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. twistedreal
    Dec 30, 2014
    8
    If it wasn't for the first Dark Souls this game would have received a 10/10 from me. Yes, this game was meant to be played with a gamepad, without it you will have a bad time.

    Graphics, controls, and combat is fun! Most enemies are tougher than the first game since they seem to lock on to the player better. It's not as easy to run behind them and expect free hits. Bosses though were a    If it wasn't for the first Dark Souls this game would have received a 10/10 from me. Yes, this game was meant to be played with a gamepad, without it you will have a bad time.

    Graphics, controls, and combat is fun! Most enemies are tougher than the first game since they seem to lock on to the player better. It's not as easy to run behind them and expect free hits. Bosses though were a bit of a letdown. I don't think there were any bosses that gave me much of a challenge. Many of the bosses I killed on my first encounter. One feature that I really liked were the areas that players could invade you in to stop you from reaching your goal!

    I knocked one point off the score because I felt that warping between bonfires was a lousy and lazy mechanic. I would have loved another world that was more connected like the first dark souls. I knocked another point off because the world wasn't very "dark" and there were zero NPC's that I remember.    … Expand
  2. dialacton
    Feb 15, 2015
    8
    Seems this is one of those games people either love or hate.
    Well, I for one enjoyed it immensely.
    Best with a controller I guess, but there you go.
    Giving it an 8.
  3. Smilingcookie
    Apr 1, 2015
    9
    WARNING: I feel this one was really designed for a 360 controller, but since it's primarily a combat game, that doesn't bother me. The port is a lot better than the first Dark Souls, which you had to mod even for the resolution. If you have a controller this one plays perfectly!

    Great setting and atmosphere! The graphics are nothing special from a technical point of view, but the art    WARNING: I feel this one was really designed for a 360 controller, but since it's primarily a combat game, that doesn't bother me. The port is a lot better than the first Dark Souls, which you had to mod even for the resolution. If you have a controller this one plays perfectly!

    Great setting and atmosphere! The graphics are nothing special from a technical point of view, but the art design is incredible. Everything just looks so cool ... On top of that it has the best melee combat system in any PC game. Nothing more to say about that.

    Multiplayer aspects are really well done. I was at first opposed to playing online, but found that it actually improved my enjoyment of the game. The interactions with other players stay very well balanced with the single player content. There are in game ways to increase/decrease multiplayer activity. Once you finished the game, the multiplayer aspect helps to keep it interesting!

    For me this is my game of the year 2014.    … Expand
  4. superflou
    Apr 24, 2015
    9
    Great game. But probably not as great as I expected after the best game ever a.k.a Dark souls 1. Dark souls 2 is still a very good game, with a lot of improvement, but the level design is not as great as it was in DS1.
  5. geschaftsreise
    Oct 11, 2015
    10
    Subtle, nuanced world with challenging gameplay; this game would be a perfect 12/10 if the PC controls had been mapped a bit better by default.

    Why I love this game: - No babysitting: the plot doesn't hold your hand and neither do the enemies. There are plot points that only occurred to me after 100 hours of playing, and only then after being curious about why something happened one    Subtle, nuanced world with challenging gameplay; this game would be a perfect 12/10 if the PC controls had been mapped a bit better by default.

    Why I love this game:
    - No babysitting: the plot doesn't hold your hand and neither do the enemies. There are plot points that only occurred to me after 100 hours of playing, and only then after being curious about why something happened one way rather than another. It's up to you to figure out what's going on around you or not. "You will wander this land and not even know why, Hahahahahah..."
    - Mastery vs Grinding: Ever played WoW? This is not that. You can grind to level up all you want and still get ganked by a low level enemy. Learn how to parry and backstab. Study your opponent and use his movements against him. A good player with a starting weapon and low level can trash a character who has a million souls with well-conceived strategies.This game is a victory over stupidification.
    - Rich, subtle and textured world. There is a feel to dark souls that arises from the underlying premise. It permeates the air and gave me a fear that either I was being helplessly drawn down into quicksand or worse that I'd already been swallowed and was slowly winding my way to inevitable destruction...

    Cons:
    PC controls: Way better than Dark Souls I, but the tutorials were all given in controller buttons so I had to look up all of the controls on the internet. Also I had to remap keys to be able to jump attack and guard break effectively. Those are really critical moves so it's unfortunate that I had to spend time looking up how to figure that out. I assume DSIII they'll finally have figured all of that out...

    Room for improvement:
    I really wish that the characters had more tying them together. There's this dark deep thread holding everything together but I wish that choices you make can affect the wider world in subtle but poignant and crucial ways rather than just with individuals who you encounter. If done correctly (to my taste) this would ideally mirror the subtle and nuanced but understated threads of lore hidden in plain sight without really shoving all of it in your face and really give a more coherent sense of the world...    … Expand
  6. Keenanz
    Oct 3, 2015
    10
    I never felt so good after i finished a game.
    This game is hard but in fair way, some enemy A.I is designed to give you surprise when you fulfilled a certain condition, exploration is both dangerous and rewarding, Combat and animation is also smoother than the previous game. Tons of great content, almost every single weapon in this game(which is a LOT) has their own unique purposes in PVP    I never felt so good after i finished a game.
    This game is hard but in fair way, some enemy A.I is designed to give you surprise when you fulfilled a certain condition, exploration is both dangerous and rewarding, Combat and animation is also smoother than the previous game. Tons of great content, almost every single weapon in this game(which is a LOT) has their own unique purposes in PVP or PVE, there is a lot of armor set you can found in this game and you can mix and match between armor piece for desirable look or stats. Dark souls 2 is how a video game should be.    … Expand
  7. JeromeLey
    Mar 28, 2017
    8
    While not nearly as good as Dark Souls, this game is still very enjoyable.

    Having played through the game one and a half times, I feel like I could safely say that the game doesn't have the polish nor the deep lore that the original Dark Souls had. It also lacks the feeling of being fair at some points, even though overall, the game isn't as hard as the original. The problem is that    While not nearly as good as Dark Souls, this game is still very enjoyable.

    Having played through the game one and a half times, I feel like I could safely say that the game doesn't have the polish nor the deep lore that the original Dark Souls had. It also lacks the feeling of being fair at some points, even though overall, the game isn't as hard as the original. The problem is that they tried really hard to make the game harder and forgot to make it tough but fair that the original clearly was.

    In terms of visual fidelity, Dark Souls 2 is understandably better looking than the original, and the PC port is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING when compared to the original. The animation is a bit worse in my opinion though, and the biggest pet peeve of mine is the walking animation, which looks so bad compared to the original. The running animation is fine though, I might even go as far as to say the running animation is better than the original game's. This honestly makes me just want to run whenever I'm doing anything since the walking animation is such an eyesore.

    In terms of the lore, the game starts off with a cut scene about this guy jumping into the abyss, but the problem is, the game allows you to be a female character, which goes to show how unpolished the lore is. The game's bosses are also incredibly similar to the original game's bosses. Add to that how a lot of the bosses are just dudes with armor and swords or lazy remakes of iconic moments. All these combined make Dark Souls 2 Inferior in almost every way compared to it's predecessor.    … Expand
  8. Raptor1207
    Nov 11, 2015
    8
    It doesn't matter if it is a Console or pc game, its made for both, in my true opinion I dislike console, I think this game is very fun though, either way its fun. its an opinion of what you prefer. console or pc.
  9. objectivelytrue
    Dec 10, 2015
    9
    Dark Souls 2 didn't punish you for not being a friendless loser by making cooperation with a friend possible, something that the other games have a pointlessly **** attitude. It also reduced the amount of invasions in a first playthrough, which also helped to make cooperation possible as well as getting through an area and a boss in your first try instead of being interrupted by idiots.Dark Souls 2 didn't punish you for not being a friendless loser by making cooperation with a friend possible, something that the other games have a pointlessly **** attitude. It also reduced the amount of invasions in a first playthrough, which also helped to make cooperation possible as well as getting through an area and a boss in your first try instead of being interrupted by idiots. Far more content with less repetition overall than Dark Souls, the only issue with Dark Souls 2 is that the story is a blatant repeat of Dark Souls. There are more viable weapons, secret areas you won't discover on your first playthrough, changes between New Game and New Game + (Although they could've done much, much better).

    This is probably the best the Souls series will ever get, but it suffered from being a Souls game. Many people complained that it wasn't as Dark Souls even though it was better, and I think it's fairly obvious that we were just all getting bored of this formula getting churned out by From Software. Still I played this for a good 200 hours, while Bloodborne only deserved a single playthrough that I almost quit out of, and the DaSo 3 test revealed that it's just a **** rehash most people ran through to see the crappy scripted boss. The magic is definitely gone from the series now that it's Call of DarkOps: Infinite Rehash, but this was the last and best effort.    … Expand
  10. Nefastus
    Apr 6, 2016
    10
    Dark Souls 2 is probably one of the best games I have played in the last years. It has all the things that made Dark Souls 1 good and improved over it. It has better control mechanics, what made the character more responsive than in the first game. The areas are vast and well developed, very distinct from each other. Some might say the world isn't interconnected as in the first Dark SoulsDark Souls 2 is probably one of the best games I have played in the last years. It has all the things that made Dark Souls 1 good and improved over it. It has better control mechanics, what made the character more responsive than in the first game. The areas are vast and well developed, very distinct from each other. Some might say the world isn't interconnected as in the first Dark Souls but I rather well done and unique areas. There are a lot of bosses and sub bosses all along the game and they never get to the point of being unfair or too easy.

    The PvP in the game is great, easily the best of all soul series, including Demon's souls and Bloodborne. It is more friendly to learn and also allows you to start doing it after you are done with the game story, as you don't get locked out of invasions after a boss is dead, that was the case in the first dark souls. The mechanics are vastly improved in the pvp area as well, with more weapon options and spells and a lot of the weapons have special attacks that make them unique. It also features arenas for the players that rather avoid invading/being invaded but still want to engage in pvp.

    Its a must have game.    … Expand
  11. Pedobear987
    Apr 16, 2016
    8
    Me encanta que este juego me haya vuelto a recordar la época en la que los videojuegos eran difícil,
    lo recomiendo mucho si buscas un reto difícil y entretenido. Si has decidido comprarlo adelante VAS A PASAR UN MAL RATO.
  12. lbear
    May 27, 2016
    8
    Excelente como juego y buen Dark Souls. Seguramente sea peor en muchos aspectos al primero pero en cuanto a jugabilidad no se queda corto para nada, además cabe destacar que el port a pc es muy bueno.
  13. deLama
    Nov 17, 2017
    10
    bbgggvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  14. aythamipt
    Dec 13, 2018
    10
    Simplemente escribo esto para que me conste como un análisis y que la nota del juego me salga en mi apartado de votaciones y tener un historial. Saludos
  15. marcelus
    Mar 17, 2017
    8
    Yes, very recommended but...only for those who played Demon's Souls or Dark Souls and want some more without high expectations about the story.

    In general terms I really loved Dark Souls II. First Souls game with native HD and beyond resolutions for PC. Also the 60 FPS was a very important "must". The plot and lore are not that great as Dark Souls PTDE but it has his own good moments.    Yes, very recommended but...only for those who played Demon's Souls or Dark Souls and want some more without high expectations about the story.

    In general terms I really loved Dark Souls II. First Souls game with native HD and beyond resolutions for PC. Also the 60 FPS was a very important "must". The plot and lore are not that great as Dark Souls PTDE but it has his own good moments.

    This new entry is full of new items and some other little interesting mechanics like the coffin of Things Betwixt, the life gems and some new covenants. It was fun to discover them through the game.

    The humanity thing remains but this time is easier to handle. In general Dark Souls II has a lot of things to make the difficulty of newcomers easier (wich I recommend you don't abuse if you played a Souls before).

    About Souls and leveling this time you do it between Emerald Gerald in Majula. Similar to the Maiden in Black from Demon's Souls Nexus.

    About visual and sound...mmm... Visually is not mind blowing but is an step forward from PC Dark Souls with DS Fix. The art looks fantastic in lighting terms. Maybe is different in it's style in terms of environments and enemies design. A lot more cliche but enjoyable. Oh! rag doll is off in this game...and the lighting and assets from it's first gameplay shown to the world ¬¬

    The sound design (foley etc) is good. But the music score is something I recommend you didn't expect to be better than previous games. But is good!...Take listen to Demon's Souls for instance. It has some interesting flutes and leitmotifs wich are missing on the next game. I find the Intro, Phalanx or the adjudicator one the most memorable ones. In Dark Souls there's a great variety of styles and there's even more memorable songs. And unfortunate for those who love the music of this games Dark Souls II is kind of flat...epic but flat. That doesn't mean i doesn't have it's moments ;)

    About the important thing...Gameplay. It's almost the same but more responsive and smooth. The kick was replaced for the shoulder push. But there's a lot more weapon styles even bare hands styles. I find my self on PvP with players with very strange setups xD and of course two hackers in a few months (I'm not very expect on the PvP thing). The only downside here is that "Soul Memory System" wich is not optional.

    The co-op. Now you can summon two players the NPC of the area you're (if it's available) and an internet player. This can make the game much easier. I don't recommend this much. I find myself solving some bosses with this method and then feeling horrible haha. But never again!

    Mmmm Boss Fights...they're not that interesting as the areas they're on. But there are some of this friends wich you'll hate at the same level as before.

    I think Dark Souls II is not a bad entry at all (BTW Hidetaka Miyazaki just supervised it but it wasn't it's director). We can't say is a bad game. Maybe a transition. I think it's better than have a hole until Bloodborne is released and of course it deserves it's price ;)    … Expand
  16. shenkenhigh
    Feb 14, 2023
    9
    Keeps up with atmospheric aspect of the game, that's a big yes. But adaptability stat and mechanics overall...it's just baldly stupid
  17. Defoxx
    Dec 1, 2020
    6
    Вторая часть серии Dark Souls. Из всей трилогии эта часть мне понравилась меньше всего. Когда я играл, управление на клавомыши невозможно и приходилось атаковать на кнопку ctrl.
  18. Darkys7
    Jun 20, 2020
    9
    One of the best games for those who want exactly excellent gameplay in games and want hard trials. One of the best games in recent times. I must say right away that if you like to play games to relax and watch cool movies, such as uncharted, this game is not for you. Here you have to give all your best. And this game will definitely destroy your keyboards, gamepads and nerves)
  19. Soullex
    Nov 15, 2022
    9
    Biraz sinir bozucu hitboxları falan var ama, seriye beni gerçekten bağlayan ve tamam artık ben souls-like tüm oyunları çatır çutur oynarım dedirten oyun bu.
  20. ardil3sz
    Oct 7, 2019
    9
    A never ending cycle of wasted, useless lifes. The great franchise full of depression.
  21. Geralt123
    Nov 13, 2021
    6
    Oh man. I played DS1 and DS3 and finished DS2 today after 190 hours including DLC. What a gank-fest. What a cheap, uncreative, artificial difficult, poor game. It is really sad and I am asking myself how Fromsoft could deliver such a mess.

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

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

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

    Often disgusting graphics with repeated textures, poor flat lighting.

    They throw gank mobs at you every 100 meters.

    Poor tube-like level design.

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

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

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

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

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

    Summary: buy it for max. 10 Euros, you can have "some" fun    … Expand
  22. Senden_Wh
    Jun 22, 2020
    9
    Самая красивая часть серии. Куча интересных и нормально рабочих механик чего стоят поломка оружия, очень разнообразная магия и отличная механика оружий. И Танимуру с Танимура хочет сказать спасибо ведь они переплюнули первую часть пускай и убрали несколько особенностей DS1 и DS3 типа огромной запутанности лора мира. К слову подача лора была тоже очень крутая и плюс общий лор сам был оченьСамая красивая часть серии. Куча интересных и нормально рабочих механик чего стоят поломка оружия, очень разнообразная магия и отличная механика оружий. И Танимуру с Танимура хочет сказать спасибо ведь они переплюнули первую часть пускай и убрали несколько особенностей DS1 и DS3 типа огромной запутанности лора мира. К слову подача лора была тоже очень крутая и плюс общий лор сам был очень улучшен и понимание мира была расширена с большим старанием… Expand
  23. Shimmeywill
    Feb 20, 2020
    9
    My first souls game since DS1 had such a poor PC port at the time. My most played Souls game and the only one where I had a "souls experience" (since when playing the other titles, the challenge of the souls games was clearly not so bad). While there are many weak spots in hindsight, the game still has fun zones, bosses and moments.
  24. RomanGor
    Nov 7, 2019
    8
    После прохождения первой части, вторая кажется на порядок хуже, но это чувство очень обманчиво...
  25. Solidsnake00901
    Nov 23, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's okay but it pales in comparison in almost every aspect compared to the original… Expand
  26. Lazzakz
    Aug 21, 2023
    5
    After a surprising ammount of time rushing through this mess of a game, mixed feelings come back to me. Several attempts to finish the game ended up on myself dropping it onto the self again, until I finally built out the nerves to finish it. So much wasted potential, there are so many good ideas that get lost in the midst of a mediocrely polished and skeletal game.

    LIGHT 5
  27. Christiansb6
    Jul 13, 2020
    9
    Awesome .
  28. PanMrkvicka
    Feb 11, 2020
    7
    Dark souls 2 is weird. You play it and it feels nothing like a souls game but it feels like souls game as well and you dont know what to think. Some bosses are pretty interesting and great but theres also plenty of them which suck. The game design of areas is not good as well most of the time, convoluted places with copypasted enemies.
  29. nurfedx
    Oct 30, 2021
    10
    One of the best Games known to mankind.
    From Software is a safe heaven for the Gaming community.
    Especially in times where big Developers dissapiont us with theyr fraudulent intent.
    Praise the sun!
  30. Wrathzo
    Mar 22, 2022
    9
    Dark Souls II is a 2014 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Games. The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who has become Undead, cursed to never die and doomed to eventually become a Hollow, a zombie-like being with no memories or purpose. The protagonist is also known as the Bearer of the Curse. To break the curse, the undead travels toDark Souls II is a 2014 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Games. The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who has become Undead, cursed to never die and doomed to eventually become a Hollow, a zombie-like being with no memories or purpose. The protagonist is also known as the Bearer of the Curse. To break the curse, the undead travels to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by the Emerald Herald with obtaining four Great Souls from powerful Old Ones whose names are long forgotten and forbidden.… 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

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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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