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. AdoMobA
    Mar 18, 2023
    7
    Pros
    - solid weapon variety
    - robust build variety - most interesting NG+ changes the series ever had - one of the clearer overall stories within the series Cons - clunky if you don´t know about the DEX stat (seriously read up on it if you are about to play this game) - even knowing about DEX some of the hitboxes are outright bad - the worst overall boss design within the series    Pros
    - solid weapon variety
    - robust build variety
    - most interesting NG+ changes the series ever had
    - one of the clearer overall stories within the series

    Cons
    - clunky if you don´t know about the DEX stat (seriously read up on it if you are about to play this game)
    - even knowing about DEX some of the hitboxes are outright bad
    - the worst overall boss design within the series (over reliance on ganks)
    - map design is less inspired than its predecessor

    As hated as Dark Souls II seems to be in the community, the game is a fine example of an underrated entry within a fantastic franchise. Bunch of the design choices are quite polarizing (the DEX stat, every attribute giving health, the healing system) or outright bad (some of the boss design, hitboxes, overall gankiness of the entire game). However, I genuinely feel like I was undersold on the game which delivers an experience worth it´s asking price. Funny how all the horror stories I heard before playing it made me expect a complete mess, but in the end I got an all right experience. Not as good as the first or third entry but decent by my account. Funny how being underhyped can make you enjoy seemingly mediocre games.    … Expand
  2. SoldierOfGod
    Feb 28, 2023
    7
    I played this game right after playing Dark Souls I Remastered, Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. I prefer to start with the pros:

    PROS Clunky combat (everybody hates it but I like it, it is more realistic) More complex abilities and stats system CONS -The game feels very sober. In dark souls 1 every scenario makes the player feel what the game want the player to feel. Every scenario    I played this game right after playing Dark Souls I Remastered, Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. I prefer to start with the pros:

    PROS
    Clunky combat (everybody hates it but I like it, it is more realistic)
    More complex abilities and stats system

    CONS
    -The game feels very sober. In dark souls 1 every scenario makes the player feel what the game want the player to feel. Every scenario is a form of art and you can "read" the lore in it. On the other hand, in Dark Souls 2 the scenarios are very generic and makes you feel that they are premodeled.
    -The bosses are very similar to each other. About 40% of the bosses are a big man with a shield and a sword. Also, they got no essence and most of times are very easy.
    -Although the bosses use to be easy, the path to the bosses are unfair sometimes. Sometimes the game just set A LOT of enemies and the agro irange is very very big.

    As a game is a 7/10, as a dark souls 4/10    … Expand
  3. aaronnmp96
    Jan 31, 2023
    6
    It doesn't get to be called Dark Souls and surely it would have more note, it shows that Miyazaki was not there.
  4. Ginger_Avenger
    Jan 5, 2023
    7
    (Note: this is the only version I tried - I don't have the earlier PS3 version and I didn't do any of the DLC.) Tried DS 1 and 2 concurrently; beat this one, still have yet to finish DS1. It seems hard to speak of one without mentioning the other. Still, DS1 had a flawless first half, then dipped massively for me. DS2, on the other hand had flaws all over, but I found the controls, combat,(Note: this is the only version I tried - I don't have the earlier PS3 version and I didn't do any of the DLC.) Tried DS 1 and 2 concurrently; beat this one, still have yet to finish DS1. It seems hard to speak of one without mentioning the other. Still, DS1 had a flawless first half, then dipped massively for me. DS2, on the other hand had flaws all over, but I found the controls, combat, and levels to be more enjoyable overall. Everyone has their preferences, right? Both DS 1 and 2 have jank and gank, but, for whatever reason, I enjoyed this one enough to keep playing, whereas I have no desire to pick up DS1 again and try and finish the last few areas (after Anor Londo).… Expand
  5. Gabsiervoo
    Nov 28, 2022
    6
    Despite how much I want to enjoy this game, I just can't bring myself to truly favor DS2 to any of the other From Soft games, as to me, it is genuinely the weakest overall, and lacks in what a lot of the other games shine in.
    Firstly the combat. This is usually the main factor that really makes souls games fun for me, and here it just feels lacking. DS2's combat feels significantly slower    Despite how much I want to enjoy this game, I just can't bring myself to truly favor DS2 to any of the other From Soft games, as to me, it is genuinely the weakest overall, and lacks in what a lot of the other games shine in.
    Firstly the combat. This is usually the main factor that really makes souls games fun for me, and here it just feels lacking. DS2's combat feels significantly slower and clunkier than in any of the other souls games. Animations often look rigid and stiff, and your attacks (even the fast ones) can sometimes feel too slow. This is emphasized even more so when you run a strength build like I did with a greatsword, with which I often felt overpowered and lacking in skill, since the weapon crushed every enemy nearly instantly, but still couldn't save me from getting hit nearly constantly.
    To compliment my earlier criticism of feeling overpowered, this game has no real sense of order, as I often struggled to find out the order that I should go in, since some areas always felt too easy, and others too difficult, so I usually just gave up on trying and just checked wikis to see what areas fit my level.
    However, this isn't to say that the game is terrible. It isn't. DS2 has a massive world to explore and a crap ton of bosses and enemies to discover, many of which are very well hidden, which is something I can always applaud a company for doing, prioritizing the more dedicated players.
    In conclusion though, this is a half decent game, but a pretty bad souls game, even more so if this is your first entry in the series. Other entries usually bring similar difficulty with a lot less of the frustrations of DS2. Plus, FromSoft has such a huge catalogue these days that it's hard to really consider playing this game over any of the others.    … Expand
  6. Valkillmore
    Nov 5, 2022
    5
    What a piece of **** the only redeeming thing about this game is the lore that Miyazaki cintributed.
  7. ZangBang
    Oct 24, 2022
    6
    65/100
    Dark Souls 2's map of Drangleic aims to be as structurally cohesive as Lordran, but ultimately lacks that same level of ingenious interconnectivity that made DS1's journey so engrossing. The branching pathways leading to the various corners of the world rarely intertwine, with a mostly streamlined progression that often halts exploration with awkward progression gating requiring a    65/100
    Dark Souls 2's map of Drangleic aims to be as structurally cohesive as Lordran, but ultimately lacks that same level of ingenious interconnectivity that made DS1's journey so engrossing. The branching pathways leading to the various corners of the world rarely intertwine, with a mostly streamlined progression that often halts exploration with awkward progression gating requiring a single resource, which makes the experience's flow much more jagged and tedious. Even the historical background of the kingdom of Drangleic seems to have less care put into it, with some areas not making geographical sense in relation to their position and extremely few meaningful NPC storylines to witness. Nonetheless, even after all of this, the Level Design itself within each zone can still be extremely engaging, even surpassing DS1 a couple of times, with a solid artistic direction that soaks the ambience in a gloomy melancholy, areas developing horizontally and vertically on multiple layers, hidden paths, environmental hazards and interactivity, and interesting enemy placements that challenge the player to master their reflexes and adapt to their surroundings in interesting ways, especially in the wonderful DLC areas. The variety might not be on par with DS1, but it's still excellent and elevated by a strong enemy variety. Just like in Lordran, the creatures inhabiting Drangelic are extremely aggressive and quick but have clear attack patterns with manageable timeframes, providing a fair, edifying challenge. The main issue is that DS2 has an unhealthy tendency of throwing multiple powerful enemies at the player at once, even when said enemy types don't mesh well together, leading to extremely frustrating, unfairly difficult scenarios, where the player has no choice but to awkwardly exploit the AI's aggro field. These instances do not occur so much that they ruin the entire experience, but frequently enough to make it significantly less fun, also because of a lesser combo variety when compared to DS1. Bosses are the biggest failure of the game, most of them are of significantly lesser quality than DS1 with simple attack patterns and extremely limited movesets, challenging but rarely truly engaging. This is true only for the base game though, as the DLC bosses are dramatically better, with interesting unique gimmicks, tight fast movesets and variegated attack patterns requiring different strategies and approaches.    … Expand
  8. m3ny0
    Oct 14, 2022
    7
    Eu comecei Dark Souls 2 com muita expectativa. Lembro que já sabia da fama dele ser o pior da trilogia, e até já estava com o 3 na prateleira, mas, ainda assim, era algo que eu tinha que testar por mim mesmo.
    Bem, não foi lá essas coisas, mas não foi de completo ruim também.
    A atmosfera e história confusa do primeiro jogo continuam, mas algumas coisas chatas foram adicionadas. A primeira    Eu comecei Dark Souls 2 com muita expectativa. Lembro que já sabia da fama dele ser o pior da trilogia, e até já estava com o 3 na prateleira, mas, ainda assim, era algo que eu tinha que testar por mim mesmo.
    Bem, não foi lá essas coisas, mas não foi de completo ruim também.
    A atmosfera e história confusa do primeiro jogo continuam, mas algumas coisas chatas foram adicionadas. A primeira delas é o estado de decaimento (ou hollow) em que você perde uma parte da sua vida depois que morre (e continua perdendo se continuar morrendo). Não é nem preciso dizer o quão ruim isso é, mas, além da clara desvantagem que você irá ter por ter menos vida, isso também bloqueia o uso das funções online que o jogo disponibiliza. Então, não basta dificultar, você ainda precisa lidar com os problemas sozinho.
    Outra questão é seu elixir de cura (estus flask), que tem o maior tempo de uso em toda franquia. Inclusive é uma piada recorrente como seu personagem leva todo o tempo do mundo para apreciar o drink. Certas mecânicas como as tochas, que agora são limitadas por tempo, podem parecer horríveis no começo, mas logo não fazem tanta diferença. Para comparação, no final do jogo eu tinha mais de doze horas de uso da tocha livres.
    O jogo é bonito, os inimigos são meio chatos na maioria, e eu particularmente não gostei de nenhum além dos outros, mas é algo aceitável. Os personagens não jogáveis são interessantes, em sua maioria. Tem gente muito chata no meio, mas nada que um pequeno homicídio culposo sem a intenção de matar não resolva.
    No geral eu gostei da aventura, salvo um ponto específico que eu iriei comentar mais abaixo, e acho que foi tempo bem gasto.
    Lembro de começar o jogo e ficar horas chateado por não ter uma arma descente. Acontece que o meu personagem começou com uma espada quebrada, e você não ganha uma espada até muito depois da cidade principal, e isso me deixou muito preocupado por muito tempo, especificamente por conta da fama de sempre ter um inimigo na próxima esquina. Eventualmente eu comprei um machado que usei a maior parte do jogo, até trocar por um espadão e, logo depois de eu descobrir da sua existência, uma PICARETA.
    Sim, minha arma principal era uma picareta. Reforçada sem temperos.
    Minha roupa era uma bonita da qual eu gostei da combinação de atributos: torso e calças do Looking Glass Knight, máscara do Lost Sinner e braçadeiras que me davam uma pequena chance de acerto crítico. Fashion Souls o possível.
    Tudo muito bem, muito bom, até chegar ao ponto que prolongou o tempo de término desse jogo em quase um ano: para efetivamente zerar o jogo você precisar jogar ele inteiramente TRÊS VEZES.
    Não uma, não duas, três vezes. Inteiro.
    Além disso, também há umas certas magias que requerem você interagir online cerca de cinquenta vezes.
    Eu só interagi efetivamente online uma vez. Um cara apareceu no meu mundo enquanto eu havia deixado o jogo aberto para jantar, quando eu voltei havia um monte de brilhos de moeda ao meu redor e uma arma legal. Muito obrigado, estranho.
    Para ir contra essa interação excessiva, que inclui tanto ajudar pessoas quanto matar as pessoas invadindo seus mundos, você pode simplesmente matar certos inimigos um quintilhão de vezes e esperar que eles tenham o item necessário para trocar pela tal magia.
    Sinceramente, zerar Dark Souls não é difícil, é chato e demorado.    … Expand
  9. BobsityJonesity
    Aug 20, 2022
    7
    A pretty good game that suffers from some really strange mechanical and design flaws which drag down what could have been a better game than the original. The game is bloated with bosses with a notable decrease in quality. Level design is near unbearable in certain places and makes the game downright unfun at moments. Even the DLCs are a noticeable decrease in quality compared to theA pretty good game that suffers from some really strange mechanical and design flaws which drag down what could have been a better game than the original. The game is bloated with bosses with a notable decrease in quality. Level design is near unbearable in certain places and makes the game downright unfun at moments. Even the DLCs are a noticeable decrease in quality compared to the originals, despite them still being some of the better moments of the game. The main thing that keeps dark souls 2 from being a worse game is the fact that it is built on an already sturdy foundation that the original dark laid out.… Expand
  10. Svetlendrius
    Jul 30, 2022
    7
    Вторая часть отличной серии хардкорных игр в сеттинге темного фэнтези, которая в чем-то уступает первой части, а в чем-то превосходит.
    Игра всё также наполнена отличной боевкой, сеттингом и замечательным саундтреком. Однако в некоторых аспектах игра отличается от первой части.
    Потеряла игра в аспектах лора и проработки дизайна и уникальности боссов, несмотря на то, что их много    Вторая часть отличной серии хардкорных игр в сеттинге темного фэнтези, которая в чем-то уступает первой части, а в чем-то превосходит.
    Игра всё также наполнена отличной боевкой, сеттингом и замечательным саундтреком. Однако в некоторых аспектах игра отличается от первой части.
    Потеряла игра в аспектах лора и проработки дизайна и уникальности боссов, несмотря на то, что их много большинство представляют собой несколько противников гуманоидов, Также негативными аспектами игры показались добавление механики потери максимального хп при смерти и более низкая общая сложность.
    Некоторые аспекты связанные с балансом, искусственным усложнение стали лучше, например расположение и принцип работы костров стал намного лучше. Также боевка стала немного быстрее и бодрее в прохождении из-за меньшего количества душных локаций.
    В итоге игра по сравнению с первой частью потеряла некоторые хорошие моменты, но в то же время стала более удобной и интуитивной в прохождении.    … Expand
  11. middle324
    Jun 15, 2022
    5
    I think the whole Series it's just difficult and nothing more
    yeah I know universality is good but not worth my while
    if you have not played it yet, I don't recommend
  12. martinho_99
    Mar 3, 2022
    5
    Sadly it is true that it fails to live up to the greatness of Dark Souls 1. There are many many problems and too less improvements (or even backsteps). The level design is very bad and the bosses and enemies are uninspired. The genius of Miyazaki is missing everywhere - from lore, to world design, to gameplay and boss fights.
  13. Dewom
    Apr 5, 2022
    6
    No puedo darle más. Sus positivos se ven muy eclipsados con los negativos. La mejor manera en la que lo puedo describir, es que es un juego que he intentado rejugar multiples veces (aparte de las 2 runs iniciales que realicé) y nunca he podido. El movimiento del personaje se siente fatal, el juego está muy poco balanceado y creo que es el souls con peor diseño de personajes y enemigos conNo puedo darle más. Sus positivos se ven muy eclipsados con los negativos. La mejor manera en la que lo puedo describir, es que es un juego que he intentado rejugar multiples veces (aparte de las 2 runs iniciales que realicé) y nunca he podido. El movimiento del personaje se siente fatal, el juego está muy poco balanceado y creo que es el souls con peor diseño de personajes y enemigos con diferencia.… Expand
  14. FuriousAegon
    Mar 28, 2022
    7
    After revisiting and finally completing this game with all DLC’s , I must say that I’ve was wrong about this game, this game is not trash.It is the worst FromSoft game since Demons Soul’s, but it is not a bad game.
    Of course there a lot of obvious minuses in this game such as THE WORST HITBOXES I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE ; Graphics ; a lot of filler-trash bosses (Skeleton Lords,    After revisiting and finally completing this game with all DLC’s , I must say that I’ve was wrong about this game, this game is not trash.It is the worst FromSoft game since Demons Soul’s, but it is not a bad game.
    Of course there a lot of obvious minuses in this game such as THE WORST HITBOXES I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE ; Graphics ; a lot of filler-trash bosses (Skeleton Lords, Magus and congregation, Covetous Demon, Royal Rat Vanguard and Royal Rat Authority and such ) ; really strange Lore that can be barely connected with other Dark Souls games ; in most locations there’s a awful level-design.
    But there things that I’ve enjoyed in this game like DLC bosses ( Fume Knight, Sir Allone, Burnt Ivory King ) are the best bosses in the game.Some locations of the game are really good like- Aldias Keep, Brume Tower, Frozen Eleum Loyce, Dragon Shrine, Majula, Drangleic Castle.Also I really enjoyed the Memories Of Giants thing in this game, when u teleport to the past and you see the war between Vendricks Army and Giants, you witness the actual fights between giants and knights of Drangleic.Also there a few bosses that are really challenging for example: Red and Blue Smelter Demons, Fume Kinght, Sir Allone, Darklurker, Ancient Dragon and Ivory King.Some are just good like Pursuer,Velstadt and Ornstein.These bosses are «Diamonds in this Bunch of sh*t called Dark Souls 2 bosses»
    DLC’s are good, except Crown of the Sunken King, I didn’t enjoyed it at all, I didn’t enjoyed all bosses and locations are trash in this DLC.But Crown of Ivory/Iron King really impressed me with good locations and really good bosses ( except Blue Smelter Demon ).
    In the end I must say that this game is worth playing for fans of FromSoft, but people who just enjoyed DS3 or Bloodborne , in most cases wouldn’t like this game, in my first visit to this game I didn’t like and dropped it , in the second I didn’t like it and dropped it; in the third I’ve got a motivation to complete the last FromSoft game since DeS and fight Fume Knight and Allone, and I kinda liked it.
    7/10    … Expand
  15. QilBoy
    Mar 13, 2022
    6
    The fanbase has been really harsh on the second chapter of the Dark Souls series, and although the hatred might have been warranted for the original release, the Scholar of the first Sin edition offers an experience that is of undeniably good quality, much more than most videogames out today.
    First off, the game introduces a new healing method: lifegems. Lifegems can be purchased, unlike    The fanbase has been really harsh on the second chapter of the Dark Souls series, and although the hatred might have been warranted for the original release, the Scholar of the first Sin edition offers an experience that is of undeniably good quality, much more than most videogames out today.
    First off, the game introduces a new healing method: lifegems. Lifegems can be purchased, unlike Estus Flasks, and can be utilized while moving, unlike Flasks, but they replenish HP in a much slower fashion. So, by spending souls the player acquires a new interesting alternative, which doesnt break the balance of the game since they cost an appropriate amount of money. This adds a welcome element of resource management to the experience: do I spend souls on useful Lifegems right now or do I keep these souls for a level up later?
    Another addition is the possibility to fast-travel between bonfires since the very beginning of the game. This has its pros and cons. On the positive side, this is an obvious quality of life improvement: the player doesnt need to walk long stretches of land to reach a certain place, ever. On the negative side this removes the feeling of a grounded, harduous journey that the first game successfully delivered. In the first game the absence of a fast-travel made going back and forth from certain places a little tedious, but it added to the feel of journey and wasnt that big of a deal since the world was so masterfully interconnected that it didnt take THAT long to traverse it.
    This leads us to realize a slightly depressing fact: DS2 NEEDS immediate fast-travel also because of that very same principle: it doesnt have a world that is as carefully interconnected as the world of the first game. Drangleic, the world where DS2 takes place, is much more structurally linear and bland than Lordran was, and generally has less care put into its worldbuilding, both narratively (a lot less character sidequests) and geographically (the location of some areas straight up does not make sense in relation to the environment). The same can sadly be said for the Level Design itself: areas are a little less fun and satisfying to explore than they were in DS1. The first game presented the player with so many different caves, maze-like labyrinths and sprawling open areas, whereas DS2 offers mostly linear halls, somewhat barren villages and bland dungeons. There ARE pleasant exceptions, mostly in the DLC areas, where the quality rises suddenly, but they are the minority.
    The real problem with DS2's level design isnt the structure of levels themselves, though, since they still provide an appreciable amount of variety and creativity. The real issue lies in the enemy placements. DS1 presented the player with challenging but almost always fair scenarios and fights, where even if outnumbered, with enough adaptability and reflexes the player could come out of it unscathed. This game frequently forgets the importance of keeping these fights, where the player is outnumbered, fair and balanced, and often throws at the player an insane amount of foes to face all at the same time. The only way to safely deal with these ambushes is by tediously exploiting ranged attacks, or exploiting the enemies' aggro, abruptly breaking the flow of battle and immersion. These unfair ambushes happen a little too often, leaving an annoying mark on the experience.
    The Bosses are quite a letdown too: the overwhelming majority of them are disappointingly simple, mediocre fights, with very predictable movesets and little strategy required. A few of them are great duels, but not as great as the best Bosses of DS1, which are still unparalleled. More than a few of them are exceptionally boring or unfair at times (mostly due to unprecise hitboxes), but never as bad as the worst Bosses of DS1, LUCKILY still unparalleled. So, both for good and bad, DS2 cant replicate the DS1 Bosses experience, settling for a functional but mediocre array of fights.
    And yet, even after all these flaws and shortcomings, DS2 still offers an exciting, addicting adventure. This is a testament of the quality of the Souls series' core formula: still capable of hooking the player with a deeply satisfying mesh of exploration and fighting, even after these imperfections and worsenings in game design, when compared to the first game.
    Or, in other words: Dark Souls 2 still retains that exciting sense of adventure and still conveys the dreadful atomsphere of exploring an old ruined land, still provides that rush when overcoming a challenging encounter with a group of enemies or a tough boss and still offers the relief of reaching a bonfire after getting lost in a dangerous maze full of monsters, all in an exciting heterogeneous quest into the unknown. But for the most part it simply lacks the ingenious, expertly crafted level design and thrilling boss design of the first game, resulting in a noticeably worse package overall.    … Expand
  16. Taulf
    Feb 24, 2022
    7
    Eu gosto bastante de todos os jogos da from , dark souls 2 sofreu bastante criticas dos fans mas pra mim ele está no mesmo nivel que os outros jogos da from ele é muito divertido , mas ele é um jogo muito bom também e o multiplayer dele pra mim é um dos melhores que tivemos na saga souls!!
  17. stringofsoul
    Feb 23, 2022
    5
    как по мне -жалкая поделка на предыдущий проект
    ужасный свет
    ужасный у***ный параметр адаптивность локации не впечатляют-если не учитывать длц история очень локальная-не ощущаешь глобальных проблем мира босы такое себе дракон прикольный ,но бить по лапе скажем такое себе развлечение    как по мне -жалкая поделка на предыдущий проект
    ужасный свет
    ужасный у***ный параметр адаптивность
    локации не впечатляют-если не учитывать длц
    история очень локальная-не ощущаешь глобальных проблем мира
    босы такое себе
    дракон прикольный ,но бить по лапе скажем такое себе развлечение
  18. chernandez31
    Feb 22, 2022
    7
    Nope, don’t listen to those who think it’s cool saying this is the best one in the series. It’s pretty damn good, but not great. Too inferior in many aspects to the other entries in the Fromsoftware games.
  19. joel_tdl
    Jan 25, 2022
    6
    Peor que DS1

    JUGABILIDAD: Inicialmente es torpe a más no poder; con una estructura de movimientos pesada y lenta, pero por suerte en este titulo tenemos un atributo que, al mejorarlo, mejora notoriamente la jugabilidad. Llegado un punto habremos mejorado lo suficiente como para tener un juego fluido, ágil y rápido, y habiendo yo elegido potenciar la Destreza, esto era indispensable.    Peor que DS1

    JUGABILIDAD:
    Inicialmente es torpe a más no poder; con una estructura de movimientos pesada y lenta, pero por suerte en este titulo tenemos un atributo que, al mejorarlo, mejora notoriamente la jugabilidad. Llegado un punto habremos mejorado lo suficiente como para tener un juego fluido, ágil y rápido, y habiendo yo elegido potenciar la Destreza, esto era indispensable.
    En ésta nueva entrega no tenemos la ya famosa dificultad artificial llevada a cabo por problemas en la cámara (que de hecho funciona bien, y no se "atora" como en DS1), y carece también de los típicos agujeros discretos que no puedes ver sino hasta que caes y mueres en ellos, lo cual es un acierto. Pero, sí que agrega dificultad artificial de otra forma: decenas de enemigos apostados juntos en un área pequeña, más otros tantos que disparan desde zonas altas.

    La conexión de escenarios tampoco está tan bien lograda como en su antecesor, de hecho es un poco "rara", y el fallido intento de simular un juego de mundo abierto más bien hace que sea poco intuitivo el qué hacer y dónde hacerlo.
    Los jefes no son tan injustos como en el titulo previo, pero tampoco son buenos. De hecho no hubo uno solo que me sorprendiera o me quitara el aliento a causa de la sensación de enfrentarlo, son poco interesantes y relativamente más sencillos.

    ¿Las invasiones? molestas, como siempre.

    GRÁFICOS:
    Con la cinemática inicial pensé que estaba ante un titulo a la altura, es buenísima. Tristemente no hay nada de eso en el juego. Y no hablo solamente de los escenarios en sí (que realmente no esperaba nada de un titulo de FS), pero es que no hay cinemáticas suficientes, ni siquiera todo los jefes tienen una, y los pocos que sí son mas bien decepcionantes. Una dirección de arte totalmente desperdiciada. Una pena.

    SONIDO:
    A diferencia de Dark, Demon's y Bloodborne, éste es muy plano, bajo e igualmente decepcionante. No hubo una sola pieza que, para mi, sea digna de mención. La banda sonora es pobre, así como el trabajo de voces, y los efectos especiales son mas molestos que otra cosa.
    Junto con la triste dirección de arte, Dark Souls 2 SOTFS es un trabajo audiovisual poco mas que desdichado.

    INNOVACIÓN:
    El sistema de antorchas me pareció bastante novedoso, pero se ve muy desperdiciado y limitado. No quita que sea un buen cambio a lo que se nos tiene acostumbrados. La inclusión de la adaptabilidad también es digna de mención y, como ya mencioné, se agradece mucho a la hora de jugar.
    Fuera de eso... otro Souls copy-paste. Para mal.    … Expand
  20. UrbanEelf
    Jan 17, 2022
    5
    nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnno0ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
  21. LeonKn
    May 26, 2021
    6
    This game is okay but nothing like the groundbreaking first entry. One of the things I liked the most in DS1 was the architecture and world building. Everything was connected and it felt really good exploring and finding shortcuts back to areas you had been before. The world building in Dark Souls 2 is a complete mess.. Nothing makes sense, in one area you even take an elevator a long wayThis game is okay but nothing like the groundbreaking first entry. One of the things I liked the most in DS1 was the architecture and world building. Everything was connected and it felt really good exploring and finding shortcuts back to areas you had been before. The world building in Dark Souls 2 is a complete mess.. Nothing makes sense, in one area you even take an elevator a long way down from sea level and end up at another shore at sea level. World building aside, the gameplay and levelling system is fun and challenging as expected in a souls game, but the bosses are a lot easier than ds1 and very forgettable, there is also way too many of them in my opinion. They chose quantity over quality with the bosses in this game and that's a shame.
    I think overall they should have made this game shorter. Don't let this be your first souls game but if you're already a fan of the series you should check it out and you will probably enjoy it for what it is.    … Expand
  22. Ange5205
    May 16, 2021
    6
    Dark Souls 2 es el ultimo en mi lista del mejor al peor Souls, el problema con este es que lo senti muchisimo mas sencillo que el 1, 3 o hasta el Demon Souls, hay muy pocos escenarios con buen detalle como lo pueden ser Majula que el fondo las estructuras y el diseño del mar se ven espectaculares, pero la mayoría del juego solo entraremos a salas donde no hay casi nada que le de vida, sonDark Souls 2 es el ultimo en mi lista del mejor al peor Souls, el problema con este es que lo senti muchisimo mas sencillo que el 1, 3 o hasta el Demon Souls, hay muy pocos escenarios con buen detalle como lo pueden ser Majula que el fondo las estructuras y el diseño del mar se ven espectaculares, pero la mayoría del juego solo entraremos a salas donde no hay casi nada que le de vida, son salas vacias con quizas algun jarron o silla por ahi sin nada que te detenga un instante a admirar la dedicación del equipo desarrollador, sin mencionar el interconectado de niveles que es fatal, los que ya jugaron el juego sabrán perfectamente porque, hay muy pocos jefes que de verdad son desafiantes, y el tracking de los enemigos que te ven a 2km de distancia y no se detendran de perseguirte por mas que te alejes. Claro donde hay cosas malas tambien hay una que otra buena y es por eso que no le doy una nota mas baja, debido al uso de los stats como la implementación de un stat que afecte directamente tus frames de invulnerabilidad al rodar y la velocidad de tomarte un frasco de estus, que puede ser bien implementando en un próximo juego de From Software.… Expand
  23. Dom007
    Mar 28, 2021
    6
    This is by far the more inferior version of DS2. There are hardly any improvements on the game outside of graphics and the game is just BS. Stupid enemy placements, stupid stone statue placements and infuriating run backs make this version so frustrating in a bad way. The PS3 version of SOTFS is far better.
  24. JD1872
    Feb 5, 2021
    5
    On a positive note it follows the same overall theme as the other from software games, there is always something very satisfying about the level up progressions and beating bosses but it falls well short of the other games especially DS3 and Bloodborne.

    The game just feels very clumsy and uncontrollable but the worst thing is the slow healing and the ridiculous hit boxes where you can    On a positive note it follows the same overall theme as the other from software games, there is always something very satisfying about the level up progressions and beating bosses but it falls well short of the other games especially DS3 and Bloodborne.

    The game just feels very clumsy and uncontrollable but the worst thing is the slow healing and the ridiculous hit boxes where you can dodge perfectly and still get hit. The level designs are also very poor and unsatisfying, every level if full of ambushes and constant sniping.

    There are very few if any memorable bosses and some ridiculously weak ones. it is also very difficult to work out where you are supposed to go without looking at guides.

    Worth playing through just because the other FS games are so good but this is a major disappointment compared to their other games. You would think when they remastered it they would have fixed more of the major issues    … Expand
  25. Arya977
    Dec 31, 2020
    6
    Gameplay............Mediocre
    Graphics..............Mediocre
    Score....................Good
  26. Marsbarista
    Dec 20, 2020
    5
    Dark Souls II is definitely the worst of the Soulsborne series, without reservation. It has nice environments and ultimately it is still a From Software experience, however it tries a few different things that don't work especially well. The feel of the game is slightly off as well and it is quite janky. There are lots of people who will defend the combat system to the ends of the earth,Dark Souls II is definitely the worst of the Soulsborne series, without reservation. It has nice environments and ultimately it is still a From Software experience, however it tries a few different things that don't work especially well. The feel of the game is slightly off as well and it is quite janky. There are lots of people who will defend the combat system to the ends of the earth, but for me, I just don't see it. It doesn't work well, it doesn't feel good, and it's not exactly enjoyable. I am willing to give a game a lot of time and forgiveness for that stuff if other things work, but DS II just doesn't pull through enough in the areas where it does work to really win me over. It's not a bad game, but comparing it to the others, it definitely rests at the bottom for me. Worst of all, the bosses are really underwhelming and repetitive. Repetitive bosses are a common complaint for DS II, and in this case I think it is warranted. Maybe, and this is a big maybe, if you can divorce DS II, as an experience, away from the others in the series it could be judged more on its own merits. Maybe. I personally find that difficult to do. Lots of people do seem to love it though, so power to them.… Expand
  27. RoninNinjaXL
    Sep 18, 2020
    6
    THIS AIN'T A DARK SOULS GAME

    Story: 6
    Gameplay: 5
    ost: 8
    Characters: 8
  28. Manzanetti
    Aug 10, 2020
    7
    Didn't play the vanilla version, but came here after having completed DS:R, DS3, Bloodborne and Sekiro. Felt like the worst from FROM, uninspired, but with some cool mechanics. Enjoyed it overall, but doesn't keep up with it's brothers.
  29. Ruzaky
    Aug 6, 2020
    7
    I Love Ds 1 and Bloodborne and even some time after release i learn to love ds 3. But Ds 2 is just worst out of other Fromsoftware games. You can really see that something happened during development. Levels feels unfinished, enemy placement even in this new version seems odd. Movement is strange. But even like that its good game. Just much worse then other
  30. Fuyunii
    Jun 28, 2020
    5
    I'm giving this game 5 simply because it brings DS2 on PS4, and because of the sheer amount of content that makes this the longest game in the series. Here are the good things, and the bad things in DS2 SOFTS:
    >The Good
    -Magic. The sheer amount of different spells throughout the game, many of which have been reproposed in DS3 makes magic builds very strong and viable, if one is willing    I'm giving this game 5 simply because it brings DS2 on PS4, and because of the sheer amount of content that makes this the longest game in the series. Here are the good things, and the bad things in DS2 SOFTS:
    >The Good
    -Magic. The sheer amount of different spells throughout the game, many of which have been reproposed in DS3 makes magic builds very strong and viable, if one is willing to commit and study on those. They're also the highest damaging things in the game, so one should REALLY slap some magic in their build, at some point.
    -Power stance. This thing is stupid strong, with any possible combo it procs it's INSANE. Double rapier is still a mindless combo that basically kills everything.
    -PVP. I'm not a fan of PVP, but DS2 has the best PVP in the series hands down.
    -Graphics? It looks... better than DS1, that's that.
    -DLCs. Since this is a review for SOFTS, you have all 3 DLCs. They're all ok, and their bosses highlight some of the best moments of the game.
    -Respec system. It was a very nice addition that got carried over to DS3, albeit much more difficult to find, and much more restrictive. Still, in DS2 it allows you to very easily change your playstyle on the fly, so that you may experiment a little bit.

    >The Bad
    -Wrong difficulty. This will be a little longer as a point, but here's why I dislike DS2's difficulty. Most of it is VERY artificial. It's not about learning enemy patterns as much as it's "kill this mass of mobs before they corner me". It's simply not fun when 3 armored turtles all aggro you simultaneously. It's not fun if 5 hollows corner you on a broken, narrow path where falling means dying. It's not fun when 4 enemies who poison me all simultaneously aggro me while trying to stroll. It's not fun when magic caster enemies aggro from WAY farther than I can lock on while I'm trying to not drown. The game relies WAY too much on gangs of enemies and even bosses, such as Sentinels of Ruin, or Bell Gargoyles. It's not about being good at the game, it's about painfully and desperately trying to bottleneck the enemies in areas where you can't even do that. And let's not even talk about how **** the lack of i-frames during fog gates, until you effectively cross them you're at the mercy of enemies. This is further exacerbated by:
    -Hollowness. This HEAVILY reminds me of DeS, except in DeS you died once and that was it, you're now stuck with your soul form. Luckily, as in DeS, there's a ring that limits how much health you lose, so this gets almost a pass.
    -Limited respawns, & Champions covenant. Since this game really doesn't like explaining things, chances are once in Majula, you may join the Champions covenant: which literally makes enemies harder to kill, and easier for you to die. This however mitigates the painful thing in DS2 that after 12 times you kill an enemy it stops respawning, effectively capping the maximum number of souls naturally present in the game.
    -Soul Memory. Who thought this was a good idea? It makes coop needlessly annoying, and while I get it's supposed to counter the bad twink invasions in DS1, all it does is make the game even harder to play online (and you can't default the game to launch offline, by the way). Furthermore, the fact that souls that you lose by not retrieving them still add up to the count of your Soul Memory, which... doesn't make much sense to me.
    -Level design. It's just... a jumble of different areas all slammed together and that don't even connect that well. Case in point: you take an elevator going UPWARDS in the central tower of Earthen Peak, which is between the mountains just under a cloudy sky. You step out and you're in Iron Keep, an iron fortress collapsed in a huge lake of molten lava. What? I thought we were just... going up in a tower?
    -Questionable hitboxes. This game has the WORST hitbox detection I have EVER seen. Thrust weapons have the worst tracking ever, and you're VERY likely to miss, ESPECIALLY after a roll, with your character not properly aligning themselves to the enemy, but just hitting in the direction they just rolled. And sometimes i-frames work poorly, and more often than not you get hit from an attack while rolling with no vfx or sfx, you simply lose HP. Bosses also have some absurd lingering hitboxes as well, making rolling incredibly painful.
    -Slow healing. Estus flask starts from one use which is questionable in and of itself, and you have to find rare estus shards to upgrade those number of uses, and even then the healing is SUPER slow. Life gems, this game's version of DeS grass basically, heal even SLOWER. This makes getting hit unbearably punishing, as you not only need to find the right timing to use the item, but also to fill your HP.
    -Agility. This stat is bogus, as it directly determines your i-frames, and the speed at which you use items. It's basically a stat you're forced to upgrade if you want to have the slightest chance at surviving.    … Expand
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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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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