Kotaku: I want to take this opportunity to talk about Dark Souls. And since you've probably heard its praises sung a thousand times over, I'm going to instead talk about everything that could be done better in Dark Souls II.
Dark Souls 2 remains a divisive entry in the landmark RPG franchise, but Hidetaka Miyazaki believes it led to the success of Elden Ring.
DS2 was fine. While there was a bit of recycling assets or ideas for bosses, it was a bigger more open Dark Souls. The Fume knight boss is one of the hardest bosses in the series until Sekiro and Elden Ring were released.
The problem with Dark Souls 2 was the same problem when a different director takes over for a sequel to an outstanding movie. It typically (there are exceptions) doesn’t have the feel and vision of the previous movie.
I wouldn’t say Dark Souls 2 is terrible. Had Dark Souls 1 never been a thing and we got this, I think it would have been praised more. The problem is it didn’t have the Miyazaki touch to it and felt pretty derivative. The soundtrack is a banger though.
And it will happen in the future when he doesn’t touch them as he is planning on.
I like DS 2, might even be my favorite of the 3. But it's a hard sell, there's so many obscure things you need to do to make it an enjoyable experience. So always find it hard to recommend, but it is worth the trouble.
TheGamer writes, "Some weapons resist the test of time."
The Nerd Stash: “Whether you’re here to gloat about your victories or to see what the fuss is about, we present to you the hardest bosses in the Souls series.”
I beat them all with my fists and no hits were taken. What do you mean you don't believe me? I used a guitar hero controller!!!
All the bosses are only from Dark Souls. No Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, or Demon Souls
There are of course a couple of things that can be addressed, such as adding servers but Dark Souls enhanced a lot of what Demon's Souls couldn't.
The only thing I want fixed is the pyroromancy level up system! Hear me out before you come at me with torches and pitchforks... In Dark Souls, I am given the option to start off as a Pyromaniac Pyromancer or a lvl 1 character that eventually get the option to get pyromancer abilities. The abilities are awesome and work fine, but there is one exploit that really pisses me OFF! Not so much because it effects me personally, but it really turns off other players from playing once they find out what it is.
I am able to coast through most of the early boos fights at lvl 1 and actually start reaching some pretty tough areas that most people would get to at a much higher lvl. This is fine but the problem with Pyromancy is that your able to MAX it out even if your lvl 1, which only becomes a problem when low lvl characters with powerful, powerful, POWERFUL, Pyromancy skills, are trolling low lvl people with basic spells and/or amour and weapons, in the beginning stages, killing them and taking their hard earned humanity and souls.
I've encountered this once and really didn't mind it but other players I know personally wanted to stop right then and there, until I told them what happened. Though this may be a minor complaint it is a big issue for some and I for one dislike anyone who does this for the simple fact that it turns other gamers off to this game. I don't understand why people still do this when there is a full MP mode available now with the Artorias of the Abyss DLC.
I guess it is what it is and the people that do this need to realize that they are ruining the game for some people!