Dark Souls II

🎮 Steam ⏳ 190 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Expanded Souls Formula #

The second Dark Souls entry builds on the legacy of its predecessor by offering a massive, interconnected world filled with danger, mystery, and punishing combat. It stays true to the series’ core identity, every fight demands patience, precision, and a willingness to learn from failure. The game broadens character customization with a wide range of weapons, spells, and builds, making experimentation more rewarding than ever. Compared to the first Dark Souls, however, its world design feels less tightly woven, with areas that sometimes lack the same sense of cohesion and atmosphere.

Fragmented World Design #

You can never interconnect the worlds, physically, making it a much less immersive one compared to the first one which felt like a real place, since the entirety of the world was connected in some way. The large number of bosses adds variety, but many are less memorable than the iconic encounters of the original, especially because there are a lot of reskins and reuse of the same bosses, making if feel like an old SNES-era title, which devs simply changed the enemy color, changed it’s name and called it a new thing entirely.

Divisive Yet Rewarding #

Still, the game shines in its oppressive mood, haunting environments, and the thrill of overcoming seemingly impossible odds. While it may be divisive among fans, Dark Souls II remains a challenging and deeply satisfying entry in the series, rewarding those willing to endure its trials. Particularly speaking I hated this one from start to finish, until I learned how to master it’s differences compared to the first title, then I started loving this one as much as I loved all the other Dark Souls entries up until that point.

Definitive Editions Essential #

This title is much more enjoyable if you play the enhanced versions of it, which I unfortunately never experienced, they are much more challenging and add more content while also shifting enemy placement/count in the world. Another unskippable content are the DLCs, in my opinion they are a standout, introducing new contents entirely, from enemies, spells, weapons and even fun little mechanics here and there when it comes to exploration. I highly recommend not skipping this one if you enjoy Dark Souls to any extent, just keep in mind this is a game that is focused much more in the adventure aspect, instead of the combat-focused RPG elements of the previous titles such as Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls.