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. Yiordanu
    Sep 9, 2023
    7
    A great video game, but a mediocre Dark Souls. Coming from the previous titles by FromSoftware, this game is the one that strays the furthest from the characteristic Dark Souls formula. It has rather poor level design with some areas that feel completely senseless, bosses that aren't as demanding, but in terms of gameplay, it remains a quite enjoyable game with a variety of builds and waysA great video game, but a mediocre Dark Souls. Coming from the previous titles by FromSoftware, this game is the one that strays the furthest from the characteristic Dark Souls formula. It has rather poor level design with some areas that feel completely senseless, bosses that aren't as demanding, but in terms of gameplay, it remains a quite enjoyable game with a variety of builds and ways to play.

    In summary, a very good game, but as a Dark Souls title, it falls short, especially when compared to the company's other titles.    … Expand
  2. BraidzMC
    Sep 7, 2023
    6
    The worst souls game.

    Flat linear level and world design that doesn't make any sense. Poison swamps with elevators that go up to castles with lava moats.

    Arcade souls.
  3. Lazzakz
    Aug 21, 2023
    5
    After a surprising ammount of time rushing through this mess of a game, mixed feelings come back to me. Several attempts to finish the game ended up on myself dropping it onto the self again, until I finally built out the nerves to finish it. So much wasted potential, there are so many good ideas that get lost in the midst of a mediocrely polished and skeletal game.

    LIGHT 5
  4. aesirus96
    Aug 15, 2023
    6
    O jogo é bom? Sim.

    É lindo, maravilhoso e gostoso? Nem tanto. Vale o preço? Só numa boa promoção. Mesmo não sendo dirigido pelo Miyazaki, é um bom jogo mas que se torna enjoativo em alguns aspectos como a linearidade de algumas áreas. É a ovelha negra da trilogia souls, mas está longe de ser ruim. Dito isso, é uma vergonha esse preço praticado pela Bandai / Fromsoftware. Mano, o    O jogo é bom? Sim.

    É lindo, maravilhoso e gostoso? Nem tanto.

    Vale o preço? Só numa boa promoção.

    Mesmo não sendo dirigido pelo Miyazaki, é um bom jogo mas que se torna enjoativo em alguns aspectos como a linearidade de algumas áreas. É a ovelha negra da trilogia souls, mas está longe de ser ruim. Dito isso, é uma vergonha esse preço praticado pela Bandai / Fromsoftware. Mano, o jogo é de 2014 e ta quase o mesmo preço que um jogo AAA em 2023!!!!!!

    Pior ainda é lembrar que teve aumento recente de preço por aparentemente motivo nenhum (???). Por favor, por mais que eu goste do jogo, eu prefiro pegar a mesma grana, adicionar uns 80 conto e comprar o Elden Ring que tem um multiplayer decente ativo, tem bem mais conteúdo, vai receber DLC logo mais.

    Capitalização extremamente agressiva em cima da fanbase. Vai se ferrar, Bandai / Fromsoftware!    … Expand
  5. BioShip0706
    Aug 11, 2023
    7
    7. The lowest from software game i've played. Had good points but it's a big mess
  6. sicksak
    Jul 19, 2023
    7
    The game is enjoyable. It has its own pros and cons. The only souls game I won't dare play again.
  7. parsymovies
    Jul 2, 2023
    7
    the worst in the souls trilogy unfortunately Miyazaki wasnt the director and the most important part of game in my opinion gameplay was very slow and bad but it has beautiful bosses as always and good story
  8. elansadrake
    May 27, 2023
    5
    Para mim é o pior da franquia Souls, esse jogo parece ser distante dos outros jogos, é como se ele seguisse a formula souls, mas não fosse um, não sei explicar, 5 é minha nota pois não cheguei a terminar, dropei o jogo bem dizer na metade dele, e ainda tentei retornar para ele umas 3 vezes, mas pelo visto esse será o único da trilogia que vou jogar no baú e esquecer, para mim o jogo pecaPara mim é o pior da franquia Souls, esse jogo parece ser distante dos outros jogos, é como se ele seguisse a formula souls, mas não fosse um, não sei explicar, 5 é minha nota pois não cheguei a terminar, dropei o jogo bem dizer na metade dele, e ainda tentei retornar para ele umas 3 vezes, mas pelo visto esse será o único da trilogia que vou jogar no baú e esquecer, para mim o jogo peca muito na Historia que não é tão convincente para mim como os jogos anteriores e o combate achei bem fraco, até o primeiro achei bem melhor, no mais é isso, não julgo quem gosta, mas esse está muito abaixo dos outros.… Expand
  9. Hyperfailure
    Nov 27, 2022
    7
    (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
    ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ ＼( °□° )／ ︵ ┻━┻

    ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ)

    (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

    ┬──┬ ¯_(ツ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

    ┻━┻ ︵ ¯(ツ)/¯ ︵ ┻━┻

    (╯°Д°）╯︵ /(.□ . )

    ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻
  10. Tokson83sky
    Jun 27, 2022
    5
    Compared to other Souls games this one is just so plain and dull. Ah and of course hitboxes go brrrr
  11. k1ra120
    Jun 26, 2022
    7
    Dark sols 2 is a controversial project. Inconvenient combat system + strange visual style. The main plot is the worst in the series and very stretched. Boring enemies and bosses in the main game. Positive: DLC bosses, characters and their stories.
  12. Jackie_Jackson
    May 26, 2022
    7
    Эти ваши дарк соулсы Я хочу сказать были бы вы людьми это вечные дети не троньте их
  13. DarisW
    May 11, 2022
    7
    The only souls game I'm not eager to replay. I have some favourite moments in it, don't get me wrong, but there is a lot poor designed bosses and locations, and mobs are all over place sometimes. Also adaptability is complete bs. But I was invested in lore. It'll be great to read DS2 comic or something like that one day. +1 point for the cute cat in Majula
  14. Solidsnake00901
    Nov 23, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's okay but it pales in comparison in almost every aspect compared to the original… Expand
  15. Geralt123
    Nov 13, 2021
    6
    Oh man. I played DS1 and DS3 and finished DS2 today after 190 hours including DLC. What a gank-fest. What a cheap, uncreative, artificial difficult, poor game. It is really sad and I am asking myself how Fromsoft could deliver such a mess.

    DS 2 is not nearly as good as DS1 and DS3. The Dark Souls atmosphere is not really there. Many terrible bosses (all the same movesets). Or the    Oh man. I played DS1 and DS3 and finished DS2 today after 190 hours including DLC. What a gank-fest. What a cheap, uncreative, artificial difficult, poor game. It is really sad and I am asking myself how Fromsoft could deliver such a mess.

    DS 2 is not nearly as good as DS1 and DS3. The Dark Souls atmosphere is not really there.

    Many terrible bosses (all the same movesets). Or the boss suddenly duplicates and two bosses are spamming you, not even coordinated, just random. Very cheap.

    Often disgusting graphics with repeated textures, poor flat lighting.

    They throw gank mobs at you every 100 meters.

    Poor tube-like level design.

    Stupid dialogues. Like children, they wanted to copy DS1 but didn't succeed.

    Combat system is actually good, but ruined by insane enemy tracking and unfair movies. The enemy can do everything and you can do nothing. Wow.

    There are some good levels and some good bosses though. But please don't expect DS1 here.

    Sometimes had some fun, but often I was annoyed and just wanted it to be over. It is an "ok" game after all.

    The DLCs are freaking hard, but better than the base game. For some bosses I needed 80 tries.

    Summary: buy it for max. 10 Euros, you can have "some" fun    … Expand
  16. Bushido95
    Sep 27, 2021
    5
    Если коротко, то для этой части идеально подходит выражение "ни рыба ни мясо"
  17. F3T1W
    Aug 27, 2021
    5
    The worst Souls Like from Soft'ov, the atmosphere of DS is very imaginary, but the action is of high quality
  18. SmartAlec775
    Aug 27, 2021
    6
    I didn't enjoy Darks Souls 2 nearly as much as 1 and 3. Feels very lackluster compared to the other souls games.
  19. Jenkip
    May 6, 2021
    6
    Худшая часть серии, о да, про то насколько плохи тут хитбоксы я могу говорить бесконечно. ДАЖЕ в ПЕРВОЙ часть хитбоксы были лучше... Вообще, минусов ещё гора, а плюсов немного. Не особо хочется что-либо писать про неё, прежде всего пришёл поставить оценку - 6/10. Просто средняя игра.

    (после ремастеред-версии первой части, здешнее управление на клава-мыши очень печалит)    Худшая часть серии, о да, про то насколько плохи тут хитбоксы я могу говорить бесконечно. ДАЖЕ в ПЕРВОЙ часть хитбоксы были лучше... Вообще, минусов ещё гора, а плюсов немного. Не особо хочется что-либо писать про неё, прежде всего пришёл поставить оценку - 6/10. Просто средняя игра.

    (после ремастеред-версии первой части, здешнее управление на клава-мыши очень печалит)
  20. JoelArpal
    Jan 15, 2021
    5
    Dark Souls II es injusto. Simple y llanamente. No tiene ningun encanto mas alla de ser dificil y obtuso. Puede que el mundo que presente sea interesante, pero no puedo saberlo porque tengo que estar pendiente de cada esquina y de cada pequeño paso que doy. Me es muy dificil disfrutar de un juego que esta constantemente intentando cazarme.
    Es cierto que la saga Souls es famosa por su    Dark Souls II es injusto. Simple y llanamente. No tiene ningun encanto mas alla de ser dificil y obtuso. Puede que el mundo que presente sea interesante, pero no puedo saberlo porque tengo que estar pendiente de cada esquina y de cada pequeño paso que doy. Me es muy dificil disfrutar de un juego que esta constantemente intentando cazarme.
    Es cierto que la saga Souls es famosa por su dificultad, pero en el resto de juegos esa dificultad nace del desafio a la habilidad del jugador y a su capacidad de aprendizaje, no de aprovechad cualquier rincon para plantar un enemigo que claramente tenga ventaja sobre el jugador. La mejor analogia que se me ocurre para Dark Souls II es estar jugando con el niño que tiene la pelota. Puedes ser mejor que el, pero como el es el propietario de la pelota el manda sobre ella y puede cambiar las normas a su antojo. Da igual lo bueno que seas, el siempre gana.
    Es un juego insatisfactorio que no te permite disfrutar de su mundo por culpa de sus formas.    … Expand
  21. Mazma
    Dec 25, 2020
    7
    Il peggiore della saga, ma comunque molto valido, difficile si, macchinoso anche.
  22. Defoxx
    Dec 1, 2020
    6
    Вторая часть серии Dark Souls. Из всей трилогии эта часть мне понравилась меньше всего. Когда я играл, управление на клавомыши невозможно и приходилось атаковать на кнопку ctrl.
  23. zoodle
    Oct 25, 2020
    5
    Under the impression of Dark Souls 1, I bought the second and third parts of the trilogy. But when I started playing it, I immediately did not like the controls and character animations, after playing more, I realized that I did not like this game at all, in comparison with the first part it was some horror, I did not like the gameplay too much and I immediately returned it after playingUnder the impression of Dark Souls 1, I bought the second and third parts of the trilogy. But when I started playing it, I immediately did not like the controls and character animations, after playing more, I realized that I did not like this game at all, in comparison with the first part it was some horror, I did not like the gameplay too much and I immediately returned it after playing something about 1.8 hours.… Expand
  24. PanMrkvicka
    Feb 11, 2020
    7
    Dark souls 2 is weird. You play it and it feels nothing like a souls game but it feels like souls game as well and you dont know what to think. Some bosses are pretty interesting and great but theres also plenty of them which suck. The game design of areas is not good as well most of the time, convoluted places with copypasted enemies.
  25. unicyan
    Jul 25, 2018
    7
    Dark Souls had balance in it's physics and rules. Let me give you examples:

    In this game walls don't block enemy attacks, some enemies have infinite stamina, most enemies are faster than you, your hit-box is too big, your stamina drains really fast, every time you die you lose max HP unless you use human effigies which are few in the game, most of the time enemies just pile up on you,    Dark Souls had balance in it's physics and rules. Let me give you examples:

    In this game walls don't block enemy attacks, some enemies have infinite stamina, most enemies are faster than you, your hit-box is too big, your stamina drains really fast, every time you die you lose max HP unless you use human effigies which are few in the game, most of the time enemies just pile up on you, when an enemy falls your lock on system makes you follow him/her too,controls are unresponsive sometimes, etc.

    The UI is really bad, the lore is weird, the world design is not good, dialogues are sometimes long and boring. It's a good RPG but compared to Dark Souls it's really bad    … Expand
  26. Xevon
    Feb 16, 2018
    6
    After playing either Dark Souls or Dark Souls III, Dark Souls II feels foreign, alien, a little weird. Lots of small things have changed and on the surface the game looks prettier, feels smoother, etc. But in time, the cracks begin to show. The project lead Hidetaka Miyazaki was focusing his efforts on Bloodborne and the game suffers for his exclusion, making a number of serious misstepsAfter playing either Dark Souls or Dark Souls III, Dark Souls II feels foreign, alien, a little weird. Lots of small things have changed and on the surface the game looks prettier, feels smoother, etc. But in time, the cracks begin to show. The project lead Hidetaka Miyazaki was focusing his efforts on Bloodborne and the game suffers for his exclusion, making a number of serious missteps and failing to reach the lofty heights of it's predecessor. The re-released version Scholar of the First Sin is perhaps worse with puzzling enemy placements and utterly insane and ludicrous adjustments over the original which disrupt the flow and do nothing to improve the game in any way. Do not believe this critics. This is easily the worst Dark Souls game and pales in comparison to the first and third games. Play Dark Souls, Play Dark Souls III, avoid this at all costs.… Expand
  27. thomaddox4
    Sep 21, 2017
    7
    It's been said a million times before, but this is indeed the worst of the Souls series. It's really a shame that they decided to make a direct sequel instead of another successor like Dark Souls was to Demon's Souls, because on its own this game is a good one. Not great, but good. It gets a lot of things right: combat is slower paced (and in fact the whole game is slower paced), but thisIt's been said a million times before, but this is indeed the worst of the Souls series. It's really a shame that they decided to make a direct sequel instead of another successor like Dark Souls was to Demon's Souls, because on its own this game is a good one. Not great, but good. It gets a lot of things right: combat is slower paced (and in fact the whole game is slower paced), but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it can be just as good if not better to play than the original. Dual Wielding was also implemented the best as it has ever been, and many level concepts are extremely creative and cool. However, that's where the good things end. The world design, the best part of Dark Souls 1, is completely gone: the game has 4 linear paths at the start, and then just one path after those. There are no more interconnections, and the devs gave in to the people who whined about Dark Souls 1 being too hard, and now there's fast travel from the start of the game, probably a reason why they didn't bother with actual world design. Partially as a result of the fast travel taking you between very different areas on a whim, and partially because the feel of the game is very different from Dark Souls 1, the atmosphere also doesn't compare to 1 in the slightest. The game also has more artificial difficulty than the first, with traps that sometimes can't be predicted and learned from, more enemy spamming, and despite this the game is still a lot easier than 1, even for people who play this first as I did. The bosses are also massively disappointing, with almost all of them being incredibly easy, and an incredible reduction in variety: At least half the bosses in the game are humanoid forms with big and imposing armor and weapons. The story is also a step down, with references to the first game that often feel out of place and a troubled dev cycle that made them largely unable to focus and flesh out their original ideas. All in all, it was a solid effort by the B team, and a decent game that's still worth playing, but it was doomed from the start: a sequel made for a game that clearly was never meant to have one, made by different and less experienced people, and it shows throughout the game that the developers didn't really understand what made dark souls 1 great. They very obviously just listened to everyone who hyped up the difficulty without understanding that it was only talked about for the difficulty by people who didn't really appreciate it, and that's a real shame.… Expand
  28. Cech
    May 16, 2017
    7
    Продолжение серии соулс под порядковым номером 3

    Почитав многие обзоры, у меня складывается ощущение, что существует много людей, которым эта часть ДС нравится больше, чем первая. Нет, у этой игры большое количество минусов Техническая часть Лучше: в отличии от 1ой части можно запустить без бубна и плясок. Но у неё проблемы с разрешением.. при его номинальном Full HD система    Продолжение серии соулс под порядковым номером 3

    Почитав многие обзоры, у меня складывается ощущение, что существует много людей, которым эта часть ДС нравится больше, чем первая. Нет, у этой игры большое количество минусов

    Техническая часть
    Лучше: в отличии от 1ой части можно запустить без бубна и плясок. Но у неё проблемы с разрешением.. при его номинальном Full HD система воспринимает его как HD, отсюда все иконки рабочего стола и окна разлетаются туда, где им не место. Также у неё проблемы с запоминанием графических настроек

    Графика
    Для ремастера в 2015 году средне. На дальних дистанциях от пейзажей могут вытечь глаза, но.. это рост относительно ДС 1
    UPD. DLC Ivory King делали другие люди и глаза не вытекают от фона

    Сюжет
    В первой части его нет, тут можно даже проследить, но нет

    Мультиплеер/Ко-оп
    Из-за "относительной старости" игры я не ощутил этот экспириенс в ДС 1, тут это было здорово, особенно когда оставил знак призыва и помогал человеку, общение через жесты забавно и очень атмосферно

    Главная проблема игры - это самокопирование

    Боссы
    Нужен больший уровень прокачки, отсюда рост сложности, но уникальности в боссфайте 0 - десяток одинаковых боссов - большое разочарование, но бо'льшая проблема - это 90% копирование боссов из ДС 1
    UPD. DLC делали другие люди (2), тут хоть сложный босс есть Сэр Алонн

    Локации
    Что-то новое в плане локаций игра не превнесла, и, опять же, самокопирование. НО.. локации имеют ещё большую проблему.. ДС 1 был почти цельным миром с парой ответвлений, здесь же это куча ответвлений, без цельности. За прохождение ни разу не было ВАУ эффекта от шортката, возвращение в некоторые места в ДС 1 просто разрывало шаблоны, а тут куча срезов, которыми вы даже не воспользуетесь.. Очередной перебор с анусами подземелий, но тут хоть с наличием света проще. Одно радует - перемещение между кострами есть изначально и вам не нужно бегать 30 часов для получения такой возможности.

    Персонажи
    Колоритные NPC и забавные враги - забудьте, я был влюблён в людей-грибочков, из-за которых я когда-то купил ДС 1. Колоритом ни от боссов, ни от NPC тут и не пахнет, запомнился только Вождь Венгарл, но остальные..

    Ачивменты
    Очень расстроило то, что я не знал, что нужно было обязательно призывать NPC фантомов на бои с боссами для получения пары ачивментов. Ну етить, серьёзно?    … Expand
  29. rAMZA
    Apr 25, 2017
    7
    Realy boring combat just hit and roll hit and roll, ill give it a 7 because it is still a good score, could have more difficulty options and a hc mode if character dies then its the end of it.
  30. Look444
    Mar 13, 2016
    6
    I can't believe this game has a better score than the first one.

    Thankfully, this one runs on 60fps and has a good optimization but that's about it. The thing that annoys me in this game is the level design. It lost that feeling of being interconnected and stopped making sense, sea level changing to wherever the player is at. They also **** the durability system. It wasn't a good way of    I can't believe this game has a better score than the first one.

    Thankfully, this one runs on 60fps and has a good optimization but that's about it. The thing that annoys me in this game is the level design. It lost that feeling of being interconnected and stopped making sense, sea level changing to wherever the player is at. They also **** the durability system. It wasn't a good way of balancing OP weapons. No, it was **** to have your weapon break in the middle of a boss fight.
    They then decided to nerf miracles to the ground. Most damaging spells disappeared and got less cast uses. Same happened to pyromancies. At least they had variety.
    But then they decided to buff the hell out of magic and dark magic, which was already OP as fk in the first one.
    I could go on forever with flaws this game has, like boring boss fights, too many useless weapons, some lame designs and dexterity being trash.
    But hey, at least the DLC's were pretty good.    … Expand
  31. tsmasher1000
    Dec 16, 2015
    7
    Imagine my excitement when I heard that there was a sequel coming to the absolutely fantastic game, Dark Souls! However, I was disappointed by the game overall. To me, the graphics didn't matter so much as the gameplay. The reason why Dark Souls was such a unique and fun experience was because Dark Souls, while inflicted with terrible graphics (which is not a big deal to me), had insanelyImagine my excitement when I heard that there was a sequel coming to the absolutely fantastic game, Dark Souls! However, I was disappointed by the game overall. To me, the graphics didn't matter so much as the gameplay. The reason why Dark Souls was such a unique and fun experience was because Dark Souls, while inflicted with terrible graphics (which is not a big deal to me), had insanely good gameplay. All of the enemies felt unique, special, and had interesting designs. Going back to Dark Souls 2, this is where it ultimately fails. The enemies are usually of linear design, and do not feel unique or interesting. Most of the enemies (which are knights) play relatively similar with no interesting variances. This is also not to mention the fact that the game seems to punish you for trying and experimenting different builds and seeing how to play the game. When you are killed, you lose maximum HP, something I felt was very annoying. It felt like I was limited to what I could experiment and it was annoying because in such a difficult game where simply bad footing will kill you, you will end up losing a lot of health and would be forced to use human effigies (which was annoying after a while). Another thing that felt punishing was that when one died too many times, the enemies would just vanish as though the developers were giving you a free pass. Again, it felt punishing because it was as though the developers didn't want you to have the challenge because you couldn't do it after a certain number of times. Those features added very little to the game and were not enjoyable. Overall, Dark Souls 2 was a disappointment that could have been a better game. Though it has better graphics, it feels like a cheaper imitation of its predecessors and had the potential to be much more than that.… Expand
  32. perric
    Oct 21, 2015
    7
    So don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy this game, but after playing it first on ps3 and beating it, then playing and beating it on PC I have some real problems. Most of my issues are similar to everyone else's, how the whole experience just feels kinda phoned in by the team. The bizarre way the world is connected, the nonsensical story that is just weird for the sake of it instead ofSo don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy this game, but after playing it first on ps3 and beating it, then playing and beating it on PC I have some real problems. Most of my issues are similar to everyone else's, how the whole experience just feels kinda phoned in by the team. The bizarre way the world is connected, the nonsensical story that is just weird for the sake of it instead of having any actual depth, the shoddy hit detection, etc.

    Game **** runs AMAZINGLY good though and looks great. Shame they never fixed the durability bug    … Expand
  33. L_Coops
    Jun 2, 2015
    6
    I'll keep this short. Dark Souls 2 is clearly a lazy port to PC - from the horrible UI, the clumsy controls, the seriously outdated graphics and the fact that the tooltips tell you to press buttons on your xbox 360 controller to perform an action. If that last bit of information doesn't tip you off to this being a LAZY port then I don't know what will.

    Despite that, the game does still    I'll keep this short. Dark Souls 2 is clearly a lazy port to PC - from the horrible UI, the clumsy controls, the seriously outdated graphics and the fact that the tooltips tell you to press buttons on your xbox 360 controller to perform an action. If that last bit of information doesn't tip you off to this being a LAZY port then I don't know what will.

    Despite that, the game does still have a certain charm. The fact that it is so difficult for a newcomer gives it a certain mystery. You can't help but want to explore the world because getting anywhere feels like an accomplishment.

    Do yourself a favor and grab a controller of some sort if you are going to play Dark Souls 2 on the PC because the controls are terrible using keyboard and mouse.    … Expand
  34. Mattacus
    Apr 3, 2015
    5
    Want a pithy summary? How about "phoned in"? Or maybe "sloppy hitboxes"? No, no, no, I got it: "unfair." Aye, that's the one. I can get past the **** appearance. Not only does it not look as good as advertised, it doesn't even look as good as the first one (forget the **** textures and lifeless environments, but who thought green zombies was a good idea?). But I can let all that go if theWant a pithy summary? How about "phoned in"? Or maybe "sloppy hitboxes"? No, no, no, I got it: "unfair." Aye, that's the one. I can get past the **** appearance. Not only does it not look as good as advertised, it doesn't even look as good as the first one (forget the **** textures and lifeless environments, but who thought green zombies was a good idea?). But I can let all that go if the game is good.

    But it isn't. It tries. It has the basic appearance of Dark Souls but not the...soul. When you are behind (and several in-game feet away from) a forward-thrusting spear-wielder, you shouldn't be taking damage. And it's **** like that, dying when your character is in an apparently safe space, that turns this from an educational exercise in patience, tactics, and the adrenaline rush of long-sought success -- into a cheap-ass dice roll, more akin to angry birds than either Souls game.    … Expand
  35. Robpants
    Mar 26, 2015
    6
    Comparing to the previous Dark Souls and Demon's Souls games, there are improvements and downgrades. Dark Souls II fixes some often annoying aspects of the other games, while removing large chunks of enjoyability and cohesion.

    To begin, the environment and atmosphere of the game is virtually gone. In Dark Souls, the game truly makes you feel as if you are alone in this undead journey,    Comparing to the previous Dark Souls and Demon's Souls games, there are improvements and downgrades. Dark Souls II fixes some often annoying aspects of the other games, while removing large chunks of enjoyability and cohesion.

    To begin, the environment and atmosphere of the game is virtually gone. In Dark Souls, the game truly makes you feel as if you are alone in this undead journey, which is a good feeling. It matches the game's atmosphere. Dark Souls II somehow has removed that dark and lonely atmosphere and in it's place is a bland, unenthusiastic attempt to appeal to more audiences. It feels more like any other game off the shelf, which is not what you expect from a Dark Souls game.

    Some would say the graphics in DS2 were updated from DS, and in some cases that is true. But for the most part the difference is negligible for a game that came out 3 years later. And going back to the atmosphere, the graphics style of DS2 is just boring, almost cartoon-ish in a game that is supposed to make you feel alone and undead.

    The game play mechanics have been revised in many ways from previous games. The jump command is now more easily attainable, combat has been refined, somewhat. But as many other reviewers have noted, the combat feels unfair. In previous games, the combat was difficult, but fair and so rewarding when you overcome an obstacle. In DS2, the enemies seem designed to do nothing but infuriate the player. Enemies will rotate incredibly to strike you with a slow attack that you should have easily dodged. Often you will be faced with waves of annoying enemies in place of a few well designed, challenging enemies.

    Level design is nicely varied, moving from poisonous ravines to molten strongholds and everywhere in between. However as others have pointed out, some of the level connections don't quite make sense.

    The story can be tough to follow at times, and is no where near as engaging as DS and Demon's Souls.

    Overall Dark Souls II brings some innovation to the party, but falls short on nearly everything else. It's the kind of game that you play if you enjoy the classic RPG experiences of leveling up, finding and equipping interesting gear, and fighting with powerful weapons and spells. But all of that alone does not make a good game.    … Expand
  36. kingzardoz
    Mar 17, 2015
    5
    Only reason I'm writing this review is because Bloodborne is coming out and I was thinking about how bad Dark Souls 2 was, hoping that Bloodborne is better. I preordered this game on steam and didn't have all the PC problems people were talking about but still never finished the game because I got so bored. I played Demon Souls and Dark Souls and it becomes very obvious after an hour inOnly reason I'm writing this review is because Bloodborne is coming out and I was thinking about how bad Dark Souls 2 was, hoping that Bloodborne is better. I preordered this game on steam and didn't have all the PC problems people were talking about but still never finished the game because I got so bored. I played Demon Souls and Dark Souls and it becomes very obvious after an hour in this game that it was made by the B-team. The world and enemies are so boring, I can't think of one interesting or memorable location or enemy. A good game director will have an idea or be inspired to make something, From's B-team were just on auto-pilot, recycling content and pumping out a product with zero soul. The Demon and Dark Souls environments and enemies would tell an unspoken story, you would get a sense of history and purpose from the world and its inhabitants, Dark Souls II lacks any of that depth. Hopefully Bloodborne brings the Miyazaki brand back up to the standards everybody expects.… Expand
  37. dlopatnikov
    Feb 8, 2015
    7
    Demon's souls was better. Dark souls was better. But somehow everyone thinks this game is the real deal. I don't know. I don't like the direction the series is going. But who am I to judge.
  38. cylentstorm
    Jan 16, 2015
    7
    Well, if you're familiar with From Software or the at least the first Dark Souls, this is more of the same, but in a slightly more polished package.

    If you're thinking about diving in for the first time, allow me to suggest trying before buying, because this is most definitely a niche game. The Dark Souls games are both praised and cursed because of their brutal and unforgiving level of    Well, if you're familiar with From Software or the at least the first Dark Souls, this is more of the same, but in a slightly more polished package.

    If you're thinking about diving in for the first time, allow me to suggest trying before buying, because this is most definitely a niche game. The Dark Souls games are both praised and cursed because of their brutal and unforgiving level of difficulty. Basically, any enemy that you face poses a deadly threat, especially for low-level characters and inexperienced players. They are definitely unique among action RPGs for that, if nothing else. The settings and overall style are interesting despite borrowing heavily from typical dark fantasy lore. The controls and combat mechanics are stiff but predictable, and actually deep and nuanced if you take the time to feel them out. Music is sparse, yet atmospheric, sound effects are solid, visuals are stylized and moody, but nothing spectacular. Menus are clunky at best, and do little to help ease one into the complicated systems that govern character development and outfitting. The game world holds many secrets but suffers from the same linear trappings as most action/adventure titles. The "multiplayer" component is...one of the many reasons that I recommend a trial run before you commit.

    Simply put: if punishing challenge and archaic game design aren't an issue for you, then Dark Souls II could be a good way to help satisfy the masochist in you.    … Expand
  39. xcolxmustardx
    Oct 27, 2014
    6
    Very disappointing. Gameplay is the same as the original Dark Souls, with small changes that don't really work to well. Infinite Life-gems make it so you don't have to conserve your healing potions at all. The PVP systems are poorly thought out and much more of a grind than they were in the original, which makes it way less enjoyable. (especially the Brotherhood of Blood.) They decidedVery disappointing. Gameplay is the same as the original Dark Souls, with small changes that don't really work to well. Infinite Life-gems make it so you don't have to conserve your healing potions at all. The PVP systems are poorly thought out and much more of a grind than they were in the original, which makes it way less enjoyable. (especially the Brotherhood of Blood.) They decided to sacrifice the story in this game for lore which makes it extremely boring and uninvolved. The world design (While beautiful) is poorly thought out, and doesn't intersect and build on itself the way the original Dark Souls did... (I'm looking at you "Shrine of Winter") I wasn't blown away by the difficulty, or by the puzzles, or challenging level designs the way I was with DKS1, (Sen's Fortress, Lost Izalith, Tomb of Giants, The Abyss, New Londo Ruins) and i found it annoying that the game decided to offer several different paths of travel, instead of guiding me to the areas that it wanted (In the early game) based on difficulty.
    Deciding to have someone else direct this game seriously hurt it's quality.
    I'm going back to the Undead Parish.    … Expand
  40. Squeze
    Sep 18, 2014
    7
    I had great expectations on this game so I might be a little upset when writing this.
    Basically this game is the same as Dark Souls II, but someway worse.
    Why? It's a lot easier!! 1) Since the very beginning you can travel around bonfires you discovered and this is a MASSIVE help as I find myself dying a lot on the first one especially when travelling to reach a safe bonfire and spend    I had great expectations on this game so I might be a little upset when writing this.
    Basically this game is the same as Dark Souls II, but someway worse.
    Why? It's a lot easier!!
    1) Since the very beginning you can travel around bonfires you discovered and this is a MASSIVE help as I find myself dying a lot on the first one especially when travelling to reach a safe bonfire and spend my souls.
    2) You will farm thousands of items to heal you, I finished the game with more than 50 healing items that really makes the estus flask not that vital anymore.
    3) There are 30+ bosses but 80% of them are so easy that you can beat em by yourself without any help! Probably if you are good some of them wont even hit you once.
    Is true, you can choose the champions path and do all by yourself and solve part of this problem, but still some bosses are almost silly (and I played without any magic or fire stuff and without following any guide)

    Pvp is decent but finite to few areas, and what is really lacking is the old style random invasion by random guy that wants to steal your souls, I played almost 50 hrs in this game and I have not been invaded once!! Not a single time!!.

    Would I recommend it? Yes, still it's a very good game with a unique dark atmosphere and still is harder than most of the games around, but the first was better.

    Pros
    + Larger map and more areas
    + Nice atmosphere as usual
    + Many bosses
    Cons
    -...but most of them quite weak
    -Basically easier than dark souls I and the difficulty is the SOUL of this game :)

    77/100    … Expand
  41. Llaerrick
    Sep 12, 2014
    6
    post-patches, it's a decent enough game but still doesn't feel as substantial or fulfilling as DS1. for hardcore keyboard users, again the control scheme leaves a lot to be desired. it can still be good fun and the combat can be really challenging (yes, you will die a lot). unfortunately, something still feels missing (not enough soul) in DS2: having chalked up more than 700 hours on DS1,post-patches, it's a decent enough game but still doesn't feel as substantial or fulfilling as DS1. for hardcore keyboard users, again the control scheme leaves a lot to be desired. it can still be good fun and the combat can be really challenging (yes, you will die a lot). unfortunately, something still feels missing (not enough soul) in DS2: having chalked up more than 700 hours on DS1, i find myself beating the game after less than 30 hours and having less desire for further play-throughs (whereas in DS1 i replayed the game so many times with so many different builds)… Expand
  42. llamayarmybar
    Aug 26, 2014
    6
    Unbelievable. I'm fifteen minutes in and just had to put down the controller. What is this supposed to be? Dark Souls had a specific flow to it, it had a way of pointing you in the direction you needed to go, but here? The first area of the game before you even REACH the main hub is so poorly laid out that I got lost near the introduction of the game. The controls and gameplay areUnbelievable. I'm fifteen minutes in and just had to put down the controller. What is this supposed to be? Dark Souls had a specific flow to it, it had a way of pointing you in the direction you needed to go, but here? The first area of the game before you even REACH the main hub is so poorly laid out that I got lost near the introduction of the game. The controls and gameplay are more or less intact, but their is some kind of a clunky nature to it now that just doesn't feel right. The visuals are atrocious as well and it was hard to take it all in. In the PC release it seems this time they fixed half of what they forget to even add in the last Dark Souls game, but visually it fairs far worse. I think this Dark Souls fad is finally dying out. I remember having very mixed feelings after finishing the first game, but with Dark Souls 2 for me at least their is just no motivation to play these types of games any longer.… Expand
  43. sonarctica
    Aug 26, 2014
    6
    After revisiting this game and putting around 150 hours into this (I know how the **** did I manage to waste my life with this game) including both DLC's.

    I gotta say, go play Dark Souls 1. This game is just **** broken, half-arsed level design, non-memorable bosses (they are absolutely garbage). You shouldn't even consider PvP, it is filled with hackers and people who use tools to    After revisiting this game and putting around 150 hours into this (I know how the **** did I manage to waste my life with this game) including both DLC's.

    I gotta say, go play Dark Souls 1. This game is just **** broken, half-arsed level design, non-memorable bosses (they are absolutely garbage). You shouldn't even consider PvP, it is filled with hackers and people who use tools to modify their stats and give themselves late game items even when they are low lvl. If you do manage to get someone who isn't hacking, the combat is very unbalanced as well as the fact that the lag is unbearable even though you have a good connection, they don't even need to be famous lag-switchers for this to happen (backstabbing from the front, instantly killed without knowing what hit you).

    I've played both DLC's they've pulled out of their asses so far, first one Crown of The Sunken King wasn't very good, bosses and enemies were just unoriginal and boring. Second DLC Crown of the Old Iron King, I played it a few hours so far and I got to say... it's been painfully crap, not because it was hard, because it was way too easy. Their idea of making the difficulty harder was by adding just more enemies to gank you, even then it wasn't exactly hard.    … Expand
  44. Alsmir
    Aug 25, 2014
    7
    Short version: decent, fun game, has a lot to offer but it also has some major flaws.

    I haven't really spend that much time with DS 1, since I got quite disappointed that RPG elements were marginal and it was mostly action game. I've got convinced by one of my friends to try out DS 2. He claimed that DS 2 got vastly improved compared to DS 1 and I should give it a shot. This time I was    Short version: decent, fun game, has a lot to offer but it also has some major flaws.

    I haven't really spend that much time with DS 1, since I got quite disappointed that RPG elements were marginal and it was mostly action game.
    I've got convinced by one of my friends to try out DS 2. He claimed that DS 2 got vastly improved compared to DS 1 and I should give it a shot. This time I was well aware that I'm going after action title and my expectations were lowered so in theory nothing should go wrong.

    Unfortunately the beginnings were far from great. Any PC user that tried playing DS knows how badly ported it was. I honestly couldn't believe that in that area not much have changed. You don't need mouse fix anymore and the game is playable on keyboard+mouse combo, BUT you better think about binding your regular and strong attacks to keys. Some special attacks (guard break, jumping attack) just refuse to work if you use LMB/RMB + forward. They do work for forward + (insert some binding, like "R" key).

    Rough start, eh? All the in-game cues point you to controller bindings, so you better get ready to memorize what binding is "X", "Y", "RT" etc.
    On top of that tutorial once again only covers most basic elements of the game. If you want to learn anything more complex - get ready to spend hours reading guides and DS 2 wiki.

    This time I just got over it and started enjoying the game. The game can be challenging and bring a lot of fun. I'm enjoyin it but I want to mention some of the issues I've had with this game so far. Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to discourage players from buying it, but rather warn them what problems they might encounter. If those problems won't bother them then by all means get the game and enjoy it.

    Lets get to the issues that piss me off the most:
    1. PvP
    I love PvP, but to be precise, balanced and fair PvP. DS 2 has a potential to offer that if lag could be fixed or matchmaker reworked.
    But what if you're not in the mood for PvP? What if you're a complete newbie that just wants to complete PvE content?
    Suck it. No other way of avoiding PvP unless you go offline and give up your ability to summon players for co-op. In your first playthrough you will get clubbed over and over again by players with PvP focused characters. Expect to get invaded in the middle of a fight, when you're low on hp and/or spell uses just to be 1 hit and loose humanity. Expect to get invaded by more than one player if you visit ceratain areas.

    Matchmaker itself is designed in a way that will mostly punish new players. Your power level is decided by how many souls have you spent so far. Basically if you buy a new spell/armor/weapon just to test it, even if it turns out that it sucks and you'll never use it again, game decides that your character just got stronger.
    PvPers that only get the essential items for their build will get even more advantage over you.

    Anyway, you just have to live with it, so what else might ruin your day? Lets see:

    - Level design. I've never encountered in any other game so many moments where I felt the game developers added some elements just to troll me. I get it - you need to be carefull all the time to survive, but a sudden hole filled with poison, all the lava pits, cliffs etc. Too many times I had to discover that blocking some attack will still knock me back far enough to fall into water and die. And of course there's also a lovely bridge with a hole in the middle of it and all those ledges where you are almost sure that you can make the jump only to die.

    Moreover I fell like most of the areas are quite boring and there are hardly any memorable boss fights but that's just my opinion.

    Another issue I've discovered when I decided to play evenly on two characters: pure caster and pure melee. Well, the balance sucks, sucks really bad. There are maybe a couple of areas where I was feeling more comfortable on my melee character rather than on my caster. It gets even more obvious if you use co-op for fighting bosses. On a caster you just stand back and nuke with hard hitting spells, while melee blocks, dodges, rolls only to get 2s window for hitting the enemy and repeat.
    Face it, in PvE caster has easier life.

    Oh, the story is almost non-existant, but I really don't mind it.

    To be honest, I've expected more. We deserve the proper support for mouse+keyboard and some aspects of the game require serious polishing. On the other hand, if you can live with all the problems I mentioned above, you're up for a great experience and many, many hours of fun.    … Expand
  45. Ravvy
    Aug 11, 2014
    6
    This Game does not focus on any of the things which made Dark Souls great. The background story is lame, the NPC's have no own characteristics and the level design is just bad. The whole game feels from the beginning like it's all about the player instead of the world and other the characters. Because of logically impossible maps, bad boss design and artificial difficulty created byThis Game does not focus on any of the things which made Dark Souls great. The background story is lame, the NPC's have no own characteristics and the level design is just bad. The whole game feels from the beginning like it's all about the player instead of the world and other the characters. Because of logically impossible maps, bad boss design and artificial difficulty created by spamming great ammounts of enemies on the player even in boss fights not much is left from the epicness Hidetaka Miyazaki gave us in the first game.
    One good thing about this game is the better working multiplayer but everything else except some small changes is a huge downgrade to previous Souls Games.

    Fromsoftware Team B! If anyone of you is reading this, I just wanna tell you you are doing things wrong.    … Expand
  46. SunSparc
    Jul 27, 2014
    5
    About once or twice a year I will pay full price for a game instead of waiting for it to be on sale or discount a year later. I did that with this game and it was a huge mistake. Great graphics, great story, terrible game play and setup. Lots of dying and repeating which is a huge waste of time. It didn't need to be like this and would have been a great game.
  47. maxim1996
    Jul 10, 2014
    7
    Dark souls 2 at the bottom line was an over-hyped game that doesn't deserve all the high scores that many reviewers gave it, but in the same time the game doesn't deserve all the extremely low scores that some users gave it. Dark souls 2 is an improvement over the disaster port that was dark souls 1 that was literally unplayable on PC. One of the first issues that bothered me with thisDark souls 2 at the bottom line was an over-hyped game that doesn't deserve all the high scores that many reviewers gave it, but in the same time the game doesn't deserve all the extremely low scores that some users gave it. Dark souls 2 is an improvement over the disaster port that was dark souls 1 that was literally unplayable on PC. One of the first issues that bothered me with this game is the promise of the developers to make an original PC game and then port it to the consoles. During the first dark souls game play videos we saw a much more impressive graphical game that had a beautiful lightning engine, but unfortunately all we got in the final product is a slightly improved graphical version dark souls 1. Dark souls 2 in its core is all about over coming challenges and getting rewarded for it. Dark souls 2 is a game that is challenging, but can be easily exploited in many ways to make it easier. For example when you die in dark souls 2 your are revived as a hollowed undead that looses a part of his total health bar. The more you die the more health you loose until you drop to 50% of your total health. To reverse this process you must use a rare item that is called human effigy, but you can easily avoid all of this by wearing the ring of life protection that not only protects you from turning hollowed, but also saves all of your souls that you will loose when dying. And to use the ring again you just need to pay 3000 souls to repair it(not a large amount of souls). Dark souls 2 pvp in the bottom line is just broken. The poor connection causes awkward situations in which you might do a direct hit only to see how your enemy ignores your attack and back stabs you from behind. On the other hand their is a large variety of pvp engagements. There is a large verity of pvp covenants that you can join to experience your pvp from a different perspective. Dark souls 2 doesn't treat you like a child, you can kill who ever you want to kill and bear the consequences. Dark souls 2 lacks 1 huge key element that the previous 2 games did, interesting bosses. Most of the bosses in dark souls 2 are your typical RPG bosses. For the most part the only way the game manages to make the boss battles more difficult is by adding a couple of more enemies on your screen that you cant follow because of the poor lock on system in the game like the Ruin sentinels or the twin dragon riders. In those fights you always find yourself fighting the camera more than the actual bosses. The other way dark souls 2 makes difficult bosses is by adding just annoying abilities or raising the boss health stats to ridiculous levels like old king Vendrick that is just boring to fight with or the Royal Rat authority that can break your armor instantly with its toxic liquid. On the other hand there are a couple of fun bosses like the Smelter Demon or the Pursuer that can give you a fun and a challenging fight . The plot of the game sadly falls apart. The amount of unknown mystery and the amount of unanswered questions in the game give you the impression that the developers were just too lazy to write a proper story for the game and just decided to cover everything with "mystery". When you reach the end of the game and face Nashandra that we know very little about her true story and reasons for her hostility to you (honestly we know almost nothing about who she even is). After a very boring and a slow fight in which if you are a ranged character you might find this the easiest boss in the game while every melee character will probably get cursed by her curse fog that is around her. After you finish her off you go to the throne room to sit on the throne because? And then you pretty much hear the following message that tells you that no matter what you choose it will result in the same cycle that was in dark souls 1 or in other words the whole game was pointless from the start to finish. For me this killed dark souls. From that very moment I stopped taking a game seriously and just continued to play to finish my build to find myself quitting the moment I finished building it. I wont even bother to discuss the rest of the characters of the game because they became pointless the moment I reached the end of the game. In conclusion dark souls 2 might be a challenging game that you might find fun if you like challenges, but you cant take it seriously because of the almost none existing story(lore does not count if your actual plot does not exist). I believe that dark souls game is still a pretty good game despite all the flaws in the game because when dark souls 2 does it right. IT does it perfectly right and it leaves you with a satisfaction that will stay with you for a long time.… Expand
  48. kobriks
    Jul 9, 2014
    5
    Huge disappointment. I didn't finish the game. It was nothing like first 2 games, only soul DS II has is in its title. I couldn't believe how plain and empty world felt. Not even a single memorable location in 25h of gameplay, non-existing plot (not like it was good in DS I but at least you had idea of what you are doing), boring repetitive enemies and very poorly made boss fights (screwHuge disappointment. I didn't finish the game. It was nothing like first 2 games, only soul DS II has is in its title. I couldn't believe how plain and empty world felt. Not even a single memorable location in 25h of gameplay, non-existing plot (not like it was good in DS I but at least you had idea of what you are doing), boring repetitive enemies and very poorly made boss fights (screw creativity! Let’s make one average boss and make player fight 5 of them at once! That will be 5 times more fun!). 25h from which I enjoyed maybe 2-3 hours. I'll better just finish ng+5 in DS I.… Expand
  49. WryMouth
    Jul 7, 2014
    5
    Nothing like the Original. The changes to riposte or back stabs are just junk. Mobs don't even re-spawn after you try to farm them for an item. Story is not that great or even the Lore. Kinda sad but still playable.
  50. Mordeo
    Jul 1, 2014
    5
    I have played Dark Souls II for many hours completing a full play through and half of NG+. The most annoying thing I have noticed is the lack of boss variation. Most of the bosses are some form of humanoid creature or knight. There is the big Jabba The Hut looking thing and also the rat king boss but other than that they are all the same. I beat 90% of the bosses by either strafing to theI have played Dark Souls II for many hours completing a full play through and half of NG+. The most annoying thing I have noticed is the lack of boss variation. Most of the bosses are some form of humanoid creature or knight. There is the big Jabba The Hut looking thing and also the rat king boss but other than that they are all the same. I beat 90% of the bosses by either strafing to the left or right because of this. If you some how could not beat a boss you could always summon the phantom NPC to help you which are there for most bosses and since it is really easy to stay human that option is always there and make the fight an almost guaranteed win. The dragons were just plain weak which was very disappointing. There really were no mini bosses that were a challenge. It seems the developers made it sound like it was going to be much more difficult to get more sales because it was definitely not a challenge. The boss weapons were all crap. No point in even saving the boss souls for them because the ones that were good had some major flaw like the durability was low or something. Dying is not a big deal in Dark Souls II because you only lose a very small fraction of your health. On my third character I was able to make it through the entire game and only died about 7 times due to stupidity such as falling off a cliff or something. The conditions, such as poison or curse, barely do anything to even a character that is not resistant to them. On top of that the targeting system is jacked and rarely works how you want it to. The covenants are great if you love multiplayer but if you do not there are only a select few that will benefit you offline. With that being said there are a few things that were good about the game.

    One thing I thought was a major improvement was the PC controls. They are a little confusing at first but after a while of messing around with them it is just like playing any other game. The graphics are awesome and the developers did an amazing job on that but can also be scaled down far enough to work on a crap PC. The bonfire jumping, although it makes the game easier, I thought it was an improvement. There are also many easily missed secrets which may keep you interested through your second play through.

    I would rate the individual parts of the game as follows.
    Graphics 10/10
    Controls 9/10
    Gameplay 2/10
    Difficulty 1/10
    Multiplayer 5/10

    To sum this up I would say it is a fun game but if you want a true souls game play Demon Souls or the first Dark Souls because the developers like many others are just pumping these things out for money now.    … Expand
  51. Birds
    Jun 30, 2014
    6
    This is a good RPG game, but if you are expecting a game that succeeds dark souls with the same experience or better you will be disappointed. It doesnt live up to the souls series, if you are a big fan of the souls series however i would suggest buying the game it fills some blank spots in our knowledge of the lore in dark souls but the difficulty has completely dissipated. My firstThis is a good RPG game, but if you are expecting a game that succeeds dark souls with the same experience or better you will be disappointed. It doesnt live up to the souls series, if you are a big fan of the souls series however i would suggest buying the game it fills some blank spots in our knowledge of the lore in dark souls but the difficulty has completely dissipated. My first time playing through the game there was no O&S there was no Four Kings it was just an easy experience and if you are a pvper id say PVP in both the previous soul games surpassed it, poise may as well not exist and there is no dead angling anymore and you cant aim rolling attacks behind you if you are unlocked anymore, very disappointing PVP experience… Expand
  52. captainkane
    Jun 28, 2014
    7
    I love Dark Souls. I sorta like Dark Souls 2. See the difference? Dark Souls 2 is redundant-a shameless copycat of its predecessors. But if it's not broke don't fix it. Right? Wrong. In many ways, DS2 is a step backwards. It lacks Demon Souls' originality and Dark Souls' exceptional mechanics. This series has become Bandai Namco's new cash cow. I firmly believe the series would've beenI love Dark Souls. I sorta like Dark Souls 2. See the difference? Dark Souls 2 is redundant-a shameless copycat of its predecessors. But if it's not broke don't fix it. Right? Wrong. In many ways, DS2 is a step backwards. It lacks Demon Souls' originality and Dark Souls' exceptional mechanics. This series has become Bandai Namco's new cash cow. I firmly believe the series would've been better off as a cult hit. Unfortunately, the things that made it so great will diminish as the developer strives to appeal to a larger audience.

    In Dark Souls, death was the player's fault. The mechanics were too tight and the hit boxes too precise for people to blame anything else. Enemies and bosses scaled appropriately as the game progressed. Players know after a few brutalizing deaths they aren't ready for an area or opponent. Some bosses were remarkedly difficult, but players will vanquish them after preparation. This isn't the case with DS2. It's difficult for the wrong reasons. According to some avid gamers I know, the game is full of "cheap deaths" with its "janky hit boxes" and stupid, over-the-top bosses.

    A few of the bosses were ripped directly from Dark Souls. They look similar. Players fight them in the same environments. Heck, those bosses even have identical move sets. It's lazy and disappointing. But I find something even more irritating. Many boss fights require players to engage multiple foes. So players must fight 2 or more huge bosses or a boss surrounded by hordes of trash mobs simultaneously.
    And it gets worse. Enemies kill players in 3 or less hits. Even at level 120 with heavy armor, my character feels incredibly weak. And bosses one 1 hit kill her easily. A single hit to a shield can drain all stamina. Such low survivability makes it difficult to learn boss animations. This design screams co-op, which is unfortunate. I never felt compelled to summon allies in Dark Souls, but in DS2 I'm constantly summoning. There are tons of bosses too. An epic fight is around every corner. It's frustrating an. The odds are so stacked against the players, the designers apparently forgot the difference between challenging and unreasonable. It reminds of me of NInja Gaiden 2, and I hated that game.

    Janky hit boxes is an understatement. I've dropped greatswords on lesser foes with perfect precision. No damage. I've rolled well beyond the reach of enemy. Lost 80% of my health. My character has been killed by enemies AFTER they've died. Yes. Enemies in the death animations will still kill players. My character has even been pulled into enemy swords from 5 feet away-like a tractor beam. DS2 lacks the mechanic proficiency of its older siblings. I've resorted to ranged combat and greatswords as a result. Both these weapons keep enemies well out of reach. Pure melee builds can have an especially difficult time in this game. There are myriad of other combat related problems. So to sum it up: Dark Souls 2 feels unbalanced.

    Graphically, DS2 is OK. Other than 1080p and 60 frames, I don't see improvement over the original. In fact, some environments look downright awful. Nothing feels as ominous as the previous DS. I LOVE the level design in Dark Souls. It's gritty and desolate. All the areas were connected somehow. So exploration was key. Not in DS2. The ability to warp between bonfires from the start takes away the exploration that DS fans adore so much. When players are stuck in a challenging area, they must fight it out. Emerging victorious is the award. Not in DS2. Area too difficult? Just warp away... Also, there are dozens of bonfires. Kill 6 enemies, bonfire. Kill 4 more, bonfire.

    So what's good? The co-op is great. I absolutely love teaming up with players to clear an area. It's a fun way to learn new strategies. This doesn't mean the game gets easier. Even in co-op, death is frequent. Unfortunately, in some areas, co-op is not allowed. There are several bosses that players must face solo. And yes, there are multiple opponents to fight. And yes, one hit deaths still apply. And yes, some are recycled bosses from the original DS.

    However, PVP has been unplayable. Lag. Lag. Laaaaaaaaag. Enough said.

    The leveling system is roughly the same, although the roles of some stats are still unclear. Plenty of weapons. Plenty of stuff to kill. Enemies are smarter. At least that hasn't changed for the worst.

    The verdict? Dark Souls 2 is still a better game than most new releases. Actually, it's a great game. However, the series is meant to be challenging, and too often, DS2 is just annoying. Dying feels cheap because the penalties for small missteps are extraordinarily harsh, unlike its predecessor. The janky mechanics coupled with bland level design equate to an average experience. Additionally, DS2 is focused more on boss battles than exploration. And bosses like the Executioner's Chariot are just absurd. The game is still worth owning. But for people new to the series, start with the original Dark Souls.    … Expand
  53. Rolento
    Jun 25, 2014
    6
    A kind of good game in itself, with the irredeemable flaw of being contextually horrible since it carries the burden of a high-expectations title such as Dark Souls but doesn't retain the original genius of the director (which I found out later in my playthrough was not involved with development, much to no one's surprise). The story is being vague for the sake of being vague as opposed toA kind of good game in itself, with the irredeemable flaw of being contextually horrible since it carries the burden of a high-expectations title such as Dark Souls but doesn't retain the original genius of the director (which I found out later in my playthrough was not involved with development, much to no one's surprise). The story is being vague for the sake of being vague as opposed to a good story with missing pieces on purpose, made even worse by cheesy lines ("You will die over and over again" "Without really knowing why") that don't seem to be self aware. The atmosphere of the game and the direction the player is given tried to do something different and weren't too bad, but unfortunately all the other flaws make me see even such passable things for what they actually are. Speaking of the direction, I kinda disagree on the common complaint that the direction of the character is random (although I get that you are being misled by the also cheesy lines of the Emerald Herald) at least. I really liked the new weapons, their movesets, and how they tried and "fix" stats, but ultimately stats are still broken (poise) and the Soul Memory feature has killed variety and complex interaction of the stats as they were introduced. They also improved physics and FPS on the pc porting I guess, which was hardly a challenge. Long story short: they tried to improve the things that weren't exactly hard to fix from the first title and barely succeeded, the metagame just shifted what's OP and what's not without much change, the story is just a wannabe Dark Soul-ish story, the online interaction is rendered stale by Soul Memory, the game desperately tries to pander to those who seek for "lol so difficult" in Dark Souls without realizing it was just part of what made Dark Souls great and they do it badly too because this game continuously alternates hordes of artificially difficult enemies and incredibly easy segments, bosses that fight you in hordes and incredibly easy bosses, all over and over and over again. Much like the bosses, also, the character are desperately trying to be what the old ones were and you can notice that from the first seconds of the game. It was a breath of fresh air whenever a character with a different motive than usual would show up (such as Pate and that other one, which was an interesting thing). Not to mention all of these female characters in the game for the waifu addicts. This game bothers me on so many levels that I just finished it once and felt no need to go further, I'm better off with the first one which isn't perfect but at least has standards and it's way better in almost every way than this one.… Expand
  54. Gzhindra
    Jun 17, 2014
    6
    Dark Souls 2 in not by any mean a bad game. To sum up, it is what happen when you give a great license with well though mechanics to someone lacking visions and understanding of what made Dark Soul 1 such a great game. The basis are good but the game designer should have heeded the moto "If it works don't try and fix it".

    Dark Souls 1 had a well thought and overall coherently made    Dark Souls 2 in not by any mean a bad game. To sum up, it is what happen when you give a great license with well though mechanics to someone lacking visions and understanding of what made Dark Soul 1 such a great game. The basis are good but the game designer should have heeded the moto "If it works don't try and fix it".

    Dark Souls 1 had a well thought and overall coherently made world. In Darks Souls 2 it is more like a patchwork of environments that hardly fit together without any logic. The game lacks terribly in atmosphere. The story was not the forte of Dark Souls 1 but there was a sense of purpose. There is no such thing in Dark Souls 2 as it has become only a beat them all with stats and upgradeable equipment. It is still fun to toy with but we lost something.

    There are at least to main game mechanics mistakes. The game has been casualized with a limited amount of respawn by enemies. If getting through an area is too difficult for you, you shouldn't worry as you can kill one enemy at a time, respawn them and after a while they simply won't be here anymore making you passing dead easy. They did this to prevent farming but they could have simply limited the number of souls and equipement one enemy can provide instead of doing this. The other broken mechanic is the weapon durability. It is base on frame rate. The higher your framerate the fastest your going to break your weapons. This mechanics is not only stupid, it is tedious and brings nothing good to the game, not even challenge.

    It was already the case with Dark Souls 1 but:
    - it lack a pause button which is not acceptable. People can have urgencies in their lives and while it understandable in PVP it isn't in PVE.
    - Online is forced on the player whether you like it or not
    - No return to Windows option in the menu.    … Expand
  55. owen445x
    Jun 7, 2014
    7
    I really want to give this game more than a 7, but I can't after playing demon souls and dark souls.

    Demon souls was awesome and Dark souls took everything good from the first and made it even better in my opinion. I have over 160 hours on each game so I feel like I have a good grasp on each game. Then I get dark souls 2 and the graphics are stunning! But, so many new features were    I really want to give this game more than a 7, but I can't after playing demon souls and dark souls.

    Demon souls was awesome and Dark souls took everything good from the first and made it even better in my opinion. I have over 160 hours on each game so I feel like I have a good grasp on each game.

    Then I get dark souls 2 and the graphics are stunning! But, so many new features were added that weren't needed.

    Dark souls was all about learning from death. If you keep dying from a mob, then you are doing something wrong and you need to perfect your form in order to progress. Dark souls 2 adds more mobs to make each scenario difficult, but why add the health bar penalty each time you die.. like dying was bad enough and having to fight all the trash mobs over to get your original souls back.

    I agree the durability system was flawed in Dark Souls 1 and only served as an annoyance or an additional task to repair your equipment at the bon fire. But, this new durability system sucks in dark souls 2. I like to stick to my preferred weapon, but now I have to carry 3 -5 other weapons since each mob takes a good percentage of the weapon durability down. I would have made the durability of the weapon degrade if you were using it improperly. For example, using a large sword in a tight hallway. If you hit the walls, it should damage the sword since your using it incorrectly. This would make you switch to a spear or something where you can thrust in tight spaces.

    I also don't care for the new spawn system. After clearing an area X amount of times, the mobs won't spawn so you can't farm them like you could in Dark Souls 1. First of all, dark souls 1 made it where you became a pro from having to clear out trash mobs each time you stopped at a camp fire to rest. In dark souls 2, If I find a part that's hard.. I just farm the area till the mobs disappear. I can see where this is a conveyance, but overall it detracts from the experience in my opinion. It's like the developers crammed each area with tons of mobs expecting you to just farm them till they no longer spawn. In dark souls 1 each area was populated properly and this allowed you to go long distances before resting at a camp spot.

    Overall, I think the game is going to be ok. But, for new players.. I would highly recommend dark souls 1 of the sequel.    … Expand
  56. Jonathan117
    Jun 5, 2014
    7
    As a hardcore follower of the series (Played & Completed Demon's Souls & Dark Souls numerous times; I can say that I am far from dissapointed with the latest installment in the series. BUY THE GAME. It is the definition of happiness :)
  57. Scritty
    May 31, 2014
    6
    As a player of PC games but the owner of every console released in the UK for the past 25 years, this is the reason some AAA manufacturers should leave the PC alone. With this muddy unfocused conversion, the recent terrible PC version of Watchdog I almost feel as sorry for the designers as for the buyers "Do we really HAVE TO release this for PC as well? all the different configurations,As a player of PC games but the owner of every console released in the UK for the past 25 years, this is the reason some AAA manufacturers should leave the PC alone. With this muddy unfocused conversion, the recent terrible PC version of Watchdog I almost feel as sorry for the designers as for the buyers "Do we really HAVE TO release this for PC as well? all the different configurations, the bugs, the lag, the moaning"
    And DS2 is the latest result of games that should never have come out for the PC.
    A decent game, but un-optimized, graphically muddy and with gameplay that is pretty basic. The difficulty level is high, but not insurmountable - but the better versions are on console.
    Given that they will sell more units on console and that certain AAA developers struggle to get action/arcade games optimized for various PC specs - maybe it's time they left the PC to indie developers and strategy games.
    Quite happy to buy this for console in the future, but the lacklustre PC version.
    What is strange is how some seemingly graphically intense games rock from day one on PC (Far Cry 3, The recent Tomb Raider re-boot among quite a few others)
    While others are terrible and this is below average.
    A good game, a poor PC conversion that still leaves it as "decent" on PC, but certainly nothing to compare with the far superior console versions. Maybe they should never have made it.    … Expand
  58. Igniteme
    May 28, 2014
    6
    Let me start off by saying I WANT to like this game. I love the PvE, and for a few shoddy hitboxes and other issues it's pretty great.

    The problems start off at the porting issue and worst of all, the multiplayer. The keybindings only show Xbox buttons, and some actions are half-impossible to do without a macro program (such as guard break and leaping power attack) and with KB&Mouse    Let me start off by saying I WANT to like this game. I love the PvE, and for a few shoddy hitboxes and other issues it's pretty great.

    The problems start off at the porting issue and worst of all, the multiplayer. The keybindings only show Xbox buttons, and some actions are half-impossible to do without a macro program (such as guard break and leaping power attack) and with KB&Mouse they are bugged to begin with, so you better hope you have a controller.

    Worst offender in this game is the network. Don't let the option to disable "cross-region matchmaking" in the options fool you. There are 2 "regions" for the Dark Souls 2 game, and these are: 1. Japan 2. Not Japan. Yes, it's ridiculous. Players from Europe face opponents from outside of Europe 80% of the time, and with hit detection being clientside it is a fiasco. It is not rare to think you're safe, seeing your opponent swing their washing pole 10 meters away, only to take damage from it. Hell, I've been backstabbed from a different floor more than once.

    Also, Soul memory matchmaking is good in theory but it is currently broken in practice.

    And then there are the PvP item imbalances. I'm sure many of you are familiar with havelyn and santiers and the usual and while they are counterable and easier to fix, I don't have hope they will be changed at all.

    I can deal with the pc port, poor controls and the tryhardies in full havel with a washing pole spamming hexes, but the multiplayer issues are unforgivable. Don't fall prey to the zealously defending elitist who can retort with nothing but "git gud" because the only thing that needs to get better is the game.

    I would give the game a 9.5 if it was without any issues, alas. In it's current state it is 6 at best. You'd think they learned from their problems from the first game.    … Expand
  59. ItsFrootLoops
    May 27, 2014
    7
    Yes, this game was more brutal than the first and while I almost threw my pad out of the window I still had fun. The games graphics seem a lot better on the PC version and it is a very nice looking game, the world and combat seems a lot more improved since the first and I had a good time playing this game
  60. Dziver
    May 26, 2014
    7
    Read further to see my comparison between DS1 and DS2. However, first I must say that I find it funny how everyone is being so honest now. When DS1 came out it was only praised, praised and praised. It was like a fad to praise it. In reality it wasn't much better or worse than DS2.

    Looking at how DS2 compares to DS1: + No GFWL + Connecting to others works very smoothly and summoning    Read further to see my comparison between DS1 and DS2. However, first I must say that I find it funny how everyone is being so honest now. When DS1 came out it was only praised, praised and praised. It was like a fad to praise it. In reality it wasn't much better or worse than DS2.

    Looking at how DS2 compares to DS1:
    + No GFWL
    + Connecting to others works very smoothly and summoning signs appear very fast. Level doesn't also matter anymore, only the total amount of souls you have collected(google "soul memory" to find out more).
    + Stats make more sense now. DS1 had very hard diminishing returns after 40 points. DS2 still has them, but they're not as apparent and have more stages.
    + Runs very well and has real PC options. No need for 3rd party fixes anymore.
    +/- No unpredictable "**** you" moments, it's all about skill.
    +/- You can't miss any NPC interactions anymore and there are no hidden quests.
    +/- Leaving covenants doesn't have any kind of a penalty or cost.
    +/- Really many things from DS1 have been recycled, like most(if not all) weapons, spells, and enemy movesets.
    +/- Textures are way better than in DS1, but the game still looks a bit dated.
    +/- Mouse and keyboard support is better than in DS1, but it could still use some work.
    - 360 controllers have strange deadzones.
    - Very many things in the game are frame rate dependent. This includes equipment wear, invulnerability time during dodge rolls, attacks of some enemies, and other things. i.e. At 60fps your equipment wears twice as fast as at 30fps.
    - Environment and lore are much less interesting than in DS1.
    - Boss fights are not as memorable.
    - Music is really average.
    - World doesn't make sense anymore. It can rain on other side of a door and be sunny on the other. Also, if you look at 3D model of the whole world, different areas overlap each other. I personally don't really care about this, but in DS1 everything was consistent and I know many players liked it.    … Expand
  61. pongkrit03
    May 25, 2014
    7
    This is my revised review without playing DS1 before . At my first time play through, I gave this game 0 out of 10 because of terrible port. I almost ditched this game but on a second thought, I gave it another try by overlooking bad port and poor graphic. This time I really enjoyed the game. I spent 100 hours+ with this game, played it till the end and still want to play more so I wouldThis is my revised review without playing DS1 before . At my first time play through, I gave this game 0 out of 10 because of terrible port. I almost ditched this game but on a second thought, I gave it another try by overlooking bad port and poor graphic. This time I really enjoyed the game. I spent 100 hours+ with this game, played it till the end and still want to play more so I would like you guys to read my review first, you will understand why this game has a lot of lovers and haters at the same time, and whether this game suits your taste or not.

    Let me start with the bad port first. As many negative reviewers said, this game has a abysmal console port EVER !. If you have controller, you will not have the issue. Nevertheless, if you have only keyboard + mouse, You will have to spend 1-2 hours learning how to play with keyboard. Even after you know how to do every moveset, you still have a delay. Anyway, you still can play this game with keyboard + mouse. Me too struggled at first but now totally fine.

    Second, the Graphic is unacceptable if you compare to PC RPG game nowadays. So even without keyboard issue, this game cannot get perfect score. No zooming to the face when you talk to NPC, NPC mouth is shut. Character creation is bare bone. Begining cinematic is a lie. You will not see cinematic like that again in the game. The only cinematics left are seen when you fight a boss, which most of them are mediocre.

    Third, there is a very little story in this game, or I could say this game has no story at all, no quest or whatever. You just have to put yourself through the end of the game, that's it. This game is pretty much like a hack&slash game if you ask me.

    However, even with these very poor features, this game still has its huge merit, that is THE CHARISMA of the game. or in another word, THE CHALLENGE, which is very unique if it is compared with most RPG games in the market. EVERY TIME YOU DIE, THE GAME WILL PUNISH YOU, this concept adds the unique tense that I never had before in other games. Every death will decrease your maximum HP 5 - 10% per time and If you die again before getting to the spot that you just died, you will lose all your souls accumulated, which can be a huge loss since you have to use souls to up your lv and spend stuffs. Of course, you cannot save your game. This rule will force you focus on the game and be cautious to every corner, traps and enemy. "I must survive ! I must not die" these are what you will chanting in your mind while playing the game. There are checkpoints (bonfire) available though, however many times checkpoints are far from each other, so if you die along the way, you will have to run from the start again.

    Game Mechanic is also very awesome. I blamed it in my first review but that was because of my inexperience. This game when you click attack button, it means you just committed the attack, you cannot cancel it and you will be vulnerable at that time. This force you to play more carefully. Most of enemies in the game can be defeated only by skill not by your lv or equipment. You just need to understand its attack-pattern, dodge and attack at the right time. Boss's fights are so epic and super excited. I still remember how hard when I fought will Last Giant, the first boss and Pursuer, the second boss first time. I spent more than 2 hours to beat them. I died a lot, many times I made mistakes just when I was about to finished them off ( wanna cry). I even almost gave up. However, after I defeated them, I felt very satisfied. The feeling that you conquer the game on your own perseverance will emerge.To me, there is no game giving the winning feeling as big as this one.

    Multiplayer, another thing that I must mention no matter what. This game has a VERY GOOD MULTIPLAYER, which I've never expected from RPG games. PVE, you can summon your friends to help you fight or can go to help in your friend's world. Thus, if you feel like the game is too hard, you can summon help anytime. More importantly, PVP IS THE BEAST, fighting the others is very fun. A lot of weapon have its own moveset, making the fight very diverse. There is no best weapon nor best armor in the game. Moreover, you can invade the other's world forcefully by using items, ambush poor guy while he is busy with his monsters, or be invaded yourself, or even become a helper who helps newbie fight with invader. However, for me, in a high lv 200+, the game will start to be less fun in PVP since everyone will use the same style due to the stat soft cap and soul mem matching is unreasonable.

    In sum, I have a lot of fun with this game but I cannot give perfect score because those bad aspects. So here is my quick brief review

    IF YOU WANT THE GAME WITH AN AMAZING GRAPHIC, EXCELLENT STORY that has various of choices and memorable NPC. This game is absolutely ์NOT for you.

    However, IF YOU WANT A INTENSE CHALLENGING GAMEPLAY and GREAT PVP, this game is a must try !. I hope DLC will come soon :>    … Expand
  62. Freaksy
    May 23, 2014
    7
    The atmosphere and gameplay is great. But the grind, oh the hours of grind... Because of this grind you won't be able to start over with a new hero because you killed the same creatures like 1000 times before.
  63. leaveit
    May 22, 2014
    7
    Better port, worse game than Dark Souls 1. Performance is really quite incredible and the game can even run on my $200 laptop with integrated graphics. I have not yet failed a connection. Input seems fine. All the problems with the above seem to have been patched as of this review. As for the game itself, I'm displeased with some of the design choices. First and foremost, the weaponBetter port, worse game than Dark Souls 1. Performance is really quite incredible and the game can even run on my $200 laptop with integrated graphics. I have not yet failed a connection. Input seems fine. All the problems with the above seem to have been patched as of this review. As for the game itself, I'm displeased with some of the design choices. First and foremost, the weapon durability is absurd. If you slash a man armed with nothing more than cloth 60 times with a sharp knife, the knife will not break, yet this is exactly what happens in this game. Whereas item durability was more of a long-term problem in Dark Souls 1, you will find your items getting close to breaking after killing 10 or so enemies without returning to a bonfire. There are items that slow degradation, of course... But only by up to 50%. Secondly, the soul memory limit for coop is incredibly annoying and, halfway through the game when bosses start dropping 50,000+ souls (the limit), helping one or two of a party with a boss could boot the last person out of range in soul memory. This is effective for game balance, but what is the point of balancing a PvE experience? The fights are no more difficult than they were to begin with anyway. Quite annoying. Poise is awful in this game, and most weapons can easily attain poise break in a short chain or with a strong attack, so the modus operandi is rolling, and yet rolling is slower and with fewer invincibility frames than in DS 1. At the same time, shields with 100% physical resist have higher requirements and are found later in the game. In other words, they made it more likely that you're going to be hit and take damage. The defense values also make pretty little sense, as you can achieve outstandingly high damage reductions early on in the game by DS 1 standards, and yet you can still be killed in two or three hits.

    Overall, the game design is much more slack, and it is superior from a technical standpoint compared to DS 1.    … Expand
  64. chargerboy
    May 20, 2014
    5
    It's a decent game, but it just doesn't match up to the first Dark Souls at all.

    The port...well it does the job but once again, no keyboard prompts/onscreen buttons it only shows the Xbawks controller buttons so you have to figure out yourself what the keys do...I still can't figure out how to do a guard break attack or a jump attack. Game takes a while to understand when you want to    It's a decent game, but it just doesn't match up to the first Dark Souls at all.

    The port...well it does the job but once again, no keyboard prompts/onscreen buttons it only shows the Xbawks controller buttons so you have to figure out yourself what the keys do...I still can't figure out how to do a guard break attack or a jump attack. Game takes a while to understand when you want to run sometimes too. Really poor effort by From there.

    The story is the biggest letdown. It's mediocre and uninteresting and recycles too much from the first game. No motivation to make you feel like there's a point to what you are doing or achieving. I was able to start the game and go all the way to collecting one of the four 'great souls' (Lost Sinner) in a couple hours without realising it was meant to be one of the 'big' boss fights. Nor did I ever really feel overwhelmed by the bosses or enemies along the way.

    The first game presented the story to you in a way that you understood what your goals were and what you had to do and it let you figure out a lot by talking to NPC's or reading item descriptions. It was brilliant in the way it did that...Dark Souls II just has you running around with only the vaguest idea of what is going on or what you are meant to do.

    NPC's in the game are not memorable the way Solaire or Lautrec were in the first game. Not anywhere near it. The forced reliance on the Emerald Herald for levelling up was annoying, especially as she has the same lines and just repeats them over and over and over for 95% of the game.

    Locations don't feel right spatially, areas that are on the horizon take 40 seconds to run to through underground corridors (ie, Majula to Heide). Some areas (reached through branching corridors) overlap each other. Drangleic Castle was a huge disappointment. Shrine of Amana is the prettiest area in the game but you'll be spending 90% of your time there looking at the water so you don't fall off a hidden ledge.

    One big mistake IMO was being able to teleport between bonfires right from the start. It's admittedly 'convenient' for sure, but it sacrifices so much of the tension and moodiness that made the first game so great. The Catacombs/Depths/Blighttown from the first game wouldn't have been anywhere near as scary or painful to get through if you could just warp out from them whenever you felt like it.

    Graphics are pretty, combat is harder due to trash mobs being more aggressive with a greater range of movesets and more health. You can get stun-locked rather easily now, which isn't such a good thing, and enemies don't actually take advantage of that much. You have to level up Adaptability to get rolling to be any good as you have very low i-frames at the start.

    The bosses are a letdown for the most part. Way too many generic 'large humanoid boss with giant hurty weapons that they spam the same 3-hit combo with' for my liking. Very few bosses are actually challenging or bring fresh ideas to the table. Some are just reskinned bosses from the first game and one is literally the same boss. All you have to do to beat 70% of the bosses in this game is to hump their right leg and keep moving clockwise around them.

    The (optional) true final boss in particular is a joke...you have to spend ages collecting special items to even make it possible to kill him (if you don't he has 32x his normal defence values) and even then the battle is basically spending an hour praying that you don't make a single mistake because if you do, and the boss then uses his 3-hit combo you are instantly one shotted, no matter the armor or shield you have equipped.

    Soul Memory is an amazingly **** mechanic, you can read up on it elsewhere but it's so mindbogglingly dumb and ruins PvP or coop play as you'll have to keep recreating characters just to play with ppl online.

    It's much harder to farm rare items now as enemies will stop spawning after they have been killed 10 times, and the only way to get them back is to deliberately choose to burn a Bonfire Ascetic which allows them to respawn another 10 times at harder difficulties.

    Sorceries, miracles, pyromancies and hexes are amazingly OP and let you breeze through the game. Some even let you one shot ppl in PvP no matter the health or armor they have. There's plenty of lag and people abusing broken mechanics as well.

    Overall it's a disappointment compared to the first and doesn't even feel like the game that was promised by all the early trailers.    … Expand
  65. Lyther
    May 17, 2014
    7
    Dark Souls 2 is a good game, but it's disappointing in comparison to the first Dark Souls. This game had a different director than the previous Souls games and it really shows. Some comparisons:

    - The writing in the first game was intriguing. The first game had you start at an asylum for the undead at the "end of the world," and next you're told to ring the bells of awakening. The    Dark Souls 2 is a good game, but it's disappointing in comparison to the first Dark Souls. This game had a different director than the previous Souls games and it really shows. Some comparisons:

    - The writing in the first game was intriguing. The first game had you start at an asylum for the undead at the "end of the world," and next you're told to ring the bells of awakening. The writing for the second game isn't just bad in comparison, it's flat out bad. The second game starts with you being laughed at by old ladies, and then a NPC tells you to collect souls to break your curse. As souls are currency dropped by enemies, the plot amounts to "go kill things." The writing doesn't get much better. On a related note, there are no memorable NPCs this time around.

    - Level design has also taken a step backwards. Levels are no longer interconnected like in the first game. It often feels as though the game has levels stitched end-to-end without regard for theme or geometry. This is probably why you can fast-travel from the start.. Given this, it's not a surprise that floor plans have also been simplified. To its credit, the game is still loaded with secret areas to be found.

    - Combat is probably a bit worse. Hitboxes are definitely worse, combos and ripostes are less satisfying, and enemies now spin and attack in ways that violate physical intuition. On the plus side, there are a lot of new weapons, more equipment slots, and a new type of magic.

    - Leveling up now requires you to sit through two bonfire warps and some awful dialogue.

    Dark Souls 2 is saved by the fact that the previous Souls games provided a very solid foundation. The combat system, combined with the bonfire system and tough enemies creates an engaging and addictive experience. And Dark Souls 2 does provide a lot of new, difficult content. Unfortunately, uninspired writing, subpar world design, and some questionable game mechanics make for a game that's almost entirely devoid of the "magic" the first game had.    … Expand
  66. deviantdizzy
    May 11, 2014
    5
    Game is pretty, I'll give it that much (excluding clunky characters)-- this is a TERRIBLE port- they couldn't even bother to change the onscreen prompts from console control commands, the keyboard bindings are nigh impossible to get a good config on (shift+click?! to use actions unless it's a left or right click- which we all know is attack, etc?!-- why must it have 2 motions to useGame is pretty, I'll give it that much (excluding clunky characters)-- this is a TERRIBLE port- they couldn't even bother to change the onscreen prompts from console control commands, the keyboard bindings are nigh impossible to get a good config on (shift+click?! to use actions unless it's a left or right click- which we all know is attack, etc?!-- why must it have 2 motions to use something?!) Disappointed, don't like the dying penalty- I'm here to have fun, not drive myself nuts over dying..… Expand
  67. suneater
    May 9, 2014
    7
    There's a lot to say about this game so I broke it down into three catagories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Skip to the bottom for a synopsis.

    The Good: +DaS2 is still huge. There is a lot to explore and there's plenty of hidden areas with tough bosses. +A larger, more open game world. +More character interaction. Much of the lore is fleshed out via NPCs as you journey through    There's a lot to say about this game so I broke it down into three catagories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Skip to the bottom for a synopsis.

    The Good:
    +DaS2 is still huge. There is a lot to explore and there's plenty of hidden areas with tough bosses.
    +A larger, more open game world.
    +More character interaction. Much of the lore is fleshed out via NPCs as you journey through the game, with characters having more to say (and more to sell).
    +Better networking and better co-op. A new ring essentially makes your summon sign only visible to your friends.
    +More accessible covenants. While most covenants in DaS you had to jump through hoops just to find, overall DaS2's covenants are easy to join and more enjoyable to level.
    +Dual wielding is greatly improved. Power stancing lets you swing both your weapons in new combos.
    +Magic is greatly expanded and includes a new catagory for Hexes.
    +Greatly improved NG+ experience. Bosses drop new items, new enemies spawn in special areas, and some bosses gain new mechanics.

    The Bad (huge problems that will [probably] never change):
    -Terrible map design. Most levels are very simplistic, with some even being a straight corridor from beginning to the token boss.
    -Heavily unbalanced covenant rank-up requirements. Heirs of the Sun's 30 sunlight medals can be achieved in a few hours for max rank, while BoB & Blue Sentinel's 500 kills requires NG+ or nonstop victories in the arena (losses count as -1 rank points... why?).
    -Overabundance of forgettable, humanoid bosses. Some are recycled later in the game (or later playthroughs) as normal mobs or bosses. Many bosses have similar attack patterns and fall apart when you circle strafe and roll.
    -Swarms of enemies everywhere. While DaS focused on intense 1v1 fights, there were occasional cannon fodder slaughterfests. DaS 2 will regularly throw multiple heavily armored & long-reaching (polearms, ultra greatswords) enemies at you.
    -Parrying and riposting are harder to perform and less rewarding. Even if you manage to riposte, you can now be damaged while riposting by the swarms of enemies in DaS 2.
    -Overabundance of healing items and consumables. There's no reason to start as a Cleric because of 3 different purchasable lifegems (HoT consumable), 12 Estus Flask+5s (easily attained on first playthrough), and 8 other consumables that restore spells or cure statuses on top of healing you.
    -Terrible plot and story telling. The last few levels (and especially the ending cutscene) make no sense and it feels like the devs just wanted to add "cool" stuff to pad the game.

    The Ugly (nitpicking and balance problems):
    *Iframes have been removed from backstabs, ripostes, using fog gates, doors, and other environmental actions.
    *Roll iframes & estus flask drinking speed are tied to a stat.
    *No pyromancer starting class. You have to get roughly through one-quarter of the game to find your first flame and pyromancy and its very easy to miss.
    *Tons of balance issues with both PvE & PvP. Near the end of the first playthrough magic becomes very powerful, even in PvE. In PvP most spells worth using in PvP will kill you in 1 or 2 hits even with strong magic defense.
    *No un-cracked Red/Blue Eye Orbs and cracked orbs aren't sold by NPCs until NG+.
    *Changes to equip load mean everyone is some kind of hybrid class, doing normal rolls while wearing full Havels with a cloud of Persuers- err, i mean Affinity over them while waving a flaming katana around.
    *Cheaters are currently a huge issue on the PC version. You can now be invaded while Hollow and not being human is a big HP handicap, meaning you will run into cheaters much more often than in DaS.

    Dark Souls 2 isn't much of an honest sequel to Dark Souls; Being more akin to a numbered Final Fantasy sequel, with the only connection between the two being some equipment & spell names as far as I can tell. While it will win tons of GOTY awards, it also has a ton of issues that need to be addressed before it will be remembered as fondly as its predecessor. DaS 2 is definitely worth playing, but it feels like a rushed cash-in made by a B-Team who were told how a Souls game should be made (and then went and did their own thing anyway). Hopefully FromSoft's next Souls game has some actual soul to it... Otherwise we might just end up with another Armored Core situation with a new half-assed sequel being pooped out every few years.    … Expand
  68. Retro-Sapien
    May 7, 2014
    7
    While a good, solid game in its own right, "Dark Souls II" is ultimately somewhat of a step backward from its predecessor.

    The change in directors is evident in the form of a weaker plot, inconsistent world-building, lack of variety in enemies, and aggravating changes in combat mechanics (such as increased enemy tracking) which come off more as difficulty for difficulty's sake rather    While a good, solid game in its own right, "Dark Souls II" is ultimately somewhat of a step backward from its predecessor.

    The change in directors is evident in the form of a weaker plot, inconsistent world-building, lack of variety in enemies, and aggravating changes in combat mechanics (such as increased enemy tracking) which come off more as difficulty for difficulty's sake rather than to offer a rewarding challenge to players. In addition, while not necessarily a problem the apparent downgrade in graphics and lighting may come as a slight disappointment to fans.

    Overall, "Dark Souls II" is a flawed, yet serviceable entry in the "Souls" series, and the aforementioned issues are possibly just growing pains from the change in direction that will hopefully be ironed out in future installments.    … Expand
  69. adrianccc
    May 5, 2014
    5
    I really enjoyed the Dark Souls I , and was expecting to do the same for Dark Souls II, but Dark Souls II feels lacking in atmosphere, consistency and depth compared to its predecessor. Its likely a combination of factors led to this disparity. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of the first game, was not present for Dark Souls II, and the difference in quality is noticeable - from pacing,I really enjoyed the Dark Souls I , and was expecting to do the same for Dark Souls II, but Dark Souls II feels lacking in atmosphere, consistency and depth compared to its predecessor. Its likely a combination of factors led to this disparity. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of the first game, was not present for Dark Souls II, and the difference in quality is noticeable - from pacing, to level design, to the design of boss encounters. The game also received a graphical downgrade before release, resulting in far less atmospheric lightning and visuals.

    The hub system, with fast travel from the very start of game makes the world seems disconnected and shallow, and accommodates far less thoughtful level design than the first game. Furthermore, having to return to a central hub and skip through irrelevant NPC speech every time you wish to level up is also a chore, and kills the momentum and pervading loneliness that was present in first game.

    In summary, Dark Souls II feels just a little soulless.    … Expand
  70. ninja666
    May 4, 2014
    5
    I'd reviewed the game once, but since then I've managed to play it a bit more and managed to get further. I didn't beat it, but I played for 12 hours total before quitting. I'm still disappointed by how the game turned out and only gets one point more this time, but I want to review it once more from scratch because I want to make the review better, more comprehensible and I want to expandI'd reviewed the game once, but since then I've managed to play it a bit more and managed to get further. I didn't beat it, but I played for 12 hours total before quitting. I'm still disappointed by how the game turned out and only gets one point more this time, but I want to review it once more from scratch because I want to make the review better, more comprehensible and I want to expand it a little.

    The game, as a sequel to Dark Souls, feels disappointing. It was stripped down of everything that made Dark Souls 1 good and went through major changes that, for the most part, are changes for the worse. But, let's start with the pros first.

    Some of the mechanics are executed far better than in the former game. I really liked the presence of Human Effigies as a cure to hollowing instead of "liquid" and "soft" humanity that could be acquired pretty quickly, but also could be lost by one fatal mistake. In Dark Souls 2, when you die you lose your human form, but you can reverse the hollowing with ease - you don't even have to go back to the bonfire; you can do it immediately.

    Another thing is that the locations are far larger than they were in Dark Souls 1 so there's a lot more to explore. They are branched too, so very often you can get to the boss by many ways. Plus, some of the locations are truly breathtaking and atmospheric. I'm especially talking about No-man's Wharf and Harvest Valley with astonishing view on the humongous and abstract windmill. This is, unfortunately, too little to make me enjoy the game and give it a higher score, as numerous flaws overshadowed every good aspect the game had.

    Now for the flaws.

    Let's start with the key element and core of every Souls game - the combat system. In Dark Souls 1, the combat was very precise. The slow pace of battles and well-made-but-not-perfect animations made you "feel" the weight of the equipment, making it a major part of making up tactics against an enemy and your playstyle in general. When you wanted to be a knight armed to the teeth, fighting with a sword bigger than yourself, it was obvious that you had to sacrifice mobility for it, while choosing a leather armor and a scimitar was the exact opposite. In Dark Souls 2 it doesn't matter - every piece of the equipment feels super-light and the only thing indicating you actually travel heavy is the rolling speed - and it feels very forced.

    The difficulty - another key element of the Souls series, and something it is always proud of. Dark Souls 1 was really unique in this aspect - it was hard and punishing, but very fair at the same time; you always knew what you did wrong and could learn from your mistakes. Dark Souls 2 is nothing like that. After a few deaths you start to notice that most of them weren't your fault, but the game's. The difficulty was amped up just for the sake of being hard, while forgetting to add fairness along the way. You often die from being outnumbered by groups enemies that "aggro" all at the same and stunlock you to death or cheap tricks, like mummies in Lost Bastille that can explode and get back on their feet as many times as they want. There's also tracking of your moves present in the enemy AI - they spin around following you during every second of their attack animation, giving you next to no chance to dodge. And to make things even more "exciting", your character's movements are now clunky and awkward - he gets tired really quickly and can't dodge properly.

    Now, the atmosphere. Dark Souls 2 lacks certain peculiarity Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1 had, giving you generic Dark Fantasy stuff in the veins of Gothic series. Now, it wouldn't be too bad if it had any soul (pun not intended) - despite what I've stated above, almost all locations feel bland and uninspired. Most of the them are either a forest, a castle or something trying too hard to mimic a location from the first game. Literally, none of these made any impression on me, aside from boredom. Another thing is - why are you even in Drangleic. You don't have any purpose of being there, aside from looking for alleged cure for the curse, which you are told right at the beginning, doesn't exist.

    The level design in this game is absolutely terrible. Aside from the blandness, the locations' arrangement in the world map makes no sense or logic whatsoever. The creators went for Demon Souls-esque hub world with the central point being Majula. It's not a bad thing, if executed properly, but in this game, the locations feel very disconnected. They are always preceeded either a tunnel or a cave and there's no smooth transition between them.

    Concluding - Dark Souls II is a pretty average game with many technical difficulties and quirky, badly executed mechanics, that may be good for die-hard fans of the series, but for an average gamer, who likes challenging games, it's too unbalanced and badly-made to be enjoyed. Hence only a 5/10.    … Expand
  71. Ozeaku
    May 4, 2014
    5
    It's a diffcult game. But I think this game is too simple because you really only can be two skills, dodge an attack and attack with your weapon or magic.
  72. kinom
    May 2, 2014
    7
    Not a bad game. It can be a little...er, wonky, on PC, but still an enjoyable game. I'm not sure how many play through's I'll do (it can be an unforgiving brute of a game) but but certainly more than one.
  73. KingofNoobs
    Apr 29, 2014
    5
    50 euros? 3 years ago pc games had 30 euros.Now 50 for crap games and in 2 weeks steam will sell it at 20 30. So tiring that didnt even played more than 30 mins
  74. Honesth0mbre
    Apr 29, 2014
    6
    All in all Darksouls II feels like a heartfelt but misguided homage to the series, rather than an entry in it. It is an enjoyable game with glaring flaws in its design philosophies and polish. The developers have made the fatal error of confusing obtuse and irrational mechanics for challenge and the result is a game that is difficult in all the wrong ways. These flaws keep it fromAll in all Darksouls II feels like a heartfelt but misguided homage to the series, rather than an entry in it. It is an enjoyable game with glaring flaws in its design philosophies and polish. The developers have made the fatal error of confusing obtuse and irrational mechanics for challenge and the result is a game that is difficult in all the wrong ways. These flaws keep it from greatness, but the source material the game is built from is simply too good for it to be crap. I will elaborate below, but if you are the type to be insulted by the notion of a controller being used to play a PC game…well I think you might do yourself a favour and just avoid this game for now…

    I own demon's souls (PS3) and darks souls 1 (PC, modded to glory). I beat both several times, I dance with wolves! Sif, I really wish there had been another way buddy, better you than me though :( And fundamentally this is a very interesting game in what it tries to accomplish as a sequel instead of a spiritual successor. The goal here is the tried and true sequel creed of “bigger, badder, more badass”, From Software has been explicit about this from the get-go but the usual hype train might have been boarded by some unfortunates swept up by said hype. Any souls game will rip you to shreds if you expect a mainstream action game, be prepared to die. Many, many, many times.

    The main problem with Dark Souls II is ironically that it has accomplished what it set out to do. But in the wrong ways more often than not. The new design team I fear, has misunderstood the proverbial 'Soul' of the Souls series. It is not in fact about difficulty but about the ambiance and immersion provided by a cruel and merciless world. What drives the Souls games is that the brutal difficulty is a cog in the wheel of a machine that spins out a tale summed up as follows: This world hates you, everything in this world hates you and wants to kill you. You are no more important than everything that hates you, and die just as easily as the animate things that hate you. Hate is the single most important part here, you hate the bosses and want to laugh over their dissolving corpses after countless violent deaths at their hands or more grotesque appendages. This is the source of the emotional payoff that has made the souls game's such instant smash hits. You felt things when playing these games, had emotional investment in your own stories. The lore was interesting but the anaemic plot was best ignored in favour of weaving your own tale.

    The thing is that, as I said before, Dark Souls II just doesn't "get it." Yes it is an enjoyable and punishing action RPG. But the punishment comes from poorly conceived and/or implemented sources.
    -weapons degrade very rapidly and repairs are frustrated by the rarity of materials that require them. In a similar vein, you lose maximum health upon every death and the rare item that restores your health is too rare for a game in which you are supposed to die countless times. The logic of having to face a monster you couldn’t beat with an ever diminishing chance of success upon successive tries is just baffling. Monsters killed you in previous Souls because you were not good enough, now it might just be that you don’t have the HP to survive any of their auto aim attacks.
    -enemies are on turn tables until they strike. I can deal with this mechanically since perfectly timed dodges are one of the mainstays of my beloved monster hunter series. But it just ruins the immersion for a giant armoured tortoise knight to just rotate whilst tracking my character. All the while looking frozen in its striking pose until it suddenly attacks the second I stop my futile strafing.
    - you cannot aim properly with magic unless you lock on, and your mobility in crippled to fatal levels when you do. There is a reason most playthroughs involve a shield people.
    - Drangleic is not a country but a series of independent zones. The variety on offer is actually very pleasant but geographically it just makes no sense...AT ALL. Again, an immersion killer.
    My biggest problem with Dark Souls II is how it handled its core promise of Darkness and the influence this would have had on enemy encounters. The now infamous PS3 demo was a harrowing and thrilling exercise in one on one combat where you had to make the choice of being able to reliably see your aggressor or reliably defend against his crushing blows. Apparently the lighting combined with the particle effects were too taxing for the primary systems (PS3 and Xbox). It was too late at that point, the promise had been made and release was looming. I think they went the mob route to try and create a new source of tension. Fact is, the Soul's games are one on one games, you're too clunky and easily tired (stamina mechanics) to deal with a zerg rush of enemies.    … Expand
  75. dabro90
    Apr 29, 2014
    7
    This game would be a solid 10/10 if the PC port wasn't broken. I had to go through various forums and plenty methods to even run the game, which is unforgettable for a 50€ release. Huge amount of people still cant get it to run, I was lucky to get it resolved.

    Apart from that, game is great so far.
  76. janne808
    Apr 28, 2014
    5
    Post-patch review: The game lacks the vision and the stellar game design from the first Dark Souls game. What you're left with is a mediocre hack and slash action romp that looks at times like a PS2 game.

    Claims made about Dark Souls 2 being developed for the PC natively have turned out to be another marketing gimmick and a bold faced lie. Not a grain of critique was spent on the gaming    Post-patch review: The game lacks the vision and the stellar game design from the first Dark Souls game. What you're left with is a mediocre hack and slash action romp that looks at times like a PS2 game.

    Claims made about Dark Souls 2 being developed for the PC natively have turned out to be another marketing gimmick and a bold faced lie. Not a grain of critique was spent on the gaming press about the obvious bad keyboard and mouse controls, that on top of everything else, have almost a half a second delay on every action you take. Xbox controller icons are left in place from the Xbox, proving that the game is just another quick console port. Nowhere it is explained, that you need a controller to properly play the title on PC, which makes sense from a marketing perspective. It should be made clear, that the PC gamer will have to put another 20 euros towards the title in the form of a Xbox controller, but it isn't.

    Don't believe the fan-boy hype. This is not a PC game, but a bad console port of a game which is overshadowed by the brilliance of the original Dark Souls.    … Expand
  77. JacobCleveland
    Apr 28, 2014
    5
    I am re-doing my review since the patch today making the game actually PLAYABLE. Plus, I had to wait for 3 days after i pre-ordered the game 3 months ago just to run it properly. The keyboard and mouse controls are alright once you get used to them. The binding is really difficult to do, and the camera is clunky. The menu's still have Xbox 360 controller buttons instead of actual PCI am re-doing my review since the patch today making the game actually PLAYABLE. Plus, I had to wait for 3 days after i pre-ordered the game 3 months ago just to run it properly. The keyboard and mouse controls are alright once you get used to them. The binding is really difficult to do, and the camera is clunky. The menu's still have Xbox 360 controller buttons instead of actual PC key-binds which is ridiculous. They said it would be a decent port, but it's barely better than the consoles. The only thing great about the game that's different is the graphics and fps which is improved from consoles. If you wish to play this with a controller, it's worth it more than 360 or PS3. HOWEVER, I SHOULDN'T BE FORCED TO PLAY ON A CONTROLLER. If a game is released on a PC, I expect, no I demand that the controls are actually worth using. I didn't buy Dark Souls II on PC to play it with a controller.… Expand
  78. Power_Gamer
    Apr 28, 2014
    7
    I made this account just for this game. Pre ordered it 2 months before release. For the first four days I couldn't even start it due to White Screen of Death (crash during startup).

    Now the game has been fixed.

    Gameplay wise this is a great game. But the company's false advertising (graphics, lighting etc) forces me to keep my score down.

    7/10
  79. cafebabe
    Apr 27, 2014
    6
    This game is not much fun anymore. It's either input lag or the unfair packs like the Three Sentinels. I don't like to summon people to beat the game, but this one leaves me no other choice - unlike DS1. And that makes me sad and angry. The input lag is annoying as hell. You block at 100% stamina and simple enemies slay through it. The game feels stable, but the fights don't feel balanced.This game is not much fun anymore. It's either input lag or the unfair packs like the Three Sentinels. I don't like to summon people to beat the game, but this one leaves me no other choice - unlike DS1. And that makes me sad and angry. The input lag is annoying as hell. You block at 100% stamina and simple enemies slay through it. The game feels stable, but the fights don't feel balanced. It just so frustrating. I know, the game is ment to be hard. I beat DS1 several times. But this one is has not the same feeling. I'm always feeling like being cheated by the engine.

    Another big issue is the bad durability of weapons. Having a favorite weapon for PvE is almost impossible, because durability is soooo low. I always find myself fighting mobs with my favorite, leveled weapon until they vanish (after 10 - 15 kills) so I can reach a boss with this weapon. And why the hell, don't enemies do damage to themself in close ranges?!!

    Another big issue is PvP. Too often, the lagging decides who the winner is. Lagstabs, teleports and taking damage after having dodged ten meters away becomes the norm. And you can call yourself lucky not to meet a hacker, because the PC platform is already infested with them. The game has no cheat countermeasures in place. (Why not make the client verify actions on both ends, compare them and just quit the duel when the comparison is negative?) It comes down to use a dashcam (record the PvP matches) and report the hackers to Steam along with a YouTube video.

    The overall map design feels less creative than in DS1. The zones are more separated so there is not that experience anymore, that you can look from one end of the world to the other. I liked that flavor of DS1 very much and it added to the atmosphere. In DS1 the zones felt like they really belong together.

    I hope, FromSoftware will deploy some patches to address the input lag and the PvP lagging. Right now, after 40 hours into the game, I'll take a longer break and wait for patches.    … Expand
  80. skrik
    Apr 27, 2014
    5
    Don't listen to the people who tell you to skip the bad reviews on this game. The game really does have issues unfortunately. I am a big fan of Deamon souls and DS 1 but the change of director for DS 2 really makes the game feel different. It's not about the game being hard... Its way easier than the two previous ones except for some oddly unbalanced parts of the game.
    No the real issue    Don't listen to the people who tell you to skip the bad reviews on this game. The game really does have issues unfortunately. I am a big fan of Deamon souls and DS 1 but the change of director for DS 2 really makes the game feel different. It's not about the game being hard... Its way easier than the two previous ones except for some oddly unbalanced parts of the game.
    No the real issue is that the game feels super lazy. Most of the ennemies are just ports from the previous games. Same for the items. It feels like playing Dark souls 1 again but with less interesting levels and monsters! Deamon Soul and Dark souls 1 had amazing ambiance and strange creatures, impressive bosses... Dark souls 2 throws at you nothing but zombie kind of humans and knights for hours. Even the bosses are just knights, with stronger attacks. Where the heck are my giant swamp things, blobs wearing shields and spears, giant fire breathing spiders ???
    The game feels horribly uninspired and I found myself bored playing it while it just threw at me hordes of the same, basic ennemies again and again ( counting on numbers to make it difficult instead of making the ennemies themselves interesting to fight).

    A big disappointment for anyone looking for a true sequel to the master pieces the other souls games were.    … Expand
  81. Chrysaliarus
    Apr 27, 2014
    6
    Welcome to the drab and boring world of Drangleic. Where there are repeating textures everywhere and graphics that would make Demon's Souls curl up in a ball and cry in a corner. From-soft is the wonderful developer of this massive rpg open-world experience and I don't know how but they balls it up because every time I die I don't feel that it's my fault. Mostly because either I die fromWelcome to the drab and boring world of Drangleic. Where there are repeating textures everywhere and graphics that would make Demon's Souls curl up in a ball and cry in a corner. From-soft is the wonderful developer of this massive rpg open-world experience and I don't know how but they balls it up because every time I die I don't feel that it's my fault. Mostly because either I die from the stupid new implemented jump mechanic or the game designers though that they would have a joke with the player and make him die instantly without warring. This does not make it a bad game, the controls mostly feel responsive, and sometime even the environment can look gorgeous. Just make sure not to go up to that environment to see the **** resolution of the textures. Also, isn't this game supposed to be dark? Most of the time I don't need my torch and I can see everything perfectly clear. In fact, many things are different. The lock-on system isn't colored like in the demo, it looks worse than shown and generally everything that made it unique before has been stripped away. Overall Bright Souls 2 feels like an hollowed out version of Dark Souls with very little effort or though put into it. Poor design choices, horrid textures, a horrible jump mechanic, and sometimes non-responsive game-play is why I think this game deserves a 6 out of ten.… Expand
  82. Nemeziz
    Apr 27, 2014
    5
    I've never done this before, but Dark Souls 2 deserves creating an account and submitting a review.

    I'm not going to address the technical issues the pc port is facing, or the quality of ingame graphics. It's a separate problem and I hope Namco Bandai will face some consequences of their false advertisement/bate and switch tactics. Dark Souls 2 is not a Souls game. It's as simple as    I've never done this before, but Dark Souls 2 deserves creating an account and submitting a review.

    I'm not going to address the technical issues the pc port is facing, or the quality of ingame graphics. It's a separate problem and I hope Namco Bandai will face some consequences of their false advertisement/bate and switch tactics.

    Dark Souls 2 is not a Souls game. It's as simple as that. It's missing everything that made the previous games so special. Starting with the controls, combat mechanics, loot system, game world, boss fights and ending with the difficulty level. It's all gone. Replaced with mechanics that try to "innovate"and remain similar to the previous game at the same time.

    The controls feel clunky and unresponsive. The character seems "heavy" and the movement is sluggish. Where in previous games the overall rules applied to both the player and the enemies. In Dark Souls 2 there's a different set of rules (stamina, poise, movement etc) for the player and the monsters. Some will have infinite stamina and spam heavy attacks to no end. Other's will "track" your movement in the middle of their attack animation. We're talking about spinning 360 degrees while "channeling" their attack. Some will even go as far as to reset the attack animation and hit you when they should be recovering from their last attack.

    The world design is inconsistent and seems out of place. One minute you're fighting a boss in a giant mill just to take the elevator up to the iron keep. The problem is - there's no keep above the mill. Level design is poor at best and the multitude of bon fires makes little sense. In some cases you'll have 4 of them in an area the size of Undead Asylum. You'll find yourself fighting 4 of the most powerful demons in the land to overcome a bit of rubble blocking the way in the forest...

    Instead of creating interesting enemies From decided to toss a bunch of mobs at you to make up what they lack in design with numbers. The difficulty doesn't come from good design choices but cheap gimmicks. Enemies attacking you through doors or a gate. Bosses with adds during the fight, bosses that "multiply" during the fight. It's all based on cheesy gimmicks. Even the fights that suppose to resemble if not imitate boss fights from the previous game are simply boring.

    Deaths feel cheap. It feels like the game is trolling you by not following it's own rules. The concept of having to die in order to get loot has no place in a Souls game.

    Overall the game is a huge disappointment.

    It's got as much in common with previous Souls games as Resident Evil 6 has with the original Resident Evil ;)

    An average imitation at best.    … Expand
  83. gustvatems
    Apr 27, 2014
    7
    Sigh. These people CLEARLY don't know how to make reviews. The port is bad and it's an instant zero out of ten. I agree that the port is pretty bad and it has some issues like crashing sometimes, so I wouldn't recommend buying the game yet if you don't want to risk it. But the level design is in my opinion better than the original Dark Souls, the graphics are better, the mechanics areSigh. These people CLEARLY don't know how to make reviews. The port is bad and it's an instant zero out of ten. I agree that the port is pretty bad and it has some issues like crashing sometimes, so I wouldn't recommend buying the game yet if you don't want to risk it. But the level design is in my opinion better than the original Dark Souls, the graphics are better, the mechanics are pretty much the same, the bosses and enemy design are awesome. That is enough to give it at least a 6/10, the gameplay stays pretty much the same as in Dark Souls, and it's still as hard as ever, a bit cheap some times but that doesn't happen often. The dialogue is great and so is the voice acting, and the lore is there like in the prequels. I would give this game a 7/10 right now, if they fix their port a solid 9/10.… Expand
  84. kamikaz3kitten
    Apr 27, 2014
    5
    Coming off of dark souls this is not the game i expected or wanted. i is a let down, what was the extra month for, the game doesn't look next gen even on the latest pc's. there is no darkness even at low brightness setting why use the torches there's no point i can see everything just fine. no dynamic lighting no hd textures . i am sad, this was going to be so great , but no.
  85. Sohae
    Apr 26, 2014
    7
    Terrible launch, can't even start the game.
    PC gamers were waiting for a "special" release, but not of this kind ... However, to pre-order and take money, there's no bug.
  86. Backdatassup
    Apr 26, 2014
    6
    I enjoyed Dark Souls 2. I really did. But when I begin comparing to its predecessors, I can't help but not be disappointed. The atmosphere, the attention to detail in the environments, the narrative/lore and the boss fights all lack the believability of what I've already experienced.

    Demons Souls, and to a much larger extent, Dark Souls, was loved by many because of their perfect senses    I enjoyed Dark Souls 2. I really did. But when I begin comparing to its predecessors, I can't help but not be disappointed. The atmosphere, the attention to detail in the environments, the narrative/lore and the boss fights all lack the believability of what I've already experienced.

    Demons Souls, and to a much larger extent, Dark Souls, was loved by many because of their perfect senses of place. People felt wholly absorbed, which in today's gaming world is a rare treat. Unfortunately, Dark Souls 2 lacks that, and as such, feels like an imitation, rather than a genuine sequel.    … Expand

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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