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. Denistzur
    Jul 30, 2014
    3
    This game is the most ANNOYING RPG game i ever played (and i'm a huge fan of Skyrim and WoW) Where in those games things went smooth and reasonable, here everything is crappy, EVERYTHING : respawn mechanics are bad, key binding are just terrible and after 3 days i sent a mail asking to money refound: i'm done with this crap
  2. Jannus
    Jul 30, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls, can there be any argument this is the most innovative entry to the RPG genre in a very long time? It may be low on direct narrative and high on twitch gaming skill demand, but It also requires grasping the games solid character stats basis, and a continual piecing together of the deep, subtly hidden narrative (e.g. in NPC backstory & item provenance), requirements immediatelyDark Souls, can there be any argument this is the most innovative entry to the RPG genre in a very long time? It may be low on direct narrative and high on twitch gaming skill demand, but It also requires grasping the games solid character stats basis, and a continual piecing together of the deep, subtly hidden narrative (e.g. in NPC backstory & item provenance), requirements immediately reminiscent of 'oldskool' and implemented faithfully here, even though the gameplay is very much a new beast.

    The technical triumph of Dark Souls is its melee combat, each weapon type (~20 in all) has its own moveset enabling wildly differing combat depending primarily on what the player chooses, although being comfortable swinging them all pays off as adapting beyond your comfort zone will be required and weapon set knowledge transfers an advantage (logically) against the many devious enemies on your path. No other game has accomplished such a consistent portrayal of hand to hand combat, it has a high learning curve, but once peaked it becomes intensely satisfying.

    And for me personally thats where the real triumph of Dark Souls resides, utterly regardless of normal narrative techniques to involve the player emotionally, this games combat (incorporating the whole death-hallowed-life cycle) has managed to make me identify closer with my nameless & voiceless avatar than the vast majority of all the great cRPGs of the past.

    It's a Masterpiece, get it & don't give up !

    DS2 (vanilla) is moderately better than DS1 (fully patched & modded) in PC responsiveness, DS1 remains the more difficult game, arguably slightly better on that score, and a more interesting hallowing mechanic, but I imagine some of the "streamlining" for 2 is probably a good thing designed to ease new people into the world better.

    Make no mistake, these games will challenge & disturb you !    … Expand
  3. 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.
  4. Ivan665
    Jul 26, 2014
    0
    The PC port of Dark Souls II is just bad. The interface and controls are not prone to any customisation, and the interface is unintuitive. This is not and RPG game!!! Period. There are 28 GREAT RPGs released in the last 15 years, not counting any expansions and the MMOs, if you want an RPG, play some of those. This game doesnt have the essentials like a map, journal, party, real towns withThe PC port of Dark Souls II is just bad. The interface and controls are not prone to any customisation, and the interface is unintuitive. This is not and RPG game!!! Period. There are 28 GREAT RPGs released in the last 15 years, not counting any expansions and the MMOs, if you want an RPG, play some of those. This game doesnt have the essentials like a map, journal, party, real towns with merchants and quests. The item pool is really small. A couple of NPCs here and there and thats pretty much it - a big effing desert with lots of textures and little substance!!! This game is unengaging. The story is bland. The world is dead, theres nothing to do really, except exploring boring levels that look spectacular from afar, battling patches of tough enemies here and there, and killing bosses. Thats the whoe game - adventure with action and RPG elements. Theres more action than RPG. The game is not hard!!! Its simple. Mechanics are simple and easily abusable. The challenge comes from that, that there is very little info in the game on mechanics, no real map, no journal, lore or quests, and the player needs to figure what to do on his own, which is not going to happen because he has internet. Its just stupid to think otherwise because we are not living in 1998. Once you learn the drill, you are guaranteed success. All the challenges that the supposed "pros" are blabbermouthing about boil down to this - slow down your pace, dodge and have patience!!! You will see some people talk about depth and nonsense like that, when the game is really just mutilating the player of a map and a journal, to distract him from its simple mechanics, boring world devoid of meaning and towns, lack of content, items, and poor story. And the game is truly ugly, it looks like a late PS2 game, art direction should go back to graffiti sketching.… Expand
  5. Jman88s
    Jul 23, 2014
    10
    This game is so hard, i died on the main menu. Beware that if you play this masterpiece, you will die repeatedly. Still a really good game. Get this, right now.
  6. DrakeMofugu
    Jul 23, 2014
    8
    Really fun but sometimes it's bull if you know what I mean, wish the death was a little less harsh but really fun you know. There's a sound bug on the lightning guy so cover your ears
  7. miked125
    Jul 16, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls 2 is a masterpiece. Well, almost a masterpiece. Dark Souls 2 is VERY challenging. However, not as challenging as the first, and probably more approachable to newcomers of the series. First off, the gameplay is amazing. I found myself sitting through late hours of the night mashing away at cruel and punishing enemies. I died, ALOT. But thats a part of the games appeal. WhenDark Souls 2 is a masterpiece. Well, almost a masterpiece. Dark Souls 2 is VERY challenging. However, not as challenging as the first, and probably more approachable to newcomers of the series. First off, the gameplay is amazing. I found myself sitting through late hours of the night mashing away at cruel and punishing enemies. I died, ALOT. But thats a part of the games appeal. When you finally get through that tough boss that took you hours to finish, its one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever feel. Besides the gameplay (which is near perfect), the lore is also a very interesting part of the game's story as well. Dark souls 2 isnt direct with its story line at all. In fact, the only way your going to end up understanding most of the story behind different bosses, or the land of Drangilec, is by reading up on the history of specific items and souls you get through the game. You'll also be able to talk to different npcs during your playthrough. The reason im not giving this game a perfect score is because doesnt feel all that original. Many bosses, weapons, and even some different areas of the game all feel like they were almost copy and pasted from the original Dark Souls. Also, the game doesnt always feel 100% fair like the first one did. What i mean by this, is that in some areas of the game, you'll encounter enemies or bosses that'll slide and move in your direction as you try to evade. You'll understand if you play the game, and i HIGHLY recommend that you play this near masterpiece.… Expand
  8. Jimjam6494
    Jul 15, 2014
    10
    I think that these negative reviews are probably just from people who can't figure out how to play the game! This is a masterpiece of a game, the graphics are beautiful and the challenge can be rage inducing but when you beat it, there is no greater feeling in the world.
  9. Stilloffside
    Jul 11, 2014
    9
    I give this a 9.5 but there are no .5's here...

    The souls games are arguably the best RPG games on the market (in my opinion). Neither title apologize from start to finish...They both have their technical short comings and can be cause for frustration but the core of each title, the depth, the literal...OK GO aspect to the games mentality separates them from other RPG's period. I am    I give this a 9.5 but there are no .5's here...

    The souls games are arguably the best RPG games on the market (in my opinion). Neither title apologize from start to finish...They both have their technical short comings and can be cause for frustration but the core of each title, the depth, the literal...OK GO aspect to the games mentality separates them from other RPG's period.

    I am so mentally exhausted over RPGs highlighting the path...making *the thing to pickup glow...Dark Souls series games literally show a lovely cut scene and then like I said basically boot you in the ass and tell you to go like you would a teenager who needed to find a job.

    Dark souls II made up for a lot of the PVP short comings and connection issues that Prepare to Die had (on PC). The PVE felt very similar and was only made *easier due to the face that most people sort of knew what a souls game was. Dark Souls perpare to die was vicious... almost like a Great White Shark swimming in chum. Dark Souls II however was still vicious but a lot more fun...like a Great White Shark wearing a Party hat..

    I have over a 115 hours into this title...two level 130 + characters and almost every day I still get the urge to start again...try a different build and really just be in that Dark Souls world. The atmosphere created especially with a could ENB tweaks (PC again) literally make me "Praise the sun!" around almost every corner.

    The sound...the voice acting...the depth are all second to none. Sure the NPC characters mouths dont move but the pure voice acting is spot on...The complexity you can find in this world if your patience is high is unmatched.

    Some people moan about having to use a controller on a PC game...(insert cricket noises here). I have had a controller in my hand since my first DX 4-100 that I built in the late 80's...they are for gaming and PC's are the master race of gaming...so no big issue for me there.

    I can only hope for more souls games...at a minimum DLC content soon.

    I have heard that Demon Souls may get a part II which would be epic considering I never got the chance to play (never came to PC)

    Dont miss this game if your a true hardcore RPG fan...    … Expand
  10. Fanaro009
    Jul 11, 2014
    9
    Few times you're going to cross with such a well constructed game. There are critics to it but in this rare case none can ever change the fact that this is an absolute masterpiece, enjoyable from the begining to the end. It is a hardcore game and if you don't want challenges, this is not for you. The game is mysterious and unforgivable, you're going to die a lot. But don't worry, thereFew times you're going to cross with such a well constructed game. There are critics to it but in this rare case none can ever change the fact that this is an absolute masterpiece, enjoyable from the begining to the end. It is a hardcore game and if you don't want challenges, this is not for you. The game is mysterious and unforgivable, you're going to die a lot. But don't worry, there will be plenty of rewards and each weapon or costume you receive will look like water in the desert, an eternal relief and a great hope for the future of your journey.

    Now, to the criticism. Firstly, the multiplayer: it is enjoyable for a while, but then you encounter the inevitable jerks who are virtually undefeatable due to overpowered weapons. Secondly, the ending is just so vague, sudden and anti-climatic... it is not the same as the first one where vagueness gave it a certain charm or glamour, now it feels like someone ran dry of ideas and tried to terminate the project before it went downhill.

    Nevertheless, a collection item, one day this will be remembered certainly as one of the best games of the decade.    … Expand
  11. Violett
    Jul 11, 2014
    10
    Amazing game! Unusual and incredibly hard! I cant remember how many times I felt so frustrated in a single game. Hundreds of deaths, ton of butthurt and fun! I played on my big tv at the evening with gamepad and I didnt meet any problems other people talk here. That was awesome! It is super cool if the game is hard.
  12. 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
  13. Molec_man
    Jul 9, 2014
    10
    Wow... I've been hooked again! Dark Souls 2 is a great game. Yes... the soul memory system is a bit of a negative, but it was implemented to keep gankers from twinking low level toons (It still happens... but less). I recommend using an Xbox 360 controller. It makes the game so much easier to play and a much more enjoyable experience overall. I give this game a 10 because it doesn't giveWow... I've been hooked again! Dark Souls 2 is a great game. Yes... the soul memory system is a bit of a negative, but it was implemented to keep gankers from twinking low level toons (It still happens... but less). I recommend using an Xbox 360 controller. It makes the game so much easier to play and a much more enjoyable experience overall. I give this game a 10 because it doesn't give in to making things easy on the gamer. Is it as hard as Dark Souls 1? No. But, it still is not easy. And only the true hardcore go solo on every boss fight. Solo boss fights make this game frustrating but rewarding. The only thing I wish it had was more achieves for doing things the hard way instead of using summons.

    Great game... Great gameplay... Looking forward to replaying it several more times!    … Expand
  14. markp368
    Jul 9, 2014
    8
    Do not be disheartened by the other low reviews, this game is a lot of fun. If you do indeed run into problems and or bugs, what many people seem to not understand is that the internet ie google will fix them in no time. The game is a solid 8.5, not the best, would be amazing if there was a hint of story.
    If you try to play with keyboard you will fail.
  15. 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
  16. kotgaf
    Jul 9, 2014
    3
    I really enjoy hardcore games sometimes.
    But...
    Don't say a f*****g word about hardcore when talking about this game! Control on PC is totally broken!
    After all - average graphic, terrible interface,bugs, poor amount of ingame information - what, you call THIS hardcore?! You'd better try to win ADOM, you know.
    Hardcore and stupidity isn't same thing.
  17. ReviewBros
    Jul 8, 2014
    10
    if your looking for a epic soulless demon killing game this is for you.even after raging over 100 times it still makes this game brilliant.half the demons you fight are 10 times the size of you.and if there not they have unique weapons.the online is perfect and it has fairly balanced weapons that suit your playsyle this game is truly brilliant.
  18. iansarmy1
    Jul 8, 2014
    3
    Bare bones fantasy role playing/fighting game, with ugly graphics and no story or characters worth mentioning. Some people like it purely for the very challenging combat and character creation elements, but there is absolutely nothing else going on in this game to make me want to come back to it after dying a few times. Most negative reviews focus on the poor quality of the work done toBare bones fantasy role playing/fighting game, with ugly graphics and no story or characters worth mentioning. Some people like it purely for the very challenging combat and character creation elements, but there is absolutely nothing else going on in this game to make me want to come back to it after dying a few times. Most negative reviews focus on the poor quality of the work done to optimize this game for the PC, but its not worth buying on any system unless you just want to grind through some gratuitous fantasy combat.… Expand
  19. 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.
  20. guccibrane
    Jul 5, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls 2, when compared to its predecessor, falls slightly short. Granted that some key members of the developer team for Dark Souls 1 did not work on Dark Souls 2, the game plays and feels different from the first game. The combat is still great, but the level design is lacking. Furthermore, the player is seldom rewarded for exploration, often only receiving junk after making a trickyDark Souls 2, when compared to its predecessor, falls slightly short. Granted that some key members of the developer team for Dark Souls 1 did not work on Dark Souls 2, the game plays and feels different from the first game. The combat is still great, but the level design is lacking. Furthermore, the player is seldom rewarded for exploration, often only receiving junk after making a tricky jump that took 20 or so attempts.

    There are major improvements, however, when it comes to the UI and PVP/co-oping with a friend. Your summoned allies can heal themselves via estus flasks and lifegems, so it's much easier to run through an area with a buddy. For this reason, among others, the game is much easier than its predecessor. It seems that From Software sacrificed quality for quantity, as there are a whopping 27 bosses in the game but none are very memorable or very challenging. Even the optional Ancient Dragon, often deemed the hardest boss in the game, can be cheesed. Once you learn how to dodge a bosses attacks and where your window is for a counter attack, nothing is really that difficult. Due to the surplus of healing items in the game, you are able to take a hit or two from a boss, back off, pop a lifegem, wait a few seconds while dodging attacks, then reengage.

    Overall, the game is far superior to most other games on the market. I would definitely recommend it. Just be warned that if you're expecting something identical to DS1, you may be a bit disappointed.    … Expand
  21. Piggles
    Jul 4, 2014
    0
    This is the real hardcore game that hardcore gamers play. OK. Lets actually call this what it is. Trial and Error. Apparently that's "Hardcore". Well OK.

    I'll expand: So you come to something you haven't seen before. It'll kill you. over and over again. Till you learn what to do. Like a QTE without the screen prompts. Once you know what to do for these - Then you can deal with    This is the real hardcore game that hardcore gamers play. OK. Lets actually call this what it is. Trial and Error. Apparently that's "Hardcore". Well OK.

    I'll expand: So you come to something you haven't seen before. It'll kill you. over and over again. Till you learn what to do. Like a QTE without the screen prompts. Once you know what to do for these - Then you can deal with these - no problem. And you proceed - Till you meet the next thing you don't know - and nothing you learnt from before will help - because they'll just throw a game play mechanic into the bin that you had been relying on or maybe they'll make a new mechanic you obviously don't know about that doesn't work anywhere else but you need to use now. And so on. And so on. Trial and error. The boss fights are a Joke - they are QTEs without screen prompts that last for 5 minutes - this is not an exaggeration. If you like being frustrated. . or if like doing the same thing over and over again. . step on up. I think it is actually total garbage, (game play wise).

    This game looks lovely - aesthetically - the terrain graphics are rubbish though - but the characters are gorgeous. I love the Lore. it is better than Game of Thrones. The move set for the weapons is awesome. But. . That's about it. And that's actually a lot of really great stuff in there. i'd loved for them to have played Mount and Blade - and then they'd really know how to actually make a decent "Hardcore" game. In parts this is actually a plat-former. . . I mean - really. . . Hard jumps - you start from the camp-fire if you die - you need to do these one after another and you die if you miss one. Good luck!

    You will get invaded and die instantly to cheat-engine / twinks. Nothing from DS1 was improved here. If you waste a single soul on something you don't need then you will be sub-optimal in PvP against normal opponents - and you will die because of it - skill has nothing to do with it. In DS1 if you were hitting someone and doing no damage - or they could one shot right through your Havel's shield - you'd think they were cheating. Not in DS2. Like I say - you build PvP or you don't. And if you haven't because you were just playing the game. . . . Then you will be invaded and you will die. (VAC isn't fixed yet and personally I think it won't be now. . . And people who didn't want banned for cheating before. . . well - they've been playing for almost three months now without VAC - 4 by the end of July - and they don't give two hoots about a ban now because they won't even still be playing in another month regardless - so yeah - cheat engine is coming back big style. Twinks with gear passed down to circumvent the Soul Memory mechanic is a big deal)    … Expand
  22. dvzon
    Jul 4, 2014
    1
    This game has a lot of potential but it's trash in the end. You will be dying more than playing. Nothing wrong with dying, but when you die because the controls and controllers are so god damn quirky, and unpolished, it's frustrating and a huge issue with the game.
    The movement controls are awful because it's not seamless or smooth, and this comes into play when you have to battle or kill    This game has a lot of potential but it's trash in the end. You will be dying more than playing. Nothing wrong with dying, but when you die because the controls and controllers are so god damn quirky, and unpolished, it's frustrating and a huge issue with the game.
    The movement controls are awful because it's not seamless or smooth, and this comes into play when you have to battle or kill an enemy mob. OH MY GOD, you will hate it. If you have ever played a smooth movement controlling game like WOW, diablo 3, call of duty, battlefield or any other high polish game with extremely smooth and seamless movement controls, YOU WILL HATE THIS GAME!
    Every time you engage an enemy or a boss you are praying your attacks will hit because you have no idea what the range is. You have the option of locking into an enemy or not locking. Either way you are **** If you lock into an enemy your character will move but not where you tell it to move and it looks like he developed a case of severe dementia because even though you are telling it to move away from the attacking enemy, this is all happening while you are getting beat up by the way, he stays around it, move towards it or just sits there. If you choose not to lock on to the enemy, pray to god that you can land hits. You will press to attack, somehow, even though you are facing the enemy, you attack air and your attack misses.
    Also, you will find that whenever you are about to engage an enemy, somehow they get to attack you first, EVEN THOUGH YOU PRESSED YOUR BUTTON TO ATTACK WAY BEFORE THEY STARTED ATTACKING YOU. This game is buggy as hell! and of course...you die!
    This game is all about progression yet they make it cheatingly impossible for you to progress. There is this thing called souls which is like in-game currency, which you can use to buy pretty much everything in the game. You can collect as many souls as you want! but if you die, you lose them all. After you die you can run back to the spot you died and re-collect them at once! great! BUT...BIG BUT! if you somehow die again after you just died, ALL THE SOULS YOU SPENT HOURS COLLECTING CAN NOT BE COLLECTED AGAIN so make sure to just die once...just once because the game doesn't give 2 **** about your spent time.

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

    trash game, don't waste your money.

    Spent over 50 hours playing and trying to like the game, but im no massochist..    … Expand
  23. Sneaksby
    Jul 3, 2014
    10
    The game runs very well. Dark Souls 2 is superior to Dark Souls 1 in every way except they don't have Solaire. But besides that, you can still praise the sun. Dark Souls 2 had more memorable characters that you can relate to. Not everything is all Dank and Dark. There are some very bright places which make you want to go back there again. However, the story is still strong with its lore,The game runs very well. Dark Souls 2 is superior to Dark Souls 1 in every way except they don't have Solaire. But besides that, you can still praise the sun. Dark Souls 2 had more memorable characters that you can relate to. Not everything is all Dank and Dark. There are some very bright places which make you want to go back there again. However, the story is still strong with its lore, but just like the original Dark Souls, it's presentation is terrible. It's as bad as the original game that you need to look up Youtube videos explaining it. The game could have used more cut-scenes. But unlike most games, this game puts up a decent challenge but Magic is still overpowered. And too many **** spam it all the time that you need a big ass magic shield to carry with you. It's a great game. A worthy successor. I only wished that they had better storytelling.… Expand
  24. Acidworm
    Jul 3, 2014
    8
    This was a game I was eagerly anticipating as I really enjoyed the first one. I heard mixed things, and eventually picked it up on Steam. Dark Souls 1 was a favorite of many hardcore gamers and so this one had high expectations to live up to. It met most of these expectations. While it improved on some aspects of Dark Souls 1 it also took some steps back. The port to PC is muchThis was a game I was eagerly anticipating as I really enjoyed the first one. I heard mixed things, and eventually picked it up on Steam. Dark Souls 1 was a favorite of many hardcore gamers and so this one had high expectations to live up to. It met most of these expectations. While it improved on some aspects of Dark Souls 1 it also took some steps back. The port to PC is much improved this time around and it is much less hassle to get the game up and running without the horrid GFWL.

    The storyline like DS1 is fragmented, and it is told through the interactions with the NPCS whom are more numerous this time around. The storyline isn't really forced on the gamer in the DS series and I don't pay much attention to lore in games anyway, but I have heard the lore is worse than the predecessor.

    Being familiar with the DS1 feel I died many times till I got the hang of the feel of this one as it is a bit different. Once you get used to it though, it is very enjoyable. With a 360 controller the jump mechanic has changed but is still quite cumbersome to press the left stick as you run forward, and has resulted in me dying a few times. The kick mechanic has been replaced with a shield break and this was an interesting change.

    While DS1 had excellent hitboxes, the hitboxes in DS2 are frustrating at times. You get hit sometimes when enemies clearly miss you visually from attacks that have no AoE. In a game where the slightest mistakes are so costly this can be quite problematic. The hitboxes for arrows are even worse with arrows getting blocked by obstructions that are not visually in the way. This is a minor part of the game though so not too big of a deal, but worth noting. Enemy tracking has been upped a few notches since DS1 for a few enemies and bosses. Enemies will change direction mid swing to counter you moving out of the way which is frustrating, and causes you to adapt more. Invincibility frames for rolling has been changed so you have less leeway to dodge when you roll out of the way of an enemy, and it now scales with a stat.

    The durability mechanic has been greatly improved adding more depth to the game. Weapons degrade quickly but automatically repair upon refreshing at a bonfire. This means that it is a good idea to level up more than one weapon so you have a back up when the weapon gets close to breaking.

    The world was very organic in DS1 with everything being interconnected. This is no longer the case, and while zones run into each other there is not this interconnected feel. Warping between bonfires can now be done from the start. This all does make it harder to get immersed in the atmosphere and while it is still ok, the atmosphere is superior in DS1.

    Soul farming and twinking has been greatly discouraged this time around. Enemies have a limited number of respawns now discouraging farming them, and if you keep dying to a boss you won't have to kill all the regular enemies anymore leading up to it. The new soul memory mechanic calculates your total souls earned and matches you in pvp this way. While it prevents players leveling up being completely outmatched by twinks it makes it frustrating for those at higher soul memories who have been struggling. When you die and lose a lot of souls and fail to return to your bloodstain regaining them it is still calculated. This system makes it very frustrating on those that have struggled a lot in this way, and also those that do not spend their souls efficiently.

    The game is still difficult, unfortunately much of the difficulty in this game is due to the game throwing many enemies at you at once more often than the first one. The game is slightly friendlier to those who are not familiar with the souls games while not making it too easy for seasoned players. This is a nice change. There are more options to heal now with the addition of lifegems. I personally find this a bit overkill as it causes me to be less careful about being hit, as they come in abundance. The boss difficulty as a whole has been lessened. I died many times to almost every boss in dark souls 1 before getting the hang of a strategy and downing them. This time around it only took me a few attempts at most for the majority of bosses. The bosses as a whole are less creative and memorable this time around.

    The netcode leaves much to be desired with a lot of lag in pvp where players still hit you even after you have moved away. This is a big problem and happens in too many encounters. However finding summon signs, and getting into encounters is much improved over DS1.

    The game is poorly balanced between playstyles. Casting builds have a much easier time in pve than melee does for the majority of bosses. This is quite frustrating.

    Overall this is a great game but don't go in expecting it to be too much like DS1.    … Expand
  25. Saltank
    Jul 3, 2014
    9
    This is an excellent example of a fantastic gaming experience.

    The gameplay is challenging, sometimes even controller breaking, yet it seems like it was designed to enhance the human psyche. Anyone that didn't come out a stronger human being after DS2, should be ashamed of themselves. Excellent graphics on the PC, very responsive controls. The only downside is the occassional    This is an excellent example of a fantastic gaming experience.

    The gameplay is challenging, sometimes even controller breaking, yet it seems like it was designed to enhance the human psyche.

    Anyone that didn't come out a stronger human being after DS2, should be ashamed of themselves.

    Excellent graphics on the PC, very responsive controls.
    The only downside is the occassional bland environments, but that should hopefully be improved in any future instalments.    … Expand
  26. McHagge
    Jul 2, 2014
    9
    The game is diffycult and surprising in many ways.
    Dark Souls 2 drives you crazy and frustrates you at the same time.
    For everyone who is looking for a hardcore adventure and a difficult game should totally go and get it. I recommend to use a gamepad or you try to find out all keys you need while playing on Keyboard + Mouse as I did. It is challenging but you can do it (played with    The game is diffycult and surprising in many ways.
    Dark Souls 2 drives you crazy and frustrates you at the same time.
    For everyone who is looking for a hardcore adventure and a difficult game should totally go and get it.
    I recommend to use a gamepad or you try to find out all keys you need while playing on Keyboard + Mouse as I did. It is challenging but you can do it (played with Keyboard + Mouse to NG+2)
    Dark Souls 2 may not be as hard as the first Dark Souls game, but still it is a challenge every gamer should atleast have tried.    … Expand
  27. AlexTaranov
    Jul 2, 2014
    9
    Игра хороша.Подобных игр мало,да что уж там...их вообще нет :D
    Я не пожалел,что приобрёл её и на PC и на PS3.
    Да,нервов у меня не осталось,но играть меня никто не заставлял. В общем - мне понравилось! НО!! Кто купит мне новую клавиатуру и мышь?    Игра хороша.Подобных игр мало,да что уж там...их вообще нет :D
    Я не пожалел,что приобрёл её и на PC и на PS3.
    Да,нервов у меня не осталось,но играть меня никто не заставлял.
    В общем - мне понравилось!
    НО!!
    Кто купит мне новую клавиатуру и мышь?
  28. 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
  29. KannedFarU
    Jul 1, 2014
    10
    I consider myself a casual gamer and I absolutely hate super difficult games. I don't have the time or patience for such things. And then I played Dark Souls...this game...even better than the first one.

    Piece of advice. Don't play this game. It will consume your life.
  30. 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
  31. 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
  32. 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
  33. maximilianschme
    Jun 24, 2014
    9
    The best Action/RPG/HacknSlay i have played the last years.
    But i have to say, it is a shame, that you can't play the game with a keyboard and mouse very well, you really have to use a controller, like the 360 controller.
    I purchased a xbox 360 controller just for this game and i still not regret it, besides the great quality of that controller, the game really went up from 5 to 9 with a    The best Action/RPG/HacknSlay i have played the last years.
    But i have to say, it is a shame, that you can't play the game with a keyboard and mouse very well, you really have to use a controller, like the 360 controller.
    I purchased a xbox 360 controller just for this game and i still not regret it, besides the great quality of that controller, the game really went up from 5 to 9 with a gamepad.

    The game has changed a lot compared to Dark Souls 1, but i loved all the changes.
    For example your stuff and health will be repaired if you rest at a bonefire, so you are not forced to repair all the time.
    Also the World isn't anymore designed that you have to run hours just to get to the next smith.
    In Dark Souls 2, you have a Mainplace, like in dark souls 1, but this time it is diffrent and i will not spoil anything.
    I finished Dark Souls 2, i don't finished Dark Souls 1, why? because i was to low skilled to beat all the bosses and you are forced to kill all the enemys on the way to a boss in Dark Souls 1.
    this was changed in Dark Souls 2 (thank you!), now you have mostly a bonfire next to a boss or at least, you have to clear the area 15(or was it 12?) times, after that, the enemys will not spawn anymore, but you have to kill each enemy 15 times.
    You can reset this, but i will not spoil this (google it, if you want to know!).
    So this is the first big change, more Bonefires, but also you can teleport to each Bonefire at start, but only to one you found and activate.
    The menus are changed to you get used to them pretty fast, also the player has a little delay now, putting up the shield could take you a second but same here, you get used to it very fast.
    I like the enemy design, but the only problem i see with Dark Souls 2 compared to Dark Souls 1, is the world/story.
    You have a lot of Enemys/Npcs/items you really don't know and never will know about, i finished the game with 3 diffrent characters + one with N(ew)G(ame)+ but i still don't know what some npcs do, there just there and do nothing more in the game.
    But beside this, i love the game, you can summon help, you can help other people...and you still can get invaded, but more on specific parts of the map.
    I don't get invaded on many parts of the map, but on some parts i get invaded each 10 minutes.
    So in my opinion, i loved from software for removing the "try &error", also the boenfire(teleportation) and fair bosses, to be honest, some of the bosses in Dark Souls 1 are very unfair (damn you capra demon!).
    Now with Dark Souls 2, i had a lot of fun, the changes are understandable and clever.
    But i think for the pro-gamers who finished DS1 like 3 times, are a bit disapointed, but for that you can still use one item, which makes the game even harder!

    The only disapointment was the last boss, after i killed the boss i was like "thats it?" even for me, it was way to easy.    … Expand
  34. Dunge
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    Pro: Gameplay plays very differently than any other RPG games. Tons of different monsters and items. Level design is awesome with tons of secret areas and small events at every corners. Game is very very long.

    Cons: Most rooms are just plain square rooms with a single brick texture tiled everywhere and a wood floor. Barely no story. Not enough information available in-game (REQUIRE an    Pro: Gameplay plays very differently than any other RPG games. Tons of different monsters and items. Level design is awesome with tons of secret areas and small events at every corners. Game is very very long.

    Cons: Most rooms are just plain square rooms with a single brick texture tiled everywhere and a wood floor. Barely no story. Not enough information available in-game (REQUIRE an online guide to play and to make any decision on items to use and path to follow)    … Expand
  35. Darthtux
    Jun 24, 2014
    9
    Dark souls 2 is really done on the pc port. Gameplay is amazing and probably the best out of the three souls games. Dark souls 2 could be a difficult game but it is not as challenging as the other soul games. Dark souls 2 expands its world and gameplay, it is filled with content and you cant stop finding resources throughout the game! New game plus is challenging with new enemies to fightDark souls 2 is really done on the pc port. Gameplay is amazing and probably the best out of the three souls games. Dark souls 2 could be a difficult game but it is not as challenging as the other soul games. Dark souls 2 expands its world and gameplay, it is filled with content and you cant stop finding resources throughout the game! New game plus is challenging with new enemies to fight and its worth it if you liked Dark souls 2. Overall Dark Souls 2 is an amazing game and is a must play game!… Expand
  36. Docteur
    Jun 22, 2014
    0
    A 0 might seem peculiar to players who encountered the rare, rare case where the game works fine. But let's say it does;
    stop selling us products you made for consoles.
    You have to make something for PC players that is not only porting the game, but adapting the gameplay! Why is there on earth XBox360 buttons prompts in the menu!? "Press B to open"? Who are you kidding? I'd really    A 0 might seem peculiar to players who encountered the rare, rare case where the game works fine. But let's say it does;
    stop selling us products you made for consoles.
    You have to make something for PC players that is not only porting the game, but adapting the gameplay!
    Why is there on earth XBox360 buttons prompts in the menu!? "Press B to open"? Who are you kidding?

    I'd really like if you could provide us the same experience as everyone else; you know, since we're paying, too.

    This is a broken game in all its glory, with so many flaws I wonder how the pro reviewer played.    … Expand
  37. Potitoman
    Jun 21, 2014
    8
    Dark Souls 2 is one of those sequels that while it improves on aspects of the original, it loses some of the magic in the process.

    The art direction seems less inspired than DS1. The monsters and bosses don't stick in your mind and the NPC's are, for the most part, fairly forgettable. DS2 does have a couple of notable bosses like the Demon of Song but for the most part they are just a    Dark Souls 2 is one of those sequels that while it improves on aspects of the original, it loses some of the magic in the process.

    The art direction seems less inspired than DS1. The monsters and bosses don't stick in your mind and the NPC's are, for the most part, fairly forgettable.
    DS2 does have a couple of notable bosses like the Demon of Song but for the most part they are just a variation of a knight in armour.

    The levels also fail to inspire. There are too many caves/castle settings, and for me at least, did not inspire a sense of wonder like DS1 did, and there seems to be a lot of repetition in themes from DS1 to DS2.

    Perhaps the biggest failing is the combat. It's not as fun as it used to be. Hit detection is a bit iffy and parrying is just unusable. No longer will you be parrying for laughs like in DS1.

    Boss fights are a mix bag of super-easy and borderline cheap. Don't expect unforgettable battles like the Capra Demon or Smough and Ornstein. A lot of them, specially humanoids, can be killed by sticking close to them, rolling on attacks and attacking while they recover from the attack. And then there is the Smelter Demon that hurts you with fire damage if you get close to attack him, then one shots you with his fire sword.

    I am a bit disappointed with this sequel, but DS1 was such a masterpiece and it left so much unspoken and up to interpretation that this game had little chance of duplicating the magic.
    The difficulty still there but this time it doesn't feel as balanced as it used to be. It's not there as an obstacle to master and overcome. Now it feels like it's there because that's what was expected of it. It feels synthetic and forced.

    I am being harsh. In itself, it is a very good game, just don't expect DS1 again.    … Expand
  38. DemKin
    Jun 20, 2014
    10
    Great game and decent port.
    Still not the "great PC experience" the developpers promised us, but it has a solid framerate and if you have a controller, Dark Souls 2 is a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.
  39. EhhRicky
    Jun 19, 2014
    10
    Anyone giving this a negative review is playing it on the wrong system, this is a console game, not a computer game. on the ps3, it was awwwweeeeessssooommmmeee. So much fun.
  40. 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
  41. Kyoss79
    Jun 17, 2014
    9
    No doubt, this game has its flaws. For me, a gamer with more than 20 years of experience on the PC platform, a little fiddling with settings and controls doesn't stop me from having fun with a release.
    I understand that not everybody wants to spend time and/or research to get a game running flawlessly, but compared to the odysseys we had to go through several years ago, a little time    No doubt, this game has its flaws. For me, a gamer with more than 20 years of experience on the PC platform, a little fiddling with settings and controls doesn't stop me from having fun with a release.
    I understand that not everybody wants to spend time and/or research to get a game running flawlessly, but compared to the odysseys we had to go through several years ago, a little time spent to make the game play as YOU want, instead of forcing yourself to play the way the game wants you, goes a long way.

    That said, with a bit of AutoHotKey voodoo the controls are working great with mouse&keyboard. I do not use any graphical enhancements, because graphics only do little to improve actual gameplay. The gameplay is superb, I am hooked and already started more than 6 characters, which two of those I finished the game.
    As with all versions of dark souls, the difficulty is high compared to other games, but in DS2 not so high as in DS, because now people got used to the gameplay and combat.
    If you like medieval combat & fantasy, give this game a try, its worth it. For new players the starting area is by far the hardest part of the game, but when you got past that, the game shines and doesnt stop at impressing and challenging me.
    PRAISE THE SUN!    … Expand
  42. Cyliann
    Jun 15, 2014
    0
    A gem of a game. Dark Souls has the most deepest and mysterious story&plot that exists, far exceeding ones told in books by having so much needing to be borderline decrypted by devouted fans of the title while also accompanied by the most extreme difficulty I have ever seen in video-games. Yes, far much more harder than Ninja Gaiden.

    But is it the right kind of hard? Unfortunately for    A gem of a game. Dark Souls has the most deepest and mysterious story&plot that exists, far exceeding ones told in books by having so much needing to be borderline decrypted by devouted fans of the title while also accompanied by the most extreme difficulty I have ever seen in video-games. Yes, far much more harder than Ninja Gaiden.

    But is it the right kind of hard? Unfortunately for many, many cases, It's not. The game either insists on changing the most basic rules one can get accustomed to with random elements (For example, certain foes will stagger, stopping whatever they're doing when they get hit can vary If you get in a critical/weak hit or If they skip into an animation lock, gaining immunity to stun) and when It's not throwing odd-balls, It is instead introducing you to the horrible physics. Got close to a corner with your characters foot? Have fun sliding down a pit at the speed of light. Nudged an oddly-shaped rock? Have fun warping around wildly and uncontrollably as you're trying to fight monsters. Playing the game with the mandatory FPSfix? Have fun falling through the ground whenever going down ladders or evidently getting your account banned by GFWL for daring to play the game at an acceptable 60 FPS.

    And when It's not fundamental engine problems, It's instead the basis of the design decisions on how they decided to make cladding yourself in any kind of remotely heavy & sturdy armor turn insanely useless real fast by utterly dropping the ball when balancing the three character factors which are Offense, Defense and Mobility. You can completely drop Offense and Mobility in favor of defense (AKA taking less damage) by cladding yourself in the most heaviest, upgraded protective gear available in the entire game... And you will still have situations where monsters will utterly slam you for 1500-2000 damage instantly (75-90% hp). Especially If they are using magic, leaving the only reliable way to take any significant reduced damage in shields... Which anyone can wear given that they have enough strength.

    And even then, specializing seriously in shields is impossible since they do the minimal amount of damage possible in the game while still taking a good 30-90% chunk from magic. So what's the best mean of defense you ask? Rolling. Yup. And the lighter you are, the better your rolls are. Which means the one with the most mobility is the one with the best defense in Dark Souls. It's a disgusting, inexusable design neglect and the developers have at the very least admitted to this being the case since they are completely changing it in the upcoming Dark Souls 2.

    The best advice I can give you is to buy this to a console (although the game also lags on there in form of bad optimization) or mod the hell out of it on the PC and get into it with little of the form of expecting genuine, good difficulty.    … Expand
  43. ELemppu
    Jun 13, 2014
    10
    This game is just so good there hasn't been too many games that has been released whit in the years that have been this rewarding and fun. the game has a TON of weapons and a lot of different weapon types. the combat is just so good. the graphics are pretty good (just waiting for the enhanced graphics mods)
  44. ghost2512
    Jun 12, 2014
    9
    regarding about the port it remarkably improves upon predeccesor in terms of the visual quality but a gamepad preferably a xbox 360 is recommended because of lackluster but better than the previous game keyboard and mouse controls .. regarding the game is magnificently awesome with even more stricter and tougher difficulty . Combat is top notch with good customization of weapons and goodregarding about the port it remarkably improves upon predeccesor in terms of the visual quality but a gamepad preferably a xbox 360 is recommended because of lackluster but better than the previous game keyboard and mouse controls .. regarding the game is magnificently awesome with even more stricter and tougher difficulty . Combat is top notch with good customization of weapons and good skill set of the character . and its a dark souls game which is not for casual gamers who hates to lose majority of the time spent in the game. its about learning from the mistakes u have done . that is how u progress through the game.… Expand
  45. CrossesAndBones
    Jun 12, 2014
    10
    this game is so fun and amazing when I first got on after 2 min I instantly died after sometime I got the hang of it and tried online overall this game is great and people should check it out
  46. NouvelleVoix
    Jun 12, 2014
    9
    I'm really not sure why there are quite so many negative reviews here in the user section, but here's my two cents:

    Try it. There are definitely some differences in Dark Souls II when compared to the first one -- that's a given. But I've sunk 288 hours into this game (according to Steam) before finally growing tired of it. It is an innately fun, frantic game, and the only reason I've    I'm really not sure why there are quite so many negative reviews here in the user section, but here's my two cents:

    Try it.

    There are definitely some differences in Dark Souls II when compared to the first one -- that's a given. But I've sunk 288 hours into this game (according to Steam) before finally growing tired of it. It is an innately fun, frantic game, and the only reason I've grown tired of it is that I've started to memorize all the tricks and traps in every part of the game.

    Back on topic. This game is hard. This game is fun. This game will knock you over and then kick you when you're down, and you will love it even more. I used a wired Xbox 360 controller, and everything felt very smooth and responsive. The combat was fluid. The music was decent. The story, like the previous games, was a little... strange? off? ...but the game was never really about the story.

    My only serious complaint is that pvp is spotty. The hitboxes for many of the weapons are significantly larger than they really should be, and players sometimes manage to lag-teleport behind you for a backstab, despite whatever you try to do.    … Expand
  47. BrettT
    Jun 8, 2014
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Having not played Dark Souls, or Demon Souls before it, I was not expecting much from Dark Souls II. However, I was quite wrong. This game not only doesn't tell you what you should do, but rather lets you decide. It doesn't say you must play the way it wants you to, you can play in a large variety of ways. My only complaint (and this is a personal complaint) is that during the Ruin Setinal boss fights, I had killed all but one of the Ruined Setinals. When I went to destroy the 100 or so health that boss had left, he killed me the same time one of the two people I had summoned killed him. I then had to fight these bosses all over again, even though the boss hit the ground before I did. Other than that, the game is well worth Steam's asking price of $50.… Expand
  48. MageValerie
    Jun 8, 2014
    2
    This game is literally unplayable on PC. I wish I could actually review it based on I don't know, playing the game? The controls are a nightmare to figure out, and barely work once they do. I've experienced freezing and crashing beyond any other game I've ever played. How about next time a game doesn't work for PC, DON'T RELEASE IT ON PC. Serious waste of money.
  49. 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
  50. SpyderScythe
    Jun 5, 2014
    10
    A well rounded, highly detailed game. Truly a masterpiece of gaming. High difficulty level with unforgiving bosses can be frustrating, but always rewarding.
  51. 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 :)
  52. Philbo
    Jun 4, 2014
    4
    I'm new to the Dark Souls franchise. I was taken in by the overwhelmingly positive reviews and a few videos I watched. I've logged 9 hours in the game and can say with a great deal of certainty; this game is NOT 'open world' as I was lead to believe. Not even kind of. Calling a game 'Open World' is almost all you have to tell me to compel me to pull out my wallet. Needless to say, I wasI'm new to the Dark Souls franchise. I was taken in by the overwhelmingly positive reviews and a few videos I watched. I've logged 9 hours in the game and can say with a great deal of certainty; this game is NOT 'open world' as I was lead to believe. Not even kind of. Calling a game 'Open World' is almost all you have to tell me to compel me to pull out my wallet. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with the "vast open world" (quote from the Steam description) of Dark Souls 2. I'm really only writing this review to clear up the apparent confusion about what open world means in a game.

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

    All in all, Dark Souls 2 does have some very neat features and is very challenging. I'm just upset about the verbage used in so many descriptions I read before spending $50. If you're going to call Dark Souls 2 "open world", you may as well call Devil May Cry, Fable, and God of War open world as well. If you want to know what an open world game really is, play Skyrim, Fallout 3New Vegas, any GTA game, or DayZ (if you like pain).    … Expand
  53. tranxhdr
    Jun 4, 2014
    4
    If you're not a fan of the first game, don't expect anything different. I can't really understand why the media rated this game so high. It's a typical Japanese hacknslash action rpg where respawn checkpoints are horrendous and you get hundreds of enemies coming after you even on normal mode!! You can skip this game, you won't missout on anything.
  54. jafarx
    Jun 3, 2014
    0
    bad game no fun at all. i play 1 hour and take it back to store. this game just no fun you cant do anything in it without falling victim to cheating bs
  55. Chewieflakes
    Jun 3, 2014
    0
    Abomination. Don't bother with this game if you're a fan of Demon Souls and Dark Souls (1). If you like bandwagons and wanna hop onto one, then go ahead buy it and tell all your friends you're a hardcore gamer because you bought it on Steam. The game is plagued by input lag on the controls, VERY laggy menus, and PvP that lacks an OUNCE of balance. A group of wild monkeys would have thoughtAbomination. Don't bother with this game if you're a fan of Demon Souls and Dark Souls (1). If you like bandwagons and wanna hop onto one, then go ahead buy it and tell all your friends you're a hardcore gamer because you bought it on Steam. The game is plagued by input lag on the controls, VERY laggy menus, and PvP that lacks an OUNCE of balance. A group of wild monkeys would have thought through pvp and pvp balance better than From Software. Also, it's important to note just how ugly the game is. The art style is so incredibly bland, generic, and boring that you'll never care about the world or it's history in the least. People confused challenge with mindless frustration. Timing dodge rolls for different enemies is not a challenge, it's boring frustrating.… Expand
  56. angel91a
    Jun 3, 2014
    10
    Dark Souls 2 is a masterpiece! With new patches and everything, please change your review! This game is awesome!

    First of all, the graphics are actually superb, they look realistic to me. Next, combat here is improved and better than Dark Souls 1 because of smoother style, and no more cheap combos of stabbing in the back. Third, multi-player is good and fine, more invasions and    Dark Souls 2 is a masterpiece! With new patches and everything, please change your review! This game is awesome!

    First of all, the graphics are actually superb, they look realistic to me.

    Next, combat here is improved and better than Dark Souls 1 because of smoother style, and no more cheap combos of stabbing in the back.

    Third, multi-player is good and fine, more invasions and sinners for the blue sentinels would be nice. Co-op is nice though. P.S. : If you want to connect to your friends better, use a name engraved ring while picking the same god, (look as matchmaking chart for more information).

    Lastly, I think the armor in this game looks more cool then the ones in Dark Souls 1!    … Expand
  57. giacomobertoni
    Jun 3, 2014
    0
    this game is not made to be difficult. just made to make ppl deal with an oldgame style bugged game. its just bugs on bugs and u just have to deal with them to like the game.. we are not talking about difficulty.. seriously the saga and the story are great.. the gameplay tho is really trashy bugs everywhere no translations on some points and glitches to be done in order to get an easy waythis game is not made to be difficult. just made to make ppl deal with an oldgame style bugged game. its just bugs on bugs and u just have to deal with them to like the game.. we are not talking about difficulty.. seriously the saga and the story are great.. the gameplay tho is really trashy bugs everywhere no translations on some points and glitches to be done in order to get an easy way out.. GG this came is really bad imo :S… Expand
  58. pootch
    Jun 2, 2014
    10
    As usual one of the best games out there, as it was Dark Souls 1. I cannot understand all those neg. reviews.. This is a hardcore game not an action kiddy "I cannot die" game.
    For me Dark Souls 1 was more difficult. DS2 has some good tweaks, but i dont like the fast travelling system in Dark Souls 2.. It takes u away a lot of flair of the game...
  59. Ripred
    Jun 1, 2014
    10
    This game is awesome. All of the low reviews are from people either unable to play the game due to them sucking at dark souls or glitching out when trying to run it on day one. I have over 90 hours logged into this game and I've never been more pleased or impressed.
    Must buy if you're a fan of dark souls.
  60. newprophet
    Jun 1, 2014
    10
    Infernal game holding in suspense all the time. Best in the world. Thank you for developers masterpiece. Dark Souls 3 do not need to not spoil the series. We had to leave only estus for treatment, as the fires have become closer. And humanity leave the old way. Gargoyle aaaaaaaaaaaa ......
  61. dancrum
    May 31, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls 2 turned out to be a lot better than I expected. I heard all kinds of stuff about how it wouldn't live up to Dark Souls and how it was going to be so terrible, but it's honestly a great game. I wouldn't say it's as good as DS1, but that doesn't take anything away from it. The game is a little easier at times, but still quite a challenge. The lack of dynamic lighting can easilyDark Souls 2 turned out to be a lot better than I expected. I heard all kinds of stuff about how it wouldn't live up to Dark Souls and how it was going to be so terrible, but it's honestly a great game. I wouldn't say it's as good as DS1, but that doesn't take anything away from it. The game is a little easier at times, but still quite a challenge. The lack of dynamic lighting can easily be fixed using enb and there aren't really any situations where the game feels unfair. All in all, this is another gem from From and if you like video games, you owe it to yourself to try it.… Expand
  62. 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
  63. Johnny_B
    May 31, 2014
    10
    Best game ever. Great, challenging but fair gameplay, astonishing atmosphere, PvP is fun...
    PC controls suck, however, they can be easily fixed by AutoHotKey and similar programs.
    Highly recommended to any RPG-positive hard-core PC gamers.
    Loved DS1 and DS2 is even better IMO.
  64. Iluvatar21
    May 30, 2014
    3
    Re-review: Dark Souls 2 is by far the best in terms of content and PvP but where it suffers (at the cost of the soul of the entire series) is in the enemies. Basically they are the same and to compensate for this the devs have added more of them, twisting the original Souls formula from 'fair because you learn' to 'overwhelming until you break through the wall or run away'.

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

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

    =========
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.    … Expand
  65. kangggunw
    May 28, 2014
    9
    Dark souls 1 has a damn good system.
    They kept the good part in DS2 and made the game more comfortable. (Not so much easier in my opinion)
    The gameplay is a pure awesomeness. It's nicely hard, controls are better, PvP lags are less, let's say i can feel From'd given it a lot of efforts. I'm satisfied but it's not without any cons. Still PC port in my opinion isn't very good. The game    Dark souls 1 has a damn good system.
    They kept the good part in DS2 and made the game more comfortable. (Not so much easier in my opinion)
    The gameplay is a pure awesomeness. It's nicely hard, controls are better, PvP lags are less,
    let's say i can feel From'd given it a lot of efforts. I'm satisfied
    but it's not without any cons. Still PC port in my opinion isn't very good. The game kinda presumed users to have a controller and has no clouds.

    Overall, i love it    … Expand
  66. Abyssw4lk3r
    May 28, 2014
    10
    An amazing sequel. Has everything it has promised. Idk about those who're facing problems in the PC, but mine's running pretty well. The graphics is decent enough, the gameplay is promising and I wasn't disappointed by the game. It's not like I had a lot of high hopes for it and then got disappointed. The game had everything it promised in E3, nothing more, nothing less.

    And really, the    An amazing sequel. Has everything it has promised. Idk about those who're facing problems in the PC, but mine's running pretty well. The graphics is decent enough, the gameplay is promising and I wasn't disappointed by the game. It's not like I had a lot of high hopes for it and then got disappointed. The game had everything it promised in E3, nothing more, nothing less.

    And really, the idiots giving this a low score must have never played a Souls game before. This deserves a 7/10 at the very least, if I were to give it a bad rating.    … Expand
  67. sliderh2o
    May 28, 2014
    4
    I normally go with the critic ratings when it comes to reviews. That was a mistake bigtime ! The players have it right on this game! 9.2 critics rating is completely wrong. This game looks pretty, but if it's game play you like this isn't your cup of tea. You know why this game is hard? Because the controls are a joke, that's how they made it hard. I don't mind hard, if the controls wereI normally go with the critic ratings when it comes to reviews. That was a mistake bigtime ! The players have it right on this game! 9.2 critics rating is completely wrong. This game looks pretty, but if it's game play you like this isn't your cup of tea. You know why this game is hard? Because the controls are a joke, that's how they made it hard. I don't mind hard, if the controls were responsive but there not. I give this game a 4 because it is pretty, but shame on the critics for getting this one wrong! I wasted $50 listening to them, should have listened to the players.… Expand
  68. Hydrus
    May 28, 2014
    9
    Yes, it's difficult. Yes, it will eat your soul. Yes, this game is the Devil's son and probably the next prince of darkness.

    But it is so beautiful, in a way I cannot fully comprehend. The hidden lore, the very good gameplay, the style of the bosses and the world. They will win (and kill) you.
  69. 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
  70. ZuG0R
    May 28, 2014
    10
    dark souls 2 is for super hardcore rpg gamers.
    its very very hard and make you insane.
    if you a hardcore gamer so you love this game but if youre not probably you hate it
  71. Krysen
    May 28, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls 2 is not even as good as Dark Souls but it still is one of the best Action RPGs with one of the best Multiplayer part.

    Some changes to Dark Souls were made, but they are not that important. If you are looking for a good RPG for adults, buy it and have plenty hours of fun. It is hard, but not as hard as Dark Souls, the first round is for Dark Souls players not that hard but    Dark Souls 2 is not even as good as Dark Souls but it still is one of the best Action RPGs with one of the best Multiplayer part.

    Some changes to Dark Souls were made, but they are not that important.

    If you are looking for a good RPG for adults, buy it and have plenty hours of fun. It is hard, but not as hard as Dark Souls, the first round is for Dark Souls players not that hard but it is sth. new and that feels great. New World to explore, many locations and a lot of new armor.
    But the Bosses are not as cool as in both Demons Souls and Dark Souls and the locations are not as lovely made as in Dark souls. But one important thing has been improved, the Multiplayer part.

    Now they use dedicated Server which brings a new Expirience in PvP and Coop, no backstabbing while lagging, no Damage without animation and plenty more Improvements.

    To put it into a nutshell, Dark Souls 2 is still a RPG which should be played by every PS3 owner. Sth. that u dont forget afterall and u will love it. I just hope they publish a DLC which brings some new Locations like in Dark Souls :D    … Expand
  72. soulhunter
    May 27, 2014
    1
    game looks promising but the control is crappy. why dont they design it for pc user? just like a bad copy paste work from console. its a waste of money
  73. masterkiser
    May 27, 2014
    8
    When I went into this game i had doubts and in all honesty I hated it at first. but after i beat the last giant (first boss) I was Rewarded greatly and i started to enjoy myself. One of my only complaints are the Hit boxes I've Dodged attacks from enemies and still took damage luckily It didn't happen as much as I was afraid it would. Overall this is an awesome game and its worth everyWhen I went into this game i had doubts and in all honesty I hated it at first. but after i beat the last giant (first boss) I was Rewarded greatly and i started to enjoy myself. One of my only complaints are the Hit boxes I've Dodged attacks from enemies and still took damage luckily It didn't happen as much as I was afraid it would. Overall this is an awesome game and its worth every penny if you don't have it go out and buy it now! you won't regret it!… Expand
  74. DlmlTRly
    May 27, 2014
    10
    great game, seriously, hardcore, but it's good graphics at a normal level, well needless to school gays will shout that the graphics bad, but it's not so great on the management level, do not understand why people are dissatisfied with management, the only thing in this I did not like the game is the fact that there no maps and Sometimes you do not know where to go
  75. 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
  76. Tassadaritze
    May 27, 2014
    0
    Who thought it was a good idea to change dodging to this piece of crap? Dodging is no longer rewarded if you can time it well, all that matters is that you get out of the range of the attack. No timing needed.
  77. 911nsidejob
    May 26, 2014
    10
    It's freaking hard" and i love it
    This game is everything i wanted in a sword and sorcery adventure game, I like that it doesn't have a set path to follow and bringing back true difficulty in gaming that i have not seen sense 1985 /1992 games.
    The graphics look very amazing. Game play is solid, takes a couple of hours and you have it all down, from speed dodging techniques to tanking it    It's freaking hard" and i love it
    This game is everything i wanted in a sword and sorcery adventure game, I like that it doesn't have a set path to follow and bringing back true difficulty in gaming that i have not seen sense 1985 /1992 games.
    The graphics look very amazing.
    Game play is solid, takes a couple of hours and you have it all down, from speed dodging techniques to tanking it up and going toe to toe you have a lot of choices here.    … Expand
  78. GhosTrooper
    May 26, 2014
    9
    Bad port? Yes, not the best, but they answered to this question and many others about game.
    Play game? Definitely YES. Must have in your collection and play,. Just give some time to this game, and you will see how good and entertaining it is.
  79. EpikRaikku
    May 26, 2014
    9
    This is a really great game. Sure its hard but that's the point of the game: to give players a challenge instead of your usual Easy to breeze game. This game has many amazing features. Sure there are some bugs but almost every game has bugs I gave it a 9 because This is what i like in dark souls 2 .
  80. 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
  81. 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
  82. insolentfool
    May 24, 2014
    9
    This game is exactly what I was expecting. More of the same challenge, its not unfair in it's difficulty It just never holds your hands or forgives mistakes.

    If you loved DS 1 then this is a must buy. The only major issue I would note is that the keyboard and mouse controls are still a problem. Do yourself a favour and get a decent controller like a PS3 or xbox wired controller. If    This game is exactly what I was expecting. More of the same challenge, its not unfair in it's difficulty It just never holds your hands or forgives mistakes.

    If you loved DS 1 then this is a must buy. The only major issue I would note is that the keyboard and mouse controls are still a problem. Do yourself a favour and get a decent controller like a PS3 or xbox wired controller. If you can't afford to buy a controller then do not buy this game, you will only regret it.

    They have changed enough small parts of the game to make it feel fresh, Some changes make things easier while some make it harder. Overall though its an amazing game    … Expand
  83. mochatony
    May 24, 2014
    10
    UPDATE: The other review was negative,because the game didn't work.
    Finally the game it's working,(after the update) and All I can say,it's awesome,beautiful,incredible and more hard than before.
    The multiplayer finally get fixed,now the connection it's super-fast and really good,good job from software.
  84. RealCritical
    May 23, 2014
    2
    And once more time we have the same situacion, metascore : 10, user score: 6.9, so I asked why this and I downloaded the game... the conclusion : 2

    Why? Because Dark Souls 1 were very good game, but this... what is this? Boring game, lineal gameplay, and very short... I don't know why these days the games are going worst.
  85. 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.
  86. Baroness
    May 23, 2014
    8
    I waited a LOT for this game, and overall I was not disappointed. Too bad it could have been way better. There are a lot of issues that could have been worked out before launching the game, such as the well talked about hit box problem. On the plus side, the graphics look nice and work very well even on less powerful systems.
    However, the story and feel of the game fall flat. A true DS1    I waited a LOT for this game, and overall I was not disappointed. Too bad it could have been way better. There are a lot of issues that could have been worked out before launching the game, such as the well talked about hit box problem. On the plus side, the graphics look nice and work very well even on less powerful systems.
    However, the story and feel of the game fall flat. A true DS1 fan can easily tell they changed directors, the atmosphere just isn't up to par, unfortunately. The story is convoluted, confusing and feels recycled. Certain assets are even reused from DS1 and instead of being a nod to the previous game as seems to be intended, it comes off as lazy and half assed.    … Expand
  87. 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
  88. Vinnny256
    May 22, 2014
    10
    Still needs a bit of fine tuning but overall a fantastic entry to the Souls Series, especially from a COOP and PVP aspect.
    A very competent PC port and with Durante's GeDoSaTo tool you can pretty much restore the old TGS demo lighting with barely any performance loss.
  89. roflCyclone
    May 22, 2014
    9
    I bought the first DS and played about 30 minutes before shelving it because it was so broken. I'm glad I gave From another chance. This is not a perfect game but the things it does well it does extremely well. Yes this game pretty much requires a gamepad, and yes it looks like a steaming pile of crap compared to other PC RPG offerings like The Witcher, but aside from that I have a hardI bought the first DS and played about 30 minutes before shelving it because it was so broken. I'm glad I gave From another chance. This is not a perfect game but the things it does well it does extremely well. Yes this game pretty much requires a gamepad, and yes it looks like a steaming pile of crap compared to other PC RPG offerings like The Witcher, but aside from that I have a hard time thinking of negative things to say about the PC version.

    It's difficult, sometimes frustratingly so, but not in an unfair way. The world is incredibly well designed, and the game never holds your hand through anything. As you progress you get actually feel like you've accomplished something, and when you fail (which you will -- a lot) you need to exercise patience and sound strategy to overcome. I wish every game I purchased played out like that. The class creation system is deep and allows for tons of possibilities (kinda like how Blizzard games used to be before they determined everyone was too stupid to put points into attributes by themselves). And da 30+ boss fights and creature variation?... Awesome. Nearly everything about this game is excellent, reminds me of how action RPG's used to be and should be.

    9/10 Would Die Again    … Expand
  90. pristiq
    May 22, 2014
    10
    This game is so good, so well made, the lore is incredible, the customization endless. this game is the game ive been waiting for. no matter how bad the keyboard/mouse controls are, just play with a joypad.. its perfect.. love it.
  91. DelMann2
    May 21, 2014
    4
    I finished DS1, game was fun, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Not this time. There are quite a lot of bugs, game got "cheaper" - 360 dodge hits, through wall hits. You can't fight in tight spaces with certain weapons and the game is a piece of cake with spells. (from what I've seen and heard)

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

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

    Few patches down the line and the game could be on a pedestal again, but it simply doesn't have the feel like the previous game had. I don't believe I will ever enjoy it as much as its predecessor.    … Expand
  92. Marc269
    May 21, 2014
    2
    what a rip-off. i have never felt so cheated by professional opinion. metascore of 91? close to skyrim?
    next time i will check the user score before buying. the graphics are 2005, the handling via mouse and keyboard feels like solving rubik's cube on a bull ride. maybe a good buy for frenetic fans.
  93. Quina
    May 21, 2014
    10
    So here's the thing. Dark Souls 1+2 (as well as Demon's Souls) are made for a very specific type of gamer - The dedicated, knowledgable, willing to work for rewards, hard-core type. I totally understand AND accept bad reviews for these games. If you don't understand this game, you just don't... Play something else.

    IMO, Dark Souls 1 is superior to Dark Souls 2 in terms of lore (so far),    So here's the thing. Dark Souls 1+2 (as well as Demon's Souls) are made for a very specific type of gamer - The dedicated, knowledgable, willing to work for rewards, hard-core type. I totally understand AND accept bad reviews for these games. If you don't understand this game, you just don't... Play something else.

    IMO, Dark Souls 1 is superior to Dark Souls 2 in terms of lore (so far), level-design, and originality. Both games are not 'flawless' but that does not take away from the fact that even Dark Souls 2 is still a milllllllion worlds above ANY mediocre, shallow, press-A-to-win game these days.

    From Soft, may thy masterpieces forever stay the demanding, challenging, deep experiences they are now.. May the true gamers of this world appreciate, and the casual ones stay away from them.

    Amen.    … Expand
  94. 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
  95. nima1990
    May 20, 2014
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A lot of people criticize why this game shows Xbox controller buttons but that is merely an excuse for just being a hater. Dark Souls II was one of the best action adventure games I've ever played. I don't consider it an RPG but that doesn't make it any less fantastic. The story involves you from beginning to the end and the visuals and character modeling is stunning, specially on PC. Combat never gets dull and the enemies are never the same in two different areas. The ending makes you think about why you did all that, just to sit on a throne locked in a cave? Dark Souls II shows many hollow concepts of life and it has a deep and meaningful narrative. It was leagues above the original Dark Souls in every way specially story-wise.… Expand
  96. Shaggydogpoo
    May 19, 2014
    10
    An excellent streamlined (a.k.a. not filled with **** like Skyrim) Japanese RPG. Whereas the world may not be as well realized and some of the Miyazaki magic missing that was in the first game, the gameplay is functionally more solid and versatile and balanced than the first, with a PVP which works massively better than the first. All those saying the game is unfair: git gud. All thoseAn excellent streamlined (a.k.a. not filled with **** like Skyrim) Japanese RPG. Whereas the world may not be as well realized and some of the Miyazaki magic missing that was in the first game, the gameplay is functionally more solid and versatile and balanced than the first, with a PVP which works massively better than the first. All those saying the game is unfair: git gud. All those saying keyboard and mouse, is broken, I can tell you as a person who has beaten the game 12 times with keyboard and mouse in multiple styles of run and challenge runs: its not that hard. Quit your **** and git gud.… Expand
  97. Derek_Bum
    May 19, 2014
    10
    If you're looking at Dark Souls 2, or even Dark Souls 1, and thinking to yourself "Do I have the balls to tackle a game like this?" Well the answer is gonna be "No". But I'll also tell you this, you're going to pick up that game anyway and give it your best shot because at the end of the day, even though you may be terrified, frustrated, or downright p*ssed off that you can't get through aIf you're looking at Dark Souls 2, or even Dark Souls 1, and thinking to yourself "Do I have the balls to tackle a game like this?" Well the answer is gonna be "No". But I'll also tell you this, you're going to pick up that game anyway and give it your best shot because at the end of the day, even though you may be terrified, frustrated, or downright p*ssed off that you can't get through a level, the feeling of pure ecstasy when defeating a tough boss, or actually even an annoyingly placed enemy, well...not game can beat that feeling.

    10 out of 10 - Would tear my hair out again    … Expand
  98. Lamps
    May 18, 2014
    2
    I was fooled by the excellent reviews this game recieved. It is not an excellent game, especially on PC. I am literally going to say the same thing that everyone else who gave this game a bad review said. I only made it to the first town outside of the tutorial.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Try this game before you buy it, or you may be sorely disappointed.    … Expand
  99. Gixkung
    May 18, 2014
    8
    S II is much better port than first one.Lightening can be fixed with mods.This game is total different than other ARPG, and here no light ways only hard.Everytime you dyie you learn something from your mistake and next time you behave more cautiously.

    P.s. dont listen crying babies who crying that game is to hard.Casuals must stay in facebook games and dont take hand on real players games.
  100. Ingrod
    May 18, 2014
    8
    I didnt enjoy Dark Souls 2 as much as I did enjoy Dark Souls 1, nontheless this game is worth its price. What I believe the worst downside was the downgrade from the graphics that was shown to us from the ones that were released, lightning completely downgraded, the one they showed was superb, I believe a lot of textures were changed too.
    Combat is as fluid and as good as you would    I didnt enjoy Dark Souls 2 as much as I did enjoy Dark Souls 1, nontheless this game is worth its price. What I believe the worst downside was the downgrade from the graphics that was shown to us from the ones that were released, lightning completely downgraded, the one they showed was superb, I believe a lot of textures were changed too.
    Combat is as fluid and as good as you would expect. Multiplayer was finally fixed, the one from Dark Souls 1 was unbearable although I didn't really like the use of Memory Soul when summoning friends, I had some trouble to play coop with a friend because of this. Keyboard + mouse controls were somewhat fixed from what I've heard although I would still recommend using a controller.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

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