If I had been a massive fan of Dark Souls on that fateful day in 2014 and played this game after all those exciting trailers, I would've been utterly fucking disappointed. With a less coherent world, combat that feels sluggish to play through and bosses that are mostly a snoozefest, Dark Souls 2 is a massive downgrade to the now iconic Dark Souls. The encounter design in this title is downright villainous (in a bad way), but I've heard that one got a lot worse in the version I just replayed.
There is, however, a decent game under all that disappointment. The lore is pretty cool even though it's been presented in a vastly inferior way to its predecessors, there are a wealth of weapons and items to find that spice up combat a decent bit, with some of the best animations in the series. The visuals can be breathtaking at times with harsh sunsets and rainy nights filling the backdrop with atmosphere and intensity (some of the time). Sadly this game just doesn't capture the feel of that adventure in Lordran the first time around, or even the trek through Boletaria in a vastly inferior game. There is something missing in the magic here, something that I'm sure can be explained in the development hell it seemed to go through before release. Despite being a disappointment, I do think this game gets more hate than it deserves. It does push new ideas forward with confidence, some which fail miserably but some which take shape and become staples of the series that are still used today.
After playing this game again for the first time in 6 years I can actually say that I might revisit it again at some point - I might even do the dlcs that people rave on about when discussing DS2.
There is, however, a decent game under all that disappointment. The lore is pretty cool even though it's been presented in a vastly inferior way to its predecessors, there are a wealth of weapons and items to find that spice up combat a decent bit, with some of the best animations in the series. The visuals can be breathtaking at times with harsh sunsets and rainy nights filling the backdrop with atmosphere and intensity (some of the time). Sadly this game just doesn't capture the feel of that adventure in Lordran the first time around, or even the trek through Boletaria in a vastly inferior game. There is something missing in the magic here, something that I'm sure can be explained in the development hell it seemed to go through before release. Despite being a disappointment, I do think this game gets more hate than it deserves. It does push new ideas forward with confidence, some which fail miserably but some which take shape and become staples of the series that are still used today.
After playing this game again for the first time in 6 years I can actually say that I might revisit it again at some point - I might even do the dlcs that people rave on about when discussing DS2.