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. Quariq
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I picked up the first Dark Souls on Steam and liked it, the only problem i had with the game was the controls for PC. Now with the release of Dark Souls 2 we were promised a more polished PC version with better graphics and - here is the big one - working controls. So did they deliver? Short answer NO , Long answer NO. Default controls are near unplayable , controller buttons everywhere "I picked up the first Dark Souls on Steam and liked it, the only problem i had with the game was the controls for PC. Now with the release of Dark Souls 2 we were promised a more polished PC version with better graphics and - here is the big one - working controls. So did they deliver? Short answer NO , Long answer NO. Default controls are near unplayable , controller buttons everywhere " press A to this , press B to that" . But dont worry , just rebind your keys , right?? NO. Trying to rebind the keys is painfull at best and once you are done you are left with a half decent experience. I loved the first Dark Souls and plot/gameplay wise Dark Souls 2 looks promising. But as a PC gamer i feel cheated and lied to when it is blatantly obvious that no extra effort was put into making this a positive experience for PC gamers.… Expand
  2. deszka42
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    The game is a fantastic port, let's start with the worst and advance to the less interesting problems:
    -the game refuses to start up (crashes with white screen) for TONS of people
    -even when it starts the new game loading screen freezes -game freezes when intro needs to be playing -people who got banned in other games received a ban for dark souls 2 (absolutely unheard of) -the    The game is a fantastic port, let's start with the worst and advance to the less interesting problems:
    -the game refuses to start up (crashes with white screen) for TONS of people
    -even when it starts the new game loading screen freezes
    -game freezes when intro needs to be playing
    -people who got banned in other games received a ban for dark souls 2 (absolutely unheard of)
    -the controllers connected to pc refuse to work
    -the keyboard+mouse controlls refuse to work
    -the keyboard controlls are **** even when they work: holding shift prevents you from clicking etc...    … Expand
  3. Pablo_Dourado
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I am here to represent the over 1k players from steam who is not getting any help from developers of the game, we get a random bug that dont let us play the game, we are trying to get attention over our problem for more then 50 hours since the release and nothing at all, we decided to yell our voice to another sites, we are making a critic not about the game itself because we cant EVEN logI am here to represent the over 1k players from steam who is not getting any help from developers of the game, we get a random bug that dont let us play the game, we are trying to get attention over our problem for more then 50 hours since the release and nothing at all, we decided to yell our voice to another sites, we are making a critic not about the game itself because we cant EVEN log in, we are here to tell how disappointing is the support from the developers.
    We paid for that we deserve the same thing as others, but seens the primary atribute to play the game is have the luck to get a copy without any bug, i will never spend my money on products of your company again!    … Expand
  4. Gorshum
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I imagine this would be a really fun game if it worked. I trust in their ability to make a fun game. The problem is that for many people the game does not work at all. When you try to start the game it pops up as a white screen then crashes within 10 seconds. So far the only workarounds have come from the community and even then they don't always work. Considering they supposedly 'built itI imagine this would be a really fun game if it worked. I trust in their ability to make a fun game. The problem is that for many people the game does not work at all. When you try to start the game it pops up as a white screen then crashes within 10 seconds. So far the only workarounds have come from the community and even then they don't always work. Considering they supposedly 'built it for the pc first' this kind of thing is really unacceptable. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to play the game we payed for. We didn't pay $50 so we could troubleshoot/beta test their game. We payed for a product and we currently have no access to it despite it being released. If you're thinking of buying this game for PC, don't. Wait for them to fix whatever they screwed up. There is no point in buying it now unless you want to play 'Waiting Simulator: Broken Edition'.… Expand
  5. Zhael
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I was so excited to play DS2 this morning but found myself shouting at the screen in under 5 mins.

    The graphics are awful - games released 3 years ago look better. The sound is awful - walk through long grass and it sounds as if you're rattling through your cutlery drawer. But worse of all; the controls are awful. On screen hints tell you to press the green 'A' or the blue 'X'.    I was so excited to play DS2 this morning but found myself shouting at the screen in under 5 mins.

    The graphics are awful - games released 3 years ago look better.

    The sound is awful - walk through long grass and it sounds as if you're rattling through your cutlery drawer.

    But worse of all; the controls are awful. On screen hints tell you to press the green 'A' or the blue 'X'. Want to go up a ladder? In every other PC game you walk in to a ladder and start to climb. In DS2 it's ctrl-left click. Why would they make it so awkward? I tried to swap weapons and ended up consuming a good portion of the healing stones.

    Another bad part worth mentioning is the combat. It's .... awful. You can lock your target by pressing the middle mouse button, but it doesn't really make much difference. I created a cleric and armed myself with a great big metal mace and picked a fight with a little old lady cooking a meal (I'm very brave, I know). She beat me to death with her ladle. Not once but many times. So many times in fact I had to roll a new character to get past the point.

    In short this is not worth buying on the PC. For the consoles maybe, but not the PC.    … Expand
  6. sheva7
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    This game is so ****ing hard that i cant even launch it. I guess they deliver the difficulty they promised. Yeah, the 0 goes to the company, not to the game.
  7. DefiantMaledict
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Dark Souls 2 is all about challenge, they said. Well, the only challenge this game is posing now is how to make it work properly. PC will be lead platform, they said.
  8. redtwister
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    Broken and awkward! I can't jump, among other things that don't work right. The controls are terrible. I actually am contemplating asking Steam for a refund it is so bad. Betas of other games are better than this "finished" product.
  9. sodapopcan
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    they don't even put the pc controls on the menus. and even if they did i cant even start the game to see the change because of the crashing. this was a bad buy.
  10. 1993Gamer
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I'm amazed how can such a bad port receive so good reviews.
    I can't even play the first 15 minutes of the game with mouse+keyboard, the game does not respond correctly to any of my controls inputs, is this a bad joke?
    Wortst pile of garbage I bought this year yet. If you value your money stay away.
  11. 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.
  12. Merdique
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    This is one of the worst PC ports I have seen in years. The game can be somewhat configured to use a keyboard and mouse, but the interface does not acknowledge this (which generates a lot of confusion while playing). Many of the bound combinations are geared to console playing. Just terrible. Got sick of playing it after a few hours. Save your money. Wish I had...
  13. ctrlaltwalsh
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Game Remains Unplayable, Crashes when starting up. Game developers and publishers need to realise they cannot release a product which simply does not work, this is not a problem specific to my (Frankly Standard) computer configuration.
  14. 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
  15. RainbowPieFiM
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    This game don't work.
    The game crash everytime you enter, and the company dont launch a fix, 3 days after his launch.
    Thanks for stole my money!
    Ah, and the game doesn't have a pc controller instructions, is a BAD port from the console version.
    $50 for a bad port.
  16. 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
  17. aberjams
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    The game will not load on my pc, and a lot of other peoples at that. There is no Tech support to call, there is no disclaimer that it may not work, and there is no refund. Its a very shameful process. That I wish I was not a part of.
    If you are buying this game, you are gambling with your money.
    It may not work, and there is nothing you can do about it.
  18. 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
  19. 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.
  20. FPAwpers
    Apr 25, 2014
    0
    This game might be good, might be. But I can't to play past the first 20 minutes? Why? Because the controls are **** unplayable on keyboard and mouse. I refuse to buy extra hardware i.e. a gamepad because a company is inept at providing a decent service and lied saying that it could. otherwise I wouldn't have bought this piece of **** in the first place.
  21. Utran
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    still not able to play due to the problem of the hdmi if I had the tv and monitor connected error, and so far the company has not done anything already nearly 200 pages of complaints on steam and nothing yet. shameful
  22. 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
  23. 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.
  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. 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
  26. Bittersweet
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Dont bother buying this broken piece of garbage, from software should be ashamed... With tens of trials I only managed To play just once... That just Sad for a game that was supposed to go out later than the console version to tune It better...
  27. 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
  28. gregorybaxter
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    After working for 40 hours to get this game to launch, the few minutes I played were terrible. Even as the game feels like a PC port, it doesn't even feel like they tried. Sure, the game looks better than the first one, but I wouldn't care if it looked terrible. The gameplay is what matters and that's what they completely broke. BESIDES not being able to even launch the game. GG.
  29. DSfan2874
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Do not trust any reviews with a 10/10 score. Look at the steam community forum page and you'll see that over 2500 people can't even launch the game they paid for. And there is no ETA for any fix at all. If you feel like playing the lottery to know if you can even launch the game, then by all means, go ahead and spend that hard earned 50$ in cash.
  30. 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
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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.
    Read full review
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