Colton Steury writes: "“I hate this game!”, I shout to an empty room as I toss a DualShock 3 controller across my bed. Frustrated, I hold my head in my hands and breathe slowly, pondering my next course of action. I look up and gaze at the message “YOU DIED” branded mockingly across my TV screen. My brain is swirling with questions: Will I be able to beat this boss if I try again? Where the hell can I get more Human Effigies? Should I even bother pressing forward?"
As difficult and frustrating as it is, people should consider reliving the Dark Souls 2 experience, especially because of what's coming to the game.
Many of those who hate Dark Souls II hate it because it's not Dark Souls. The same people love Dark Souls III because it isn't Dark Souls II.
And so many of the issues at the centre of common complaints about DS2 are present in DS3 and sometimes even DS1. The hatred and bile spewed over this perfectly decent game is ludicrous.
I don’t think it’s a terrible game, but like a movie sequel by a different director, for me, it does NOT capture any of the “magic” felt from the Miyazaki entries. Boss battles don’t feel epic, environments don’t have the same sense of awe, the enemy variety isn’t particularly interesting, the art direction just feels bland, about the only thing I can give it praise for is some of the music.
Now, again, this is only how I feel about it, so I’m not trying to invalidate his you feel about the game, but it is the worst entry in the series due to those factors and it’s the least re-visited entry, for me.
Is it decent as a game on its own? Sure. But in comparison to the Miyazaki entries, it does not stack up and I believe that’s where many were disappointed with it.
You can also play it in VR flawlessly on PC & controller with the LukeRoss mod so… another reason to jump back in with extra immersion.
The Smelter Demon is a bombastic boss design that bolsters Dark Souls 2's roster with an experience that updates an older fight's form to function.
Man, I dunno about that. In fact, most boss fights in Dark Souls 2 were forgettable.
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.
i've read about the hit-detection problem and i'm beginning to believe that it is true. i got killed even when the blade of the sword was meters away from me. it is kind of irritating. i thought the random act of drinking flask (which happened to me with Dark Souls 1) was because of the old controller because when i shook the controller, it just kept taking swigs of the flask.
yeah.. the game lags when you arrive in a new location. sometimes the weapons don't switch as fast as you pressed it. there is an input lag which is very noticeable if you've moved to Dark Souls 2 while playing Dark Souls. Thankfully the souls of the game is the same. it's scary. it's hard. it's rewarding.
The joy of discovery and overcoming the challenge far outweighs any problems the game has technically.
I've been holding off on picking this up for 2 reasons...
1. I haven't gotten around to finishing Dark Souls 1 yet
2. The technical issues being reported (this one's only a small factor though)
I'm really hoping a PS4 version will be announced that will clear up a lot of the problems with performance.
The drop of framerate in Blighttown was horrific in DS1 and I've heard there are similar issues in DS2 (although not as bad). I'm crossing my fingers that a PS4 relase of DS2 would possibly avoid framerate problems and even allow for a small upgrade in graphics.