Death in the gaming world has developed a stigma. For some gamers if you die it must be game’s fault, it’s broken, It’s cheap or just plain sh*t.
So mollycoddled have we become and brainwashed by American attitudes towards game design and storytelling that every last game must put you in the role of the kick ass invincible hero. You can’t die; you are the number one guy, the main man, this particular fictional universe’s special ray of sunshine.
So what scares the shit out of a lot of gamers about the Souls series is that it eschews all of these things that modern gamers have come to expect. You are not a unique and delicate snowflake in the world of Demon/Dark Souls, you are Joe’s broken and beaten body. The game breaks you down and reforms you in a manner it sees fit. You can tell the people that have braved Darks Souls from those that haven’t. They exchange the same knowing looks that the members of a fight club do.
With Dark Souls II it’s clear that From Software is on a serious recruitment drive. This is stage two of Project Mayhem, extending the reach of Dark Souls from a niche game to a main stream success.
Soon we’ll all be staring at each other with the same steely gaze: you were there, you know how tough it was, but you came, you saw, you kicked its ass and left a note.
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 controls felt very clunky to me, I tried playing it after beating Darksouls 3 and it didn’t feel fluid, obviously the hit detection is less superior for been an older game.
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.
