance destroys any credibility of those who produce these games without much in the way of thought as to what sort of people are going to play their game. This is not a singular issue, it is becoming far too commonplace now, and it has to stop.

    It's people that produce games like these that are probably some of the reason people choose to obtain their games illegally instead of paying for them!

    "THINK! MCFLY! THINK!"    … Expand
  9. Xipe93
    Apr 26, 2014
    4
    This game is so overrated(which i don't understand why) that people can't see how flawed the game is.The only thing good with this game is that it is challenging.
  10. ARurouni
    Apr 26, 2014
    4
    It's a great game whatsoever, great playability but I see some flaws in it: sometimes my attack, almost touching the enemy doesn't do any kind of damage on the hollows and the bug that wasn't fixed till now take me away from playing it in my big picture HDMI TV that turns out to be a real letdown.
  11. torongo
    May 10, 2014
    4
    To begin with, the first Dark Souls was a great game, and I liked it very much. I was hyped for the sequel, but after playing it a hour or so I've changed my mind about it. I've spent about 30 minutes to figure out where to go in the first place. In the first game, there was only 2 ways where you can go - up and down.
    Combat system from Dark Souls? Excellent. Combat system from Dark Souls    To begin with, the first Dark Souls was a great game, and I liked it very much. I was hyped for the sequel, but after playing it a hour or so I've changed my mind about it. I've spent about 30 minutes to figure out where to go in the first place. In the first game, there was only 2 ways where you can go - up and down.
    Combat system from Dark Souls? Excellent. Combat system from Dark Souls 2? Freaking garbage. Now you **** if you ran out of stamina in mid-fight, and if there is more than one enemy -- then you are **** twice. Only one life flask, level up only from that girl, decreasing health when you die too much and so on. If you call that "more difficult" - you're wrong.    … Expand
  12. tranxhdr
    Jun 4, 2014
    4
    If you're not a fan of the first game, don't expect anything different. I can't really understand why the media rated this game so high. It's a typical Japanese hacknslash action rpg where respawn checkpoints are horrendous and you get hundreds of enemies coming after you even on normal mode!! You can skip this game, you won't missout on anything.
  13. Philbo
    Jun 4, 2014
    4
    I'm new to the Dark Souls franchise. I was taken in by the overwhelmingly positive reviews and a few videos I watched. I've logged 9 hours in the game and can say with a great deal of certainty; this game is NOT 'open world' as I was lead to believe. Not even kind of. Calling a game 'Open World' is almost all you have to tell me to compel me to pull out my wallet. Needless to say, I wasI'm new to the Dark Souls franchise. I was taken in by the overwhelmingly positive reviews and a few videos I watched. I've logged 9 hours in the game and can say with a great deal of certainty; this game is NOT 'open world' as I was lead to believe. Not even kind of. Calling a game 'Open World' is almost all you have to tell me to compel me to pull out my wallet. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with the "vast open world" (quote from the Steam description) of Dark Souls 2. I'm really only writing this review to clear up the apparent confusion about what open world means in a game.

    If you can look off in the not too far distance in a game and see terrain that you cannot travel to.... the game is NOT open world. In Dark Souls 2, I'm constantly faced with rocks, cliffs, fences, etc. that guide me down a very narrow path. What's on the other side of those obstacles? Nothing, because it's not open world. Open world means; you hop over the fence and find your own way to point B. It means there's not just one or maybe two ways to reach point B, but TONS of ways with plenty of side adventures along the way. There are a few wide open areas where I can see far off areas that I can travel to.... and those areas are covered in water hazards still forcing me down a straight and narrow path. (I guess if I could swim, I could swim past all the giant sentry dudes instead of fighting... and we certainly can't have that now can we?) There is no real exploring in Dark Souls 2. That's my gripe. There's only one path to really follow. That's not to say that you won't overlook a cave entrance covered in bushes, but that's console-style exploring as far as I'm concerned. The only way I can think of that they got away with calling it "open world" is the lack of loading screens between the very well defined zones. That's it.

    All in all, Dark Souls 2 does have some very neat features and is very challenging. I'm just upset about the verbage used in so many descriptions I read before spending $50. If you're going to call Dark Souls 2 "open world", you may as well call Devil May Cry, Fable, and God of War open world as well. If you want to know what an open world game really is, play Skyrim, Fallout 3New Vegas, any GTA game, or DayZ (if you like pain).    … Expand
  14. goodgoy
    Sep 6, 2014
    4
    At the time of writing, Metacritic ranks Dark Souls II as one of the top 100 PC games ever released, with a critical reception comparable to that received by landmarks such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, and the original Deus Ex. However, unlike the aforementioned masterpieces, and contrary to what this game's advocates would have you believe, this is a game which is certainlyAt the time of writing, Metacritic ranks Dark Souls II as one of the top 100 PC games ever released, with a critical reception comparable to that received by landmarks such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, and the original Deus Ex. However, unlike the aforementioned masterpieces, and contrary to what this game's advocates would have you believe, this is a game which is certainly unworthy of its hype. Discounting the issues resulting from what is essentially a quick and dirty console port (which are detailed extensively in many other reviews), the game soon reveals its many lacklustre gameplay aspects.

    This series' main claim to fame is its relentless difficulty; however, Dark Souls II seldom presents any challenge containing what could be regarded as "legitimate" difficultly. That is to say, all that is needed to overcome any given enemy is to exploit its very predictable AI; to learn its attack pattern, and by extension, learn when to move, when to dodge, when to block, when to attack, etc. and repeat until said enemy is defeated. The only other difficulty comes from plain unfairness in the NPCs' advantages over the player; enemies are able to attack the player through walls and through other enemies with no consequence, have infinite ammunition, often have an extremely disproportionate amount of health and/or damage potential, and so forth.

    By resetting enemy spawns and returning the player to the start of an area upon death, the game could appear "hardcore" to a gamer growing up playing games with checkpoints and regenerating health, but this does not add any inherent difficulty to the actual gameplay; it only serves to increase the gameplay time without increasing progression, and thus increase tediousness and frustration. Neither of the two aforementioned elements (predictable AI, often with an unfair advantage over the player, and a reset of progress after failure) are anything new; countless arcade games did the same thing more than 20 years ago. So why has this game attained such an astounding level of critical and commercial success? It certainly can't be from the sub-par visual quality, bland art direction, directionless, pseudo-nonlinear environment, or the brain-dead friendly NPCs.

    The answer is that, prior to the Souls series, console gaming had not seen a critically acclaimed revival of such arcade mechanics, in the skin of a AAA RPG (published by Namco Bandai), in a significant amount of time. In the age of hand-holding and blinking arrows, a game like Dark Souls II is seen as revelatory. Critical acclaim begets hype, and hype begets popularity. And of course, the average "real gamer" is unwilling to call out this game's vapidness in fear of others insinuating that they found the game too difficult, calling their legitimacy as a "real gamer" into question. And so the resounding opinion is that of how glorious the emperor's new clothes are. However, those either secure in their own gaming ability or just not stupid enough to care about such trivialities, and old enough to have owned an SNES, will see games such as this for what they are.    … Expand
  15. Wiebe
    Feb 27, 2020
    4
    Not a pc game, don't play it if you are a pc gamer, if you like consoles this might be for you, it just wasn't for me
  16. thereallyoldher
    Apr 27, 2016
    4
    The game is not supposed to be played with keyboard+mouse. You have to google how to play this game with keyboard and mouse and download and run some scripts before you can play this game using a regular gaming PC. I am quite sure that the people who are giving this game anything above 5 are doing so for non-PC version of this game. The least the game developers should have done is to showThe game is not supposed to be played with keyboard+mouse. You have to google how to play this game with keyboard and mouse and download and run some scripts before you can play this game using a regular gaming PC. I am quite sure that the people who are giving this game anything above 5 are doing so for non-PC version of this game. The least the game developers should have done is to show the correct key-bindings (instead of a triangle) while interacting with the environment. These are the reasons that I doubt I will ever be finishing this game.… Expand
  17. Hexen-Slayer
    Sep 16, 2020
    4
    This is more DULL SOULS than DARK SOULS, as the creative heads of From Soft all went to make the outstanding BLOODBORNE, it seems they left the graveyard shift to throw together this abysmal sequel.
    I don't get the "professional" reviewers, this one has a higher metascore than the original and it is so much worse in EVERY aspect!
    - level design: gone is the level design with the clever    This is more DULL SOULS than DARK SOULS, as the creative heads of From Soft all went to make the outstanding BLOODBORNE, it seems they left the graveyard shift to throw together this abysmal sequel.
    I don't get the "professional" reviewers, this one has a higher metascore than the original and it is so much worse in EVERY aspect!
    - level design: gone is the level design with the clever connections and shortcuts, this is as linear as it gets
    - enemy design: copy & paste Ornstein. You fight like 4 variations of him within the first hour of the game. Many other enemies and bosses are copy & paste jobs as well. No boss really is memorable
    - atmosphere: lacking! The dark and sinister yields to a lighter and brighter world that does not hold the candle to DARK SOULS I, it doesn't even come close!
    - clunky combat: what the hell did they do to combat? It feels awfully clunky compared to DARK SOULS 1 & 3! Something is just off with the jerky movement.
    - terrible port: mouse & keyboard controls are terrible - unplayable. Graphics have not been improved either. As lazy as ports get
    - DS 1's addictive gameplay: gone! DARK SOULS was addictive. You died and died and died and died some more, yet you kept coming back. DARK SOULS II? Never finished it. Never will. There's no motivation here. Everything you see in DARK SOULS II you've seen in DARK SOULS I, just much much better
    - bad gameplay mechanic: if you die, you lose a portion of your max. health. This stacks, unless you use a limited resource. For people who are already struggling this is an unnecessarily frustrating mechanic

    Bottom line: of the DARK SOULS series this is by far the worst. The "Enhanced"? Edition known as SCHOLAR OF THE FIRST SIN doesn't make it much better. DARK SOULS III is just slightly better. Of the two I recommend NEITHER. Stick to DARK SOULS I, the Remastered version is the one to go, that's the version that should have been released in the first place. IF you should get DARK SOULS II then the SCHOLAR OF THE FIRST SIN is of course the one you want to pick up.
    4 out of 9 (Below Average)    … Expand
  18. Game_Seeker
    Jun 9, 2021
    4
    While I did play DARK SOULS 1 (never played DEMON'S SOULS though since I don't have a console and never will) it did keep me occupied for a while although I must admit that gameplay-wise I did not care for it all that much. While I did enjoy the game's dark atmosphere (I love dark fantasy, the only way to go, f*** hobbits and elves) and the cryptic story (that was brilliant) the gameWhile I did play DARK SOULS 1 (never played DEMON'S SOULS though since I don't have a console and never will) it did keep me occupied for a while although I must admit that gameplay-wise I did not care for it all that much. While I did enjoy the game's dark atmosphere (I love dark fantasy, the only way to go, f*** hobbits and elves) and the cryptic story (that was brilliant) the game design was rather poor: focusing on over-the-top bosses with an insane health pool while you go down in 2 - 3 hits is not really my idea of fun, even more so when the combat isn't even tactical but simple memorizing attack patterns of your foes while rolling away in the right moment (in full plate armor!). There is zero depth to that system. The level design, while being intelligently designed (I've never seen levels brought together in a realistic way like this) however places your respawn point in New York, while the boss room is in LA and you have to fight your way through trash mob after trash mob to get there. This is just pi$$ poor design.
    DARK SOULS II comes along and takes a humongous sh!+ into bed. Gone is the dark atmosphere. Gone is the superb level design. Some (moron) at FromSoft must have said: "let's have more bosses!" so you get more than 30 bosses (the original had about 20). There's 3 in one level, almost door to door, which are reskins of a boss from DARK SOULS 1. Get used to it, you'll se more of that.
    To add insult to injury, each time you die you lose a chunk of your maximum hit points, kind of saying to newcomers: "hey you're struggling? Well f*** you!" Yeah, you "git gud nazis can f*** right off. This isn't good game design, this is sh!++y game design.
    The level design is as bland as can be, no more inter-connected world, it seems all the creative heads of FromSoft (not many there to begin with) were on vacation.
    DARK SOULS II is a very poor sequel. All the things that made the first game stand out are gone now. Technically it's been polished up a bit but still looks outdated. Controls with mouse & keyboard (git over it guys, controllers SUCK, they should not exist) are close to useless (was a problem with the original game, too), the camera is terrible. Enemy design is lacking, too, nowhere near as good as in the first game. All in all DARK SOULS II is an underwhelming sequel that does everything worse than the original and nothing better. It should never have been made. DARK SOULS fans will probably disagree and dislike this, but you guys probably didn't read this far anyway.    … Expand
  19. ManHoof
    Jul 29, 2023
    4
    It's the only game in the Souls series I don't want to return to.
    The plot and voice acting are as good as always. The atmosphere is also good. There are small gameplay details that are very interesting. Unfortunately, there are more cons. The color palette is unpleasant to the eye (except of course Majula). The musical themes are definitely not something special in this part. Most of the    It's the only game in the Souls series I don't want to return to.
    The plot and voice acting are as good as always. The atmosphere is also good. There are small gameplay details that are very interesting. Unfortunately, there are more cons. The color palette is unpleasant to the eye (except of course Majula). The musical themes are definitely not something special in this part. Most of the bosses are just garbage. The combat system is worse than even the first part.
    I rate it without DLC.    … Expand
  20. Fuz
    Apr 28, 2014
    3
    They did it again, and it's even more inexcusable this time.
    Mouse controls are terrible, redefining keyboard is messy and incredible chore, even more so because they didn't even bother to change the keys showed up in the interface, so you'll still see "A", "B", "Y" instead of the keys you're actually using.
    Terrible, terrible, terrible port.
  21. Vasot
    Apr 26, 2014
    3
    FREAKING AWFUL very overrated game especially for PC do not listen to pro-reviewers that give a 9.0 or 10 to this abomination. The graphics are a joke they are not as bad as the first game but still are bad with a lot of blurry low quality textures and polygon designed animations that even in the highest graphic settings remind me some old games from 2002 as for the gameplay feelsFREAKING AWFUL very overrated game especially for PC do not listen to pro-reviewers that give a 9.0 or 10 to this abomination. The graphics are a joke they are not as bad as the first game but still are bad with a lot of blurry low quality textures and polygon designed animations that even in the highest graphic settings remind me some old games from 2002 as for the gameplay feels lacking and amateur programming work, it is almost unplayable and annoying if you try to play with a keyboard and a mouse (i am not going to waste my money to buy a gamepad just for one title). It is a very very overrated title and extremely overhyped from stupid paid game site and from reviewers that have been paid to promote this as the best RPG in the world do not fall into their hype and into their propaganda or you will regret your money. save them for buying The Witcher 3 or for Dragon Age Inquisition at least or some other future title… Expand
  22. Praesi
    Oct 14, 2014
    3
    PS "Gamer" who gave the PC Version a 10 are pathetic.
    Dont trust any Score above 5.
    The PC Version of this Game is a horrible Mess. Ugly Grafics, pathetic Controlls. On top, FROM Software showed us "Ingame Footage" that doesn´t exist, the Final Version dont look even close to that. FROM are Liars, nothing else. Every PC Gamer with Demands should make a huge bow around this technical    PS "Gamer" who gave the PC Version a 10 are pathetic.
    Dont trust any Score above 5.

    The PC Version of this Game is a horrible Mess. Ugly Grafics, pathetic Controlls. On top, FROM Software showed us "Ingame Footage" that doesn´t exist, the Final Version dont look even close to that. FROM are Liars, nothing else. Every PC Gamer with Demands should make a huge bow around this technical nightmare.    … Expand
  23. lozzer22
    Apr 27, 2014
    3
    The hitboxes are completely screwed, meaning any feeling of accomplishment from skilfully dodging an enemy is quickly lost as they somehow hit you from meters to the side. The controls of your character are also very unresponsive, after attacking you'll have to hit the button five or so times and wait for the animation of your character taking a quick break mid-combat to finish before youThe hitboxes are completely screwed, meaning any feeling of accomplishment from skilfully dodging an enemy is quickly lost as they somehow hit you from meters to the side. The controls of your character are also very unresponsive, after attacking you'll have to hit the button five or so times and wait for the animation of your character taking a quick break mid-combat to finish before you can roll out of the way. For a game that required skill and precision timing this just isn't good enough.… Expand
  24. Nogard123
    Apr 26, 2014
    3
    What a horrible port,its even worse then the dark souls 1 port IMHO .
    I would spend my money on something else if i where you.
    The biggest problem people seems to have is getting pass the start up crash.
    Yeah they promised a better port,the game isn't even working for some people,skip this pile of .... or if your realy hell bound to buy it wait for them to fix all the problems.
  25. bjaz
    Nov 15, 2014
    3
    Understanding the story is most tough job while playing this game
    Will enjoy the game first time,but after sometime players will get board & go to sleep
    Also This game is not well optimized for pc but console
    It's a REAL disappointment for a RPG game
  26. kotgaf
    Jul 9, 2014
    3
    I really enjoy hardcore games sometimes.
    But...
    Don't say a f*****g word about hardcore when talking about this game! Control on PC is totally broken!
    After all - average graphic, terrible interface,bugs, poor amount of ingame information - what, you call THIS hardcore?! You'd better try to win ADOM, you know.
    Hardcore and stupidity isn't same thing.
  27. Kraks
    May 9, 2014
    3
    Everyone seems to be talking about the controls and other technical issues on the PC, so I will instead talk about the actual game.

    The game itself is bad enough to deserve poor reviews. As others have mentioned, the open, interconnected, beautifully woven story and world from the original is gone. Instead, you get a very closed in, maze like, and contraption filled mess that barely    Everyone seems to be talking about the controls and other technical issues on the PC, so I will instead talk about the actual game.

    The game itself is bad enough to deserve poor reviews. As others have mentioned, the open, interconnected, beautifully woven story and world from the original is gone. Instead, you get a very closed in, maze like, and contraption filled mess that barely stitches together a world.

    The "quests" are just a mess, because there is almost no required order for anything. While I enjoy the open world and found that the ambiguity of the first one really helped pull me in, that isn't the case with Dark Souls 2. Ambiguity is replaced with obfuscation and plot holes. This means that even pouring enough into the game to play through it multiple times (100+ hours, easily) will still not lead to the results one might expect for some of the quest lines. I hate using spoiler sites, but when you have a game that hinges every bit of story progression with the NPCs on minutiae, you can't help but go looking for a friendly helper to make sure you're not having to start another new game because you didn't talk to the dwarf at X first instead of at Y....seriously? He doesn't even tell you where he's going at any point, just a "see ya around".

    As for difficulty, there really is none. The bosses in DS2 do not show nearly the same level of challenge as Artorious, Kalameet, Furtive Pigmy or even 4 Kings. They are all much slower fights. They can all be easily beaten by anyone choosing to play a caster spec. Melee players may have a little harder time, but definitely nothing on par with even Ornstein and Smough from DS 1.

    I could go on, but I will end this with my complaints about the online aspects of this game. First, the PVP isn't PVP. It is mostly griefing. Getting jumped by some random guy who comes in completely healed, completely geared for PVP, and has many other advantages, every 5 minutes while you're trying to progress the story line is just not fun. Disconnect so you can save yourself from possibly losing all your souls and the game will punish you. FromSoft relies on their famous ambiguity here as well, not telling you jack about this punishment until it is too late. Hey FromSoft...I paid for your game, let me play it how I want. If the PVP is so amazing and so desirable to such a huge amount of your fan base, you should have no issues finding enough people to voluntarily join in without also forcing those of us that enjoy the coop to participate in said farcical PVP (read: griefing).

    So another option is to play offline, right? Not really. You play offline at all during a play through and you can kiss achievements for that play through good bye. Start over time, again. And again, FromSoft does a horrible job of notifying people about this.

    I loved Dark Souls 1, even on the PC, and even with GFWL. At least with GFWL I could chat with people I played with without being required to use creepy and invasive voice chat. I'm not letting some random stranger 12 year old into my home, FromSoft. Are you out of your mind? The best thing about GFWL summoning not working all of the time was that I actually got to enjoy the game. Being invaded once an hour or two wasn't a big deal. Being invaded literally every other group of mobs in NG+ is just harassment, and quite frankly shows the maturity level of those developing this series.    … Expand
  28. Geekcrux
    Sep 5, 2014
    3
    My friend constantly raved about how this game was so great because it is challenging. I agree that it was very challenging at time. What the developers of this game forgot to put in this game was fun.

    I beat the game (minus the ancient dragon) and other than a sense of achievement in over coming the challenge, it was not fun. I do not feel relaxed. If anything the more I played this    My friend constantly raved about how this game was so great because it is challenging. I agree that it was very challenging at time. What the developers of this game forgot to put in this game was fun.

    I beat the game (minus the ancient dragon) and other than a sense of achievement in over coming the challenge, it was not fun. I do not feel relaxed. If anything the more I played this game the more despair and stress I developed. When it was over I was happy. Not happy because the game fulfilled me but happy that I can uninstall it and never play this game again.    … Expand
  29. Sjalka
    May 13, 2014
    3
    3/10 - but in that case i do not claim to be very objective at all, because i knew from the start that this was not "my kind of game"

    so why did i test it? - well to see what all the hype is about. - but more to the point... presentation is a mixed bag. setting and atmosphere is decent, graphical fidelity is average but does look outdated in parts. the player character model is    3/10 - but in that case i do not claim to be very objective at all, because i knew from the start that this was not "my kind of game"

    so why did i test it? - well to see what all the hype is about. - but more to the point...

    presentation is a mixed bag. setting and atmosphere is decent, graphical fidelity is average but does look outdated in parts. the player character model is horribly aweful despite plenty customization options. however enemy models range from average to excellent.

    the idea and difficulty is nothing that really influenced my rating, because i reckon people only pick that title up when they expect a gruesomely hard game and would be disappointed if it did not deliver that nearly frustrating degree of difficulty.

    what i did not like ( PC version )

    - a horrible UI - character management is aweful. UI and management is geared towards consoles and there has not been a single efford ( or so it seems ) to streamline it for PC

    - bad controls - and by that i mean controlling the character felt unintuitive. for a game that punishes every mistake you make, i d expect having a character that reacted instantly to any player input.

    - bad camera ( sometimes ) - again, for a game where precission and timing is vital, i felt like i d need a much better overview of the situation.

    so i cannot subscribe to the mantra "hard but fair" - because it was ( for me ) riddled with controlling and UI problems. i am quite certain that players who play on consoles or are used to a controller ( i am not, i never got the hang of it, i use mouse+keyboard ) have a greatly different experience.

    i can see the great potential of challenge and achievement there though, but it is not for everyone, that is for certain.

    postscript:

    if they fixed the UI for PC keyboard players to actually do the PC justice, it would be a 5/10 - if the controls and reaction time was improved, certainly a 8/10 - even for a more casual gamer.    … Expand
  30. Windolicker
    Apr 21, 2020
    3
    I tried to love this game. I just can't. It also really drives me crazy that there are fanboys who get so bent out of shape if anypne doesn't like this game. Look at every other From Software game.....there is something missing in DS2. I think there is credibility to the "B team" speculation. I have a huge ptoblem with the lore in this game; put of everything I think that is my biggestI tried to love this game. I just can't. It also really drives me crazy that there are fanboys who get so bent out of shape if anypne doesn't like this game. Look at every other From Software game.....there is something missing in DS2. I think there is credibility to the "B team" speculation. I have a huge ptoblem with the lore in this game; put of everything I think that is my biggest problem. I fell in love with the characters from DS1 and all of the lore. DS2 just throws it out and keeps the same framework. I don't even consider this installment to be canonical. DS3 is the true sequel and the only reason it included a few things from DS2 was probably due to the fact that it wpuld be a hive controversy to not include anything from it. Everything about this game seems uninspired. Whereas DS3 and DS1 are masterpieces. Wtf happened?!… Expand
  31. TheAlgerian
    Oct 27, 2022
    3
    I love Souls games
    I love them not because they're hard, but because they're genuinely good games, the challenge is just a really good bonus.
    Dark Souls 2, though, isn't a good game, it's just hard. Other than that it does literally everything wrong. Graphics, gameplay, story, game design, writing, animations, physics, hitboxes, sound, I could go on. Literally    I love Souls games
    I love them not because they're hard, but because they're genuinely good games, the challenge is just a really good bonus.

    Dark Souls 2, though, isn't a good game, it's just hard.
    Other than that it does literally everything wrong.

    Graphics, gameplay, story, game design, writing, animations, physics, hitboxes, sound, I could go on.

    Literally E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G about this game feels like a poorly thrown together fan made game.    … Expand
  32. ConorHat
    Apr 28, 2014
    3
    I can't connect online for some reason, thousands of others reporting the same on the forums for a few days straight, no fixes. I prefer to use the keyboard and mouse to play the game, but the interface keeps telling me to use Xbox buttons? Right away the level design and the pointed lack of atmospheric graphics, I immediately regretted my decision of buying this game. Such a lazy PC portI can't connect online for some reason, thousands of others reporting the same on the forums for a few days straight, no fixes. I prefer to use the keyboard and mouse to play the game, but the interface keeps telling me to use Xbox buttons? Right away the level design and the pointed lack of atmospheric graphics, I immediately regretted my decision of buying this game. Such a lazy PC port to an otherwise mediocre game.… Expand
  33. Iluvatar21
    May 30, 2014
    3
    Re-review: Dark Souls 2 is by far the best in terms of content and PvP but where it suffers (at the cost of the soul of the entire series) is in the enemies. Basically they are the same and to compensate for this the devs have added more of them, twisting the original Souls formula from 'fair because you learn' to 'overwhelming until you break through the wall or run away'.

    Dark Souls 2    Re-review: Dark Souls 2 is by far the best in terms of content and PvP but where it suffers (at the cost of the soul of the entire series) is in the enemies. Basically they are the same and to compensate for this the devs have added more of them, twisting the original Souls formula from 'fair because you learn' to 'overwhelming until you break through the wall or run away'.

    Dark Souls 2 is not a worthy sequel to the series and the hardship is not worth the time.

    =========
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.    … Expand
  34. SolomonKane
    Apr 25, 2014
    3
    Sell me a Finished product.

    Why do I keep wasting money on "just released" games for PC??? Do NOT buy this for PC. Great graphics, but crashed on opening intro and then the first time I tried moving. The PC interface was super annoying. If you assume that it wouldn't be that hard to make the interface PC friendly, you would be wrong. Yuck. As a first time player of Dark Souls - I had    Sell me a Finished product.

    Why do I keep wasting money on "just released" games for PC??? Do NOT buy this for PC. Great graphics, but crashed on opening intro and then the first time I tried moving. The PC interface was super annoying. If you assume that it wouldn't be that hard to make the interface PC friendly, you would be wrong. Yuck.

    As a first time player of Dark Souls - I had no idea what anything represented. Tutorial maybe? I want my $60 back.    … Expand
  35. Loserking
    Apr 26, 2014
    3
    This game seems like it has a lot of promise but the developers literally did nothing to make this PC playable. They don't give you the functionality of binding whatever keys you want to on your keyboard. For instance, to use an item I cant just change it to a key. They have an array of choices I can change too, none are what I wanted of course. They are all ctr+Left click, alt +LeftThis game seems like it has a lot of promise but the developers literally did nothing to make this PC playable. They don't give you the functionality of binding whatever keys you want to on your keyboard. For instance, to use an item I cant just change it to a key. They have an array of choices I can change too, none are what I wanted of course. They are all ctr+Left click, alt +Left click, shift + left click... Why wouldn't you just make it completely customizable to place whatever key you want, that is rule 101 for PC. This is apparently meant for a control on PC, which is just stupid, but as someone who doesn't have one I don't want to go spend money to play a game after I already spent $50 bucks for the game itself!!!

    The weird console controller layout of the controls for PC makes the actual game barely playable. It doesn't seem that hard yet, the biggest struggle I find is the fact that the controls are impossible to navigate when reacting to enemies. The main reason I die is because I can't control the character enough to react to the game itself which is the worst problem you can have for a game. Another obvious flaw is the fact that when your going through tutorial area in the beginning all of the helpful signs are still in console controls! So you can't even translate to what in the world I'm suppose to do on PC to get that to happen. They even have the menus in the game still on console controls. Obvious this game is not meant for PC yet... Nothing is hard its just lack of responsiveness and control for the user....    … Expand
  36. mogy142
    May 1, 2014
    3
    How the hell are people enjoying this abomination of a game? They go around telling people it a 10/10 game, do they even know what 10/10 stands for? It means a perfect game with no flaws, apparently theres no flaws with Dark Souls 2 then? Get real and open your eyes. The graphics suck and are so dull for a 2014 game, it looks like a dog **** on a disc.

    Here are facts about lazy    How the hell are people enjoying this abomination of a game? They go around telling people it a 10/10 game, do they even know what 10/10 stands for? It means a perfect game with no flaws, apparently theres no flaws with Dark Souls 2 then? Get real and open your eyes. The graphics suck and are so dull for a 2014 game, it looks like a dog **** on a disc.

    Here are facts about lazy gameplay mechanics that you cant deny out of your ass. Any kind of decision you make in this game when in combat, stamina is consumed based on what you do, which is great because it secures that decision, but when you make a decision realistically, for example to correctly dodge an enemy or boss's attack and that boss/enemy's body is auto aiming towards your every exact location your going to dodge and land in in precisely, Its like the developers didnt want you to dodge, so shield yourself right? then your stamina gets destroyed and enemy can hit u even more easier. How can you honestly have fun in a game that has every enemy/boss's attack animations land with 100% accuracy (even the slow swinging attackers) in every move you make and leave you with 1-2 hits at most before you get clobbered by the enemy ?

    its not the difficulty, its the lazy mechanics, you 12 year olds that are giving this 10/10 wont understand what the difference is between correct and well thought out hard mode difficulty and lazy hard mode. Here ill summarize in the following scenario:

    Well thought out difficult setting: A boss has made the decision to attack, he attacks me and its too late for him to swing in your exact direction since I dodge right on time, he has left his back vulnerable therefore i can attack more then twice before i back off, so the boss turns around and does a different attack making me wonder how to dodge but i try anyway and just as he attacks, i roll and his attack hits the area that was originally targetted.

    Current lazy difficult setting: A boss has made the decision to attack, so right as he does, I dodge but his body is still auto aiming towards me as hes landing his attack instead of landing it where he should of missed originally. His back is almost never vulnerable, after he ends his attack animation, i have 1 or 2 attacks at most to do to him, as he recovers fast enough to repeat the combo again while auto aiming his every move towards my dodging points, so really all I find myself doing is running from him so much im too busy to notice when to attack.

    Oh yea real fun difficulty you got there, have fun with these cheap gameplay mechanics which you are too blind to understand the clear differences in.    … Expand
  37. CharcoalBurst
    May 11, 2014
    3
    This game has great reviews, it's the hype of the moment. It has ugly graphics for a 2014 PC game. Even Bound By Flame that just came out and is developped by a small studio looks way better. We won't even talk about the interface that is ugly as well. The physics engine is a disaster like the other game I mentioned and brings us back to Morrowind. It just doesn't feel right, polished.This game has great reviews, it's the hype of the moment. It has ugly graphics for a 2014 PC game. Even Bound By Flame that just came out and is developped by a small studio looks way better. We won't even talk about the interface that is ugly as well. The physics engine is a disaster like the other game I mentioned and brings us back to Morrowind. It just doesn't feel right, polished. Looks like the only good thing this game has is its high difficulty, allowing it to last for hours and hours. Pretty sure that you'll die a ton of times due to the horrible physics of the game and not to the monsters' skills.

    There is a 150 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content.    … Expand
  38. Damazig
    May 15, 2014
    3
    Again, same crappy port, and the game itself isn't my style, why?:

    -Same boring encounters -Confusing / boring story/ bad voice acting. Dark Souls 2 does not even try to do a decent job in telling you any kind of a decent story, nor does it have character interaction and the Voice Acting is a lot worse than anything out there recently. -Repetitive gameplay - Dark Souls gameplay is    Again, same crappy port, and the game itself isn't my style, why?:

    -Same boring encounters

    -Confusing / boring story/ bad voice acting. Dark Souls 2 does not even try to do a decent job in telling you any kind of a decent story, nor does it have character interaction and the Voice Acting is a lot worse than anything out there recently.

    -Repetitive gameplay - Dark Souls gameplay is punishing, repetitive and mainly about timing with the use of the action bar.

    -We all know how crappy Dark Souls 2 graphics are, and how EVERYONE complained about being missled with demos and graphical FX which never entered the game.    … Expand
  39. iansarmy1
    Jul 8, 2014
    3
    Bare bones fantasy role playing/fighting game, with ugly graphics and no story or characters worth mentioning. Some people like it purely for the very challenging combat and character creation elements, but there is absolutely nothing else going on in this game to make me want to come back to it after dying a few times. Most negative reviews focus on the poor quality of the work done toBare bones fantasy role playing/fighting game, with ugly graphics and no story or characters worth mentioning. Some people like it purely for the very challenging combat and character creation elements, but there is absolutely nothing else going on in this game to make me want to come back to it after dying a few times. Most negative reviews focus on the poor quality of the work done to optimize this game for the PC, but its not worth buying on any system unless you just want to grind through some gratuitous fantasy combat.… Expand
  40. Denistzur
    Jul 30, 2014
    3
    This game is the most ANNOYING RPG game i ever played (and i'm a huge fan of Skyrim and WoW) Where in those games things went smooth and reasonable, here everything is crappy, EVERYTHING : respawn mechanics are bad, key binding are just terrible and after 3 days i sent a mail asking to money refound: i'm done with this crap
  41. Nevextra
    Aug 13, 2014
    3
    This feels cheap giving this game a bad score for the very reason the first was so famous but i can't in good conscience praise this game the developers forgot how to make a good game the first game used difficulty as a means of immersion part of the story and it lore was so thick you needed an axe to cut through it and understand it all, but this is just not in the same ball park ofThis feels cheap giving this game a bad score for the very reason the first was so famous but i can't in good conscience praise this game the developers forgot how to make a good game the first game used difficulty as a means of immersion part of the story and it lore was so thick you needed an axe to cut through it and understand it all, but this is just not in the same ball park of quality the difficulty is there for its own sake imposing and obnoxious the game them in a blindingly dumb move it is also not there as enemies with stop spawn after an allotted amount of deaths making it impossible to farm items, armour or weapons off enemies on any meaningful way the bosses are not memorable in the slightest and the weapon movesets for certain weapons are just weird, but all that that aside the worst sin the game commits the nerfing of rolling you know the action you use to evade attacks and necessary for two hand weapon well instead of defined tiers and set invincibility frame between them your invincibility frame are tied to multiples stats killing the feasibility of two hand builds. The job endurance of dark souls 1 has been spread across two stat making it harder to make melee builds. The number of groups in the game has been increased no doubt to serve the difficulty of the game. The covenants are inferior also multiple covenants are complete busted because the developers didn't add items for support the covenants in dark souls 1 all covenants required the player to offer items to rank up and ALL items could be farmed in dark souls 1 unlike this game and its broken farming and if that wasn't bad enough some covenants mandate pvp interaction to rank up, in dark souls 1 the online was there to support the singleplayer and the atmosphere the game wanted in this game the multiplayer is left to fend of itself and the controls aren't meant for pvp you can take a dune buggy to a race track but don't expect to beat a track car.
    I could go on and on listing all my problems with the game and all the things that make it inferior to dark souls 1 are all to serve a difficulty the game undermine with its own mechanics.

    So in summary:
    Unnecessary difficulty (that game breaks itself)
    Broken farming (leads to pseudo RPG limbo)
    Broken covenants (lack of permanent item make this rare)
    Weird weapons movesets (personally issue (sue me))
    Clunky leveling stats (makes unduly hard to level efficiently)    … Expand
  42. Wishdokkta
    Sep 7, 2014
    3
    An excellent concept, pretty well drawn but with a couple of major flaws.

    1. It is a console port. Sadly, the PC version has been lazily coded, all of the console buttons remain almost essential in order to enjoy the experience, mouse and keyboard are next to useless. A real disapointment leaving me thinking the PC version was a pure "cash-in" on the part of the developers. 2. You    An excellent concept, pretty well drawn but with a couple of major flaws.

    1. It is a console port. Sadly, the PC version has been lazily coded, all of the console buttons remain almost essential in order to enjoy the experience, mouse and keyboard are next to useless. A real disapointment leaving me thinking the PC version was a pure "cash-in" on the part of the developers.

    2. You will receive next to no help. You are on your own with this - there is virtually no tutorial and no intuitive help at all. Oh there are some guides in game on what to press but...you guessed it....they are all console buttons.

    Overall, a game that is undoubtedly great on PS3/Xbox, but PC gamers should avoid it. Extremely over-rated.    … Expand
  43. Amiga1200
    Nov 6, 2014
    3
    I tried to play this game on PC but was unable to do so. First of all there is an issue of resolution that I do not have while playing any other game. To make the game resolution acceptable I had to zoom the screen with my monitor settings because the game did not allow me to do so. So I spent about 30 minutes adjusting the screen. Then came the graphics which looked like it was made 5I tried to play this game on PC but was unable to do so. First of all there is an issue of resolution that I do not have while playing any other game. To make the game resolution acceptable I had to zoom the screen with my monitor settings because the game did not allow me to do so. So I spent about 30 minutes adjusting the screen. Then came the graphics which looked like it was made 5 years ago. But the hell with it - let's see the actual gameplay. Well ... and it came to controlling the hero. I really tried to play this game but the control system felt utterly choppy and tiresome. If the difficulty of the game is determined by simply bad control system then I am out. I also tried to play FIFA 2013 on PC and I also dropped this **** out for the same reason.

    If companies can't port games from consoles to PC then they should not see it for full price. Do not try to sell garbage or unfinished products to customers. I do not understand the positive comments on this piece of crap - I really can't. There are some many games that are not buggy and have acceptable flowing control system. Why support this unfinished crap ?

    The game challenge is based on choppy and broken control system - that's the was I see it.    … Expand
  44. NotPaidToWrite
    Jul 31, 2015
    3
    Two names: Ancient dragon and King Vendrick.
    You don't know them now, but you will know them once you play.
    Have fun holding onto a leg for a full thirty minutes with these two just to win. The pvp is broken. That's something you'll run into a lot of people saying. That's something you'll run into in game too regardless of what you do. I could go on with it and how it is, but if    Two names: Ancient dragon and King Vendrick.
    You don't know them now, but you will know them once you play.

    Have fun holding onto a leg for a full thirty minutes with these two just to win.

    The pvp is broken.
    That's something you'll run into a lot of people saying. That's something you'll run into in game too regardless of what you do. I could go on with it and how it is, but if googling ""dark souls 2 broken pvp builds"" in hopes of finding character builds to get better acquainted with pvp ---to only get results of people complaining about pvp with satire 'mlg' videos won't convince you that pvp is a joke, then I certainly won't convince you, so go ahead. Have fun getting hit from a sword being swung 20 yards away as the person suddenly teleports behind you with the power of raw unfiltered lag.

    Hackers are a big deal. Hackers can **** with your game. Hackers can also ban you from playing. So that's a fun possibility.

    Summoning others for co-op can be a pain. Some people think it's either soul memory or soul level that scales with who you can summon. You won't really know without looking it up and taking an opinion; and that's most of Dark Souls 2. A few areas you'll just get invaded over and over and killed by someone who desperately needs a new router or better connection. So good luck getting someone to fight that ancient dragon with you without getting killed before you reach it.

    Some enemies are just flat out annoying. I get it that the developers want the game to be harder than the first dark souls but it doesn't suit the system. If you ever played the first dark souls, then imagine what it would be like if a humanoid enemy locked onto you and just kept swinging a club every second non stop while running at you; just no breaks on its train. After a swing will be another within a second flat. Or imagine white knights that swing in a 360 angle every second with a large hit radius as if they had unlimited stamina.

    There's difficulty and then there's annoying. They can be beaten. Everything can. But I rather do something else than spend hours of gathering and looking up info on the internet, making a build, and going through hours of item hunting and researching just to beat a boss, while getting attacked by unbeatable lag players and hackers, just to continue on with the rest of the game's content. Taking the time to build a house for someone without getting paid will feel more worth it.    … Expand
  45. davitolucena
    Jul 7, 2023
    3
    Não gostei gastei dinheiro atua mim a rependo muito por isso pena que o meu dinheiro não volta espero um dia poder voltar para esse jogo
  46. odviee
    Jun 20, 2023
    3
    Boring, not fun, the locations and bosses feel like copies from the 1st Dark Souls, feels like an uninspired cash-grab, the DLC I got just spawns way too many enemies in one room so it's only hard that way, the bosses feel underwhelmingly easy comparing them to the hellhole of trying to fight 10-20 zombies at the same time, it's just the worst part without question.
  47. TemplarGR
    Sep 9, 2016
    2
    Well, to get this out of the way first, the port is good. it is playable, but you need a controller. This game is hell with keyboard and mouse. But i won't focus on that, because the main game is trash anyway. Just know that i have played it properly with a gamepad, and my criticism is not about the port.

    If you try to be objective for a moment, and look at this as a piece of software,    Well, to get this out of the way first, the port is good. it is playable, but you need a controller. This game is hell with keyboard and mouse. But i won't focus on that, because the main game is trash anyway. Just know that i have played it properly with a gamepad, and my criticism is not about the port.

    If you try to be objective for a moment, and look at this as a piece of software, comparing it with the competition, you can't help but wonder how can this compare to other AAA games of its era. Graphics are bad, animations and hitboxes are archaic, controls are literally trash. Sound is nothing special, music, what is music? Dialogs are few. The character system is bad and not explained, you can't design a good character without a guide. Enemy AI is non-existant, enemies just stand on their place and just hit you with swords/arrows/whatever. They are just hit point sponges. There are bugs. This game could have been created with 4-5 interns at best. This is no AAA.

    Then we have the supposed "difficulty". Make no mistake, this game is not difficult, it is cheap. Let no blinded fanboy and "hardcore gamer" tell you otherwise. There is nothing difficult with Dark Souls. If it had a proper save system and allowed proper difficulty settings (easy/medium/hard), it would have been much, much easier than other games, because there is literally no enemy AI on this game. If you play Skyrim on the hardest setting, enemies can become HP sponges too, and hit you harder. Same thing, on a far better video game.

    You don't have to be a good gamer to complete this game. I am all for a challenge, but i am 33 years old, and my time is limited. I don't have the time to die 500x times, lose all progress and have to travel all the way again, or grind endlessly in order to beat a boss. That sh1t should have died in the 80s/90s. This is not difficulty, this is tedium. Difficulty is trying to beat a hard AI in chess. Having to grind to win a boss or die repeatedly to learn its patterns, is just a way to waste hours of your life for no reason. It is just BAD DESIGN. A proper human being, that means not a basement dweller, has no time for this sh1t.

    Last but not least, there is no reward for suffering to complete this game. The story is trash, the lore is trash. You have nothing to gain by completing this, other than "bragging rights". For me, if anyone, and i mean, anyone, comes to me and tells me that "he is a hardcore gamer because he wasted hours of his life dying cheap deaths in order to finish a non AAA console port", it is a litmus test for being an idiot. "sure bra, you completed this abomination, what a life accomplishment you made!" All the while normal people play real games to relax for fun. They accomplish things were it really matters, in real life, not in a trashy video game made to torment them and waste their time. Time is precious and short on this planet.

    I can't explain the high scores of this game by reviewers. Typically, the metacritic scores it has achieved are reserved for classics and masterpieces, and this trash is not. Also, typically, Japanese games have become garbage in the PS3 generation and afterwards. Repetitive trash with low production values. From software was a small japanese developer never known for any good game prior to this. So how come they made it? I believe it is a combination of "marketing" (read:bribes), younger gamers' inexperience and vanity, and Stockholm syndrome. Sony and Japanese gamers/media, have every reason to attempt to push this cheap trash as a "masterpiece" in order to make a comeback in the industry. They don't have the budgets/expertise to compete with western AAA, with a few exceptions, so they get "creative" promoting obsolete design as a virtue. Professional reviewers don't want to score it lower to not be called "n00bs" and told to "git gud". They typically never finish their games, they almost always play on easy, but somehow they adore Dark Souls... Yeah right... Kids with no accomplishments in their real life, are eager to show off by finishing this turd, and then go online and tell everyone and their dog about it. And they call anyone who won't suffer this garbage "a casual". Most of those kids have completed this game by sheer repetition and grinding, or with guides and cheats. Yet they want to keep the appearence of having fun with it, because admitting this is trash, will make them having to admit they wasted their time and what they accomplished is nothing special. Or maybe they are kids, so they don't value their time. Probably the reason for the whole popularity.

    I have even seen a best game ever list on us gamer, putting Dark Souls on No1 spot. That is after the release of Witcher 3... Calling it a master piece and work of genius. My God, the emperor has no clothes. Are these clowns getting paid to write this?

    Waste no time with this series of games. Next time someone calls you a "casual" for it, just laugh at his face. This fad will be over soon.    … Expand
  48. Dethstar
    May 4, 2014
    2
    PS - To Bandai and the paid for marketeers flooding this site with reviews. You might want to pay for native English speakers first. If your going to do it then at least make a proper effort. Then again, at least your consistent with your scam of a game as this probably took about the same amount of effort to create as some of the pidgeon English reviews they have been posting here andPS - To Bandai and the paid for marketeers flooding this site with reviews. You might want to pay for native English speakers first. If your going to do it then at least make a proper effort. Then again, at least your consistent with your scam of a game as this probably took about the same amount of effort to create as some of the pidgeon English reviews they have been posting here and elsewhere on the net.

    The first portion of the game is a long intro in which your mean to create your character. Unfortunately being an utterly **** console port (one of the worst I have seen) it is unplayable for me as try as I might the game will not recognise the letters on my keyboard so I cant create a character. Simply gives character unrecognised errors for everything. This in itself is not so bad if I had not been ripped off, spending 50 Euros on this terrible example of just why console games will never be as good as something designed for PC specifically. The field of view and aspect ratio during play is absolutely awful making it look like your watching everything through a small slot like a postbox.

    So I sent a message to Steam where I brought it. Despite UK and EU statutory law concerning sale of goods they sent me to Bandai. Bandai just do not respond at all. So not only did this game cause me to drop it, it cost a long term relationship with steam as well as they treated my with utter contempt for asking me for my money back ignoring the fact that the contractual relationship for sale of goods is between us. Passed it to the consumer protection agency and they are dealing with it. Also passed the story on to UK independence party campaigners to use if they see fit to indicate how corporations ignore EU law.

    There are claims that the game is beautiful etc.. Well, while your looking through that little slot it is a bit hard to tell as your characters arse takes up quite a lot of the screen real estate and there is little room to gauge how nice it might look. The quality of the art work reminded me of the witcher 2 but the field of view here was unplayable if your not limited by playing on a console.

    Perhaps some PC gamer modders will make this playable someday but it is not worth paying for as it is.

    So, this game was actually so bad, and the company behind it's support so poor that it cost me a 6 year relationship with a vendor I used to like.

    Sorry to digress but the outcome indicates how poor the game actually is.    … Expand
  49. DaveTheJackal
    May 15, 2014
    2
    Forget what others are saying about the console port re controls, that's the least of this game's issues.

    What it does right: better usability in some ways, with improvements to game-play BUT: Not only is an xbox controller mandatory and there are xbox prompts on the screen AND the graphics are way worse than in previews but the fact that this is the barest of bones port is revealed    Forget what others are saying about the console port re controls, that's the least of this game's issues.

    What it does right: better usability in some ways, with improvements to game-play BUT:

    Not only is an xbox controller mandatory and there are xbox prompts on the screen AND the graphics are way worse than in previews but the fact that this is the barest of bones port is revealed in terms of how spell durations, invulnerabilities, even some actions are timed in the game.

    They do it by using counters decremented each time a frame is drawn on the screen. Not this is a dubious method of programming anyway (haven't these people heard of timer interrupts?) but at least on the consoles, which are locked to 30fps, there's not much of a problem. On the PC however, where frame rates can vary immensely and you have a massive problem. Especially in PVP. It means the way spell effects, melee moves etc work depend on how fast your PC is. Appalling.

    Also: the game world is trash. Unlike the original dark souls none of it fits together, you can't see most areas from most others, even when you clearly should have. They even have the inside of a volcano you go upwards to get to from a tower above which is open sky! So many rough edges I can only think they rushed things and needed more time to finish but instead decided to release what they had.

    So, it isn't just a poor port but the whole game smacks of a quick cash in too.

    Also: They have now removed VAC secured multi-player support so good luck tackling cheaters.    … Expand
  50. bombrero
    Apr 26, 2014
    2
    I still remember how frustrated I felt when the first Dark Souls came to PC, and it was THE worst port I had ever played on pc (and I have a long history with BAD ports). Luckily for me, there were a bunch of fans that fixed the company work for us gamers without asking for a single penny, so I ended up enjoying the game I had bought (half of my money should have been to those guys whoI still remember how frustrated I felt when the first Dark Souls came to PC, and it was THE worst port I had ever played on pc (and I have a long history with BAD ports). Luckily for me, there were a bunch of fans that fixed the company work for us gamers without asking for a single penny, so I ended up enjoying the game I had bought (half of my money should have been to those guys who fixed the game), and I remembering me thinking "they wont do this again, right? The backlash was pretty hard on them" well yesterday I bought this game (the sequel) and I'm already feeling like I will need those guys who fixed the first one again! Really?. For starters, it doesn't initiate if I have my controller plugged onto the pc, it just crashes, so I cant play it with my controller (not that I would like it but, It's the recommended way right?), amusingly enough, it doesnt seems to matter if I have my nostromo plugged into the pc or not (I tried unplugging it, plugging it with the controller, plugging the controller alone, etc) and guess why it doesnt matter? because it doesnt recognize it. So that leaves me out with traditional keyboard and mouse, so ok. I try to start the game: CTD!, try it again, CTD when I first move! I'm starting to have a Deja vu from the first game (which had several graphics problems that luckily those fixes from those saviors fixed for me, which made my game CTD), so I use Nvidia control center to deactivate several graphics options (rather force them) and the game stops CTDing. Yay! Who needs graphics, right? well turns out the controlls are a damn mess. Better than the first one, but not by far. So I end up getting really pissed and as a result I come here to warn people that if you buy this and have the astonishing luck that it works like intended, you will have to deal with camera and key binding issues that will have you dead not because the game is difficult, but because you will feel paralyzed by the control system.
    So, I'm planning to get a refund on this garbage and move on to something better from another company, a company that doesnt have his fans fixing their games for them... Oops It seems there are none of those nowadays.    … Expand
  51. Klun
    Apr 27, 2014
    2
    Critic Reviews plz find another job ...

    This game... Lets keep it short because this game is not even worthy of huge review. The story is bland as hell, same as the graphics and the gameplay ohhh my goood... You have a jump key but you cant jump, is a lazy "jump the puddle " feature, the game is Awesome because is so HARDDD , of course is HARDDDD is a Broken Mess, over sensitive    Critic Reviews plz find another job ...

    This game... Lets keep it short because this game is not even worthy of huge review.
    The story is bland as hell, same as the graphics and the gameplay ohhh my goood...
    You have a jump key but you cant jump, is a lazy "jump the puddle " feature, the game is Awesome because is so HARDDD , of course is HARDDDD is a Broken Mess, over sensitive camera even with the lowest settings, awful controls layout and beyond stupid Mechanics, customizations... a lot when you can figure it out.
    To sum up one horrid port that should stay in consoles, one of the worst Sp experience in years and the Mp ... well good luck with that. Avoid this crap    … Expand
  52. RealCritical
    May 23, 2014
    2
    And once more time we have the same situacion, metascore : 10, user score: 6.9, so I asked why this and I downloaded the game... the conclusion : 2

    Why? Because Dark Souls 1 were very good game, but this... what is this? Boring game, lineal gameplay, and very short... I don't know why these days the games are going worst.
  53. MageValerie
    Jun 8, 2014
    2
    This game is literally unplayable on PC. I wish I could actually review it based on I don't know, playing the game? The controls are a nightmare to figure out, and barely work once they do. I've experienced freezing and crashing beyond any other game I've ever played. How about next time a game doesn't work for PC, DON'T RELEASE IT ON PC. Serious waste of money.
  54. aliwake
    Apr 29, 2014
    2
    DS2 is RPG game but this game is not very hard.but most people say this game is very hard Rather this game is Slag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Do not waste your money for this game.because dark souls 2 is the most bad console port game Ever.
    The only good thing is playing music.In some areas it is!!!!!!!!!! I can not stand that the game would be completely empty. Detailed level the    DS2 is RPG game but this game is not very hard.but most people say this game is very hard Rather this game is Slag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Do not waste your money for this game.because dark souls 2 is the most bad console port game Ever.
    The only good thing is playing music.In some areas it is!!!!!!!!!!
    I can not stand that the game would be completely empty. Detailed level the playing Disaster All times playing video games on the shoulders of graphic art spread.People who say that this game is only for certain people are completely wrong.This game is not only a map, not a mission to be spun like crazy on the environment that you are looking for a monster first half with a shot to the back. Skyrim does not even have the game in terms of graphics is more like Dragon Age.
    I'm glad we enter the next generation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  55. AHerdofCats
    Apr 25, 2014
    2
    After hearing about the problems the first Dark Souls game had on PC, I put off buying it until I knew that some of its problems had been fixed by the developers or modders, or that there certainly wasn't going to be any further improvement. I was disappointed to find that it only showed the XBox controller buttons in place of the keyboard commands and it took some rebinding to getAfter hearing about the problems the first Dark Souls game had on PC, I put off buying it until I knew that some of its problems had been fixed by the developers or modders, or that there certainly wasn't going to be any further improvement. I was disappointed to find that it only showed the XBox controller buttons in place of the keyboard commands and it took some rebinding to get keyboard and mouse rebound to a functional set-up but I was ultimately treated to a fantastic game. The atmosphere in Dark Souls, as well as its environmental storytelling and bosses were all phenomenal, and I've sunk many long hours into the game.

    I've therefore been waiting with a great deal of excitement for Dark Souls 2. Dark Souls was a rushed port in response to high PC player demand so some problems were expected, but surely there wouldn't be any with Dark Souls 2, which was developed for PC simultaneously ... Wrong! The Xbox controller prompts are back. The default bindings are appalling, and many keyboard buttons can't actually be bound for no apparent reason. The controls are laggy in a game were rapid responsiveness are key. There's also the more minor issue of the massive downgrade in the lighting of the game, which hopefully may be fixed at some point for PC.

    In short, this is once again an embarrassingly bad port, and I'd advise waiting for fixes from the developers or modders before getting it. What I've played of the game itself seems great, but it's simply not a finished product and I object to being sold games in this condition.    … Expand
  56. pfmahoney
    Apr 28, 2014
    2
    I heard from friends that Dark Souls II was pretty good - and the metacritic scores were pretty good so I bought a copy, downloaded it on Steam and found that it's basically unplayable. The tutorial says to hit buttons that plainly don't do anything. It says to hit "A" and I hit A and it does nothing. I finally figured out how to open a door but then it says to hit "B" and that doesI heard from friends that Dark Souls II was pretty good - and the metacritic scores were pretty good so I bought a copy, downloaded it on Steam and found that it's basically unplayable. The tutorial says to hit buttons that plainly don't do anything. It says to hit "A" and I hit A and it does nothing. I finally figured out how to open a door but then it says to hit "B" and that does nothing.

    I am completely perplexed by trying to play the game... it's like it's broken. The mouse works ok, and I can move around like I always do with W, A, S, and D but any sort of move or action doesn't actually work at all, and I can't figure out how to do anything. I've spent some time reading reviews by users and apparently, it's all using the console controls - which is ridiculous. It's a PC game sold on Steam - PC's come with keyboards and mice.

    I don't understand how it's even legal to sell a game which doesn't work. I'm going to try to get a refund from Steam... but since I've never heard of anyone getting a refund on Steam, I'm thinking that I have a hard struggle in front of me... but likely easier than trying to learn how to play Dark Souls II on the PC.

    I'm totally disappointed and the company should be embarrassed that they released this mess.    … Expand
  57. redglyph
    Jan 30, 2021
    2
    This game is a failed console port, for which the controls haven't been completely translated yet, resulting in confusing and awkward handling. The graphics are outdated and very average, even on top hardware, in revenge the framerate is quite good. The world is lacking details, feels really empty, and is reminiscent of mid-90's games when 3D RPG's were first appearing. The story andThis game is a failed console port, for which the controls haven't been completely translated yet, resulting in confusing and awkward handling. The graphics are outdated and very average, even on top hardware, in revenge the framerate is quite good. The world is lacking details, feels really empty, and is reminiscent of mid-90's games when 3D RPG's were first appearing. The story and dialogs are a bit boring to be frank, and despite my keeping an open mind, playing Dark Souls II felt more like a torture than having any sort of fun. Finally, there is no technical support whatsoever, no matter how "as soon as possible" they promise to reply, I couldn't get any help in 3 weeks' time regarding the broken controls and some serious bugs, that's even worse than ASUS or Samsung which are significant references in the matter.… Expand
  58. Lamps
    May 18, 2014
    2
    I was fooled by the excellent reviews this game recieved. It is not an excellent game, especially on PC. I am literally going to say the same thing that everyone else who gave this game a bad review said. I only made it to the first town outside of the tutorial.

    At first, you cant play the game because you will literally need to establish your own key binds for keyboard/mouse. All of    I was fooled by the excellent reviews this game recieved. It is not an excellent game, especially on PC. I am literally going to say the same thing that everyone else who gave this game a bad review said. I only made it to the first town outside of the tutorial.

    At first, you cant play the game because you will literally need to establish your own key binds for keyboard/mouse. All of the tutorial messages display the XBox controls, so you dont learn any keys from the tutorial. It took me 1 hour and some internet research to rebind the keys. That is because you have no way of knowing that Shift+Left click is the equivilant to XBox 'A', so no matter how many times you rebind your keys the settings wont save until you look up on the internet how to hit 'A'.

    There is no explanation of whats going on at all. There are creatures in the tutorial I was unable to beat, even after looking up online how to beat them. There is no quest log or map, so you had better remember what you were supposed to be doing. If you talk to a person, they dont necessairly give you any info until you stand there and talk to them over and over and over... If they had something important to say why wouldnt they just say it?

    Having the XP and money system the same is garbage, on my first, second and third attempt at a new game I didnt even understand that I had been forfeiting all of my characters experience by dying after I had allready died.

    I can see that the game has merrit, but I genuinly did not enjoy the game and I really tried to give it a chance. I am a huge RPG fan, and I dont mind being thrown directly into harms way, but you shouldnt need to research walkthroughs and wiki's just to understand whats going on.

    Also, I laughed at someone elses review on here, I was still unable to light my torch even after looking up how to do it - didnt care to figure out what the PC equivilany to the XBox 'Y' was.

    Try this game before you buy it, or you may be sorely disappointed.    … Expand
  59. Marc269
    May 21, 2014
    2
    what a rip-off. i have never felt so cheated by professional opinion. metascore of 91? close to skyrim?
    next time i will check the user score before buying. the graphics are 2005, the handling via mouse and keyboard feels like solving rubik's cube on a bull ride. maybe a good buy for frenetic fans.
  60. 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
  61. vova22379
    Jul 27, 2023
    2
    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  62. Andrew_Paterson
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    I seldom give games low or high scores unless they are uttlery outstanding in some way.

    Dark Souls II is an outstandingly bad console port. I assume. I haven't managed to start it yet as it immediately crashes back to the desktop. Couple this with feedback that keyboard and mouse controls are broken and that modding the game to fix it is a bannable offence and there's not a lot    I seldom give games low or high scores unless they are uttlery outstanding in some way.

    Dark Souls II is an outstandingly bad console port. I assume. I haven't managed to start it yet as it immediately crashes back to the desktop.

    Couple this with feedback that keyboard and mouse controls are broken and that modding the game to fix it is a bannable offence and there's not a lot left.

    A sincere pity that Dark Souls II is pile of trash because I really, really, really enjoyed the first one.    … Expand
  63. badjim
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    I think the fact that the game "Goat Simulator" has a higher user score (much higher in fact) pretty much says it all. Dark Souls II is certainly the worst game release of 2014 so far. The graphics are bad - really quite bad, the character design would have been fresh 20 years ago, and the controls feel like you are operating a marionette while wearing boxing gloves. The designers of thisI think the fact that the game "Goat Simulator" has a higher user score (much higher in fact) pretty much says it all. Dark Souls II is certainly the worst game release of 2014 so far. The graphics are bad - really quite bad, the character design would have been fresh 20 years ago, and the controls feel like you are operating a marionette while wearing boxing gloves. The designers of this game have taken a great concept and have failed absolutely in the execution. I can't blame it all on the port of this game (as bad as it is); mechanically, this game is obnoxious. Here we have yet another fine example of an industry that has too many wins in marketing and too many losses in actual game making.… Expand
  64. ozorxoron
    Apr 29, 2014
    1
    Such an unworthy sequel, worse in every possible way than the first game. One person leaves the development team and the whole thing falls to ruin. Good job, Fromsoft.
  65. lm324
    May 11, 2014
    1
    I've given this game 5 days, but I give up it blows. The pc port is terrible, controls are the main problem tooltips do not update to the keybinds you select they always reference xbox360 controls. It should not take an hour to figure out how to use a damn torch either. It is not fun, it is not and rpg, it has a lousy tutorial and horrible help system . If u bought it read the wiki forI've given this game 5 days, but I give up it blows. The pc port is terrible, controls are the main problem tooltips do not update to the keybinds you select they always reference xbox360 controls. It should not take an hour to figure out how to use a damn torch either. It is not fun, it is not and rpg, it has a lousy tutorial and horrible help system . If u bought it read the wiki for a few hours if you haven't don't bother.… Expand
  66. Hobbit
    May 1, 2014
    1
    I've played a lot of video games, and I'm okay with a degree of difficulty but after four days of trying a melee character and just dying over and over and over with no progress this just wasn't any fun. No easy mode to get to learn the game the first time thru, no way to sell gear gathered during repeated deaths to get some better basic gear. No real way to warm up to this game,I've played a lot of video games, and I'm okay with a degree of difficulty but after four days of trying a melee character and just dying over and over and over with no progress this just wasn't any fun. No easy mode to get to learn the game the first time thru, no way to sell gear gathered during repeated deaths to get some better basic gear. No real way to warm up to this game, disappointing waste of money for me. Can see how hard core gamers might enjoy the challenge but would think some form of difficulty scaling so others who buy the game and just want of play in offline mode could get something out of it would be a nice feature.… Expand
  67. Bawaga
    May 1, 2014
    1
    I rarely come to Metacritc to do reviews but I had to warn all PC gamers out there. I can't believe I bought into the hype. My friends who have consoles were raving how good Dark Souls 2 was. WRONG. This game is a terrible PC port filled with bugs. The graphics are chunky, the voice acting sucks, and most of all it's really hard to play with a mouse + keyboard. I spent my first hourI rarely come to Metacritc to do reviews but I had to warn all PC gamers out there. I can't believe I bought into the hype. My friends who have consoles were raving how good Dark Souls 2 was. WRONG. This game is a terrible PC port filled with bugs. The graphics are chunky, the voice acting sucks, and most of all it's really hard to play with a mouse + keyboard. I spent my first hour rebinding keys over and over to get them to work somewhat. I would rebind the keys and game would still be somehow be mixing up the old bind with the new binds WTF. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

    The game is hard not because of the monsters but because it's very hard to control your own character. More than half of my deaths were caused because my character was not responding properly to the keybinds. If the enemy gets too close my character would sometimes swing his weapon through him and miss. WTF Too many clipping issues to count. I gave up after 5 hours of sheer frustration. Save your money and avoid this piece of garbage PC port at all cost.    … Expand
  68. ehmkec
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    I read a review of DSII before I bought the game. I specifically paid attention to the mouse/keyboard references from the reviewer. He said they were much improved over the original. I am really disappointed. I am 65 and I love playing PC games. I have 177 Steam games. But my hands and a controller do not get along very well. I always play with M/K or I have pain. And man, what aI read a review of DSII before I bought the game. I specifically paid attention to the mouse/keyboard references from the reviewer. He said they were much improved over the original. I am really disappointed. I am 65 and I love playing PC games. I have 177 Steam games. But my hands and a controller do not get along very well. I always play with M/K or I have pain. And man, what a pain this game is. I even tried it with a controller and it takes 3 controller actions to jump. !!3!!! Lazy porting.… Expand
  69. KoosKing
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Terrible port is terrible and doesn't even run. Do not waste your money on this until after it's been patched. Seriously, don't do it - even if you think that maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones. Don't do it. It's not worth your money.
  70. tallem
    May 6, 2014
    1
    So first off, I played a total of 15 minutes and probably killed 4 enemies, this review has NOTHING to do with gameplay.

    I just could not get myself to play this game, everything about this screams of port. First off, the menus, they almost made me quit the game within a minute of launching it, they are probably the worst I've encountered in a game to date, nothing more to it. The    So first off, I played a total of 15 minutes and probably killed 4 enemies, this review has NOTHING to do with gameplay.

    I just could not get myself to play this game, everything about this screams of port. First off, the menus, they almost made me quit the game within a minute of launching it, they are probably the worst I've encountered in a game to date, nothing more to it. The options are for some reason even worse, to get to half of them you need to load up a save or in the case that you don't have one, start a new game. The UI has the buttons of a 360 controller yet the game does not work with mine for some unknown reason (yes it works in Steam big picture mode and in other games).

    The graphics are overall also quite "meh", lighting effects and some textures look good but a lot of animations are horrid and as I got to the character creation menu I was seriously doubting that I was playing a game released in 2014.

    Overall this just feels like an unfinished product and I am legitimately sad that I spent my money on it.    … Expand
  71. Bobblebeheader
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Wow... Just wow... And not in a good way.

    Let me just say this: the game is a very bad port from console (Xbox) to PC. Especially the controls and thus the gameplay have suffered, and since that is the bread and butter of any game it just breaks Dark Souls II. It's clunky, it's non-responsive, it's broken.

    That really should be all you need to know not to buy the game at this point.
  72. Sky-Moondrift
    Apr 26, 2014
    1
    Relative to the time of release, DS2 for PC is somehow an even crappier port than its predecessor, It looks bad, it sounds bad and yep, it plays like utter ****

    Funny thing is I saw this coming a mile away, so of course I didn't buy it. A company that knew the original Dark souls was a pathetic excuse for a PC release NEVER BOTHERED TO PATCH IT!! After all this time, Of course they will    Relative to the time of release, DS2 for PC is somehow an even crappier port than its predecessor, It looks bad, it sounds bad and yep, it plays like utter ****

    Funny thing is I saw this coming a mile away, so of course I didn't buy it. A company that knew the original Dark souls was a pathetic excuse for a PC release NEVER BOTHERED TO PATCH IT!! After all this time, Of course they will treat PC gamers like idiots again for the sequel.

    Its the exact same deal this time around- What you pay for is the dregs of an average console game, that looks and plays like a ps2 game, even the sound is atrocious, I couldn't stand to play more than an hour of this insulting trash.    … Expand
  73. Uxz
    Apr 26, 2014
    1
    Had to spend 4 hours trying to get past the infamous "White screen" which crashed the game at launch - the only way to get past was unplugging the monitor while launching it, replugging when it was in the menus.

    Anyways the GAME! I enjoyed Dark Souls 1 but this has clunky Controllers, feels like there is alot of delay and a frustrating camera that does not navigate well - running    Had to spend 4 hours trying to get past the infamous "White screen" which crashed the game at launch - the only way to get past was unplugging the monitor while launching it, replugging when it was in the menus.

    Anyways the GAME! I enjoyed Dark Souls 1 but this has clunky Controllers, feels like there is alot of delay and a frustrating camera that does not navigate well - running backwards does not turn the camera round, just the character - falling off a Cliff by accident while "kiting" a boss because the camera does not show where you are running -is not my kind of fun.

    Another frustrating thing is that the menus has XBOX 360 (!!) buttons and keys in the menus - so you have to Guess which keys correnspond to those on the keyboard - making it worse if that you cannot rebind all the keys in the game, making the game quite unplesant if you use a keyboard and mouse - thankfully I do have a Controller - but it still feels very clunky when moving, it feels like Your character doesn't have fluid movement but rotates/moves at an 8 axis.

    Also a warning to whoever has a VAC Ban: Dont buy, you will NOT be able to acess the game servers even if you were banned 10 years ago!    … Expand
  74. MeKrika
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    This is the worst game I've played in years,words can't describe how miserable this experience was.
    This game has THE WORST hit detection ever.
    Boss fights are really cheap because instead of good AI the morons at namco decided to make the AI balls but their HP and damage infinite so they can instakill you with 1 or 2 attacks.Dodging and blocking is horrible most of the time dodging    This is the worst game I've played in years,words can't describe how miserable this experience was.
    This game has THE WORST hit detection ever.
    Boss fights are really cheap because instead of good AI the morons at namco decided to make the AI balls but their HP and damage infinite so they can instakill you with 1 or 2 attacks.Dodging and blocking is horrible
    most of the time dodging will kill you and blocking is even worse,most of the bosses can go through your shield and stagger you.the game is saying ''f**k you'' to everybody who wants to play offline without other dipshi*s coming and killing them,50% of the time you will be getting useless online items that you have 0 use in offline,most of the bosses require you to summon somebody which you can't do wile you're offline, so in 5 (or less) years when they shut down the severs you're pretty much f****d.The port this time around is even WORSE than the last one more pop-in and the lag is even worse i ran the last game at a stable 25-30 fps i run this one at 40-50 but every few seconds the fps drops to less than 10 for a few seconds this gets especially frustrating when fighting a boss ( i surpass the recommended system requirements)and still no keyboard and mouse mappings.It's good that when you kill an enemy a certain amount of time they stop respawning but if you die and fail to retrieve your souls a few time in a row i could spend the whole game like a ginger.So overall is This game worth the money ? Hell no.Not even a rent.Maybe after 10 patches the game could possibly be half-decent/playable but in it's current state you must avoid it at all cost .    … Expand
  75. Laloiken
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Извините, но это просто не уважение к пользователям.
    Выпустили игру под PC, но управление не додумались нормально сделать.
    Примеры: 1) При запуске игры, предлагают нажать на какую-то неведомую кнопку старт. Спасибо, хоть, что можно нажать esc, enter или ЛКМ. http://itmages.ru/image/view/1637245/1e728a7b 2) Выбор настроек происходит при помощи клавиш "A" и "B" нажимаю на них и ни    Извините, но это просто не уважение к пользователям.
    Выпустили игру под PC, но управление не додумались нормально сделать.
    Примеры:
    1) При запуске игры, предлагают нажать на какую-то неведомую кнопку старт. Спасибо, хоть, что можно нажать esc, enter или ЛКМ.
    http://itmages.ru/image/view/1637245/1e728a7b
    2) Выбор настроек происходит при помощи клавиш "A" и "B" нажимаю на них и ни черта. Какого хрена спрашивается? Спасибо, что хоть ESC и Enter работают.
    http://itmages.ru/image/view/1637249/6905f13e
    3) Что бы выполнить в игре жесты нужно нажимать "A","B","Y" или "X", которые, опять, не работают
    http://itmages.ru/image/view/1637254/8103a2dd
    4) При нажатии на esc навигацию по меню предлагают делать при помощи хоткеев LB и RB. Кто-нить может ткнуть пальцем, где на клаве находятся эти клавиши? Я в упор их не вижу.
    http://itmages.ru/image/view/1637258/db8f87f8
    5) Если там можно еще хоть мышкой елозить, хотя напрашивается вопрос, нафига тогда было делать хоткеи для навигации, но вот когда подходишь к дому и тебя просят нажать на "А", а она нихрена не работает. Вот тут уж извините. Я всю клавиатуру поперетыкал, что бы открыть чертову дверь, но так и не смог.
    Не знаю как Вы, но меня такое отношение бесит. И если после игры в ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥у, я бы купил бы ее, то теперь точно нет.
    Игра для меня ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥о, хотя может там и супер-пупер эпичный сюжет.    … Expand
  76. dell193
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Unplayable with mouse and keyboard. They didn't even take the time to translate all keymapping hints to a keyboard input. And on top of that, when you press a button it litteraly takes ages for your character to actually do something.
    Graphics are very bad aswell, yet i wouldn't mind if you could actaully play the game. Getting infos in this game is also a pain in the ass.
  77. dsheik
    Apr 28, 2014
    1
    I really wanted this game to work. I went and purchased a controller specifically for this game. Dont bother if you plan on playing it on a PC. Maybe its great on a console but its not playable on PC. Ill check back to see if updates are made, but for now its unplayable.
  78. Malathion
    May 17, 2014
    1
    I've never played a Souls game before, but I like challenges so I tried this .... thing:

    Graphics: are an absolute catastrophy. As others have pointed out here, it's about worthy of 2010. And yes, I did max out the settings. Gameplay: This game was never designed to be played on a PC. All the key-bindings, the menus structure and their behaviour, the HUD layout, everything is about    I've never played a Souls game before, but I like challenges so I tried this .... thing:

    Graphics: are an absolute catastrophy. As others have pointed out here, it's about worthy of 2010. And yes, I did max out the settings.

    Gameplay: This game was never designed to be played on a PC. All the key-bindings, the menus structure and their behaviour, the HUD layout, everything is about as bad as it can get. The mouse is laggy, controllers aren't recognized, it crashes A LOT. Nothing in this gameplay is intuitive. Maybe they developed the port using just a gamepad.

    Audio: I think they just bought "Disney's best of' sound effect 1994"

    Story: Seems to be pretty cool, but it's impossible to enjoy considering all the gameplay faults and the weak graphics. This is where I give one point to the game.

    Pro-Reviewers: Were all invited by Namco to spend some luxurious holidays on some exotic island.

    Time to delete this "thing"...because it's not a game.    … Expand
  79. soulhunter
    May 27, 2014
    1
    game looks promising but the control is crappy. why dont they design it for pc user? just like a bad copy paste work from console. its a waste of money
  80. dvzon
    Jul 4, 2014
    1
    This game has a lot of potential but it's trash in the end. You will be dying more than playing. Nothing wrong with dying, but when you die because the controls and controllers are so god damn quirky, and unpolished, it's frustrating and a huge issue with the game.
    The movement controls are awful because it's not seamless or smooth, and this comes into play when you have to battle or kill    This game has a lot of potential but it's trash in the end. You will be dying more than playing. Nothing wrong with dying, but when you die because the controls and controllers are so god damn quirky, and unpolished, it's frustrating and a huge issue with the game.
    The movement controls are awful because it's not seamless or smooth, and this comes into play when you have to battle or kill an enemy mob. OH MY GOD, you will hate it. If you have ever played a smooth movement controlling game like WOW, diablo 3, call of duty, battlefield or any other high polish game with extremely smooth and seamless movement controls, YOU WILL HATE THIS GAME!
    Every time you engage an enemy or a boss you are praying your attacks will hit because you have no idea what the range is. You have the option of locking into an enemy or not locking. Either way you are **** If you lock into an enemy your character will move but not where you tell it to move and it looks like he developed a case of severe dementia because even though you are telling it to move away from the attacking enemy, this is all happening while you are getting beat up by the way, he stays around it, move towards it or just sits there. If you choose not to lock on to the enemy, pray to god that you can land hits. You will press to attack, somehow, even though you are facing the enemy, you attack air and your attack misses.
    Also, you will find that whenever you are about to engage an enemy, somehow they get to attack you first, EVEN THOUGH YOU PRESSED YOUR BUTTON TO ATTACK WAY BEFORE THEY STARTED ATTACKING YOU. This game is buggy as hell! and of course...you die!
    This game is all about progression yet they make it cheatingly impossible for you to progress. There is this thing called souls which is like in-game currency, which you can use to buy pretty much everything in the game. You can collect as many souls as you want! but if you die, you lose them all. After you die you can run back to the spot you died and re-collect them at once! great! BUT...BIG BUT! if you somehow die again after you just died, ALL THE SOULS YOU SPENT HOURS COLLECTING CAN NOT BE COLLECTED AGAIN so make sure to just die once...just once because the game doesn't give 2 **** about your spent time.

    If you want to spend hours progressing and then spend more hours trying to re-collect the souls you lost because you died, and then on the way to re-collect the 100k souls you worked very hard collecting you couldn't kill that guy with 1 knife because your attacks kept missing him because the game controls SUCK! hey, be my guest!

    trash game, don't waste your money.

    Spent over 50 hours playing and trying to like the game, but im no massochist..    … Expand
  81. JetLagg
    Oct 4, 2014
    1
    There's not much to say that the other PC gamers haven't already said. The port is unbelievably bad. 2 second delays for mouse attacks, tutorials that give you the console controller instructions rather than the keyboard and mouse. It took me two hours just to get the game functional. Long story short, don't buy this for the PC.

    The atmosphere and visuals are awesome. The challenge    There's not much to say that the other PC gamers haven't already said. The port is unbelievably bad. 2 second delays for mouse attacks, tutorials that give you the console controller instructions rather than the keyboard and mouse. It took me two hours just to get the game functional. Long story short, don't buy this for the PC.

    The atmosphere and visuals are awesome. The challenge really makes the scope of the game seem incredible. In that sense, I'd compare it to Zelda II (one of my favorite games of all time). However, Zelda II is the far superior game. While I can appreciate a challenge, far too often this game felt more tedious than challenging.    … Expand
  82. GatoVillano
    Feb 19, 2016
    1
    terrible graphics. no story. everything can kill you like you were nothing, and then you lose all your progress. Character creation is terrible. The gear looks awful. The controls are counter intuitive. There are still no way to pause the game (so if you have a life, forget this game). You cant even select the difficulty level. Give a extra super elite difficulty level for the gameterrible graphics. no story. everything can kill you like you were nothing, and then you lose all your progress. Character creation is terrible. The gear looks awful. The controls are counter intuitive. There are still no way to pause the game (so if you have a life, forget this game). You cant even select the difficulty level. Give a extra super elite difficulty level for the game fanatics to shut them up and make them feel like they were atlease half of a man playing your game in their mother's basement. And give us a casual setting for the people that come back from a hard days work and just wanna chill and relax.… Expand
  83. Benjamint22
    Jul 2, 2016
    1
    I strongly dis-recommend this game.
    I don't mind hardcore games, I don't mind extremely hard games that require me to retry the same part hundreds of times.
    But dodging a monster for it to be able to turn towards you *during* it's attack is unacceptable for me, but that's the least of an issue with this game. The PC version is not made to be played with a controller. But the PC version    I strongly dis-recommend this game.
    I don't mind hardcore games, I don't mind extremely hard games that require me to retry the same part hundreds of times.
    But dodging a monster for it to be able to turn towards you *during* it's attack is unacceptable for me, but that's the least of an issue with this game.
    The PC version is not made to be played with a controller.
    But the PC version is not made to be played with a mouse and keyboard either...
    All the graphics recommend controller buttons, yet it is impossible to customize the controls on the controller.

    I desperately wanted to like this game seeing all the good reviews I saw of it and when I began playing, I already expected it to be hard and likely very frustrating, but I certainly did not expect the many flaws of the game and the lazy developers.

    To finish it all off, the game is online and you can get banned for modding even though it's mainly a single player game, no thanks.

    I regret my purchase, maybe it would've been worth it for 2$ but certainly not 28$.    … Expand
  84. Insaner
    Apr 25, 2014
    0
    What a huge, huge, HUGE, H U G E, H-U-G-E, disappointment!!
    It's a bare console port down to the bones!! Controls are clunky, keys rebinding is a nightmare, there is an horrible delay that plagues the mouse's movements, I found at least 3 breaking bugs, and, at times, the game doesn't even start running!!
    Beware! Leave it alone. Save your money for something that is worth them.
  85. sclark13
    Mar 25, 2015
    0
    I've always been a supporter of From Software. I bought Demon's Souls when it released in Korea because I wasn't sure they would release it in the states. When it did release in the states, I bought it again for my friend who loved playing it at my house. When Dark Souls came out, I bought it for the PS3 and played through most of it, and when they released a really bad port of it on PC II've always been a supporter of From Software. I bought Demon's Souls when it released in Korea because I wasn't sure they would release it in the states. When it did release in the states, I bought it again for my friend who loved playing it at my house. When Dark Souls came out, I bought it for the PS3 and played through most of it, and when they released a really bad port of it on PC I bought it again just to have it on a preferred platform. I bought Dark Souls II for PC on pre-order partly because of the atmosphere that was advertised, but when it actually released I found it was a gimped version with barely any dynamic lighting, no SSAO, and low-res textures. I even paid full price for DLC in-spite of my anti-DLC stance, just to show them there is a market for their games. Finally the developers are putting out a version of Dark Souls II that promises to fix and optimize these issues, but instead of giving me that "fixed" version as a free patch, they are telling me and all the other players who have supported them that they want another $30 or more for that privilege.

    They are charging current PC users to unlock the improved performance that we were promised when we first bought the game.    … Expand
  86. duffeknol
    May 17, 2014
    0
    Screw this game. I'm dying not because it's hard, but because of terrible controls.
    Oh wow you want to just edge a little to the left? Let's fall off this cliff.
    Also it's never a good sign when you have to spend the first 20 minutes of the game actually configuring your controls. I think 'jump' was something like shift+click+click mousewheel. The hell is this, a flight sim?
    0/10. Unplayable.
  87. Makaveli
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I bought Dark Souls 2 for PS3 on release. I also bought it on PC because I heard that it was suppose to be even better than the console version... What a waste of money on buying this mess of a port... It hurts me to say anything against FROMSOFTWARE as they are my favorite dev but I can't let this slide..

    I have a pretty powerful gaming PC so how come I can't play Dark Souls 2... I    I bought Dark Souls 2 for PS3 on release. I also bought it on PC because I heard that it was suppose to be even better than the console version... What a waste of money on buying this mess of a port... It hurts me to say anything against FROMSOFTWARE as they are my favorite dev but I can't let this slide..

    I have a pretty powerful gaming PC so how come I can't play Dark Souls 2... I tried to start the game and I got this white screen... I retried.white screen... FINALLY, I got the game to "work" I get all the way to Majula and right when I sat at the bonfire the game crashed... I tried again...... got a white screen AGAIN.... This game is a POS and was suppose to be better than the console version.. I can see that the graphics are a little better but the controls are ASS on PC... Fromsoftware you lied to us and said that it will be possible to play your game with mouse and keyboard.... OK fine... But most of us are not psychic and know what keys are used for what because you use a xbox controller as a guide.. This game was suppose to be optimized for KB&M.. it's not...

    The console version is the better version albeit the graphics are not as good atleast you can PLAY THE GAME.... I know a lot of people will say " they will patch it".... well the game should be finished before release. I like to relax and play a game every now and then, so why the F do I have to F around with stuff just so I can play 5 mins? We pay 60 bucks for a game that is broken? This is not ok and I do not pay money to be a beta tester, you want me to test your game you give me money because the stress I went through trying to start this game and figure out how to control it is work... Fromsoftware... Stick to console games because you suck at PC and that hurts me to say it but ti's true.. I don't want you to become like most other devs and rush though things just for a quick buck... If you want to play this game, play it on PS3 or 360 don't play this garbage on PC......

    Very good game on consoles I must say...    … Expand
  88. deltaop007
    Aug 22, 2014
    0
    One of the worst ports in recent history, it even leaves the abysmal Watch Dogs behind. First of all the key bindings are all locked to the 360 controller. I had to mash every single key to open the door before those old ladies cut scene. Secondly, the game crashes inexplicably at various points. I have the machine to run it at the highest settings without a hitch yet it is agonizinglyOne of the worst ports in recent history, it even leaves the abysmal Watch Dogs behind. First of all the key bindings are all locked to the 360 controller. I had to mash every single key to open the door before those old ladies cut scene. Secondly, the game crashes inexplicably at various points. I have the machine to run it at the highest settings without a hitch yet it is agonizingly programmed for failure. I gave up on this game after around 40 minutes. Believe me, this game is crap.… Expand
  89. the_reality
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    The first thing you encounter is a door. A prompt comes up "press B". This door proves to be a unquenchable bastard. I've tried all the common keys WADS QEFR. Nothing. So I tried attacking the door. Nothing. I can't get past it. I should have listened when then said Dark Souls 2 was just a hard as Dark Souls 1. I find myself puzzled as I look at my Dark Souls 2 for PC box for some clue onThe first thing you encounter is a door. A prompt comes up "press B". This door proves to be a unquenchable bastard. I've tried all the common keys WADS QEFR. Nothing. So I tried attacking the door. Nothing. I can't get past it. I should have listened when then said Dark Souls 2 was just a hard as Dark Souls 1. I find myself puzzled as I look at my Dark Souls 2 for PC box for some clue on how to get past the door. Nothing. No Clue. I have to resolve that his game is too hardcore. Too Hardcore to the point of not being fun anymore. "Atmospheric dungeon, crawling, fearsome enemy encounters". Namco needs to realize that making a game hard doesn't make it fun. Sadly with less money in our pocket and critics giving scores in the 90's the joke is on us.… Expand
  90. WskOsc
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Dark Souls 2 is currently an unplayable mess for many, and plagued by bugs such as terrible keyboard/mouse controls that lag pretty badly.
    The game gets a 0 out of 10 not only for being unplayable/broken but also for a lack of proper support and communication from the developers, as well as how long it's taking them to issue a fix.
  91. Not_Casual
    Feb 9, 2015
    0
    Since from software is shafting the pc users by not giving us a free upgrade to the scholar of the first sin, I am changing this rating to 0 for deceptive marketing.
  92. Ivan665
    Jul 26, 2014
    0
    The PC port of Dark Souls II is just bad. The interface and controls are not prone to any customisation, and the interface is unintuitive. This is not and RPG game!!! Period. There are 28 GREAT RPGs released in the last 15 years, not counting any expansions and the MMOs, if you want an RPG, play some of those. This game doesnt have the essentials like a map, journal, party, real towns withThe PC port of Dark Souls II is just bad. The interface and controls are not prone to any customisation, and the interface is unintuitive. This is not and RPG game!!! Period. There are 28 GREAT RPGs released in the last 15 years, not counting any expansions and the MMOs, if you want an RPG, play some of those. This game doesnt have the essentials like a map, journal, party, real towns with merchants and quests. The item pool is really small. A couple of NPCs here and there and thats pretty much it - a big effing desert with lots of textures and little substance!!! This game is unengaging. The story is bland. The world is dead, theres nothing to do really, except exploring boring levels that look spectacular from afar, battling patches of tough enemies here and there, and killing bosses. Thats the whoe game - adventure with action and RPG elements. Theres more action than RPG. The game is not hard!!! Its simple. Mechanics are simple and easily abusable. The challenge comes from that, that there is very little info in the game on mechanics, no real map, no journal, lore or quests, and the player needs to figure what to do on his own, which is not going to happen because he has internet. Its just stupid to think otherwise because we are not living in 1998. Once you learn the drill, you are guaranteed success. All the challenges that the supposed "pros" are blabbermouthing about boil down to this - slow down your pace, dodge and have patience!!! You will see some people talk about depth and nonsense like that, when the game is really just mutilating the player of a map and a journal, to distract him from its simple mechanics, boring world devoid of meaning and towns, lack of content, items, and poor story. And the game is truly ugly, it looks like a late PS2 game, art direction should go back to graffiti sketching.… Expand
  93. Diksta
    Apr 25, 2014
    0
    I can't believe I wasted my bandwidth downloading this utter junk. So I plug my Xbox 360 controller in, it doesn't do anything (apparently this is a common bug), all the hints are for a controller so I have literally no idea what to press. I get told to press my left stick, but no idea how to do this on a keyboard. This game is so broken it is a bad joke. This is unplayable on the PC.I can't believe I wasted my bandwidth downloading this utter junk. So I plug my Xbox 360 controller in, it doesn't do anything (apparently this is a common bug), all the hints are for a controller so I have literally no idea what to press. I get told to press my left stick, but no idea how to do this on a keyboard. This game is so broken it is a bad joke. This is unplayable on the PC. If I could rewind time to this afternoon I would SO NOT PURCHASE THIS PILE OF EXCREMENT!!… Expand
  94. toddzy
    Nov 26, 2014
    0
    This is ported to the PC. I found it impossible to learn as I played because the on-screen tips (that tell you which keys to press) were applicable to the console it was meant for. While I could look up the key bindings in the menu, the game doesn't pause and the key bindings were bizarre e.g. Left Alt + Left Shift + C, instead of just a single letter. I've never felt so confused playing aThis is ported to the PC. I found it impossible to learn as I played because the on-screen tips (that tell you which keys to press) were applicable to the console it was meant for. While I could look up the key bindings in the menu, the game doesn't pause and the key bindings were bizarre e.g. Left Alt + Left Shift + C, instead of just a single letter. I've never felt so confused playing a game. I tried getting used to it and adapting for 30mins, then I gave up. Waste of money. Very disheartening. 0… Expand
  95. MatrixDev
    May 4, 2014
    0
    I really want to play this game but it's just a total garbage on PC. I don't know how first one worked (as far as I know it was nearly unplayable) but the second one is really bad. I don't care so much for graphics (yet it could be something more than a decade old looking and without shadows from beta trailers) but interface is just total crap!!! nearly no support for mouse, noI really want to play this game but it's just a total garbage on PC. I don't know how first one worked (as far as I know it was nearly unplayable) but the second one is really bad. I don't care so much for graphics (yet it could be something more than a decade old looking and without shadows from beta trailers) but interface is just total crap!!! nearly no support for mouse, no auto-tooltips, even ESC key works like ♥♥♥♥ - most of the time it doesn't move you to previous screen. But even this is not so critical. Constant lag from when I click mouse button and I see action on screen.
    In shot words - game is probably good but is extremely crappy port. Maybe after tons of patches it will became better.    … Expand
  96. expellite
    May 10, 2014
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Worst RPG of my life, definitely. Maybe this title has impressed Kevin VanOrd, but I hate it. The most important thing that pains me is that there's no friend or companion and there are some silly cat-like merchants! I didn't like the concept of the game. Enemies walk like zombies and in the first look you think you're playing Resident Evil. The is difficult insanely, and it's not a merit. You will die and die and die til you drive crazy and for what? You die for nothing cuz this game doesn't deserved to be played hours and hours. Gameplay is not that good. Voice acting is terrible and there's no lipsync in game (except cutscenes which are terrible too). At least Skyrim (The Great RPG) with that buggy visuals looked great and entertaining but this one ... I don't know what to say. To be frank the game didn't make me pleased. I felt all alone in its dark world. Enemies don't look alive, they're like puppeteers. Boss fights are insanely hard and you'll die before than it has withdrawn its weapon. Every critic pans Bound by Flame but I found it far better than this Sick Souls. Don't squander your time. Play Child of Light for a second time instead of this. I can't believe I bought this game.… Expand
  97. Chewieflakes
    Jun 3, 2014
    0
    Abomination. Don't bother with this game if you're a fan of Demon Souls and Dark Souls (1). If you like bandwagons and wanna hop onto one, then go ahead buy it and tell all your friends you're a hardcore gamer because you bought it on Steam. The game is plagued by input lag on the controls, VERY laggy menus, and PvP that lacks an OUNCE of balance. A group of wild monkeys would have thoughtAbomination. Don't bother with this game if you're a fan of Demon Souls and Dark Souls (1). If you like bandwagons and wanna hop onto one, then go ahead buy it and tell all your friends you're a hardcore gamer because you bought it on Steam. The game is plagued by input lag on the controls, VERY laggy menus, and PvP that lacks an OUNCE of balance. A group of wild monkeys would have thought through pvp and pvp balance better than From Software. Also, it's important to note just how ugly the game is. The art style is so incredibly bland, generic, and boring that you'll never care about the world or it's history in the least. People confused challenge with mindless frustration. Timing dodge rolls for different enemies is not a challenge, it's boring frustrating.… Expand
  98. lanman61
    May 9, 2014
    0
    This is crappy console port from a lazy developer. I'm a PC gamer with keyboard/mouse and the controls are clunky. They can't even bother to change the controller pad prompts onscreen. with the game working against you prepare to get frustrated as you will die often. The graphics, even at ultra high settings, are nothing special. Terribly disappointed. Erased it off my hard driveThis is crappy console port from a lazy developer. I'm a PC gamer with keyboard/mouse and the controls are clunky. They can't even bother to change the controller pad prompts onscreen. with the game working against you prepare to get frustrated as you will die often. The graphics, even at ultra high settings, are nothing special. Terribly disappointed. Erased it off my hard drive after a few hours.… Expand
  99. macishiryu
    May 16, 2014
    0
    I played for over 70 hours because I was on vacation, but were the most wasted hours in my games. The game has no natural difficulty, but it's programmed to annoy you. The jump system is ridiculous (and you need it), the enemie blows cross the walls, their arrows are guided like a rocket, some enemies seem to have unlimited stamina. The game forces you to take full rounds by scenariosI played for over 70 hours because I was on vacation, but were the most wasted hours in my games. The game has no natural difficulty, but it's programmed to annoy you. The jump system is ridiculous (and you need it), the enemie blows cross the walls, their arrows are guided like a rocket, some enemies seem to have unlimited stamina. The game forces you to take full rounds by scenarios because the character does not climb one rung at 10 cm. Anyway, there are so many absurdities that people confuse with difficulty. But it is not. It is an artificial difficulty, programmed to kill you compulsively, with a annoying and unfair manner. Technically, same the others. Almost no music, no character voice and personality, minimum story, outdate graphics, and believe: NO HDMI/TV SUPPORT!!!… Expand
  100. ogisha
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    The game is awful. Enemies moves are too predictable. Maps are terrible too, its just a lot of tight corridors. Your character moves like a snail, it takes two hours for your character to response to a pressed button. Its hard in a way that is unfair which is not something to be praised. DO NOT BUY.
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PC Game of 2014
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
12
#12 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. CD-Action
    Jul 23, 2014
    95
    This game’s playability puts to shame everything that’s been released for the new generation of consoles. [06/2014, p.54]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 6, 2014
    90
    The definitive Dark Souls II experience, the latest entry to The Souls series shines on the PC. [June 2014, p.50]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Jun 5, 2014
    80
    If you’re a fan of hardcore games, try Dark Souls 2. It is not as memorable as its predecessor, and yet it is still a phenomenal experience.
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