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. Utran
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    still not able to play due to the problem of the hdmi if I had the tv and monitor connected error, and so far the company has not done anything already nearly 200 pages of complaints on steam and nothing yet. shameful
  2. JamesTheThird
    Apr 29, 2014
    0
    I'm a huge fan of RPGs, but this one is a misunderstanding. Forget about technicalities such as controls, graphics and so on. These are minor issues. The main thing is that this is 2014 and the main character is mute. Did you like brilliant dialogues in Mass Effect series or Dragon Age? Well, you won't find them here. There are no such options like choosing an answer, because theI'm a huge fan of RPGs, but this one is a misunderstanding. Forget about technicalities such as controls, graphics and so on. These are minor issues. The main thing is that this is 2014 and the main character is mute. Did you like brilliant dialogues in Mass Effect series or Dragon Age? Well, you won't find them here. There are no such options like choosing an answer, because the protagonist just doesn't speak at all! This is a total killjoy for me. R.I.P. Souls.… Expand
  3. RainbowPieFiM
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    This game don't work.
    The game crash everytime you enter, and the company dont launch a fix, 3 days after his launch.
    Thanks for stole my money!
    Ah, and the game doesn't have a pc controller instructions, is a BAD port from the console version.
    $50 for a bad port.
  4. BrutalBran95
    Oct 16, 2014
    0
    console port what else can I say anything thats a console port is flat out awful and doesnt get anything more then 0 from me its just a money grab and a screw you pc gamers im glad i didnt pay for this if you get what I mean even with a controller it doesnt fix its many problems which has already been said no point repeating
  5. Cioby
    May 4, 2014
    0
    The game is not as hard as fanboys would like you to think. It's just total crap, with "high" difficulty that "punishes" you when you die. The graphics is almost the same as the first game of the series. The sounds are crap also. You don't even have to play much to notice it, from the first interaction with the world, you can hear how **** the grass sounds like. This isn't a scary gameThe game is not as hard as fanboys would like you to think. It's just total crap, with "high" difficulty that "punishes" you when you die. The graphics is almost the same as the first game of the series. The sounds are crap also. You don't even have to play much to notice it, from the first interaction with the world, you can hear how **** the grass sounds like. This isn't a scary game either. Encounters are crap. This is a 2009 game, made for console players, those are the ones probably kissing their asses & the paid people who post "critic" reviews. The combat is slow and dull, the controls are bad considering a PC user can use a lot of keys to do whatever he wants without complaining of the assignments.
    Oh yea, let's not forget the "hentai" look that characters have, my harvester of souls, my warrior, my murderer looked like a f***** Japanese kid from FF or Lineage. I'm sure most people consider those awesome, I don't. It's not even an appropriate look for someone who is taking his victim's soul.
    My advice, if you're not a console fanboy, used to bad/old games, stay away from this game.    … Expand
  6. slauterhause
    Apr 28, 2014
    0
    I am SOOOOOO stupid for trusting the 'professional' reviews on this one, I should have looked closer at the user reviews.

    This is perhaps the worst port of a console game that I've ever purchased. It's beyond dreadful. If you care about anything like key-bindings, windowed Full screen or any of an endless list of normally available options, keep walking - nothing to see here. I    I am SOOOOOO stupid for trusting the 'professional' reviews on this one, I should have looked closer at the user reviews.

    This is perhaps the worst port of a console game that I've ever purchased. It's beyond dreadful. If you care about anything like key-bindings, windowed Full screen or any of an endless list of normally available options, keep walking - nothing to see here. I suppose that yes, technically it works on the PC, but that's it, you won't enjoy it. It's criminal that they charge $$ for a horrendous port that looks like it was done in about 5 minutes.

    0/10 - Easily one of the worst games I've bought in recent memory.    … Expand
  7. moneer
    May 3, 2014
    0
    Crap port for PC. To open door press "Green X Button". Don't have a green, red, yellow, or blue buttons on my keyboard. Hate games that exhibit this kind of laziness. User interface is confusing and settings don't take (sometimes).
  8. Bortx
    May 3, 2014
    0
    Crap port for PC. To open door press "Green X Button". Don't have a green, red, yellow, or blue buttons on my keyboard. Hate games that exhibit this kind of laziness. User interface is confusing and settings don't take (sometimes). You have to do some mouse gymnastics to get them to take. Graphics are poor and dated. For console standards this might pass but for PC this is 5-7 year oldCrap port for PC. To open door press "Green X Button". Don't have a green, red, yellow, or blue buttons on my keyboard. Hate games that exhibit this kind of laziness. User interface is confusing and settings don't take (sometimes). You have to do some mouse gymnastics to get them to take. Graphics are poor and dated. For console standards this might pass but for PC this is 5-7 year old tech. Story is confusing and nonsensical and expect to die all the time. This game is nothing but frustration. I don't see how anyone can enjoy this unless you have hours of time to waste and like to inflict pain on yourself.… Expand
  9. Jethro177
    May 10, 2014
    0
    Just to reiterate many other peoples views, this is the worst game I've played in a long time. If you ignore the fact it looks over 10 years old the game is still terrible.
    There is no real customization over the unbearable control system, you can swap a bad key binding for a worse one, in fact no effort has been made what so ever to port this to PC, all the on screen control hints have    Just to reiterate many other peoples views, this is the worst game I've played in a long time. If you ignore the fact it looks over 10 years old the game is still terrible.
    There is no real customization over the unbearable control system, you can swap a bad key binding for a worse one, in fact no effort has been made what so ever to port this to PC, all the on screen control hints have xbox symbols.
    The voice acting is OK but the terrible graphics make it hard to watch.
    I feel lucky I had a chance to try this before buying. What a heap of s**t.    … Expand
  10. pjmeyer22
    Apr 29, 2014
    0
    When I first played Skyrim, I thought it was pretty hard. Boy was i very wrong about that. Skyrim scales to the way you play. Dark Souls is for hardcore players and masochists only. In Skyrim you can build a damn good stealth character and beat the game. If it is too difficult you can always turn it down. Hardcore is the only setting for Dark Souls 2. Another thing Dark Souls 2 does isWhen I first played Skyrim, I thought it was pretty hard. Boy was i very wrong about that. Skyrim scales to the way you play. Dark Souls is for hardcore players and masochists only. In Skyrim you can build a damn good stealth character and beat the game. If it is too difficult you can always turn it down. Hardcore is the only setting for Dark Souls 2. Another thing Dark Souls 2 does is penalize for everything. Die and you lose all of your souls. Don't die fast enough and you break your weapon. Give Dark Souls 2 a bad review. A From Software employee bad mouths you and gives Dark Souls 2 a perfect 10.

    The first thing you learn in computer 101, is that the keyboard has 105 keys. It is unnecessary to hit Ctrl+Alt+Right mouse button. You only need the space bar for this action. Yet somehow From Software did not Know this. Even worse is they did know and did anyway. You know to make the game even harder. Thank God you can rebind the keys.

    The worst thing about Dark Souls 2 is the storytelling. Apparently everyone has to talk very, very, very, very, very slowly. They have to do it in a cryptic voice. If they have a quest they have to give you little to no information on how to complete the quest. I talked to a guy to see if he had a quest and this is what I got. BLACKSMITH: I........ need ........ to ....... open...... my....... store......... I ........ lost ....... the ......... key.
    Okay can you tell me where you lost the key. BLACKSMITH: I ......... need....... to ..... Oh my God just shut up. There is no quest log and area map. So there is no quest tracking system.After an hour of searching I found out you have to buy it from a witch living in the middle of nowhere. That will be 300 souls please. After all that and completing quest. I am pretty sure I was not rewarded for my efforts. I could not level up because I was 300 souls short. That's when uninstall became my next action.

    Overall Dark Souls 2 feels like an unfinished game. The graphics are from 2005. Which is why FPS gets 60 plus. There is no quest log and there needs to be one. It would have been helpful to have an area map, but there isn't one. It would have been nice to keep the money system and XP system separate. So you don't have to spend souls on repairing items. It would been nice to select your level of play. Wait I forgot who I was ranting to. We are From Software. We are hardcore gamer snob. We do not make games that can be enjoyed by everyone.    … Expand
  11. augh18
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    Remember those old-school NES games that were insanely difficult, not due to design, but because they were technically broken? That's what "Dark Souls 2" is. Not only is it obviously a terrible PC port despite claims that PC was the lead platform (then why do enemies in the distance only animate at 30fps, why is the UI so obviously designed for console, why is M&K functionality stillRemember those old-school NES games that were insanely difficult, not due to design, but because they were technically broken? That's what "Dark Souls 2" is. Not only is it obviously a terrible PC port despite claims that PC was the lead platform (then why do enemies in the distance only animate at 30fps, why is the UI so obviously designed for console, why is M&K functionality still garbage?), but the game itself plays worse than a "Souls" game ever has.

    This is likely in large part due to this being the first "Souls" game that isn't made by the original "Souls" team. If you need more info on this, google it, but bottom line is "From Software" felt that the "Souls" franchise had become successful enough that the people who made it good could do... whatever they're doing now, and the next entry (Dark Souls 2) could be made by "From Software's" B-Team.

    Playing as Melee is pretty much broken this time around, as enemy tracking is impossible to outpace. In DeS/DS1, you could see them winding up for an attack and roll out of the way, but now they spin on a dime and do not stop their facing until their attack has landed. So, instead of rolling when you see the attack coming, you have to roll during the window right before the attack lands, which is much, *much* more punishing, and *far* more difficult to execute. DeS/DS1 were punishing but fair, DS2 is punishing for the sake of being punishing.

    Gone as well is the tactical one-on-one combat, not just because of the above, but because of the game's tendency to throw entire rooms of enemies at you at once. In DeS/DS1, you could lure enemies off large packs to make them easier to handle, or if you alerted one enemy in the room you would only pull that enemy and *maybe* whoever was nearby. In DS2, if you trigger on enemy, you trigger every enemy in the room. This makes the focus on co-op much heavier, as you're going to *need* two other people around you spamming attacks just to clear more areas.

    The vast majority of boss fights are copy-pasted from DS1, and the "new" boss fights are just bosses that look new but use mechanics that anyone who's already played DeS/DS1 will immediately recognize.

    There's also the issue of item durability. In this game, your weapons are going to degrade at a much faster rate, and the only way to restore them is to use extremely rare and highly expensive Repair powders, or resting at a bonfire. This means that, more often than not, your favorite main-hand weapon is going to be rendered unusuable before you reach the next checkpoint. There's also a bug in the game that makes it so swinging your weapon through enemies who are in the "dying" animation, or swinging your weapon and having it clip a co-op phantom, will cause it to degrade at 300% the rate as well. These two combined make for a more naggy, OCD melee-combat experience.

    This is also the first time I've played a "Souls" game and felt like it needed a map. "Demon's Souls" was split into 5 seperate worlds which made it easy to keep track of things in your head, "Dark Souls" was open world but everything fit together very cohesively so again it was easy to keep track of things. "Dark Souls 2" feels like they threw a bunch of zones together and didn't care about how they connected to each other, they just wanted them there. Navigating is an absolute chore. It's entirely possible to be exploring your first time, and find yourself stuck in areas where the only way to get out is to die by jumping into a chasm/pit, or returning to a bonfire (with a spell or item). "DeS" and "DS1" had *some* of this as well, but not nearly to the extent that "DS2" does.

    The "Souls" series is all about overcoming unpleasant surprises, but the only unpleasant surprise "Dark Souls 2" delivers is that of a mishandled entry in a beloved franchise, with the only feeling left afterwards being that of wasted time. "From Software" decided they could save money by hiring lesser talent to make a game that'd get success by brand name alone. And sales-wise, it probably worked, but from now I'm going to be far more leary when I look at the next title from "From Software".

    It's very disappointing to recognize what "From" has done here, because it means that the "Souls" franchise will never be as good as it used to. Yet for how good the last two games were, there was still a lot of room for improvement, and now we'll never know how good this series could've been. Like everything else, it comes down to the people in charge intentionally ruining something so they can increase their profit by a few percent. Once that starts, there's no going back. If they feel like they have "f u" money after just two big titles, then quality from here on out is only going to get worse for "From" titles.    … Expand
  12. kyle242gt
    Apr 28, 2014
    0
    Another zero just because of the horrible control setup. How they can call this a PC version is beyond me. Shameful. Didn't even get past the tutorial. These clowns need to know PC gamers use keyboard and mouse, not a gamepad.
  13. 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
  14. farshal
    Apr 25, 2014
    0
    Game is fine, no word for it. But PC release ? Absolutely garbage. "Stop Working" problems , HDMI - DVI problems , multi monitor problems , standart scaling problems ... etc.

    They say "this time Pc version will be good version for this game" ... They did not keep promises.

    On steam community page , people want a refund ... pathetic !
  15. FPAwpers
    Apr 25, 2014
    0
    This game might be good, might be. But I can't to play past the first 20 minutes? Why? Because the controls are **** unplayable on keyboard and mouse. I refuse to buy extra hardware i.e. a gamepad because a company is inept at providing a decent service and lied saying that it could. otherwise I wouldn't have bought this piece of **** in the first place.
  16. Brutusbf
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    Worst game i ever bought, they said it would work with keyboard + mouse but that's far from being true. They didn't even take the time to change the menus to show which keyboard button is bound to whatever (you still see Xbox buttons). I consider this game a scam. Very lazy console port. Avoid this game until it's fixed.
  17. Bittersweet
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Dont bother buying this broken piece of garbage, from software should be ashamed... With tens of trials I only managed To play just once... That just Sad for a game that was supposed to go out later than the console version to tune It better...
  18. Gorshum
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I imagine this would be a really fun game if it worked. I trust in their ability to make a fun game. The problem is that for many people the game does not work at all. When you try to start the game it pops up as a white screen then crashes within 10 seconds. So far the only workarounds have come from the community and even then they don't always work. Considering they supposedly 'built itI imagine this would be a really fun game if it worked. I trust in their ability to make a fun game. The problem is that for many people the game does not work at all. When you try to start the game it pops up as a white screen then crashes within 10 seconds. So far the only workarounds have come from the community and even then they don't always work. Considering they supposedly 'built it for the pc first' this kind of thing is really unacceptable. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to play the game we payed for. We didn't pay $50 so we could troubleshoot/beta test their game. We payed for a product and we currently have no access to it despite it being released. If you're thinking of buying this game for PC, don't. Wait for them to fix whatever they screwed up. There is no point in buying it now unless you want to play 'Waiting Simulator: Broken Edition'.… Expand
  19. deszka42
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    The game is a fantastic port, let's start with the worst and advance to the less interesting problems:
    -the game refuses to start up (crashes with white screen) for TONS of people
    -even when it starts the new game loading screen freezes -game freezes when intro needs to be playing -people who got banned in other games received a ban for dark souls 2 (absolutely unheard of) -the    The game is a fantastic port, let's start with the worst and advance to the less interesting problems:
    -the game refuses to start up (crashes with white screen) for TONS of people
    -even when it starts the new game loading screen freezes
    -game freezes when intro needs to be playing
    -people who got banned in other games received a ban for dark souls 2 (absolutely unheard of)
    -the controllers connected to pc refuse to work
    -the keyboard+mouse controlls refuse to work
    -the keyboard controlls are **** even when they work: holding shift prevents you from clicking etc...    … Expand
  20. Pablo_Dourado
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I am here to represent the over 1k players from steam who is not getting any help from developers of the game, we get a random bug that dont let us play the game, we are trying to get attention over our problem for more then 50 hours since the release and nothing at all, we decided to yell our voice to another sites, we are making a critic not about the game itself because we cant EVEN logI am here to represent the over 1k players from steam who is not getting any help from developers of the game, we get a random bug that dont let us play the game, we are trying to get attention over our problem for more then 50 hours since the release and nothing at all, we decided to yell our voice to another sites, we are making a critic not about the game itself because we cant EVEN log in, we are here to tell how disappointing is the support from the developers.
    We paid for that we deserve the same thing as others, but seens the primary atribute to play the game is have the luck to get a copy without any bug, i will never spend my money on products of your company again!    … Expand
  21. Quariq
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I picked up the first Dark Souls on Steam and liked it, the only problem i had with the game was the controls for PC. Now with the release of Dark Souls 2 we were promised a more polished PC version with better graphics and - here is the big one - working controls. So did they deliver? Short answer NO , Long answer NO. Default controls are near unplayable , controller buttons everywhere "I picked up the first Dark Souls on Steam and liked it, the only problem i had with the game was the controls for PC. Now with the release of Dark Souls 2 we were promised a more polished PC version with better graphics and - here is the big one - working controls. So did they deliver? Short answer NO , Long answer NO. Default controls are near unplayable , controller buttons everywhere " press A to this , press B to that" . But dont worry , just rebind your keys , right?? NO. Trying to rebind the keys is painfull at best and once you are done you are left with a half decent experience. I loved the first Dark Souls and plot/gameplay wise Dark Souls 2 looks promising. But as a PC gamer i feel cheated and lied to when it is blatantly obvious that no extra effort was put into making this a positive experience for PC gamers.… Expand
  22. DefiantMaledict
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Dark Souls 2 is all about challenge, they said. Well, the only challenge this game is posing now is how to make it work properly. PC will be lead platform, they said.
  23. aberjams
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    The game will not load on my pc, and a lot of other peoples at that. There is no Tech support to call, there is no disclaimer that it may not work, and there is no refund. Its a very shameful process. That I wish I was not a part of.
    If you are buying this game, you are gambling with your money.
    It may not work, and there is nothing you can do about it.
  24. sodapopcan
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    they don't even put the pc controls on the menus. and even if they did i cant even start the game to see the change because of the crashing. this was a bad buy.
  25. Zhael
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I was so excited to play DS2 this morning but found myself shouting at the screen in under 5 mins.

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

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

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

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

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

    In short this is not worth buying on the PC. For the consoles maybe, but not the PC.    … Expand
  26. Merdique
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    This is one of the worst PC ports I have seen in years. The game can be somewhat configured to use a keyboard and mouse, but the interface does not acknowledge this (which generates a lot of confusion while playing). Many of the bound combinations are geared to console playing. Just terrible. Got sick of playing it after a few hours. Save your money. Wish I had...
  27. 1993Gamer
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    I'm amazed how can such a bad port receive so good reviews.
    I can't even play the first 15 minutes of the game with mouse+keyboard, the game does not respond correctly to any of my controls inputs, is this a bad joke?
    Wortst pile of garbage I bought this year yet. If you value your money stay away.
  28. DSfan2874
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Do not trust any reviews with a 10/10 score. Look at the steam community forum page and you'll see that over 2500 people can't even launch the game they paid for. And there is no ETA for any fix at all. If you feel like playing the lottery to know if you can even launch the game, then by all means, go ahead and spend that hard earned 50$ in cash.
  29. sheva7
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    This game is so ****ing hard that i cant even launch it. I guess they deliver the difficulty they promised. Yeah, the 0 goes to the company, not to the game.
  30. ctrlaltwalsh
    Apr 26, 2014
    0
    Game Remains Unplayable, Crashes when starting up. Game developers and publishers need to realise they cannot release a product which simply does not work, this is not a problem specific to my (Frankly Standard) computer configuration.
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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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