this is the sequel that Dark Souls players deserved in 2014.
i have a lot of issues with this game: the lack of verticality in its level design as compared to DS1, its reuse of early bosses constantly throughout the game that don't offer anything new or interesting, the tying of invicibility frames and estus drinking speed to a stat, its abundance of bosses that are either "Capra Demon But Different" or "Hey Y'all.... Remember This? ;)"
however, the worst offense is the game's cruelty in its encounter design. in Dark Souls 1, the little tricks and traps in the environment feel like a parent warning you not to touch a hot pan but you do it anyways. maybe you didn't know, maybe you should have known better but you still did it. in contrast, Dark Souls 2 feels like a parent going on an hour-long tirade about how all you kids ever want is pizza for dinner. DS1 feels whimsical and playful, DS2 feels like the game is rubbing your nose in the carpet to show you what happens when you get what you want.
i wouldn't mind this as much if the game's meta-commentary surrounding the nature of its gameplay and cyclical death wasn't so.... forgettable? it feels like it's gesturing toward a thoughtful discussion surrounding fan expectation, demand for sequels, fear of change, and games being "miserable on purpose," but it doesn't have much to say about it. by comparison, Pathologic 2, a game that is VERY much miserable on purpose, feels intentional in its slow, macabre, sadcore plot, because it's trying to fully disempower the player (and not just make them powerful later like DS2) to make them understand that if they were in a similar situation, they WOULD probably die and not be a special hero.
that being said, the game is still very good. it's my least favorite of the post-Dark Souls FromSoft output, but if this game was reskinned as a Zelda game and put out by Nintendo, it would be in my top 5 zelda games. it's only through comparison to other series entries that this game looks as bad as it does.
i have a lot of issues with this game: the lack of verticality in its level design as compared to DS1, its reuse of early bosses constantly throughout the game that don't offer anything new or interesting, the tying of invicibility frames and estus drinking speed to a stat, its abundance of bosses that are either "Capra Demon But Different" or "Hey Y'all.... Remember This? ;)"
however, the worst offense is the game's cruelty in its encounter design. in Dark Souls 1, the little tricks and traps in the environment feel like a parent warning you not to touch a hot pan but you do it anyways. maybe you didn't know, maybe you should have known better but you still did it. in contrast, Dark Souls 2 feels like a parent going on an hour-long tirade about how all you kids ever want is pizza for dinner. DS1 feels whimsical and playful, DS2 feels like the game is rubbing your nose in the carpet to show you what happens when you get what you want.
i wouldn't mind this as much if the game's meta-commentary surrounding the nature of its gameplay and cyclical death wasn't so.... forgettable? it feels like it's gesturing toward a thoughtful discussion surrounding fan expectation, demand for sequels, fear of change, and games being "miserable on purpose," but it doesn't have much to say about it. by comparison, Pathologic 2, a game that is VERY much miserable on purpose, feels intentional in its slow, macabre, sadcore plot, because it's trying to fully disempower the player (and not just make them powerful later like DS2) to make them understand that if they were in a similar situation, they WOULD probably die and not be a special hero.
that being said, the game is still very good. it's my least favorite of the post-Dark Souls FromSoft output, but if this game was reskinned as a Zelda game and put out by Nintendo, it would be in my top 5 zelda games. it's only through comparison to other series entries that this game looks as bad as it does.