Visions of hope... but skeleton.

I still don't understand how people consider DS2(and SotFS) to be the worst out of Souls games. There are so many things this game has done better than the first one and third combined. Of course I'm not saying it's purely perfect - it has it's flaws like all of the Souls games.

But if you look at number of pros&cons you'll see that this game is definitely worth both your time and money.

Gameplay wise the game changed only slightly compared to DS1. The equip load, addition of agility stat(impacting rolling and dodging) weapon upgrading. Combat/exploration wise it's still good ol' Dark Souls. I can not go forward without complaining though - the world has lost some of it's original shine. The locations aren't as interconnected as they used to be, also some of them feel just linear as hell - you basically go from A to B(Aldia's Keep, Shrine of ENDLESS ♥♥♥♥ERY?!). There's definitely a positive I've found both here and in Dark Souls 3 - choice of weapons. Unlike Dark Souls 1, you get way, way, way more gear, both offensive and defensive. Same applies to spells. As a collector that's a real +++ for me, I love to have a variety of gear to choose from, rather than using one weapon through the whole game(unless it's a Chaos ♥♥♥♥ing Zweihander +5, that stuff is G O D T I E R). As we are on the topic of weapons, powerstance definitely is a great addition to the game's mechanic. Basically - if you have 2 weapons and meet 150% of their requirements, you may activate a special stance that changes your moveset to slightly favoring dual wield. It may increase your damage output, but about 20% of the time you won't be happy with the results. I personally recommend dual halberds or dual ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Swords.

Graphic wise, this game is still beautiful. Locations like Dragon Aerie or Eleum Loyce still make me ♥♥♥♥♥♥ic. You know what is the best? That it's optimisation is so good, that on a laptop one would consider crap, this gamr after tuning down slightly runs at 60 fps all the time while still looking good. At least one PC Souls release that was made better than any other.

Music...I'm kinda disappointed here honestly. I like soundtrack from DS2, but I will honestly say that it's not even half an inch as good as Bloodborne's or DkS1's. Music just sounds pretty much... I don't even know. It just didn't drill my ear as much as other Souls games. I can honestly tell that I could play through DkS 2 with music turned down/off and would not notice a difference.

Online! 100% way...erm...better...I dunno.
But seriously - from one point of view they fixed a lot of problems related to connectivity and stability of online features, both in PvP and PvE. There is the other side though - Soul Memory. We all know how much this system sucks. It basically counts all your souls(both spent, lost, overall all you've gained) and matches you with people at similiar tier. Everything would be nice, except for the fact that while my friend got all 4 great souls he was at 800k and I was at about 1,2mln due to obscene ammount of co-op I've done.

All in all this game is a strong 9/10, and we should all be glad to FromSoft for this title. It's as addictive as all of the Souls games and has an amazing community.

Tl;Dr 9/10 would get rekt by Fume again. Git gut fggts.

You wanna appreciate life?

Try this game. Dark Souls 3 is just a fun walk compared to this one.

Improved and more difficult version of "DARK SOULS ™ II". If you liked the previous game, you'll like this.

You are of the undead. An auger of darkness and the Bearer of the Curse. An unfortunate lost soul branded with the Darksign; a curse that robs you of your rightful death and will one day ensure your bleak future as a mindless, shambling 'hollow' being.

The Darksign forces you to wander the land seeking souls; a source of raw life that every living being covets and the fuel that will keep you from going hollow just a little bit longer for you to try and rid yourself of this curse.

The memories of your former life have all since melted away and it is now that an irresistible urge has drawn you to a mysterious land called Drangleic; a place that has long since been destroyed by the undead curse, but a place rife with many powerful souls for a warrior brave enough to claim them.

Dark Souls II may be set in a totally new environment with a (mostly) separate story, but anyone who has played the prequel will feel right at home during the opening sixty minutes of play.

The intuitive combat still has that weighty feel to it, enemies still aggressively attack in packs and you're given very little guidance on where to go other than the subtle hint of "seek the king". The graphics are similarly sharp, bosses are still a spectacle and there are many breathtaking views to see throughout the land of Drangleic. If nothing else, this is a sequel that offers more of the same quality "stuff" as before.

Dark Souls II makes many changes for the better though and it's my opinion that these subtle refinements don't get quite as much praise as perhaps they should.

The balancing of weapons is the first big change and compared to the first game, every play style feels viable for reaching the end. Pyromancy damage now scales with your attribute points, dual wielding has its own dedicated mechanic and the parrying system requires faster reflexes in exchange for a greater advantage.

Although the lighting system isn't as robust as seen in the beta footage, the game world still looks gorgeous when lit up by a hand-held torch and the added graphical polish for the PC version is a big improvement over the prior effort for the format. It has to be said that online connectivity (whilst still far from perfect) is a big improvement and it's easier to get together with other players for PvP and cooperative boss battles than it was in Dark Souls.

Dark Souls II is a massive game. Compared to the original, this sequel is truly huge and features many additional areas, characters, and raw gameplay hours than ever before. The atmosphere is unmistakable, the gameplay is incredibly rich and it all makes for an amazing first time experience.

The difficulty is harsh but usually fair, the choices you make have weight, and the learning curve is extremely satisfying in its own right. Another common sentiment comes in the form of its enjoyment factor alone; a phenomenon whereby players (myself included at one point) find it difficult to enjoy other games after playing Dark Souls for an extended period of time. Clearly the veterans at From Software are onto something here and the results just speak for themselves.

Another area in which this sequel matches its forerunner is in the story. Just like every other facet of the game, the story here is something you have to work at. Knowing is half the battle after all and Dark Souls II doesn't give anything away for free.

Dark Souls II itself though, despite being critically acclaimed, is often criticized in ways that I don't think are entirely reasonable. Dark Souls II is described as a much easier game for one; something that, in the strictest sense at least, really isn't true. If a player finds this sequel easier, then it's partly because of that player's existing experience from Dark Souls (or even Demon's Souls) being a factor.

This a game that anyone can get good at because it's not all about precise timing and learning input commands; it's about learning the game's delicate rhythm of attack and counter attack, of effective stamina management and remaining calm whilst under intense pressure; things that anyone can do when presented with such fluid controls and intuitive gameplay.

The more linear level design, easier sub-bosses, and reasonable travelling times between bonfire safe havens are also unfairly highlighted as diluents to the gameplay formula.

I see this as all part of a certain frustration that some players are feeling with regards to this sequel. These players are chasing after that initial feeling they had with the franchise; a heady feeling of vulnerability, of helplessness in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and the notion that the game is testing them in some way. It's true that this game and its prequel may have been higher on this list if I felt that the "second time through" was as good as the first (sadly I don't feel that way), but even still, it's not something I hold against Dark Souls II as a complete experience.

The fantastic Lost Crowns trilogy of downloadable content does very well in answering some of the core game's criticisms though. These self-contained adventures have intuitive signposting, a good level of difficulty and plenty of new bosses to butt heads with.

The music in Dark Souls II is still as stirring and thematic as the first game, if ultimately not as memorable, but this time there are fewer repeated tracks and every major boss battle receives its own dedicated theme.

Usually a very quiet and foreboding game (the audio designer rightly assumed that persistent background music would make it hard to concentrate!), Dark Souls II comes rivetingly alive during its epic boss encounters. It's just a shame that the default music level is set so low! New players take my advice: and crank that dial up a bit for the true experience.

Dark Souls II does have its missteps, no doubt about it. The lighting mechanic that has been clearly scaled back from the original design is woefully underused as only one area in the game really requires you to pack a torch. Also disappointing is the new degenerating health bar system which is a big design mistake in my opinion as it clips a player's desire to experiment and will necessitate mindless farming of items if taken too far.

Certain bosses are a bit anti-climatic, the lifegem items make healing far too easy, and the order in which endgame locations must be visited is an overly fussy affair that really should have been better streamlined.

To a certain extent I feel that the perfect Dark Souls game hasn't been made yet. What we have now is miles ahead of most other RPGs in terms of enjoyment, but there's still room for improvement and that's a very exciting prospect when you really consider it.

As a kid I used to dream of a time when games were this good, but there's more than just great gameplay, terrific music and huge replay value at work here- Dark Souls II continues its series' legacy by offering one of the very best AAA games that money can buy. Indeed, nobody is making games as good as From Software right now and it's high time that other developers put down their tools and take notice of what's happening here.

Read the full review at my blog »

Read a soundtrack review at my blog »

I personally like the PVP mechanics of this game than DS3. The DLC packs are worth getting too

This game has easily become a new obsession of mine. I wish I knew of the Souls series much sooner. This game is much more streamlined than the first game. Better UI and menus. Smoother gameplay. Overall, a better game. Not saying the first game is bad. It's also an excellent game. But the changes in DS2 overall makes for a better experience.

Highly recommended

15/10

I played over a thousand hours of Dark Souls 1. It never stopped feeling magical to me. The level design, item placement, lore, the leveling system, BOSS FIGHTS, all of it. Dark Souls 1 was phenomenal, most likely due to Miyazaki's leadership. So when Dark Souls 2 came out, I marathoned it. I beat the original DKSII in about three days, feeling alright about it. It didn't have the same effect as Dark Souls 1 on me, but I expected that.

So when I heard news of Scholar of the First Sin, I regained some hope, maybe they'd fix some of the poor level design, or implement some more unique boss fights somehow. Spoiler, it doesn't do any of that.

It actually takes any semblence of good level design, and throws that s**t right out the window. Any bad levels (Shrine of Amana) are made even worse somehow, by adding random enemies from other areas. It just becomes a fluster cuck of enemy placement that makes no sense lore-wise. And to make matters worse, all the lackluster boss fights just go untouched. I could go on and on about the multiple Pursuer non-sense, but this is getting long.

Overall, if you want to play Dark Souls 2, I'd say just buy the original version and try to forget they even made DLC. Because even the DLC pack doesn't make Scholar worth it.

(PS: If I can praise this game at all, I have to at least mention that the co-op and pvp in this edition is improved. But it's improved twofold in DKS3 so just go play that instead)

I can't put this game the worst out of the Dark Souls series since I have't played either DS1 or 3, yet I can guarantee that the experience does worth your time and money.

It's good.