Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1451 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,013 out of 1451
  2. Mixed: 281 out of 1451
  3. Negative: 157 out of 1451
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  1. DarthPadme
    Apr 7, 2015
    0
    I love Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, but this is a very, very poor cash grab that adds very little to the game. Yes, you get a paltry discount if you already own DS2 and/or the DLC, but the fact is, this is what you paid for when you bought the PC version a year ago, but they dumbed it down to gain parity with the consoles. I am so sick of this underhanded tactic from developers, and myI love Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, but this is a very, very poor cash grab that adds very little to the game. Yes, you get a paltry discount if you already own DS2 and/or the DLC, but the fact is, this is what you paid for when you bought the PC version a year ago, but they dumbed it down to gain parity with the consoles. I am so sick of this underhanded tactic from developers, and my score is a reflection of that. There is no excuse for such low and unnecessary tricks to be used to make money. If they had released this product in this way at release, it would have spoken for itself. As it is, they took a year to add basic DX11 polish (which was already in the PC demo build) and make a convenient DLC bundle. Sorry FromSoft, but you get two big fat middle fingers for this garbage.… Expand
  2. yahtzee301
    Feb 25, 2018
    3
    The Dark Souls project is in new hands, and the assessment is to determine if the new team can deliver, and expand on the dream of the original. We see much of the same elements of the first Dark Souls within this successor, and Dark Souls is one of my all-time favorite games. Then why did I give it such a low score? Well, it's because of one major flaw. One of the most well-documentedThe Dark Souls project is in new hands, and the assessment is to determine if the new team can deliver, and expand on the dream of the original. We see much of the same elements of the first Dark Souls within this successor, and Dark Souls is one of my all-time favorite games. Then why did I give it such a low score? Well, it's because of one major flaw. One of the most well-documented perks of Dark Souls is its crushing, yet fair difficulty. If I die, I know that it was because I screwed up and that I can improve next time. What Dark Souls II fails to realize is that difficulty is not what made Dark Souls so popular. The result is a game that is crushingly difficult, yes, but unfair and irritating to the player, and I don't play video games to feel irritated. Enemies are placed in groups so that ganking cannot be avoided, weapons feel like they're made of wet toilet paper, and that damned health-drain mechanic that lowers your maximum HP upon death. Everything is this game is a sloppy stand-in for difficulty, and it leaves me uninvested and unwilling to continue forward. Losing to a boss in Dark Souls made me want to start again as quickly as possible. Losing to a boss in Dark Souls II makes me want to turn off the game and switch to something else. In the long slogs between bosses, I'm so paralyzed with boredom from death after death, and that's nothing to take away from the horrendous hit-boxes. It surprises me that, even after three years of run-time, the hit-boxes haven't been fixed, because it's inexcusable. Looking at the game as a whole, it's not too bad, better than most games that came out of 2015. But we know FromSoftware can do better because Dark Souls is one of the most fully-realized games of all time. So if we look at the game as a successor to the original, it's so annoyingly bad that I wonder if the developers had any idea what they were doing. Its only redeeming qualities are the bosses that I found at least somewhat enjoyable and certain areas that reminded me of the original Dark Souls. And when your only redeeming quality as a sequel is what reminded me of your predecessor, you have some serious work to do… Expand
  3. HansJoerg1
    Oct 12, 2019
    2
    Boring Story, repetitive gameplay. Overall an extremely disappointing experience.
  4. bkeny2idie
    Feb 5, 2017
    4
    Does more wrong than right, so much so that it hurts the game on many levels. Waiting a year for a "better version" only split the dwindling community even further between three platforms and six games with three original and three scholar versions. Overall this is was a slap in the face to souls veterans and a cheap attempt to right a wrong.
  5. marikbat
    Mar 12, 2020
    0
    "How to transfer a good game to a new generation console according to Bandai Namco"
    Step 1 - select game
    Step 2 - forget the plot and common sense
    Step 3 - mix opponents and items thoroughly
    Step 4 - add a pinch of NG + in different places of the game ... although it doesn’t matter throw as much as you want
    Done, enjoy and have a new unforgettable experience
  6. sabaothkelly
    Jul 30, 2020
    0
    Demon Souls 1? Legendary.
    Dark Souls 1? Masterpiece.
    Light Souls 2? What a PIECE of TVRD, ¡seriously!? There are too many enemies and bosses doing s**t that is just just random, absurd or jank. Honestly, it's just barely above "Lords of the Fallen" trash mechanics.
    Dark Souls 3? Amazing.
    Bloodborne? Godly.
    Sekiro? Very Good.
  7. WilliamWesker
    Aug 2, 2019
    0
    DS 2 is not even a true "DARK" game, in order to have the title of DARK SOULS in it, the 2013 DEMO of the same is, but the final version is definitely not. It has texture with a very poor quality in all its versions, including the one of PC, especially considering that it is a game of 2014, & in 2015 there were already games like The Witcher 3, which makes DS 2 to look like a game of aDS 2 is not even a true "DARK" game, in order to have the title of DARK SOULS in it, the 2013 DEMO of the same is, but the final version is definitely not. It has texture with a very poor quality in all its versions, including the one of PC, especially considering that it is a game of 2014, & in 2015 there were already games like The Witcher 3, which makes DS 2 to look like a game of a half a decade before the 2014, because of the difference with regard to the quality of textures between the two, something that it is really pathetic & embarrassing for the DS 2 piece of work. It allows the player to warp between Bonfires from the beginning, which literally murder in cold blood a great deal of immersion & exploration in it. The enemies are very badly misplaced in the levels. The animation of the sequences in the attacks are just terrible with respect to the lack of inmercion that it causes, to a player. Its system focuses on punishing the player when the same dies, at resurrect it with less life, instead of encouraging it to self-overcome, which is one of the main philosophies of the DARK SOULS series, Hidetaka Miyazaki himself confirmed that philosophy for the series. The writing level of the game is very poor. The NPCs are extremely depressing, & constantly encourage the player to surrender during the dialogues, instead of encouraging the player not to become Hollow, as they generally should with indifference responses like on DS 3 & ESPECIALLY in DS 1!… Expand
  8. Ampov
    Sep 4, 2020
    0
    If you are a dynamic gamer craving for fast-pace combat, this game will teach you how to play with style. It will slow your combat pace down, allowing you to enjoy gameplay and story to the fullest. The game has a unique tranquility when playing with headphones. Enjoy/Play the game with a steady pace and you will want more. I'm hunting the Platinum and then all go for DS3.
  9. CreepyB4by
    Jan 20, 2016
    3
    Having invested over 150 hours and having beaten the entire game and all 3 DLCs in NG+, I have to say that this game is pretty bad. The main issues come from the controls and the core mechanics. They're terrible. First off, the jump button shouldn't be default bound to the movement stick. That's stupid. There's isn't any button remapping in this game other than assigning jump to theHaving invested over 150 hours and having beaten the entire game and all 3 DLCs in NG+, I have to say that this game is pretty bad. The main issues come from the controls and the core mechanics. They're terrible. First off, the jump button shouldn't be default bound to the movement stick. That's stupid. There's isn't any button remapping in this game other than assigning jump to the circle button. That's also retarded.

    The target switching button shouldn't be bound to the camera stick. That's unfathomably stupid. There are problems with the hitboxes in this game, especially on bosses. You can get hit with a stomp for example, by most bosses even if it's clear that the boss's character model completely missed your character. There was no intersection at all, but still, the hit registered. Speaking of enemies, they mostly can kill you in 1-3 hits the entire game, they have unlimited stamina and they barely ever wobble and they can't have their swings blocked by things like walls, but the player can. That's unfair.

    Every jump is a horizontal jump, not a vertical one and it must end with a roll. I'm not even joking, unfortunately. There is no canceling animations. If you're on the ground and you hit the drink button, then see the boss running at you, there is nothing you can do, you must watch your character finish standing and then he will drink. That's insanely stupid. Dodge should always dodge immediately, regardless of what action it might interrupt.

    This is a Japanese game about medieval European fantasy. It looks like Skyrim meets Turbo Mecha Samurai. It's really stupid. The hollowing is a poor concept and this game has a backwards curve, which is bull crap no matter what game you play. Basically, these guys were so interested in making the game hard that they broke the mechanics and then centered the game around the poor combat. It's essentially a timing game where every enemy is stronger than you are. If your animation is too late, you're dead, if it's too early, you're dead. It reminds me of making a car racing game where you only drive on ice with flat tires. Sure, it's a bad game, but it's so HARD, so that makes it GOOD, right? WRONG. This game sucks    … Expand
  10. Zdzislaw32
    Jan 11, 2016
    4
    Even after the SOTFS update game is still broken and dull as F. Cheap locations (Iron Keep), boring story, clunky and unfun pve, and the graphic is just... pathetic. All that goes for this game is to make it as "hard" as possible (still most of the bosses are a joke, too easy compare to locations before the boss area) and when in DS1 that was a normal thing, now it feels like a cheapEven after the SOTFS update game is still broken and dull as F. Cheap locations (Iron Keep), boring story, clunky and unfun pve, and the graphic is just... pathetic. All that goes for this game is to make it as "hard" as possible (still most of the bosses are a joke, too easy compare to locations before the boss area) and when in DS1 that was a normal thing, now it feels like a cheap cash-grab strategy to get some money from kids, who treat this game as a new prank-challenge kinda thing (since the hardest game they ever had was Call of Duty on Medium... Try Ninja Gaiden or Megaman on NES casuals.) In the end: not a bad game, but man - im so bored after 3/4 of the game-play that i might just never end this "thing"...… Expand
  11. jint3i
    Sep 12, 2015
    3
    I haven't been this disappointed in a sequel since picking up Soulcalibur 4. Dark Souls 2 isn't a legitimate successor to Dark Souls. I don't know what the press and other users played, but what I played was a clumsy, mildly interesting excuse for a From Software game. The enemies are uninspired and poorly scripted often relying on numbers to overwhelm the player rather than posing aI haven't been this disappointed in a sequel since picking up Soulcalibur 4. Dark Souls 2 isn't a legitimate successor to Dark Souls. I don't know what the press and other users played, but what I played was a clumsy, mildly interesting excuse for a From Software game. The enemies are uninspired and poorly scripted often relying on numbers to overwhelm the player rather than posing a legitimate challenge. Level design ranges from too heavily saturated with color to drab. There's really no excuse for the state of this entry in the series. Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne each made successive progress. This isn't even a step backwards. It's on a completely different scale from the other games (and that's not a compliment)… Expand
  12. SimpKilla
    Mar 23, 2021
    0
    The controls are freakin disgusting, so clunky, deadzone in the left stick on controllers. Graphics are horrible too. Worst souls game
  13. Zimbardo
    Jul 22, 2015
    0
    I bought and loved Dark Souls 2 when it first came out for PS3. After beating and loving Bloodborne I decided to get Scholar of the First Sin to continue feeding my souls cravings.

    That was a complete mistake. 1) The graphics are improved but still butt ugly. Despite releasing DS2 on a more powerful console From decided to withhold the graphic quality they were advertising in the    I bought and loved Dark Souls 2 when it first came out for PS3. After beating and loving Bloodborne I decided to get Scholar of the First Sin to continue feeding my souls cravings.

    That was a complete mistake.

    1) The graphics are improved but still butt ugly. Despite releasing DS2 on a more powerful console From decided to withhold the graphic quality they were advertising in the original PS3 trailers.
    2) The controls are sloppy and the game-play is dated. Bloodborne moved the bar. Fanboys will say that DS gameplay is "tactical"... that just means they like to strafe-block-punish.
    3) The new enemy placement is just stupid. Dark Souls 1 is challenging in a good way... most of the time. The Anor Londo archers were challenging in a bad frustrating way. Dark Souls 2 vanilla was the right amount of good challenge. Scholar of the First Sin is a lot more Anor Londo archer nonsense.
    4) The creation of a different DS2 client splits the player baser even further, hampering online play.

    5) DIRTY BUSINESS PRACTICES. Fromsoft initially announced they they weren't going to release DLCs from DS2. They released a game with lose ends and then sold 3 DLCs to tie them up. Then after you bought the game and the 3 DLCs they sell the completed version of the game not as a patch or DLC BUT AS AN ENTIRELY OTHER GAME 1 YEAR AFTER THE INITIAL RELEASE.

    You're Dirty From. You're so dirty. You took a near perfect PS3 game and made a steaming turd for PS4.    … Expand
  14. 670Gamer
    Apr 19, 2015
    4
    Played this for only 3 hours and returned it the next day. I agree with the low scores. RENT FIRST, trust me. I do want to mention that as you progress in the beginning part, there is an area that has giant armoured knights-ridiculously hard to beat especially when they throw something hard at you that early without giving you a chance to upgrade or find better weapons and armor. Fail.
  15. Bloodburner
    Apr 15, 2015
    1
    Dark souls 2 was the worst money I ever spent on a ps4 game and here's why. I will start by saying that I played bloodborne first, absolutely loved it, even got the platinum trophy. I never played any of the souls games before bloodborne So I decided I want more from from software so I checked some screenshots online and though well dark souls 2 doesn't look very cool. But people told meDark souls 2 was the worst money I ever spent on a ps4 game and here's why. I will start by saying that I played bloodborne first, absolutely loved it, even got the platinum trophy. I never played any of the souls games before bloodborne So I decided I want more from from software so I checked some screenshots online and though well dark souls 2 doesn't look very cool. But people told me that it's an incredible game.. Well I bought it. The game turned out to be ugly, very poorly designed, the exploration is unrewarding. The atmosphere is basically absent and the sound design is poor. The world is boring and ugly. The npcs are dull and poorly voiced. The enemies' design is not cool. The 2 bosses that I've seen were both very poorly designed and were laughable not scary or cool. After bloodborne I was also very disappointed with the combat system with totally overpowered magic spells and the absolute must to use shields. The combat is also clumsy, slow, the animations are outdated. After trying to enjoy this game for 10 hours I sold my copy and very happy that I could get the part of money back. I was curious if I actually will only like bloodborne so I gave the old "demon's souls" for PS3 a try and so far I like it a lot, much much more then the supposedly newer and better dark souls 2 on ps4.… Expand
  16. tdebug
    Apr 12, 2015
    0
    Little this game can offer to those who already played Dark Souls 2 on PS3. I own DS2 and season pass for PS3 and generally fan of the series. That is why I especially hate to see they decided to sell the same game for the same price even for season pass owners.
    Could be a great game for those who playing it for the 1st time on PS4, but zero score for zero respect for existing subscribers.
  17. SlyguyTheCritic
    Sep 17, 2015
    4
    An utterly disappointing, featureless remake of a game which disappointed so many die-hard Souls fans, myself included were severely disappointed by, for reasons ranging from uncreative bosses to sloppy design, lore and technical issues. Note, though, that even if you did like Dark Souls 2 for some of its more robust weapons, or the extra variety in character creation, (and there's nothingAn utterly disappointing, featureless remake of a game which disappointed so many die-hard Souls fans, myself included were severely disappointed by, for reasons ranging from uncreative bosses to sloppy design, lore and technical issues. Note, though, that even if you did like Dark Souls 2 for some of its more robust weapons, or the extra variety in character creation, (and there's nothing wrong with that! you are entitled to your own opinion), Scholar of the First Sin just feels wrong. Firstly, if you're a new player, the level design is even more idiotic and unfair than vanilla Dark Souls 2; with such ingenious design decisions as placing a boss as a regular enemy, in knee-deep water which restricts movement, at a point where many players may not have even encountered said boss in the shallow water that makes him an easy fight yet! Scholar of the First Sin's enemy placement also, may I add, breaks the immersion of the game even further! Desert Sorceresses, Nightmares, Gargoyles and Old Heide Knights in a Castle which NONE of them should be in.

    If there's anything that Scholar of the First Sin proves to me, it's that fanbases will gladly accept **** be it **** level design, or **** business practices, like repeating the EXACT SAME ENEMY in several locations, with no changes in moveset or weapon, or rereleasing your game with a free season pass and bloom lighting for FULL PRICE, solely because it's part of their beloved franchise.

    Well, while Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is a game made by a sweetheart developer, in a sweetheart franchise, it's a game that makes no attempt to cover the flaws of the previous title; other than a hastily added, poorly thought-out NPC and ending, and a game that by all means, shouldn't exist.    … Expand
  18. SonyBroWhirrrr
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    What happens when you take a beloved game, but take away the creative mastermind genius Miyazaki and instead let a **** B-team develop the sequel? You get Dark Souls II. This game was so bad, that they actually re-released it a year later, claiming to have fixed many issues. Except that they didn't fix anything and only made it worse. Ivory King is epic tho, so a bonus point for that.
  19. epistm87
    Nov 11, 2015
    0
    The graphics are improved but still butt ugly The new enemy placement is just stupid. terribly generic hack-n-slash very, very poor cash grab that adds very little to the game
  20. LuckyShot
    Oct 31, 2015
    0
    After promises of an epic role-playing game, and excellent combat, i gave DS2 a try. My first foray into DS games, and apparently a bad way to start,

    This is such a terribly generic hack-n-slash. Looks bad, plays even worse, the controls are so clumsy and unresponsive, I took the game out after 10 minutes. Some might say that isn't long enough, but with graphics, environments and    After promises of an epic role-playing game, and excellent combat, i gave DS2 a try. My first foray into DS games, and apparently a bad way to start,

    This is such a terribly generic hack-n-slash. Looks bad, plays even worse, the controls are so clumsy and unresponsive, I took the game out after 10 minutes. Some might say that isn't long enough, but with graphics, environments and controls in the first 10 minutes being so clumsy and uninspired, when the first 10 minutes should grip a player, this could hold nothing more for me.

    Avoid at all costs.    … Expand
  21. danphie_
    Jan 29, 2020
    0
    Only because of shrine of amana stupid annoying **** mages **** cancer hate this area
  22. Saamaan
    Apr 14, 2015
    1
    Man , I spend the money ! Put the Disk in PS4 , Loved the movie graphic !!! BUT GAME PLAY is using Super Mario Technology .

    Honestly thinking about selling the Game ... :S
  23. Soules
    Apr 15, 2015
    0
    I give this game a score a zero out of 10.... thats hards to come by for me... and I absolutely love demon souls and dark souls even loved bloodborne! Now what really gives it such a low score is the fact its remastered for next gen when it just came out.... kinda... wierd... but ok.... ill bite.. then the no additional dlc just remastered dlc with some added npcs and bosses... ok ... notI give this game a score a zero out of 10.... thats hards to come by for me... and I absolutely love demon souls and dark souls even loved bloodborne! Now what really gives it such a low score is the fact its remastered for next gen when it just came out.... kinda... wierd... but ok.... ill bite.. then the no additional dlc just remastered dlc with some added npcs and bosses... ok ... not terrible I kinda enjoyed some of the new additions some I thought were stupid like bosses becoming npcs after awhile... kinda silly... but what really broke the rating bar was bugs..... usually games have glitches and bugs.. but darksouls 2 first sin embraces them... and I just find that to be poor design development and coding to be at fault and not an implement of harder difficulty if its a bug its a bug/glitch not something meant to give you a harder time... one such game breaking bug is weapon durability have fun never using the weapon you want in scholars of first sin where your weapons break after just a few hits! the original version of the game is not so bad its more forgiving with weapon durability and after careful research I have found it is indeed a bug....glitch. It was not intended to be apart of the game... weapons are suppose to break but not after 10 swings with any weapon... Im sorry but I find this remake to be in poor taste and not worth any sum of money past 5 dollars the original for ps3 holds for value as it stands as a complete unbroken game with real challenges. If your a masochist though go play scholars of first sin it will not disappoint you in the department of difficulty.. I love hard games but only if they are unbroken and meant to be hard I dont like hard games with game breaking glitches that go in favor of bosses and npc giving them more of a upperhand and you a handicap. Until this weapon durability glitch is fixed I cannot give this game more than a zero.. even with no bugs id give this game a 6-7 out of 10 because of it being copy and pasted to next gen and sold for the price of a new game.. all con artists ....… Expand
  24. thenoobbob
    Aug 5, 2019
    0
    I still dont get how people like this game. Its horrible. Get DS3, DSR or BB. DS2 is a dumpster fire.
  25. Kakashi2
    Oct 30, 2020
    0
    Ah, I really love this game. This title feels a little more like an RPG than the other souls games. This just really meshes well with what I like. I love dual wielding, the new game plus, and just a lot of random little things. DS2 is usually looked at like the black sheep of the souls series, to me though, it's my favorite.
  26. CMS_Caracal
    Nov 16, 2020
    0
    I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE
    MY WIFE LEFT ME, SHE TOOK THE KIDS, I LOST MY JOB, I'M LATE ON BILLS AND I'M ON THE VERGE OF MENTAL BREAKDOWN
    ALL THANKS TO DARK SOULS 2, WHY GOD, OH WHY CAN'T THIS BE A RESKINNED DARK SOULS 1 LIKE DARK SOULS 3 I'M RUNNING OUT OF SOY... W-WHAT WAS THAT?! WHO'S THERE?!?! OH GOD! ENEMIES! NO! I CAN ONLY BACKSTAB CHEESE AND PARRYSPAM, WHY DOESN'T IT WORK?! HOW    I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE
    MY WIFE LEFT ME, SHE TOOK THE KIDS, I LOST MY JOB, I'M LATE ON BILLS AND I'M ON THE VERGE OF MENTAL BREAKDOWN
    ALL THANKS TO DARK SOULS 2, WHY GOD, OH WHY CAN'T THIS BE A RESKINNED DARK SOULS 1 LIKE DARK SOULS 3
    I'M RUNNING OUT OF SOY... W-WHAT WAS THAT?! WHO'S THERE?!?! OH GOD! ENEMIES! NO! I CAN ONLY BACKSTAB CHEESE AND PARRYSPAM, WHY DOESN'T IT WORK?! HOW DID I END UP IN THIS SITUATION?!!? OH GOD WHY CAN'T I JUST SPRINT THROUGH IT?!!? IT'S SO TIRESOME PLAYING A GAME! OH GOD... OH GOD... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  27. JaysonPullen
    Feb 7, 2021
    0
    I have 10k hours plugged into souls games, so I know what I'm talking about. Worst Souls game of the series. Why? Miyazaki did not direct the game. Many errors made in programming that break the game. Soul memory is a great idea that ultimately breaks all PVP and COOP. You can be hit while locked into animations. Stamina is broken. Lock on mechanics is broken. Spells take way too muchI have 10k hours plugged into souls games, so I know what I'm talking about. Worst Souls game of the series. Why? Miyazaki did not direct the game. Many errors made in programming that break the game. Soul memory is a great idea that ultimately breaks all PVP and COOP. You can be hit while locked into animations. Stamina is broken. Lock on mechanics is broken. Spells take way too much stamina. Items break way too easily and cost way too much to repair. Traps are way cheaper in this game versus Miyazaki's much better personal projects. Pharros Lockstones are a stupid system.… Expand
  28. GuardInCharge
    Jan 18, 2021
    1
    Game is the weakest of the Soulsborne games. Its glitchy, poorly concieved, has awful level design, and an even more terrible set of DLCs. The hitboxes are the worst of all the games, the lore is bland and not as connected as DS1 and DS3. The pvp is boring and the changes they made to estus in this game really hurt this game. Do not reccomend, its embarrassing.
  29. NoobnGrelou
    Oct 20, 2021
    2
    the trashiest dark souls ever made dont play this piece of **** ***********
  30. sownheard
    Jul 3, 2020
    3
    I beat the game and I didn't like it.
    I don't get why people praise it so much.
    Yes there is fun lore great music and some good looking levels. However The combat is Monster Hunter dipped in butter enemy's glide around there Axis to track your movement while they take there swings. And after you got them they When a enemy is low to the ground your character can't physically bend over to    I beat the game and I didn't like it.
    I don't get why people praise it so much.
    Yes there is fun lore great music and some good looking levels.
    However

    The combat is Monster Hunter dipped in butter enemy's glide around there Axis to track your movement while they take there swings.
    And after you got them they When a enemy is low to the ground your character can't physically bend over to hit downwards unless locked on (a basic system Zelda figured out In the past)

    When Fighting multiple enemies the camera actively tries to frame only 1 opponent.

    Enemie Ranged attacks have weird tracking that often ghost threw walls.

    The dodge roll is inconsistent.

    The stats are not explained.

    The level design sucks on purpose they wanted the game to be deep and thought-provoking so they decided to not explain why your doing anything and or what your nnext step is.

    The collect your souls mechanic is not fun.
    You can always farm so it's just a waist of time to explore with extra XP.

    Enemy's don't have stamina so while you're forced to fight and think enemies just spam away until You or they die.

    The story is non existent

    The combat is easy when you learn that the weakness of every enemy I'm dark souls is just walking the enemy's right side.
    And only hit one's when it's your turn.

    The game was so boring I fell asleep multiple times playing the game.

    The game would have been a lot better with.
    A better story.
    A more robust combat system.
    Less pompous level design.
    Better explained stat systems.

    Less prepare to die because of luck please.

    DS2 is best summed up in 1 boss in counter.
    4 tiny dogs 1big dog.

    Yes you can win the battle but did you have fun probably not.    … Expand
  31. Dwideshrude1
    May 22, 2022
    1
    Man, I heard this was a bad game. But wow. Didnt know to what level it was. At the beginning of the game and already the jump attack is bugged, doesnt work as designed. Bosses are too easy, getting to the boss is harder than the boss. Level designs are boring. Shrine of Amana is some of the worst game/level design I've seen in my life. Just randomly falling to your death and getting magicMan, I heard this was a bad game. But wow. Didnt know to what level it was. At the beginning of the game and already the jump attack is bugged, doesnt work as designed. Bosses are too easy, getting to the boss is harder than the boss. Level designs are boring. Shrine of Amana is some of the worst game/level design I've seen in my life. Just randomly falling to your death and getting magic spammed, wow FUN. The weapons and armor are unbalanced as hell, I see no reason to use anything other than the Battle axe i got hour 1, which makes the game trivial. Just like. Seriously? Its almost as if the devs never played a video game, nevermind testing their own their own, before designing and releasing this.… Expand
  32. Elitesky
    Jul 28, 2020
    1
    No no and no. This is not it. Sure they made the game harder, but also more stoopid. **** standing stil and drinking estus flask forever, like the whole character pause and the delay is horrid. Idiotic. This was not the case in DS2 or i would definately have reacted. Also nerfed magic to very low in +games. Yeah thx. **** it, shouldnt have bought this ****. I have played DES enjoyed, DS1No no and no. This is not it. Sure they made the game harder, but also more stoopid. **** standing stil and drinking estus flask forever, like the whole character pause and the delay is horrid. Idiotic. This was not the case in DS2 or i would definately have reacted. Also nerfed magic to very low in +games. Yeah thx. **** it, shouldnt have bought this ****. I have played DES enjoyed, DS1 enjoyed and DS2 enjoyed, DS2 was the best, but not DS2SFS. DS2SFS is garbage, totally imballanced. Well this was my last buy from "From software" game. Thats all my money for you folks.… Expand
  33. Joshbottons
    Feb 23, 2021
    0
    By far the worst souls game ever, it literally feels like a fan spin-off that wanted to turn the concept from fun and challenging to straight up unfair. the ADP stat is a JOKE and why would they switch from 360° movement to just 8 direction movement? It feels so archaic and unpractical. The animations are sub-par for a fromsoft game, if you don’t believe me, watch the fat roll animation,By far the worst souls game ever, it literally feels like a fan spin-off that wanted to turn the concept from fun and challenging to straight up unfair. the ADP stat is a JOKE and why would they switch from 360° movement to just 8 direction movement? It feels so archaic and unpractical. The animations are sub-par for a fromsoft game, if you don’t believe me, watch the fat roll animation, most likely the item you’re using will clip in both your body and the floor. While the graphics have some quirks, some places like majula have just too much contrast and light. The fire keeper looks like an anime ripoff of the first game and I’m tired of “SEEK SEEK LEST”.… Expand
  34. Niwrlyss
    Aug 27, 2020
    3
    The lore is not good like first game. You lose life every time you die until reach half. I like to use sword, but the poise of enemies is ridiculous, looks like you're attacking a rock and the enemies don't lose poise. The WORST part of this game is : the Estus flask is useless, you take so many time to use, and sometimes you die because it's very low. The final part, when you run or dodgeThe lore is not good like first game. You lose life every time you die until reach half. I like to use sword, but the poise of enemies is ridiculous, looks like you're attacking a rock and the enemies don't lose poise. The WORST part of this game is : the Estus flask is useless, you take so many time to use, and sometimes you die because it's very low. The final part, when you run or dodge of enemy YOU TAKE DAMAGE because you have to spend your souls in the adaptability if you wanna dodge or use Estus more quickly, and it's SO RIDICULOUS. I love all games of souls, but Dark Souls 2 it's not a good game.… Expand
  35. Daemon20
    Jan 25, 2021
    3
    A failure on all fronts that tries to capture the first game's charm while not understanding what made it great at all. It manages to make the first game's combat unsatisfying and inconsistent, the great level design into big areas filled to the brim with enemies that feel like a slog to get through, the creative memorable clashes with the bosses into little speed-bumps that at best are aA failure on all fronts that tries to capture the first game's charm while not understanding what made it great at all. It manages to make the first game's combat unsatisfying and inconsistent, the great level design into big areas filled to the brim with enemies that feel like a slog to get through, the creative memorable clashes with the bosses into little speed-bumps that at best are a quick little fight and at worse are downright annoying and unfun. There is no semblance of enjoyment or fun up until the DLC, which in itself is very flawed but is drastically better in quality than the rest of the game. This is a sequel to one of the greatest games ever by people who didn't understand how to do it. And the result is catastrophic.… Expand
  36. CnPx98
    Apr 13, 2023
    4
    Dark Souls 2 is easily the worst release that From Software has made. Everything in this game feels so forced. Other titles have been more about a fun game that happens to be hard as Ds2 is more hard for the sake of being hard. Like every action you do there is always an ambush. Every boss mechanic feels so over the top and ridiculous. The hole game can be cheesed with Life stones andDark Souls 2 is easily the worst release that From Software has made. Everything in this game feels so forced. Other titles have been more about a fun game that happens to be hard as Ds2 is more hard for the sake of being hard. Like every action you do there is always an ambush. Every boss mechanic feels so over the top and ridiculous. The hole game can be cheesed with Life stones and Agility. The combat feels clunky and horrible compared to every other From Software game. For example if you swing your sword you are stuck in place for half a second before you can roll. Why? You can tell this wasn't the made team that created this game because it plays more like a cheap imitation. Also the game is actually harder if you use lock on. Honestly if you go against your brain telling you to always use lock on you'll find the game way easier. Which is funny cos that's the opposite of every other from soft game. I can imagine Ds2 being really bad for less experienced souls players as right at the start your fighting ambushes of 10 + enemies. And this is when you likely have a bottom tear weapon. Scholar of the 1st sin should have been a proper reword not just a couple minor improvements and random enemy placements. Apperantly the enemy placements are worse but I've not played the original.… Expand
  37. myilmazbm2
    Mar 21, 2022
    1
    I just finished the game and feel like I wasted my time proving myself to myself. just it. and do not like the game.
  38. GeckoMaBoi
    Jan 11, 2023
    4
    I have completed this game twice and I still don't like it. For some reason every now and then i crave to play it though, only to remember how bad it is.
  39. JesseDillinger
    Jul 31, 2023
    2
    Worst Souls game and it's not even close. Holy **** they just loved putting a billion enemies in tiny locations just to piss you off. This game's whole purpose is made to piss you off. No other Souls game feels that way. They feel like actual good challenging games. This game is awful and hard for the dumbest reasons ever.
  40. HIBBITY
    Mar 1, 2023
    2
    Till this day after many many tries I have yet to feel that spark I felt with every other souls game, I have played and 100% (atleast trophy wise) multiple fromsoft games but till this day this remains the only one I have yet to beat let alone just get through a decent portion. It feels like if you got a fan made dark souls game by people who think the only reason souls games are loved isTill this day after many many tries I have yet to feel that spark I felt with every other souls game, I have played and 100% (atleast trophy wise) multiple fromsoft games but till this day this remains the only one I have yet to beat let alone just get through a decent portion. It feels like if you got a fan made dark souls game by people who think the only reason souls games are loved is because they are difficult. It lacks a true place umong the souls games getting 2 points purely for powerstancing the 1 it deserves.… Expand
  41. DarkAngel-_-Q8
    Jun 26, 2023
    0
    do not waste your time with this piece of crap. it has many bugs and the weirdest hitboxes I have ever seen.

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Best PS4 Game of 2015
24
#24 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
36
#36 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Gaming Nexus
    Jun 23, 2015
    90
    Whether you're new to Dark Souls II or played it on older consoles, Scholar of the First Sin is worth revisiting. This PlayStation 4 collection features the original game, along with the three expansion packs.
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  2. The Digital Fix
    Jun 5, 2015
    90
    Going backwards from Bloodborne feels almost archaic, and it takes some time to settle into that once familiar gameplay. However Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin offers the chance to revisit that still fantastic and familiar world with a slight twist to proceedings and a respectable face lift.
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  3. GameOver.gr
    Jun 2, 2015
    100
    The changes have made this edition slightly more difficult, but the core of the game remains true to the superb game design of the original.
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