Majula's theme will never leave my head for as long as i live, DS2 may have been weaker compared to the others but it has some of the most memorable places in the Souls series.
@@Asterion_Mol0c too much shit you gotta go through before the game actually opens up whereas even on demons you could just warp around and go at your own pace instead of forced to walk back n forth everywhere for 3/4 the game...
That’s exactly how I feel I was so young when I played this game this music is so beautiful and the theme of Majula just feels so calming and feels almost like home it’s just comforting to hear
Fun fact: fragnant branches and phaross lockstones, are actually items from king's field 3, they serve the same purpose in that game, and even look simillar
So maybe, though souls 2 isnt directly connected to the lordran/lothric timelines, its connected to the kingsfield timelines. Thats pretty cool if true
@@djspit8929 mostly because the ds2 wasn't being directed by Miyazaki, and were also feeling pressured to create a sequel that can top DS1, having lost in the game's direction probably led to the existing director took more inspiration from their previous games such as King's Field and Shadow Tower.
@@aryabratsahoo7474 Miyazaki supervised the development of 2, but purposefully abstained from micromanaging the game because he didn't want to stifle the team's creativity. Dark Souls 3's development started before 2 released, once Miyazaki had finished with AotA and Bloodborne. Miyazaki did state that he looked forward to playing through 2, and subsequently 2's primary director (Tanimura) codirected DS3 and Elden Ring alongside Miyazaki (with the latter having more mechanical similarity to DS2 than DS3 did). We can only hope ER follows suit once with 3 primary DLCs. P.S. DS2's fashion is still BiS
"None of the issues matter if you actually enjoy the game." I wish I had heard this in all the years I've spent trying to defend my love for DS2 in spite of it's flaws. Since this was my first Souls game I never had an issue with the "balance" issue of lifegems and adaptability; those were just minor parts of a thing that, to me, worked.
SAME bro. ive been playing it since i was around probably 8, and im 16 now and still play it a lot. its a great game if you actually look for the good instead of expecting bad
yeah bro my dad had it on his old ps3 and he would play it some, and i always looked up to him and wanted to be like him so i started playing it and really got into it. sucks that he doesnt play it now although ive tried to get him to, he just doesnt (understandably) want to get addicted lol@@fredfairley7724
I want to defend Dark Souls II enemy placement and tracking. Dark Souls II is a game that is wonderful at teaching you focus and patience. If you fail an area you have to do it again from the top and kill the things, just running through is hard. When I played it, I thought this was intentional and genius, and is one of the aspects that kept me coming back, the "breathe, don't rush, do it again better this time", clean the area, attempt the dragon. The area is the challenge, not just the dragon. I love Elden Ring but I hate the fact that you can pretty much ignore 99.9% of the enemies and bosses with no punishment.
This is spot on, I thought it was disingenuous to say the enemies are ganking, when you've specifically ran passed them and aggroed all of them to a single spot. The fact that they follow you there and can even hit you out of your animation entering fog gates is supposed to encourage actually fighting the enemies as you go. When taking a slower pace, the game is actually pretty well designed in how the enemies are placed. Every critique of the enemy placements in the game I've seen show the player running past everything and getting mad because the enemies wont let you, unlike the other games.
I never know what version people are talking about when they talk about it. SOTFS? Or the original? I bought the original, but with all DLC, not knowing the difference. I loved it. It was my first, and still my favorite Souls game. I didn't even know there was a difference, so half, or more, of the reviews I've watched over the years, were talking about very different games. I watched some clips of Scholar, and it looked annoying AF. Heide's Tower of Flame, my all time favorite level. Where I learned the basics of the game. When to strike, dodge, when to kite. A relatively relaxing and peaceful arena area, where the giants leave you alone until you're ready to face them, the first real level many will experience in DS2.... has MFing dragons just laying around. The original has some annoying areas, like the run up to Sir Alone, or the Blue Smelter Demon. Those are awful, but the majority of the game was great IMO. And the Sir Alone boss fight is a once in a lifetime experience that you will have to earn. So yeah, just throwing that out there, to anyone not familiar with these games. These are 2 different games people are talking about. Basically. One is a re-release where they changed all the enemy placement and made it much harder, in a baffling, and completely arbitrary way from what I have seen. And rarely do they make that distinction. I apologize if this channel's creator does and I'm being redundant, but I've watched like 30 of these retrospectives, and most still don't. The difference seems lost to time now, like buying vanilla Skyrim in 2024. Which is not helping the game's reputation. Same thing when you check the subreddit. Most people are talking about SOTFS. Which I've never played, but have no real desire to. If I wanted to add more of a challenge to DS2 I'd just burn bonfire ascetics. So to anyone wondering if they should pick up the game or not, do some research into which one you're buying, and which one you want. I highly recommend the OG DS2, and the DLC is crucial because it's the best part of the game. Good luck trying to figure out which version you're buying though.
@@hr_game9517 No i-frames on fog walls can be particularly frustrating during boss run-backs - especially long ones, of which DS2 has quite a lot. When you're trying to learn a boss moveset, but every time you die you have to spend 30 min meticulously picking off each enemy one by one, it can really take you out of that flow state that you want to be in when learning a boss. But I never really took issue with enemy placement - I just think there's an unreasonably high amount of them at times.
@@dishonoredundead scholar is better the heide knights will not attack you unless you kill the dragonrider the other enemies are the same again the same as the other areas you can just fight the enemies one at a time if you dont want to get overwhelmed in other areas they actually fixed issues in other parts of the game like nerfing ancient dragon's health which is ridiculous in the original they added more enemies in like 2 areas but otherwise its the same or less and even then the aggro range is reduced so that it is harder to get ganked in sotfs compared to the original
11:59 Aldia actually wants us to NOT be a part of the cycle of kindling the flame or ushering in darkness. There is one where you can just take the throne and not kindle. The aldia route is just him saying "do your own thing". Also i like how his theme takes a motif from Gwyn's theme
About the endings, taking the throne means to accept your place as a part of the cycle, when you reach the flame your character either link it and continue the age of Fire, or let it die and start the age of darkness, but the game doesn't show the choice your character make the ending that aldia unlock is basically refusing to be part of the cycle, you won't rekindle the flame, you won't become the lord of Darkness, you basically ignore the flame and move on with your life
That’s what I was saying. Aldia says There is no path. Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark... ...what could possibly await us? And yet, we seek it, insatiably... Such is our fate.
@@lexinvictus4801 fun fact, the scholar mentioned in ds3's "ring of the scolar" aka 1 of the 3 pillars of Lothric is likely Aldia, since there are various statues outside the grand archives and inside lothric castle depicting a figure covered in a blanket with roots coming out from under it. It also explains why prince Lothric chooses not to become a Lord of Cinder, nor lord of darkness, so he did in fact keep looking for another way.
@@lexinvictus4801Nature will take hold and reclaim the cycle. What did the last firekeeper say? One day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Souls will move on and be reborn into familiar ways again and again instead of new versions of the same dying era. An Age of Light or Fire may return. Or even Ages beyond.
My take on the story is that it can be divided into two parts. The first part is the themes of the loss of memory and self as you become more and more hollow. You see this happen in real time with Lucatiel and a few others, but this is also happening to your character as well. This is why the intro cutscene is so confusing. It's because your character is themselves confused. You came to Drangleic to... what? You don't know. The Emerald Herald instructs you to Bear Seek Seek Lest, but is that really _your_ goal, or a goal that someone else has imposed upon you? You never actually find out for sure. The second part of the story is the story of Vendrick, Aldia, and Nashandra. Aldia, the Scholar of the First Sin, was trying to find a way to break the undead curse that was created by Gwyn (this is the titular First Sin). Vendrick was helping him as best he could, and refused to link the fire in the hopes that Aldia would prove successful. In the end, it was a failure, and Vendrick sealed himself away to prevent Nashandra from reaching the First Flame. I think Aldia may have been able to break the curse for himself, and Vendrick's blessing if you get all the crowns will also break the curse for you, but they weren't able to break the curse for all humans. At the end of the game, your choice is to either take the throne and usher in an Age of Fire _or_ Dark, or if you finish Aldia's questline you get the chance to take a third option. While DS3 does feel like more of a direct sequel to DS1, and DS2 feels like more of a spinoff, the story of DS3 makes a lot more sense with the additional context that DS2 provides. DS3 is all about Prince Lothric refusing to link the fire, and the Lords of Cinder doing the same, but it's not made clear why. DS2 was the first game to feature a character refusing to link the fire and explained what the reasons were. DS3 really highlights that advanced state of decay of the world after linking the fire countless times, validating Vendrick and Aldia's refusal to link the fire and seek an alternate way to end the undead curse.
@@fscorpion678 I think I may have made a mistake regarding the First Sin. I think it was actually when Gwyn linked the fire, not when he created the undead curse. The two are related, however, as the curse is designed to drive people to link the fire when it starts to fade.
Indeed, the Emerald Herald is rather brilliant in her manipulation as she so slowly and carefully redirects you off your own goal (curing yourself) and onto her goal (finding a True Monarch for the Throne of Want) that you don't even notice it happening. It takes Aldia's constant proddings to get you to think critically that snaps you out of it so that you realize you don't *have* to take the Throne of Want.
Bravo. And I feel that THIS is how to make a successful sequel to Dark Souls-not the fan-pandering nonsense of the third game. As a massive fan of the souls games, almost every plot point of the third game had me throwing my hands up in frustration, saying, “why is this here??”
@@JedrekVRoscoe Why making sequels to begin with tho, Dark Souls 1 story didn't need extra lore since it was already complete DS2's story doesn't expand the world or the lore (Besides making our DS1's journey irrelevant), it has so many inconsistencies with DS1 or fanfiction writing is laughable or is fine but has no reason to be there (Vendrick and Nashandra fit both checks). The only actually good thing it has is Aldia.
I remember buying this game as my first souls like and not having the slightest clue what these games are like besides frustratingly hard and I came off of Dark Souls 2 loving it a lot (my favorite bit in this game are the real and fake moonlight greatsword)
@@Mr_Sunday_Gary yeah, well, sometimes it's good to just appreciate the small things. Ds2 was rushed, as well as it bit off more than it can chew. It's nice to know they still managed to keep the atmosphere consistent. Seriously, you'd be surprised how many games that disregard the need for a proper boss arena. Like this one game called portal knights, fumbled the bag so hard when it came to boss fights. And they didn't even give them proper boss rooms, only thing noticeable was that the colors matched the bosses. And that was only exclusive for the three main bosses, not the other over world ones. God I'm glad I got a refund and didn't buy its DLC. But yeah, still nice that ds2 took what little time it had to get it done. Sorry for ranting. :P
Pretty much the only complaint I have about this game is the Boss run ups they expect you to kill 50 enemies just to get to the big enemy that will kill you in one hit
I think the whole games more focusing on the curse of hollowing and the first sin being linking the fire, and what the characters make of it, is the most interesting narrative in the series. Aldia and Vendricks stories, as well as how the other Kings dealt with their respective problems (and the curse) is the highlight of the game. Also Aldia's ending isen't about becoming the Dark Lord. It's about refusing to take part in the cycle and seeking something else. Maybe another solution to the curse or simply indifference.
This game set the foundation for ds3 to shine. Without it expanding on the curse and lore, we may not have gotten a proper final Ds3 DLC. Cause I don't believe the game would've shoved all of that lore in our faces. Would've ran out of development time mid way. Which makes me even more grateful for ds2.
Something different in ds2 is the protagonists ( the character you play as) goal. In ds1 and ds3 you are a chosen one who will supposedly link the flame anew. In ds2 tho your character is looking for a way to cancel or negate his own curse and thus lore wise the correct ending would be to leave the final throne room and continue searching for a way to fight the curse. Something close to it is by getting all the dlc crowns and talking to Vendrick who gives you the immunity to hollowing.
In Dark Souls 1 the main character (Chosen Undead) is originally motivated to fulfill the mission of a certain knight who freed them from the Undead Asylum. After ringing the bells they are manipulated by either Primordial Serpent into gathering the lord souls to access the Kiln of the First Flame and either burn as kindling for the flame, or become a lord of dark. In Dark Souls 3, the main character (Champion of Ash) is specifically an Unkindled, who failed to link the fire in the past. They are only reawakened after the original and backup Lords of Cinder refuse to link the fire. They gather cinders to access the Kiln and defeat the amalgamation of lords that is the Soul of Cinder. They have the choice to link, let fade, usurp, or betray/claim (with both DLCs implying the creation of a new world free from the fire-linking Undead Curse). In Dark Souls 2, the main character (Bearer of the Curse) journeys to Drangleic (possibly going back in time, unclear) in search of a way to break their Undead Curse. There is a higher focus on the process of becoming Hollow, with a penalty to maximum HP on each death. Yet immediately they are also being manipulated by NPCs such as Shanalotte, the Emerald Herald. They are promised a ‘cure’ but only if they replace King Vendrick as a true monarch. As the story unfolds, more objectives arise. The focus shifts from killing Vendrick to claiming the Throne of Want. No one else cares about your curse, except to use it as motivation- to dangle it as a reward. Only Vendrick elaborates on how to break it, by collecting the three crowns. They have the choice to claim the throne (it is unknown whether this is a Light/Dark choice, as some claim it represents a path to the First Flame, and others that is represents becoming a new Dark Lord, as a true monarch of an Undead kingdom). Alternatively, as of the definitive edition, they can walk away from the Throne (presumably to seek a third option akin to the painting of Ash, a way to permanently end the cycle and curse). What saddens me is that neither choice of Dark Souls 2 seems to matter per the events of DS3. To bring back the Chosen Undead is illogical (either burnt to cinders or decayed by time) but to reveal the Bearer of the Curse, making a canon ending to DS2, as either an ally or enemy, would have been more incredible than the inclusion of Earthen Peak, two Drang knights, and a Desert Pyromancer.
@@R1R1R2 ds3 is just a fan service retcon. I don’t consider it canon. Edit: the replies are just ds3 fanboys. Nobody ever wants to acknowledge that the game retcons all of dark souls lore so that it can justify fan service. That’s literally the only reason the game was made. Like 90% of ds3 is some form of fan service and most of the game is built off ds1. It added nothing to the series at all. Just like ds1 it did nothing new in the genre or gaming but gets praised as a creator of a genre it didn’t create, it didn’t add anything and it’s gameplay holds nothing of substance. Both ds2 and bloodborne are just objectively better versions of ds1 and ds3. 3 I don’t consider canon bc of how much of a waste of potential it is
@@zzodysseuszz that’s an incredibly arrogant viewpoint. ‘I don’t like it because it references 1 too much, not canon’ God, thanks for the laugh mate. Counter edit: say specifically what DS3 retcons. Keep in mind that it continues the theme of cycles introduced by 2. DS3 added Weapon Skills, new equipment, new areas, and new bosses.
@@smithcubs DS3 actually improves and clarifies DS2 AND it incorporates tons of items, characters, locations and lore from it. So he didn't ignore it all.
One note: taking the throne doesn’t intrinsically mean that we light the flame. We have that option but taking the throne could also mean bringing an age of Dark. Walking away rejects both options in search of a third, more permanent option.
@@nestormelendez9005yeah but just because you go to the kiln we should assume they re lit the flame we do the same in ds1 and ds3 the difference is we dont fight the current lord of cinder ie the previous guy that relit the flame. And get to choose what happens after its assumed that you can do either.
Most replayable dark souls, Ng+ was actually different. The animations alone make me come back due to how smooth they feel, especially the roll. I wish they didn't do away with mocap'ed animations in ds3 and elden ring. I rather like it when my roll looks like a move that I could actually recreate in real life and still have my ankles intact. Also running out of breath when your stamina is low, or slouching when you're injured. These little things make your character feel more alive.
Maybe the reason for the stamina low thing is because you are different in DS2 compared to 1 and 3 From what i understand you're more human with a growing curse ( me
You must be in the minority, I find the backstab animations for longsword awful personally, and the roll would be fine if it's i-frames weren't tied to a stat.
@@DeadEndScreamer gotta give the roll props tho for being way more responsive than the elden ring. It's got less of a delay after you lift your finger, though that could be because ds2 runs better on my system. One cool way I found to get rid of the release delay in ER is to bind the roll to my mouse wheel. You can't release a mouse wheel so it really does feel like it's coming out faster.
Recently started another ds2 playthrough, I don’t know why but it’s a lot more fun than I remembered. Of course there’s some bs stuff, but it’s very satisfying once you get through it! Just like challenge runs
I think it was a poisoning of the well thing. So many people said it sucks so most people went I with a bias. After a fair degree of separation you probably looked at it more objectively
@@jezebeltryst5444 I was about to say something similar but quite different, hardcore souls fans would have had massive expectations and ds2 just couldn’t live up to the hype, it’s not terrible, but there is a LOT of BS
@@o7ViiGHTMAREothat’s just such a dishonest argument tho. Dark souls 1 (even the modern remaster version) has WAY more bullshit in it than the entirety of ds2
The story is actually pretty cohesive, more so than the other Dark Souls games imo, if you read the items and don’t skip dialogue. Some of the NPCs (like Vendrick and Alsanna) actually tell you what is going on and you even go back in time to see for yourself what happened to Drangleic during the war with the giants. Incredible game. the story really blew me away. The theme/plotlines involving the various queens who were all fragments of Manus was particularly creative and well executed. Another thing I love is the level of customization and the variety of weapons and armor. Most people have a weird, unique character, as opposed to Elden Ring and DS3 (not shitting on them, I love them) where you will a lot of people wearing the same sets, using the same weapons and the same spells.
ds2s story is far better and more original than ds1 and bb, ds1 is a mishmash of greek mythology abd berserk, while bb straight up copy pastes alot of plotlines from lovecraft, bb is literally the laziest and most uninspired story between them.
@@flamingmanure It was intense. The Ivory King story is one example of how complex it is. Alsanna was a fragment of Manus, but she was not evil. Maybe this is because Manus wasn't all evil. It gives the player a lot to think about, and yet I never felt the need to go to a lore channel.
Nice to get DS2 some love. It will always hold a special place it helped me during my darkest point in my life. But the will to never go hollow kept me going. Anyone reading this never go hollow life gets better ❤
Hold on, I've heard from the internet that this community is super toxic! Well, not here Praise whichever celestial body is closest and don't become hollow 🤠
I like black gulch for forcing you to slow down, take in your environment and decide which order you’re going to kill those poison spitters, plus how creepy and filthy that whole area feels.
Agreed wholeheartedly it holds a special place in my heart. Majula is just so mesmorizing just to watch the ocean and that music takes me to another world.
Started playing recently and really love it so far.. The whole vibe is so unique- things like that talking head, tied up guy with lock instead of face, Tark and Ornifex.. So dreamlike. And Majula really is the best hub in all souls games.
Soul vessel, simplified upgrading paths, bonfire warp from the start, torch mechanic on places like no man's wharf, all the different and truly unique weapon move sets even within the same weapon class, the amazing armor sets that give you so many different fashion souls looks, powerstancing unique moves (bonefist, majestic greatsword), the most cozy hub in the series with one of the best themes (majula), shulva is one of my favorite areas in the trilogy, fume knight, sinh, mirror knight, smelter demon, sir alonne. And if that wasn't enough the pvp is so much fun and satisfying, it's actually what made ds2 the one I sank most hours in of all trilogy. I love ds2
One thing I loved about this game was the sense of adventure. Each area felt different, and they were fairly varied. Combining this with the presentation really left a good taste in my mouth, even if their design is at times slightly or notably worse than other games
@@BhaalSakh not every environment is bland and ugly. Most areas have at least a good presentation. It's true that the rushed development affected this game, but fairly enough, even with it's drawbacks, this game evoked on me that sense of adventure
@@preknopreguntesporqueminom9050 you should be ashamed to compare garbage like dark souls 2 to elden ring, they are in no way similar in any regard, the games could not be more different if they tried.
No one actually dislikes Dark Souls 2. It just became a trendy opinion and it's easier to adopt trendy opinions than to form your own. This game is brilliant, and it's not just an awesome game, but it's an awesome Souls game.
One detail I missed on the first playthrough and just noticed after getting into the game's lore is the fact that Vendrick wanted to keep Nashandra from acquiring any power, to the point that he took his own soul and sealed inside a cave in Shrine of Amana, cave that can only be open when Vendrick himself die and Nashandra herself couldn't get to do it considering the security in both the Shrine and Tombs
If I remember correctly Milfanitos siging causes creature of darkness fall asleep (one of them says so). I always considered that it was to not allow Nashandra to follow Vendrick.
I think the main reason nashandra cant enter the cave because she's not human anymore. While the requirment to enter the cave to get vendrick soul was you must be a human
The biggest thing that makes me sad about dark souls two is that they were pretty far out there and made a lot of changes but since it was so poorly received they ended up doing a massive u turn to the comfort zone of dark souls 1, ds3 just felt like they didn’t wanna change much at all and I really think it was such a shame that many of the really interesting mechanics were lost from ds2
@@hellinterface6721 132 agreed with me on this, if you don’t understand then law of large numbers proves that you’re just kinda dumb if you don’t understand what I mean
The "why dark souls 2 sucks" videos actually inspired me to play Dark Souls 2 again. There are some characteristics in Dark Souls 2 that people hate: > You have to approach areas methodically - usually eliminating enemies one at the time, agro one enemy using a bow or a spell, or simply walk close enough to agro one enemy. Some people would only use a broad sword and charge-in and panic roll and do badly, or rush to the fog wall and get hit while touching it. - there are also lots of ambushes in ds2, which further infuriates people who "just go in and be rolling". - enemies can also chase you really fast and at long distances, so you need to eliminate them. > You need to have a good build: - With stamina recovering slower here as well as estus drinking, plus poor rolling due to low adaptability, you are punished more if you don't have a good build. > You need have a long range option: - You are expected to use the bow and arrow or spells to eliminate long range enemies. Not doing so will make areas like Iron Keep and Shrine of Amana torture to play. You can imagine how this will infuriate people who just won't use a bow. Certainly, not approaching methodically and not using long range, will make the game look like it was trying to be hard just to be hard. The early area, Forest of Fallen Giants, actually teach you to be methodical. The Mossy Rotunda area has multiple hollow infantry playing dead and a long range enemy. You will really hate this game if you barge in this area like you're playing Devil May Cry.
You forgot one important aspect as to why so many people hate it. Miyazaki didn't make it therefore bad . As you and the vid point out, it has legitimate issues. Many seem to use those as A smoke screen to hype miyazaki up and shine his knob, rather than just as honest criticism. Far too many people treat him like the second coming of christ.
what longrange option? you trippin youngbuck. you'd only need a bow for exploring dlc areas like when you gotta shoot triggers in poison dlc. or throwing knife would do, but that one s got bad aimin. other than that I just pew pew everytin with da waifu char + flower skirt + power stance the two smelter demon swords cus style is #1
@@svenarlington3310 Melee is indeed #1. Long range is only an option in the right circumstance. Usually for one-at-a-time agro, sometimes to eliminate annoying casters. It doesn't destroy your double smelter demon sword build.
My friend championed me trying this game after ds3 and elden ring and eventually offered to gift it to me. I'm on my second dlc now and I think that this game may be my favorite from the game yet.
I'm curious if you have played DS1 yet? for myself, I found DS1 to be endlessly more frustrating than 2 especially once at the last third or so of the game after beating O&S, so much so that the frustration got directly in the way of my enjoyment of the game. DS2:SOTFS may throw a lot of enemies your way but I rarely ever found the environment I was fighting those enemies in to be a direct, almost intentional feeling, hinderance to whatever it may have been that was attack me. flaws and all, Dark Souls 2 captivated me like no other game in the series other than Bloodborne and I wish I had given it a shot sooner and didn't listen to the "muh broken hitboxes!!!!" crowd for so long.
Imagine liking what you like in a game rather than angry nerdos saying gaem bad :'') I like your video! Few things I wanted to add. Yeah I love the world setting too! You can still be colourful and fun while maintaining the lost-bygone world vibe. I think the story is solid enough. I really like the idea of Vendrick and Aldia being the first (as we know it) people to understand oo shit we actually just be going in cycles of world rebirth here ooo noo :^) I've never been a NG+ person so that side never appealed to me, but this games NG+ is clearly the best!
Glad you liked the video Lenny! Great things to add too. Vendrick and Aldia truly are the goats of the series for figuring out that they've been on a carousel for a billion years.
honestly ds2 shows you why lighting is important. you walk out of the darkness and see the beautiful cliff/shore of majula, and i don't know how you can love anything else.
I adore DS2. I love the Abyss covenant activities and its boss is an All-Timer for me. I love the dark fairy tale environments and the gorgeous scenery in the Shrine of Amana. The Sunken King DLC is my favorite map out of all DS DLC maps, with the Ringed City a close second. I love the build variety and hidden weapon mechanics, like how you can get that halberd (?) from the rat place, and then break it by the bird’s nest to change it to the most OP twinblade in the game. It’s such a massive game with deep, obtuse mechanics and I dig this video for giving it the praise it deserves. Liked, subbed and Big Ups!
I really like Darklurker, but boy do I hate the Dark Chasms of Old. Of course, this could be solved with some git gud on my part, but I still dislike it lol
@@marcelovieira519 Lol, they can be frustrating, especially with the Effigy cost, but I actually like that you have to do a bunch of shit to get to the Darklurker. What a reward after some frustration.
@@wrackfardage6055 I prefer Vanilla. You lose the Agape ring that way, but you get a more reasonable amount of mobs. I dig SotFS too, but Vanilla is more accessible.
I love the DS trilogy as a whole with each installment excelling in different aspects. Personally what captivates me the most is the method of storytelling and delivery of the themes as even two first time players finishing the game for the first time can have vastly different impressions of what happened to the world and the motivations of characters even provided the exact same information. DS2 is the one I always keep coming back to tho, the focus onto the effects of the curse and it’s repercussions it has one the characters is so much more intimate and feels so much more personal. Also the VA for Aldia and his monologue is by far my top favs things in the Series.
I have always enjoyed DS2, and felt like it is my personal favorite of the soulsborne games, with the best of the currently released DLC, (still waiting on the supposed Elden Ring DLC). I absolutely loved the kind of hopeless and times long past feelings that the game portrays through it's soundtrack and world design. You have a level that is a castle being reclaimed and sinking into the sea because it's been there for so long. A forest and castle filled with the remnants of a long forgotten war that left them scared and in disrepair. Sure there were things I didn't care for in it, but I definitely feel like the pros outweigh the cons of this game. And if you never played it because you heard it was bad, that is your loss.
As someone who is playing the game with the dlc it feels like the rest since you can either follow the mainline story or go straight towards picking off the crowns. I’ve gotten two of crowns without even going to vendrick. That was a bad idea since I was fighting the fume knight with half the damage I could’ve been :). Yet the game with dlc stands tall. I will say two things break my mind one being the backtracking from certain bosses mainly looking at the rotten
I was watching a ZeroLenny video, and he made the whole joke of "If Ds2 was so good why isn't there a Ds2 2?" Before saying he'd actually really be interested to see that happen. I agree completely, this game has a lot of cool ideas both gameplay and lore wise. It's my first souls game, and my first playthrough ended all because of the Ruin Sentinels, then I got a shield and played through the whole game years later. Now I don't use shields anymore, but this fact remains: I love Ds2, and I love it even more than Ds1.
I actually think the slowing down of combat was what made its PvP the best among the souls series. Slower combat actually meant combat had more weight, whiffing attacks was far more punishable than DS3/ER's roll spam that was extremely hard to punish, and playing footsies was a lot more fun than DS3/ER. Better yet was the turning ability of each weapon type that gave more nuance than "in range = can hit". Katanas were extremely powerful at trading, but its poor turn ability meant that it was very easy to roll past a person and counter with a rolling attack. Spears dont perform similarly (or even better) than straight swords because you had range, but you had no turning ability. If a straight sword user got close to you, it was very easy for them to roll behind you and attack because you couldnt turn very well while attacking. Compare this to the current ER spear meta where spears perform better because they turn infinitely well, and stabbing attacks had lingering hitboxes vs sweeping attacks. I had the most fun in DS2 PvP because it felt the most nuanced among the rest.
I always praised DS2 PvP as the best in the series, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. The weighty, slower animations definitely reduced roll-spamming and made duels much more engaging, like a proper fight, baiting your opponent into playing into your hands, punishing their mistakes, and rewarding the player for clever plays and successful predictions. They couldn't just roll-spam away. The combat felt methodical and nuanced and not without its punishments for spams or overcommitment. I fondly remember falling in love with the humble Broadsword because of its charged R2 sweeping attack, which could whip out a full 180 sweep when you unlocked your targeting, letting you roll-catch and punish backstab farmers. Players were rewarded for learning little techs like that, and it was a great expression of player skill. That slow weightiness made the tempo for PvP was just right. (And the lack of a Hornet Ring helped alot too.)
This game teased out my deepest emotions. Playing this at release, back in the day, made me rage quit. Going for the 100% years later made me appreciate it a lot more. The dlc where absolutely amazing. Easily the highlight of the game
I pretty much agree with most of what you said. I've now put 200+ hours into original DS2+DLC but keep in mind I had a really really hard time getting into SOTFS. They are different games. DS2 although definitely flawed, will go down as one of my favorites. A game that I had a whole hell of a lot of fun playing. Because I want to keep playing it despite its flaws, definitely says a lot. It is doing a lot of things right.
I agree but his criticisms on sotfs are objectively wrong. “The game encourages you to run past everything” but all the from games after ds2 did that exact thing so it’s not a criticism AND it’s wrong. Ds2 actively punishes you for running past everything, it encourages you to fight enemies as they’re presented to you
@@meistermarius24 Sotfs is better in almost every way. More shortcuts, more unique mechanics, clearer path of progression, less unfair ganks, better access to key items, etc
The best piece of advice I ever saw was level adp to 25. Choose the class with the highest starting adp and then put EVERY level into adp until it hits 25. With that you can roll normally and it’s a pretty fun game like that
This was my last game in the series. I played Dark Souls 3, then 1, and I finally beat 2 today and I’ll say there’s a lot of painful enemy placement but from a gameplay and lore perspective it’s extremely cool. I love it just as much as the other two. I’m so happy to have finally beaten all 3 of these games. My favorite game trilogy of all time🙏❤️🙌
I plan on running through this game again in the near future, it was amazing to me being my first souls game, yeah the mobs were weird and some didn't fit the atmosphere of the area they were in, and yeah the mapping was bad with all the overlapping, but it still had something you know? Something unique to itself.
I enjoy the sluggishness it makes sense if you swing a sword with your whole body when exhausted you might be dedicating moving all the way thru that swing so it feels sorta realistic in that regard for the time I played it in my youth that's what made me enjoy it so much was that it was the hardest game I ever encountered that drew me in with he beautifully terrifying world it dwelled in
I just started my first play through of Dark Souls 2 a couple days ago and I must say…..as much as I’ve heard about how much the community hates this one for multiple reasons, I’m having an absolute blast with the game
Great video! I just started DS2 the other day. It's the last game I'm going through and so far it's really fun. There's some jank even early on, but the creativity and dreamlike nature of the locations are really fascinating. It's especially striking by comparison to the other two mainline Souls games. It really makes me wish we could get a full remake of this game someday, that keeps the highs and fixes the lows.
@@BigHailFanThat's not true man, I have tried to play Ds 2 for over 200h but never seem to be able to finish the damn thing. I see so much potential but the way the game controls, adaptability, shitboxes and poor boss design combined with the enemy spam in every fucking area just makes me not like the game as much as the others. Which is why everytime I play the game I get bored at around the halfwaypoint of the game and quit. Which is sad cause I can see theres a lot of cool shit in the game .
@@milanelst5754 yeah, im calling bs. there is no damn way you are 200 hours in and are half way into the game. if that is ACTUALLY true, then that is clearly a you problem and not the game. though i highly doubt that is true and you're making shit up. quit parroting what others have told you to say and actually play the game.
@@BigHailFan Yeah he clearly is just regurgitating popular talking points. I feel like a lot of DS II haters just made up their mind about the game without even playing through it, just vomit out same shit they got from their shit-tubers. Like, "muh adaptability". You're really gonna keep complaining about the stat that you can be done with leveling by the time you beat the very first area of the game? That is supposed to be the big game ruining thing? Oh no, this action RPG dared to make stats more impactful, what a tragedy. The only bad thing about was poor description that fails to tell you what the stat really does and thus you need to find out on internet. But then there are plenty other poorly explained things in other Souls games as well. It's a flaw of the series as a whole, being unfairly fucked over if you play completely blind.
Good lord thank you, I'm a souls veteran who loved ds2 from the gate and while I understand it had some flaws I always thought that people were unnecessarily cruel towards it. Loved the introduction to power stancing, loved the bonfire aesetics, loved the story and how it was told. It felt like a great game to me
It is a solid game, and I do think that it gets more flak than it deserves, but I also do think that it does deserve it’s placement at the bottom of the list. It’s a 6 or a 7 in a series that otherwise ranges from 8-10.
The one other negative that I've found during my genocide run, is that some enemies have attacks that, literally, have no wind up, no tells. Just BAM you've been hit. (Looking at you, hiede knights) add that to the love of chain aggro, adaptability and the slow animation timing, and it all comes together in a package that *feels* like they couldn't figure out how to make it difficult without cheating or going for cheap shots. There is a lot to love about DS2 in the greater world building, majula is absolutely beautiful and haunting. I don't even have an issue with life gems, they balance well with how estus was handled. It's the moment to moment gameplay that makes playing through an absolute slog.
@Maniac in the fextralife wiki, it's called a backslash. It has no wind up and comes out almost instantly. Try backstabbing one and see how fast it comes out.
@Danijal Jahic I can't say that I've seen it, personally. Not to say it isn't there, but BB is much higher paced than just about all the souls games and is tuned for it. So, it wouldn't feel nearly as out of place as it does with DS2 and it's, almost, plodding pacing.
@@danijaljahic1312 but bloodborne is build on aggression and counteraggression. being hit by cheap shots isnt as bad, if you are able to instantly turn the aggression around, since that regenerates your health.
Dark souls 2 was the last dark souls game I got every achievement for. I was told it was going to be shit. Fast forward to today and it holds a special place in my heart, from the vast array of weapons to the dlc, I simply can’t describe it. It’s just so great it’s sad that many see it as bad
I am playing through it for the 2nd time now (I played DS1, 2, and 3 for the first time last year. I have 100% on DS1 and DS3, bit annoyed that DS2 requires you to do online play to get 100% (sunlight spear and hidden weapon I believe), but perhaps it will be good for me to give online play a go. The servers were all down the first time I played. DS2 is the best and the hardest in my opinion, I don't understand the hate, aside from the whole Miyazaki fanboy stuff, and the handling being a bit odd (you get used to it though).
@@rafaelbrito9519 Thank you, not sure if I knew that the first time I played through, I still had half a dozen boss soul spells to get via NG+, so probably hadn't worried too much about the covenant stuff. I left them until last on DS3 as well due to the farming being mind-numbing. These games would be completely different without youtube, fextralife, and mugenmonkey.
I completed dark souls 2 and the DLCs around 3 days ago and i do have to say i really enjoyed myself in the end. 2 things i hated were how many enemies there were and the loss of your health when you die it also felt like the devs hated the player and wanted to put as many inconveniences into the game as possible without making it unplayable lol. For me the bosses were fun but not very interesting or particularly challenging compared to bosses from other games however with that being said, it was so much fun once i got used to the mechanics and got invested in the story/lore. I had the same feeling of wanting to continue playing like i had with DS1 and Elden Ring (the other fromsoftware games i completed). I didn't think id enjoy it especially after hearing so many people tell me to skip it and go straight to dark souls 3 and my first impressions weren't the best either.
More than often I said “oh this is Dark Souls 2!” while playing Elden Ring. Overall color palette, armor designs, power stance, snowy invisible areas, running on huge chain, etc. Dark Souls 2 is indeed a very good game. Not the best of From Software, but it still deserves the title of Dark Souls.
Occasionally when I see clips of people playing elden ring I think to myself “‘man dark souls 2 was a great game” then I realize it’s elden ring cause they do look similar at times
The way I see it, the throne ending is either the rekindling of fire/not rekindling ending depending on the main character's choice, while the walk away ending is not accepting the latter two fates that were kind of forced upon you, but rather finding your own purpose.
DS2 is the ultimate mad hollow simulator. It somewhat makes me think of TES4 Oblivion's Shivering Isles. For the sake of every character being mildly forgetfull, perhaps even blissfull. And the contrast of design between the gritty dark dank zones and colorfull almost psychedelic zones is refreshing. Majula, Heide's Tower, Shrine of Amana and Shaded woods feel very comfortable. Gave a bit of the Never Ending Story/Labyrinth vibe, with an ounce of Dark Crystal.
im just gonna go ahead and like/sub only 51 secs in. so im replaying the series myself after getting a friend into it. just finished up with int and faith builds in ds1. was a blast. now im onto ds2, my personal favorite of the trilogy. demon's is my actual favorite, but its bc it was my first experience with the 'series.' i think we are all a lil biased towards whatever our introduction was, and i think thats valid. ANYWAYS, thank you. you've alrdy made me happy cry from the intro alone bc i feel very much the same. ok back to actually watching, but i just wanted to say thanks for making this even if you feel like its just 1 of many. those few matter, bc those few are the ones that appreciate the game for what it is, instead of what it isnt. the whole reason i stumbled on this vid is bc i wondered while playing if the stigma surrounding ds2 has changed at all. edit: concerning enemies spawns AND some of the bosses. imma just get this spill outta the way. i think a lot of ds2's design choices were specifically meant to target habits ds1 players developed. things like s on levers and fog doors. things like running thru entire areas unpunished. things like spamming dodge roll instead of timing dodges (bc in ds2, stam econ is much more rigid.) anyways, i think all those things were meant to increase difficulty if you didnt adapt. what i mean by that is taking advantage of the despawn mechanic. how i think they WANTED you to play, is slower, taking out problem enemies, so your runbacks were either completely enemy free, or you made it to the boss with more supplies. one of the best examples of this i can remember are the degrade bugs in shrine of amana right next to a bonfire. you were clearly meant to despawn those before progressing. or for example, all the enemies surrounding strand. anywho, my point is, i think the balance of enemies is designed with some of those enemies being despawned by players. what that means for players who dont interact at all with those systems is they end up chased by a horde of enemies treating ds2 runback's like ds1 (or whatever other title.) i also think the reason bosses feel weaker as a whole is bc the area itself AND the boss are the 'fight' in a way. its a battle of attrition, of who can sustain longer almost. so i think the areas were made harder, while the bosses are oftentimes weaker. this is true for areas even in ds1, like blighttown, catacombs, or sen's for example. favorite areas: no mans wharf, shrine of amana, gutter, lost bastille, black gulch, drag castle, undead crypt, dragon aerie, dragons sanctum, and frozen eleum loyce favorite bosses: pursuer, chariot, looking glass knight, fume knight, and sir alonne this is SUCH a refreshing video, i cant even put into words how much i enjoyed this. life gems are my main form of healing generally. to balance out being able to get them early on i like to only buy them after ive lvled up. so say i have 15k souls, use 12k on lvls, then spend 3k on life gems. it gives those souls a use and also helps with not just having an overabundance of life gems early on. i very much agree even the negs are a part of the game as well, and you learn to appreciate or at the very least understand them.
One of the best things about DS2 is that it rewards challenges like "No Death" or "No Bonfire" with special rings. I loved those runs and/but they were only enjoyable because of bonfire ascetics and life gems (imo). It's such a different experience to play it like that and get something from the developers for that other than a PS-Trophy.
Fun vid, I largely agree. Though i wouldn't say that Scholar's enemy placement encourages the player to run past everything. Getting too hasty with your approach to these encounters leads to the gangbangings that most DS2 critics cite as a flaw in the design.
Then I'll ask more to maybe learn something cuz I want to eventually beat this game.. what is the correct way for encounters? Cuz sometimes you round a corner and everything comes out other times you open a door and everything rushes the door way but I still can't get a swing in on all of them stacked up cuz of how frequent they attack I've heard shield is the way to go but how? most of the time I've tried one or two hits even from little guys still breaks it rolling feels weird even with recommended agility score and yes take my time pull back be meticulous and slow about everything only works so long as enemies aggro far enough before returning to their spot which usually has at least one other threat leading to these awkward clumsy fights against two enemies or more maybe that last part is skill issue on my part but still... again not mad just at a lost over this game
@@mitchlinder1689 Take the game slowly. That's how DS2 is meant to be played. Of course, running past everything is an option, but in some places like Iron Keep and Shrine of Amana, you are gonna get ganked into oblivion trying to do so. Take one enemy or 2 at a time and slowly clear everything. Some Boss Runs can be solved by simply despawning everyone if you want too, I at least like to do it on Smelter Demon because Iron Keep's first half is loaded with enemies
@@mitchlinder1689 In my experience, veterans of the other, more reflex-based souls games and soulslikes tend to try and brute-force or outskill every encounter, and run past when that doesn't work. It really is best to treat DS2 like a hardcore dungeons and dragons game or an old-school, unforgiving RPG. The encounters are harsh and difficult yes, but you are given lots and lots of tools and resources to deal with them even from the start of the game. It's just that these options might seem counterintuitive or conflict with a certain character fantasy you're trying to go for. It's biggest sin in my opinion is that it doesn't do a great job of informing the player of them. For instance, this game gives you every single ranged combat option you could ask for and will treat you like a chump for not using them to their fullest extent, which is different from other souls games. Knives, bombs of every elemental type, rope-bombs, pyromancies, and crossbows are all completely viable with no stat investment. Even sorceries and miracles can be used with little stat sacrifice with the spice system through the vendor in Iron Keep. Life gems are available to you in unlimited quantities (granted that you know to exhaust the hag's dialogue) after the first area and are meant to act as a buffer to keep you moving through the unforgiving environments when your estus dries up. Resin buffs are also available early on through certain paths you can take. The durability system, while annoying at times, heavily encourages you to diversify your arsenal and the encounters follow suit. (Wide slashing for multi-enemy encounters, thrusting/slamming for tight corridors). If you're having a tough time, you're playing as intended. But in my experience most souls veterans that try this game get offended at the mere proposal that their skill and reflexes alone may not suffice enough for certain encounters, which is very in keeping with old school RPG design philosophy. How you feel about this approach is up to you, it's certainly not a perfect implementation here. But I would try not to see the game as a skill contest but rather a survival game. DS2 is going to play dirty and be unfair at times, and you have to be just as clever and resourceful to match, even if that doesn't feel as satisfying as 2-hand Zweihandering your way through the first game. If you're at a road block, head back to Majula and take stock of everything you have. Could you try upgrading a different weapon to suit the encounter better? Do you have ranged options? Is there anything to buy from the Blacksmith or the Hag that will assist you? If all else fails you can try a different route and gain some levels and more resources before tackling that one again (unless you've made it a certain way in the game, which at that point, the game expects you to come prepared). Seek souls, bearer of the curse. For only a true monarch may walk these grounds.
DS2 is one of my favorites. The world interaction functions are top tier. Explode certain walls, make the enemies break them, move traps, get naked to run in acid, zip lining, light torches, torches help you see, burn things with torches, wind and water can put out torches, reveal hidden enemies with torches, distract enemies with moaning trees, scare enemies with torches, rings help you traverse paths, light up braziers with torches, break doors, knocking on doors so enemies will open them for you, secret trap doorways, dowse yourself in water to minimize fire damage, set off explosive barrels with fire, heal springs, unpetrifying people, Giant Seeding invaders, invaders joining the Looking Glass Knight fight, booby trapping your world and attracting invaders, and equipment durability actually mattering, but sometimes it breaks into something better. As for lore, at least 65% of DS3's world is effected by DS2's lore. Then 20-30% is DS1's. The rest is DS3's alone. Almost NOBODY can tell you the tree sorcerer Pontiff is a descendant to the Oracle in DS2.
Dark Souls 2 will always have a special place in my heart, it was actually the second Dark Souls game I ever played and is the only Souls game I have ever gone into New Game Plus 8 on. The build variety and the combat alone make this game a blast to play and that doesn't even mention the fact this game is actually really fun to speedrun and do challenge runs. I have beaten this game 18 times and just started another playthrough to see how fast I can actually Beat It wow incorporating all the knowledge and glitches I have gained over the years. Bloodborne and Dark Souls 2 will forever be the best in the franchise and for me personally my least favorite would have to be held in ring because I still think the souls formula should never have gone open world, it's a fun game to complete your first time but I think after your first time completing it Elden ring loses a lot of its luster just because of its size. But that's my opinion, My Last Hope is they finally remaster Dark Souls 2 like they did to Demon's Souls. Guarantee it will become one of the most popular ones.
What I like about Dark Souls 2 is how many souls and weapon upgrade materials it gives you. It can absolutely be bullshit with ganks sometimes, but it gives you more tools and resources to deal with them. I'm going through new game plus and have more than 10 max level weapons to play around and have fun with. I make boss weapons just for fun because I don't need to consume the souls to get an extra couple levels. And the rings. I love the variety of rings in Dark Souls 2. Even if I'm not gonna use a lot of them they're still fun to collect.
Played all of the SoulsBorne games last year. DS2 was really fun even if I had a lot of issues with it lol. Also I like the idea that the game actually has 3 endings. The first two are combined in a sort of Schrödinger’s box type deal with how the throne is shaped like a kiln and closes you inside. At that point, the player character embodies both endings from DS1 as they technically can choose one of the other- we’ll just never see it. This ending continues the cycle light and dark. The third ending then sees to it that the player character exits the cycle altogether. They are still undead, but with the DLC crowns, they no longer have to worry about the effects of the curse. They have escaped the cycle. I like to think this is the true ending because it means that even though Vendrick couldn’t protect his kingdom or himself, in the end he was still able to find a way for someone to live outside of the cycle.
If DS3 is to be believed Aldia's ending is the canon ending of DS2. As the DS2 items and their descriptions in DS3 would be impossible unless Aldia's ending is canon. For example the "taking the throne" ending would make both the Hollow Slayer and Lucatiel's Mask appearing in DS3 impossible.
I’m surprised you didn’t enjoy the story as much as I thought you would when keeping in mind the rest of the video. Ds2 has some of my favorite stories in the series. I especially love the different personifications of the dark and the lore implications that they imply. I feel like it definitely expanded on many concepts from ds1 and did a good job of foreshadowing some of the issues in the world that are illustrated in ds3. Anyways great video!
The story also does a great job demonstrating the cycles of rebirth and destruction, where Lordran was so long ago that only a few hints to its existence are present. One example that really stood out to me was Straid of Olaphis, which was so long ago that nobody besides him even knew that kingdom once existed. It's a lot of little touches like that, instead of being in your face about despair and desolation, instead being an omnipresent and subtle reminder about what will happen someday even if you become a monarch. ...Then DS3 happened with Anor Londo shoved in your face and a lot of other throwbacks, to the point it feels like DS1 happened a decade or two ago.
I'm playing DS2 now for the first time, currently doing the DLC before finishing the main game. I'm really enjoying it. I'm doing a fully offensive strength build for the first time, which I have learned is very difficult. But it's so fun and I love uncovering the story as I go. At least, what I think the story is. My main complaint is the hollowing mechanic. I get being barred from doing certain things when hollow, but constantly chipping away at your health just feels like being punished for trying and not already being good. Glad it wasn't in Bloodborne or Elden Ring. And it would be nice if the stats had a description explaining what they do like in Elden Ring. But other than that, really loving the game. It's beautiful, moving, and every victory feels earned.
I mean you get what the stats are doing ingame, same as in Elden Ring. The hollow mechanic can be tough early on, but you can find a Ring in one of the starting areas that halfs the HP loss from that mechanic. Or you can also farm some effigies early on and buy more.
I love Dark Souls II, like really, it's litteraly my favorite game of the franchise because of its differences. All of the areas introductions are probably some of the greatests moments I've lived in a video game. Thank you so much for giving love to this game, even if you knows that it has issues !
this was my first dark souls game but since then i’ve played them all multiple times with different builds and can still say ds2 is my favorite. ds3 felt so shallow with the areas yet dark souls 2 had so much personality and enjoyable locations over the others
DS2 has the coolest locations but the lamest boss fights. It does some things better and other things worse, it doesn’t deserve so much hate, but it’s definitely not the best Fromsoft game.
With true weapon mastery, a lengthy game, huge rewards for exploration and experimentation, and mechanics that keep things interesting it's a great entry. In fact, Elden Ring could have benefitted from the bonfire ascetic mechanic. My favorite out the Dark Souls trilogy.
I loved DS1, but neither it nor DS3 really gripped me like DS2. It's the only one in the series I find myself going back to. I've never really seen ADP as an issue, since even 10-12 ADP is enough to avoid most attacks with proper timing, especially if you have enough attunement for even 1 spell. The only exception are those dang thunder reindeer xD If you know you know. If you don't, you lucky plonker. One of the really stronger parts of DS2 are its variety in how different the areas look from one another. Even at the very start, the 3 first areas from Majula are so different. Instead of just grey and undead here undead there, ooh that undead has a torch; what a sight to behold. DS2 has a ruined and overgrown fort, a pristine but "partially" sunken castle, and a shadowy pirate bay
Dark Souls 2 was my first Souls game ever it will always hold a special place in my heart. Its not perfect but man is it fun! I've passed this game at least 12 times and I'm still not tiered of it. Much love.
DS2 also handles casters the best as well. While Elden Ring does have a good variety of strong spells, the actual support for casters presented there absolutely pales in comparison to DS2.
I miss those old days when it was new. All the crazy 1v1 PvP, chasing each other across the map. Most fun invasions I've ever had. It didn't feel like someone was just coming into the world to annoy me, but they instead felt like an integrated challenge of the world itself. I expected it. They literally became a boss I had to overcome to proceed. All that came to a thematic peak when I actually had an invader smash through the mirror shield during the Mirror Knight battle! I did not know that could even happen and it had to be the coolest thing I had ever fucking seen in a game. I about lost it. XD I had two phantoms with me at the time, so it was the Boss + Invader against the three of us. You just can't find that kind of experience anywhere else.
sousl game is still very good. i have played all dark souls, demon souls, bloodborn and elden ring......dark souls 2 is the best of all of them except elden ring. elden ring was better, a fuckign masterpiece. but after that dks2 is best
DS3 did something similar in the Ringed City DLC where the Invader becomes the Boss himself in the Spear of the Chruch Bossfight. The idea of assisting the Boss (DS2) or beeing a Bossfight (DS3) is just genius.
Nothing like an angry player smashing into the world through the boss' shield to make you go straight from plan B to plan O. DS2 definitely has the best online play in the series in my opinion. Plus a few of the bosses have some expertly crafted drama to them. Namely the Ivory King and Looking Glass Knight (though with npc enemies it can be less dramatic). *SPOILERS* It's so cool to jump down to the lava place with your 4 knight buddies, doing superhero landings and all, then fighting the bad knights while yours sacrifice themselves 1 by 1 to stop the bad ones from respawning. Then when you have just 1 or 2 allies left, the freaking king shows up, and your last knights fall during the fight and it's just you and the king 1v1. Masterpiece
Unlike Hbomberguy's video, this one is mostly if not entirely subjective, acknowledges negatives with the game and is not, among other things, attacking and ridiculing another creator (Matthewmatosis), telling people how to play and just hating on Dark Souls I for no reason instead of actually defending Dark Souls II. Those things made Mauler respond to it, not because Hbomb simply liked the game. The video was just plain bad and many of the points he used made little sense.
@@jokemon9547 Same way with Maulers video, he is better when it comes to movies. He even complained about not being able to backstap soneone white the other wears the harlequinn armor. You can see that Mauler did not put much effort into tha video, just some rage bait for the DS2 hater.
@@henriklarssen1331 Mauler's video is far from perfect and some of the things shown, such as the Jester armor backstab, is one of them. However that didn't really negate the point he was making in that section about the backstabs as a whole, as they are extremely inconsistent in Dark Souls 2, as was shown with the other examples. The backstabs working from an angle instead of directly behind the enemy leading to confusion and the weird "punch" that occurs sometimes as if the game is registering a backstab, but not following through with it because an enemy is not in the correct position for it are both poor craftmenship at worst and questionable game design at best on the devs' part. I still agree with many of the points made in the video and I think Hbomb's video was a poor attempt to bash Dark Souls 1 instead of actually doing what the title suggested, because almost everything in the video amounted to "but Dark Souls 1 did x and that was worse". And this is coming from someone who actually likes Dark Souls 2 and I consider it to be my favourite despite the many flaws with it.
@@jokemon9547 You can and should critic every Game because they all have some flaws. Thats fine and good. The point is, Mauler HATES DS2 and cant force himself to say anything positive about it. I made a super chat at open Bar a couple Month ago with a P.S at Mauler saying "DS2 is a good Game" and he did not react well to that and said no. So you can see that most of his critisism comes from the typical DS2 hater corner. And it showed in his Video. Granted i havent watched that several hour long thing again, so i cant point out every little detail. To me every Souls Game did questionable things and other things bad, while other things good. DS2 is still my most played Game on Steam, thanks to all the great design ideas they had and the insane build variety. And i realy hated it when it came out.
I played Dark Souls 2 for the first time only after playing Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1 and 3, and Sekiro. With the experience of those games, I went into DS2 curious to see what all the fuss was about. I liked a lot of things about the game. The locations were beautiful, the story was intriguing, Majula is a great hub area and that music is mesmerizing, going into the memories of the giants was a cool idea, Bonfire ascetics were fun to try out, I liked how backstab animations were different for each weapon instead of the same like in DS1 and 3, and although the map doesn't cross and intersect and loop back around like DS1 or Bloodborne do, I still liked that you had many different paths to choose from connecting to Majula. From the start I was really curious what was down that hole in Majula, but didn't have enough health to survive the fall. Eventually, going down there and discovering just how deep it went was a really cool experience. However, being experienced with the other Souls games, I couldn't help but notice that something about the gameplay felt off. The character was noticeably slower at everything, no matter the equip load. Rolling was slower, drinking estus was slower, the health filled up slowly and not instantly, the time it took roll after an attack or any animation was much longer, and for some reason I couldn't understand why I was still taking damage when I swore I dodged at the right time. That wasn't an issue I had in the other games and of course I had no idea adaptability was a thing. I struggled through most of the game thinking it was the wonky hitboxes everyone was talking about, until I finally read somewhere that leveling up adaptability increased your speed and invincibility frames when rolling. After leveling it up a little bit, all of a sudden the game felt how a Souls game should feel. Rolling and drinking were the right speed now. This is one of many aspects of the game that were put in just to make it harder, but it wasn't fair difficulty, it was just for the sake of difficulty. Constantly being swarmed by too many enemies to handle at once, too many bosses were only challenging because they were a 3v1, having your max health be reduced with every death until you use an effigy, enemies' attacks had farther reach than you would expect, many enemies had combos that were just annoying and unpredictable, and the fact that your health fills up slowly caused so many deaths that wouldn't have happened in the other games. It just makes it a less enjoyable experience overall.
I have 1200 hours in DS2 and pretty much have a complete different view about it. I realy hate how simple and stupid DS3 gameplay is, you can just spam attacks and roll as much as you want, stamina dosent matter. in DS2 stamina management is super important, you realy have to thinka bout every attack and dodge and i assume that many Players playing DS2 last just dont do that because they come from games where it dosent matter. They also dont know that every point in weight lower the stamina regen. A feature i realy like and its only possible because with ADP the i-frames are no longer bound to the weight system. I also dont get swarmed by tons of enemies all the time, i have no clue how people manage to do that. Or i mean play undead burg in DS1, the first area in that Game you get "ganked" the whole time and no one cares. If you are new and die alot, there is a ring early on which halfes the HP loss with every death. Or you just farm effigies. And which combos were not fair? I never had a problem with them, talking about Elden Ring on the other hand, that Game is full of supid Bosses and enemies with insane combos and damage, but no one realy cares about it again. Makes you wonder. DS2 did so much new and better then any other Souls Game and most of the complains are from people who go in blind (i hated DS2 when it came out and was frustrated, but mostly because i did not know anything about the mechanics because there wasn a wiki yet) or force their DS3 playstyle on the Game. APD is also not unfair or anyoing, you get like double the amount of levels in DS2 compared to DS1+3, so it dosent hurt any build at all but putting a few points into ADP from time to time.
@@henriklarssen1331 Dude, seriously... "i hated DS2 when it came out and was frustrated, but mostly because i did not know anything about the mechanics because there wasn't a wiki yet", meaning that a wiki or guide or article made by a random person is needed to enjoy the game or know how to play? That statement alone can make the whole design fall apart on itself... Loosing max hp every time you die and depend on a finite resource to fix that is unfair af, specially from the start until you get to Heide's Tower of flame where the ring is, ring you can potentially skip without the help of a guide or a wiki. "I realy hate how simple and stupid DS3 gameplay is, you can just spam attacks and roll as much as you want, stamina dosent matter.", I'll just ignore the fact that I beat pretty much every boss in DS2 with the exact same strategy and stamina didn't matter at all because I barely needed it, when DS1 and 3 bosses actually made me rethink my combat style for many of them because no I couldn't spam attacks and roll as much as I wanted. I can only think it's because of different builds, but still, that'd be like saying all Souls are stupid because you can be a mage and LB/R1 from the distance and that's the whole gameplay... "Most of the complains are from people who go in blind", you mean without watching/reading any guide or wiki? Like when the game first came out and was meant to be played? Like how ever souslike is meant to be played if you want the full experience because it encourages learning and improving by yourself and that's what makes the expierence beautiful? My friend, I don't believe DS2 to be a good game, yet I don't doubt it can be enjoyable for many, but you're only making it look much more worse than it is by saying that it's the player's fault not to have read a guide before. What really makes me wonder is how some DS2 fanboys just hate on everything Fromsoft made after DS2 and wonder why people don't see things the way they do, and you can never see that maybe it's because those game don't feel broken or off in any moment? Or unnecesarily unfair? Or were games they could beat by learning and overcoming the challenges by themselves without the help of any guide, reassuring how important not having a detailed tutorial telling you exactly what to do in soulslikes is?
@@henriklarssen1331 I disagree with everything you said. Stamina management is important in all the souls game, so saying it's hard for players who came from games where it didn't matter is wrong. It did matter in the other games. DS1, DS3, and Bloodborne are very fair with stamina management. DS2 on the other hand made many weird changes that make the game unfairly difficult, for the sake of being difficult. 1. The main one was ADP, which yes, is unfair. - You aren't told by anyone anywhere in the game how important it is, and people coming into this game after DS1 I aren't assuming that there is a stat that affects i-frames. - It has a huge effect on gameplay. You essentially are forced to level up ADP 20 levels to get the game to feel like DS1 or DS3. - I disagree about the amount of souls you receive, I spent hours farming just to level up ADP, so no it wasn't balanced at all. ADP is also a broken mechanic because if you level up only ADP and nothing else, you can dodge roll out of anything and everything throughout the whole game with no chance of taking damage ever. It's ridiculous. 2. Another big one is the time it takes to roll after an attack animation or drinking Estus. In both DS1 and 3, if you attack, you can roll out of the way pretty quickly, and if you drink Estus, the same. But in DS2, you are basically stuck for a whole extra half second, spamming the circle button, trying to dodge. 3. Drinking Estus is way slower, and the health fills up much slower. In DS1 and 3, not only is the drinking animation faster, but when you drink, your health fills up instantly. In DS2, if you're trying to heal during combat, you will most likely die even if you already drank the Estus, because your health didn't have time to fill up all the way yet and the damage you took was larger than your current health. This is unfair because although the amount of health the Estus replenishes could have been enough to survive, it didn't fill the gauge fast enough. In DS1 and 3, you have a fair chance to time when to heal and if you are hit right after the animation, most likely the damage you took would be less than the health you replenished. 4. In DS1, the undead burg, there are a lot of enemies. However most of them are slow and don't do much damage. It is a good area to learn the basics of combat and space/stamina management and planning timing attacks. In DS2 however, too many areas have too many enemies. Forest of Fallen Giants, Dead Man's Wharf, certain areas in the Lost Bastille, Shrine of Amana, etc.. are all full of amounts of enemies that are nearly impossible to handle all at the same time. It's not similar to anything found in the other games. This combined with the unfair slowness of the stamina, health refill, and dodging added to the game makes things even more difficult. 5. There are many enemies that have insane combos that drain all your stamina or health very quickly, and those attacks happen randomly with no good indication of the timing. Just another weird change that only exists in DS2 to make the game artificially difficult, and not really fair. 6. I used the ring since the start of the game, and despite that, it was still annoying needing to bring my health back to full after dying a few times. In DS1 this only happened when you were cursed from specific enemies. Being penalized every time you die is yet another lame "difficulty" feature that again, only exists in DS2. 7. I don't think DS3 gameplay is simple or stupid. It is definitely faster, and took a lot from Bloodborne, but it is no more simple than the rest of the games. Stamina management, blocking, rolling, attacking, and timing. There's a reason DS3 removed a lot of the unfair mechanics that DS2 implemented and brought it back closer to what DS1 was, and that reason is Miyazaki directed DS1 and 3, but not 2. DS2 was a project run by people who didn't understand what made DS1 so great, so they just shoved in anything they could think of to make it as hard as possible.
@@henriklarssen1331 Well, let me say it more briefly... If you need a wiki to enjoy the game or be able to play it at the very least, it's poorly designed.
I’ve said it before and will stand by it. A Remake of this game would be seriously awesome. Touch up the graphics, fix issues like SM and ADP. The content is there. So much to offer.
I'd actually like to see a full trilogy remake. DS1 was great but the gameplay has a lot of jank. I think it would also be cool if you could get cross-game multiplayer, like you invade in Darkroot Garden and end up in the Shaded Wood. A lot of locations in one game have a corresponding location in one or both other games. Such a thing would likely require unifying the mechanics across all three games, which would mean making some big changes to one game or another. Does every game get the slower estus healing of DS2, or does DS2 get the instant estus healing of the other games? That's the one thing making me hesitate about this being a good idea (not estus specifically, but all non-uniform mechanics).
I LOVE the slow combat pace of DS2. I also love the agility stat (raised by adaptability and attunement) - cool idea, if you ask me. There are hardly any games I enjoyed as much as DS2. The aesthetics, the soundtrack, that special kind of spooky athmosphere, the controls and gameplay (way better than DS1!!), the always fair difficulty,... Simply loving it. More than I will ever be able to love it's predecessor.
DS2 holds a special place for me because of when I played it (playing it new rather than being a couple years behind like with DS1) and how fun it is on replay. I've come to appreciate what makes it different from DS1 and DS3 and it's the one that often comes to mind when I have a hankering to play even though, as you mentioned, DS3 is the most repayable perhaps.
Iam realy surprised why some people think DS3 is the most replayble. Its my least played by far and thats mostly because it has zero NG+ content and the world design is a straight line with 2-3 side branches. So you play through each area in the same order every time and you are also limited early on when it comes to build variety. Meanwhile in DS2 you have new NG+ content and even more important, you can reach tons of different areas early on which gives you tons of different toys to play with. And on top of that, you can play through each area in a different order every playthrough. Thats why DS2 is my most played in the series, new runs and challenge runs are realy fun and different every time.
I agree with most, and I think the absolute most underrated fact is the NG+ thing. Stuff even changes into NG++ right? More than just the Nil sword (which also is a really cool thing). There are also rings and stuff that are super hard to get, like the ones where you have to beat the game without dying, without using bonfires etc. The game really gives you stuff to strive/fight for. Also love the fact you could still upgrade armor. I guess the thing I like the least about DS2 is that spells are underpowered and that there are not many weapons overall that make you feel powerful.
Thank you for supporting this game it was my first and is probably my favorite souls game to play because I think elden ring is maybe a bit too long this games pacing is just perfect but when I heard of all the hate the game gets I felt like it always needed someone to stick up for it so thank you for being that person
I think my biggest issue with this game has always been the way it just...feels. The movement just always felt sluggish in terms of dodge rolling through i-frames, enemies would take damage but their models wouldn't respond as if you hit them at all, etc. Don't get me wrong, I really like DS2, but it's definitely the game in the series I revisit the least
Godlike movement, give it another shot and try a diff build There's all kinds of stuff you can do. Did you know you can fake-shoot arrows? Did you know you can fake a fake, but it costs stamina? Just try stuff. And don't be afraid to lock on
It's a great game, with certain issues. Most people that dislike the game haven't even played it. Make your own opinion guys, use something called critical thinking.
dark souls 2 did quite a few things right in my opinion, it was the last game to have long lasting consequences to the player, like curse status/repeated deaths decreasing your max health, bonfire ascetics permanently increasing NG cycle, relevant item durability. surely it has quite a few problems, but i *really* missed that kind of hardcore creativity in subsequent fromsoft games.
"Relevant item durability" Yeah relevant in the sense that it constantly ruins the game.. Why of all things would you praise the two worst things about this game? The r*tarded durability and decreasing your max health. What a stupid concept. If you're dying a bunch you're probably already struggling; why then punish players further by reducing max health and making it even harder? Long lasting consquences don't make sense in a game where you can die as easily as these games.
Man time flies, this was my 1st ever souls game back in 2014, i didnt know what i was up against i just wanted something fresh and to this day i still love the game and lore and the music in ds2 is great.
I did not enjoy dark souls 2 though I keep on trying I just started playing again going for a magical build, All I really like about dark souls 2 is that it is unique and is really smooth combat system
Man i love that this video popped up for me, i put so many hours in dark souls 2, probably my favorite in the soul series. The builds people came up with was insane. It is a bit slower on the animation side compared to other games but idk i think its what gives its unique feel to it.
Great video! And I completely agree! When I first played the Dark Souls series, I didn't like DS2, didn't even finish the expansions... but a couple years ago I played it again, and it trade places with DS3 for me, becoming my favourite in the series! Sure it has its problems, like all games in the series, but I just found it so fun to play!
I have fond memories of getting drunk with a few friends and being stuck on the forest of fallen giants at 2am. It was my first experience with the original, and i must say i'm very warm to that version of the game.
Something i really missed in ds3 is breakable objects and traps. In Ds2 you can break weak doors or make tough enemies break some damaged walls to open new areas or shortcuts which was nice addition. In Ds3 and Bb a warrior who kills eldrich horrors and overworldly monsters can be stopped by simple wooden door which "does not open from this side". Wooden chests in ds2 are breakable and loot inside can turn into rubbish if you do so which makes you act extra carefully around it. In other chapters you just whack chests with your Instrument of Ultimate Destruction +10 without any consequences. And traps just kept you on your toes each time you saw something valuable. Even if chest in front of you isn't a mimic there can be trap inside or pressure plate around it which could damage or even kill you so you have to always watch out for those. And don't get me started on Power Stances! It's really sad that many good ideas were undeservably forgotten.
This video is describing the quality of the game, which obviously matters and still has different opinions. Bit to be honest, i think a lot of peoplw overlook the most simple and basic aspect of games where you control a character in a 3d space: the controls. They first thing you can do after starting DS2 (other than seeing the cutscene and where you spawn) is how you move. The weird, spread out controls that are unlike a lot of games we are used to throw us off immediately and makes the process of relearning controls not fun, usually resulting in giving up the game before being fluent in how to move and attack. (this is about PC controls. I just got to borrow and XBOX controller recently, but that doesnt help because i have the same problem: learn new controls. I didn't grow up with any consoles (or even PCs and phones but those are easy to learn) so figuring it out was annoying. Ill still keep trying though. Stick drift is gross.)
Dark Souls II really didn't get the love it deserved. I will never ever forget the first time I played this game. It was the first souls game I had ever played and usually when people describe their once in a lifetime experiences I can't really relate. I have a hard time imagining the spark they must have felt when explaining those experiences, but for me Dark Souls II was exactly that. I had never experienced anything like that game ever before and haven't ever since. If I had to describe the experience I felt in one word it would be magical. In the most literal sense. I had never been so immersed in a game. For anyone reading, if you have the time I would highly recommend playing this game. Especially if you haven't played a souls like ever before.
I’ve always said it. I love DS2, the most major complaint for it is why is there a volcano at the top of a elevator that’s not in the background of the poison swamp? If that’s the biggest flaw for most people, then idk what to tell them lol…to me it has some of the best most interesting areas to explore, and there gorgeous.
As someone who love DS2, I can say that I haven't ever noticed the animation thing he talk about here. I say this because I think that sounds very scary, and I don't want that to turn people of from trying DS2. My praise: The game truly has some of the most epic locations in the whole series, and some of the most epic bosses too. The game also has the MOST bosses of any of the soulsborne games. And most of them are good. Some of them a truly amazing, and amongst the most memorable :D Lastly, I find Firelink Shrine in this game to be my favorite. Both the music, and the view/location. In DS3 Firelink Shrine was just bullshit. Dark room, and you teleport everywhere. DS1 and DS2 had it be an outdoor location interconnected with the world around it, and DS2 does this just like DS1 does, only I personally like DS2 location and music better for this.
Something to note about Scholar, if you take areas slower and dont run by enemies, Its much easier then the original version in almost all cases imo. Ive beaten up to NG+ 4 in both versions (with some areas being ng+7 due to Aethetic use) and while places like Iron keep are an exception, Most encounters seem to have split grouping in scholar Allowng you to take smalller groups out without agroing an entire room.
This game is fantastic and there’s a big community of people of the subreddit that absolutely love this game. My favorite souls game just happens to be whichever one I’m playing at the time and I find myself playing this one alot
Majula's theme will never leave my head for as long as i live, DS2 may have been weaker compared to the others but it has some of the most memorable places in the Souls series.
I feel ds1 is actually the weakest
@@Asterion_Mol0c too much shit you gotta go through before the game actually opens up whereas even on demons you could just warp around and go at your own pace instead of forced to walk back n forth everywhere for 3/4 the game...
@@DonnieDaise ds3 ringed city was stronger than ds2 truthfully
Yes!
That’s exactly how I feel I was so young when I played this game this music is so beautiful and the theme of Majula just feels so calming and feels almost like home it’s just comforting to hear
Fun fact: fragnant branches and phaross lockstones, are actually items from king's field 3, they serve the same purpose in that game, and even look simillar
Damn, I had no idea
So maybe, though souls 2 isnt directly connected to the lordran/lothric timelines, its connected to the kingsfield timelines. Thats pretty cool if true
@@djspit8929 mostly because the ds2 wasn't being directed by Miyazaki, and were also feeling pressured to create a sequel that can top DS1, having lost in the game's direction probably led to the existing director took more inspiration from their previous games such as King's Field and Shadow Tower.
@@aryabratsahoo7474 Miyazaki supervised the development of 2, but purposefully abstained from micromanaging the game because he didn't want to stifle the team's creativity. Dark Souls 3's development started before 2 released, once Miyazaki had finished with AotA and Bloodborne. Miyazaki did state that he looked forward to playing through 2, and subsequently 2's primary director (Tanimura) codirected DS3 and Elden Ring alongside Miyazaki (with the latter having more mechanical similarity to DS2 than DS3 did). We can only hope ER follows suit once with 3 primary DLCs.
P.S. DS2's fashion is still BiS
still shit
"None of the issues matter if you actually enjoy the game." I wish I had heard this in all the years I've spent trying to defend my love for DS2 in spite of it's flaws. Since this was my first Souls game I never had an issue with the "balance" issue of lifegems and adaptability; those were just minor parts of a thing that, to me, worked.
SAME bro. ive been playing it since i was around probably 8, and im 16 now and still play it a lot. its a great game if you actually look for the good instead of expecting bad
@@e1i.jh4you played dark souls since you were 8? wtf
@@fredfairley7724 what’s wrong with playing dark souls at 8?
@@familiarisfelinus4087 nothing wrong with it at all!! quite cool actually
yeah bro my dad had it on his old ps3 and he would play it some, and i always looked up to him and wanted to be like him so i started playing it and really got into it. sucks that he doesnt play it now although ive tried to get him to, he just doesnt (understandably) want to get addicted lol@@fredfairley7724
I want to defend Dark Souls II enemy placement and tracking. Dark Souls II is a game that is wonderful at teaching you focus and patience. If you fail an area you have to do it again from the top and kill the things, just running through is hard. When I played it, I thought this was intentional and genius, and is one of the aspects that kept me coming back, the "breathe, don't rush, do it again better this time", clean the area, attempt the dragon. The area is the challenge, not just the dragon. I love Elden Ring but I hate the fact that you can pretty much ignore 99.9% of the enemies and bosses with no punishment.
This is spot on, I thought it was disingenuous to say the enemies are ganking, when you've specifically ran passed them and aggroed all of them to a single spot. The fact that they follow you there and can even hit you out of your animation entering fog gates is supposed to encourage actually fighting the enemies as you go. When taking a slower pace, the game is actually pretty well designed in how the enemies are placed. Every critique of the enemy placements in the game I've seen show the player running past everything and getting mad because the enemies wont let you, unlike the other games.
I never know what version people are talking about when they talk about it. SOTFS? Or the original? I bought the original, but with all DLC, not knowing the difference. I loved it. It was my first, and still my favorite Souls game. I didn't even know there was a difference, so half, or more, of the reviews I've watched over the years, were talking about very different games. I watched some clips of Scholar, and it looked annoying AF. Heide's Tower of Flame, my all time favorite level. Where I learned the basics of the game. When to strike, dodge, when to kite. A relatively relaxing and peaceful arena area, where the giants leave you alone until you're ready to face them, the first real level many will experience in DS2.... has MFing dragons just laying around. The original has some annoying areas, like the run up to Sir Alone, or the Blue Smelter Demon. Those are awful, but the majority of the game was great IMO. And the Sir Alone boss fight is a once in a lifetime experience that you will have to earn. So yeah, just throwing that out there, to anyone not familiar with these games. These are 2 different games people are talking about. Basically. One is a re-release where they changed all the enemy placement and made it much harder, in a baffling, and completely arbitrary way from what I have seen. And rarely do they make that distinction. I apologize if this channel's creator does and I'm being redundant, but I've watched like 30 of these retrospectives, and most still don't. The difference seems lost to time now, like buying vanilla Skyrim in 2024. Which is not helping the game's reputation. Same thing when you check the subreddit. Most people are talking about SOTFS. Which I've never played, but have no real desire to. If I wanted to add more of a challenge to DS2 I'd just burn bonfire ascetics. So to anyone wondering if they should pick up the game or not, do some research into which one you're buying, and which one you want. I highly recommend the OG DS2, and the DLC is crucial because it's the best part of the game. Good luck trying to figure out which version you're buying though.
@@hr_game9517 No i-frames on fog walls can be particularly frustrating during boss run-backs - especially long ones, of which DS2 has quite a lot. When you're trying to learn a boss moveset, but every time you die you have to spend 30 min meticulously picking off each enemy one by one, it can really take you out of that flow state that you want to be in when learning a boss. But I never really took issue with enemy placement - I just think there's an unreasonably high amount of them at times.
@@dishonoredundead scholar is better
the heide knights will not attack you unless you kill the dragonrider
the other enemies are the same
again the same as the other areas you can just fight the enemies one at a time if you dont want to get overwhelmed
in other areas they actually fixed issues in other parts of the game like nerfing ancient dragon's health which is ridiculous in the original
they added more enemies in like 2 areas but otherwise its the same or less and even then the aggro range is reduced so that it is harder to get ganked in sotfs compared to the original
11:59
Aldia actually wants us to NOT be a part of the cycle of kindling the flame or ushering in darkness. There is one where you can just take the throne and not kindle. The aldia route is just him saying "do your own thing". Also i like how his theme takes a motif from Gwyn's theme
Scholar definitely gives the game a bad name
About the endings, taking the throne means to accept your place as a part of the cycle, when you reach the flame your character either link it and continue the age of Fire, or let it die and start the age of darkness, but the game doesn't show the choice your character make
the ending that aldia unlock is basically refusing to be part of the cycle, you won't rekindle the flame, you won't become the lord of Darkness, you basically ignore the flame and move on with your life
That’s what I was saying.
Aldia says There is no path.
Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark...
...what could possibly await us?
And yet, we seek it, insatiably...
Such is our fate.
Based.
I also feel like Aldia's ending is to keep searching for another way.
@@lexinvictus4801 fun fact, the scholar mentioned in ds3's "ring of the scolar" aka 1 of the 3 pillars of Lothric is likely Aldia, since there are various statues outside the grand archives and inside lothric castle depicting a figure covered in a blanket with roots coming out from under it. It also explains why prince Lothric chooses not to become a Lord of Cinder, nor lord of darkness, so he did in fact keep looking for another way.
@@lexinvictus4801Nature will take hold and reclaim the cycle. What did the last firekeeper say? One day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Souls will move on and be reborn into familiar ways again and again instead of new versions of the same dying era. An Age of Light or Fire may return. Or even Ages beyond.
My take on the story is that it can be divided into two parts. The first part is the themes of the loss of memory and self as you become more and more hollow. You see this happen in real time with Lucatiel and a few others, but this is also happening to your character as well. This is why the intro cutscene is so confusing. It's because your character is themselves confused. You came to Drangleic to... what? You don't know. The Emerald Herald instructs you to Bear Seek Seek Lest, but is that really _your_ goal, or a goal that someone else has imposed upon you? You never actually find out for sure.
The second part of the story is the story of Vendrick, Aldia, and Nashandra. Aldia, the Scholar of the First Sin, was trying to find a way to break the undead curse that was created by Gwyn (this is the titular First Sin). Vendrick was helping him as best he could, and refused to link the fire in the hopes that Aldia would prove successful. In the end, it was a failure, and Vendrick sealed himself away to prevent Nashandra from reaching the First Flame. I think Aldia may have been able to break the curse for himself, and Vendrick's blessing if you get all the crowns will also break the curse for you, but they weren't able to break the curse for all humans.
At the end of the game, your choice is to either take the throne and usher in an Age of Fire _or_ Dark, or if you finish Aldia's questline you get the chance to take a third option.
While DS3 does feel like more of a direct sequel to DS1, and DS2 feels like more of a spinoff, the story of DS3 makes a lot more sense with the additional context that DS2 provides. DS3 is all about Prince Lothric refusing to link the fire, and the Lords of Cinder doing the same, but it's not made clear why. DS2 was the first game to feature a character refusing to link the fire and explained what the reasons were. DS3 really highlights that advanced state of decay of the world after linking the fire countless times, validating Vendrick and Aldia's refusal to link the fire and seek an alternate way to end the undead curse.
Good comment.
@@fscorpion678 I think I may have made a mistake regarding the First Sin. I think it was actually when Gwyn linked the fire, not when he created the undead curse. The two are related, however, as the curse is designed to drive people to link the fire when it starts to fade.
Indeed, the Emerald Herald is rather brilliant in her manipulation as she so slowly and carefully redirects you off your own goal (curing yourself) and onto her goal (finding a True Monarch for the Throne of Want) that you don't even notice it happening. It takes Aldia's constant proddings to get you to think critically that snaps you out of it so that you realize you don't *have* to take the Throne of Want.
Bravo. And I feel that THIS is how to make a successful sequel to Dark Souls-not the fan-pandering nonsense of the third game. As a massive fan of the souls games, almost every plot point of the third game had me throwing my hands up in frustration, saying, “why is this here??”
@@JedrekVRoscoe Why making sequels to begin with tho, Dark Souls 1 story didn't need extra lore since it was already complete
DS2's story doesn't expand the world or the lore (Besides making our DS1's journey irrelevant), it has so many inconsistencies with DS1 or fanfiction writing is laughable or is fine but has no reason to be there (Vendrick and Nashandra fit both checks).
The only actually good thing it has is Aldia.
I remember buying this game as my first souls like and not having the slightest clue what these games are like besides frustratingly hard and I came off of Dark Souls 2 loving it a lot (my favorite bit in this game are the real and fake moonlight greatsword)
my boy Benhart of Jugo
Same. Perfect gaming times like no other man
Playing vanilla then adding DLC is the way.
I love how “the bosses fit their area” is a plus and not the bog standard.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or genuine.
@@haaahaaa6250 sarcastic lol it should most certainly be the standard.
@@Mr_Sunday_Gary yeah, well, sometimes it's good to just appreciate the small things.
Ds2 was rushed, as well as it bit off more than it can chew. It's nice to know they still managed to keep the atmosphere consistent.
Seriously, you'd be surprised how many games that disregard the need for a proper boss arena. Like this one game called portal knights, fumbled the bag so hard when it came to boss fights. And they didn't even give them proper boss rooms, only thing noticeable was that the colors matched the bosses. And that was only exclusive for the three main bosses, not the other over world ones.
God I'm glad I got a refund and didn't buy its DLC.
But yeah, still nice that ds2 took what little time it had to get it done. Sorry for ranting. :P
Ds3 have many bosses that doesn't fit the area.. like ozeiros, the dancer, the legion.. and so one
@@TheGianKl would love the explanation on how they don’t, because I don’t agree. Also one games issues don’t excuse another’s, even if this were true.
Pretty much the only complaint I have about this game is the Boss run ups they expect you to kill 50 enemies just to get to the big enemy that will kill you in one hit
I think the whole games more focusing on the curse of hollowing and the first sin being linking the fire, and what the characters make of it, is the most interesting narrative in the series.
Aldia and Vendricks stories, as well as how the other Kings dealt with their respective problems (and the curse) is the highlight of the game.
Also Aldia's ending isen't about becoming the Dark Lord. It's about refusing to take part in the cycle and seeking something else. Maybe another solution to the curse or simply indifference.
This game set the foundation for ds3 to shine. Without it expanding on the curse and lore, we may not have gotten a proper final Ds3 DLC.
Cause I don't believe the game would've shoved all of that lore in our faces. Would've ran out of development time mid way. Which makes me even more grateful for ds2.
Something different in ds2 is the protagonists ( the character you play as) goal. In ds1 and ds3 you are a chosen one who will supposedly link the flame anew. In ds2 tho your character is looking for a way to cancel or negate his own curse and thus lore wise the correct ending would be to leave the final throne room and continue searching for a way to fight the curse. Something close to it is by getting all the dlc crowns and talking to Vendrick who gives you the immunity to hollowing.
In Dark Souls 1 the main character (Chosen Undead) is originally motivated to fulfill the mission of a certain knight who freed them from the Undead Asylum. After ringing the bells they are manipulated by either Primordial Serpent into gathering the lord souls to access the Kiln of the First Flame and either burn as kindling for the flame, or become a lord of dark.
In Dark Souls 3, the main character (Champion of Ash) is specifically an Unkindled, who failed to link the fire in the past. They are only reawakened after the original and backup Lords of Cinder refuse to link the fire. They gather cinders to access the Kiln and defeat the amalgamation of lords that is the Soul of Cinder. They have the choice to link, let fade, usurp, or betray/claim (with both DLCs implying the creation of a new world free from the fire-linking Undead Curse).
In Dark Souls 2, the main character (Bearer of the Curse) journeys to Drangleic (possibly going back in time, unclear) in search of a way to break their Undead Curse. There is a higher focus on the process of becoming Hollow, with a penalty to maximum HP on each death. Yet immediately they are also being manipulated by NPCs such as Shanalotte, the Emerald Herald. They are promised a ‘cure’ but only if they replace King Vendrick as a true monarch. As the story unfolds, more objectives arise. The focus shifts from killing Vendrick to claiming the Throne of Want. No one else cares about your curse, except to use it as motivation- to dangle it as a reward. Only Vendrick elaborates on how to break it, by collecting the three crowns. They have the choice to claim the throne (it is unknown whether this is a Light/Dark choice, as some claim it represents a path to the First Flame, and others that is represents becoming a new Dark Lord, as a true monarch of an Undead kingdom). Alternatively, as of the definitive edition, they can walk away from the Throne (presumably to seek a third option akin to the painting of Ash, a way to permanently end the cycle and curse).
What saddens me is that neither choice of Dark Souls 2 seems to matter per the events of DS3. To bring back the Chosen Undead is illogical (either burnt to cinders or decayed by time) but to reveal the Bearer of the Curse, making a canon ending to DS2, as either an ally or enemy, would have been more incredible than the inclusion of Earthen Peak, two Drang knights, and a Desert Pyromancer.
@@R1R1R2 ds3 is just a fan service retcon. I don’t consider it canon.
Edit: the replies are just ds3 fanboys. Nobody ever wants to acknowledge that the game retcons all of dark souls lore so that it can justify fan service. That’s literally the only reason the game was made. Like 90% of ds3 is some form of fan service and most of the game is built off ds1. It added nothing to the series at all. Just like ds1 it did nothing new in the genre or gaming but gets praised as a creator of a genre it didn’t create, it didn’t add anything and it’s gameplay holds nothing of substance. Both ds2 and bloodborne are just objectively better versions of ds1 and ds3. 3 I don’t consider canon bc of how much of a waste of potential it is
@@zzodysseuszz that’s an incredibly arrogant viewpoint. ‘I don’t like it because it references 1 too much, not canon’ God, thanks for the laugh mate.
Counter edit: say specifically what DS3 retcons. Keep in mind that it continues the theme of cycles introduced by 2. DS3 added Weapon Skills, new equipment, new areas, and new bosses.
@@R1R1R2 IIRC Miyazaki did not care for 2 since he didn't make it. He made 3 with no regard for 2.
@@smithcubs DS3 actually improves and clarifies DS2 AND it incorporates tons of items, characters, locations and lore from it. So he didn't ignore it all.
One note: taking the throne doesn’t intrinsically mean that we light the flame. We have that option but taking the throne could also mean bringing an age of Dark. Walking away rejects both options in search of a third, more permanent option.
me when I cannot read subtext
@@sentii8131yeh tha boy is dum as hell
@@sentii8131I'm pretty sure OP is correct
The throne was a kilm so it kinda does represent we sacrificed ourselves
@@nestormelendez9005yeah but just because you go to the kiln we should assume they re lit the flame we do the same in ds1 and ds3 the difference is we dont fight the current lord of cinder ie the previous guy that relit the flame. And get to choose what happens after its assumed that you can do either.
Dark Souls 2 was different in that I was able to actually understand the story and not lay awake at night wondering about unresolved questions.
tbf that is by design, you are meant to enjoy the gameplay above all else like the way games used to be.
Most replayable dark souls, Ng+ was actually different. The animations alone make me come back due to how smooth they feel, especially the roll. I wish they didn't do away with mocap'ed animations in ds3 and elden ring. I rather like it when my roll looks like a move that I could actually recreate in real life and still have my ankles intact. Also running out of breath when your stamina is low, or slouching when you're injured. These little things make your character feel more alive.
Maybe the reason for the stamina low thing is because you are different in DS2 compared to 1 and 3
From what i understand you're more human with a growing curse
( me
You must be in the minority, I find the backstab animations for longsword awful personally, and the roll would be fine if it's i-frames weren't tied to a stat.
@@DeadEndScreamer gotta give the roll props tho for being way more responsive than the elden ring. It's got less of a delay after you lift your finger, though that could be because ds2 runs better on my system. One cool way I found to get rid of the release delay in ER is to bind the roll to my mouse wheel. You can't release a mouse wheel so it really does feel like it's coming out faster.
Recently started another ds2 playthrough, I don’t know why but it’s a lot more fun than I remembered. Of course there’s some bs stuff, but it’s very satisfying once you get through it! Just like challenge runs
That's because 90% of games today are way worse than what we though it mediocre 10 years ago.
I think it was a poisoning of the well thing. So many people said it sucks so most people went I with a bias. After a fair degree of separation you probably looked at it more objectively
@@jezebeltryst5444 I was about to say something similar but quite different, hardcore souls fans would have had massive expectations and ds2 just couldn’t live up to the hype, it’s not terrible, but there is a LOT of BS
@@nomercy8989it’s better than what we thought was a masterpiece 10 years ago too
@@o7ViiGHTMAREothat’s just such a dishonest argument tho. Dark souls 1 (even the modern remaster version) has WAY more bullshit in it than the entirety of ds2
The story is actually pretty cohesive, more so than the other Dark Souls games imo, if you read the items and don’t skip dialogue. Some of the NPCs (like Vendrick and Alsanna) actually tell you what is going on and you even go back in time to see for yourself what happened to Drangleic during the war with the giants. Incredible game. the story really blew me away. The theme/plotlines involving the various queens who were all fragments of Manus was particularly creative and well executed.
Another thing I love is the level of customization and the variety of weapons and armor. Most people have a weird, unique character, as opposed to Elden Ring and DS3 (not shitting on them, I love them) where you will a lot of people wearing the same sets, using the same weapons and the same spells.
ds2s story is far better and more original than ds1 and bb, ds1 is a mishmash of greek mythology abd berserk, while bb straight up copy pastes alot of plotlines from lovecraft, bb is literally the laziest and most uninspired story between them.
I waited for the pointe
@@flamingmanure It was intense. The Ivory King story is one example of how complex it is. Alsanna was a fragment of Manus, but she was not evil. Maybe this is because Manus wasn't all evil. It gives the player a lot to think about, and yet I never felt the need to go to a lore channel.
@@flamingmanure More original? Nothing is original anymore. DS2 has obvious influences in its story
@@flamingmanure nah
Nice to get DS2 some love. It will always hold a special place it helped me during my darkest point in my life. But the will to never go hollow kept me going. Anyone reading this never go hollow life gets better ❤
I hope you’re doing well bro❤
Visions of Hollow, not here!
I will never forget your beautiful words my brother
i also played during a hard time in my life. The majula theme will always give me the feeling of comfort in the emptiness.
Hold on, I've heard from the internet that this community is super toxic!
Well, not here
Praise whichever celestial body is closest and don't become hollow 🤠
Interesting. I’m just playing Dark Souls 1 for the first time now!
I like black gulch for forcing you to slow down, take in your environment and decide which order you’re going to kill those poison spitters, plus how creepy and filthy that whole area feels.
Idk if i should think this is a critic or a positive stuff
You can literally just run to the secret bonfire and then from there to mcmeaty with no effort
I love DS2, Black Gulch is trash tier
Agreed wholeheartedly it holds a special place in my heart. Majula is just so mesmorizing just to watch the ocean and that music takes me to another world.
Started playing recently and really love it so far.. The whole vibe is so unique- things like that talking head, tied up guy with lock instead of face, Tark and Ornifex.. So dreamlike. And Majula really is the best hub in all souls games.
which version?
@@d7c388 I wouldn't think he's talking 360 or PS3.
Soul vessel, simplified upgrading paths, bonfire warp from the start, torch mechanic on places like no man's wharf, all the different and truly unique weapon move sets even within the same weapon class, the amazing armor sets that give you so many different fashion souls looks, powerstancing unique moves (bonefist, majestic greatsword), the most cozy hub in the series with one of the best themes (majula), shulva is one of my favorite areas in the trilogy, fume knight, sinh, mirror knight, smelter demon, sir alonne.
And if that wasn't enough the pvp is so much fun and satisfying, it's actually what made ds2 the one I sank most hours in of all trilogy. I love ds2
This! And I love your videos btw ♥️🔥
@@genudeltefrau69 thanks bro
One thing I loved about this game was the sense of adventure. Each area felt different, and they were fairly varied. Combining this with the presentation really left a good taste in my mouth, even if their design is at times slightly or notably worse than other games
What's the point in having so many environments if they all look bland and ugly?
@@BhaalSakh not every environment is bland and ugly. Most areas have at least a good presentation. It's true that the rushed development affected this game, but fairly enough, even with it's drawbacks, this game evoked on me that sense of adventure
To me, it feels like a progenitor to Elden Ring for the scope of discovery and exploration.
@@TheReal_FishFins in many ways ds2 is a progenitor for Elden Ring
@@preknopreguntesporqueminom9050 you should be ashamed to compare garbage like dark souls 2 to elden ring, they are in no way similar in any regard, the games could not be more different if they tried.
No one actually dislikes Dark Souls 2. It just became a trendy opinion and it's easier to adopt trendy opinions than to form your own. This game is brilliant, and it's not just an awesome game, but it's an awesome Souls game.
Pure nonsense
One detail I missed on the first playthrough and just noticed after getting into the game's lore is the fact that Vendrick wanted to keep Nashandra from acquiring any power, to the point that he took his own soul and sealed inside a cave in Shrine of Amana, cave that can only be open when Vendrick himself die and Nashandra herself couldn't get to do it considering the security in both the Shrine and Tombs
If I remember correctly Milfanitos siging causes creature of darkness fall asleep (one of them says so). I always considered that it was to not allow Nashandra to follow Vendrick.
He was trying to become a dragon, hence his state of undress.
See also: Quelaag, Logan
I think the main reason nashandra cant enter the cave because she's not human anymore. While the requirment to enter the cave to get vendrick soul was you must be a human
DS2 was my first DS game, I've played them all but I will always love Majula and the over all mysterious feeling of DS2.
Me too, i loved that game
The biggest thing that makes me sad about dark souls two is that they were pretty far out there and made a lot of changes but since it was so poorly received they ended up doing a massive u turn to the comfort zone of dark souls 1, ds3 just felt like they didn’t wanna change much at all and I really think it was such a shame that many of the really interesting mechanics were lost from ds2
DS3 spam r1 roll parry Edition
elden ring:
"they ended up doing a massive u turn to the comfort zone of dark souls 1"
What? Is that even English?
@@hellinterface6721 132 agreed with me on this, if you don’t understand then law of large numbers proves that you’re just kinda dumb if you don’t understand what I mean
@@hellinterface6721 yes
The "why dark souls 2 sucks" videos actually inspired me to play Dark Souls 2 again.
There are some characteristics in Dark Souls 2 that people hate:
> You have to approach areas methodically
- usually eliminating enemies one at the time, agro one enemy using a bow or a spell, or simply walk close enough to agro one enemy. Some people would only use a broad sword and charge-in and panic roll and do badly, or rush to the fog wall and get hit while touching it.
- there are also lots of ambushes in ds2, which further infuriates people who "just go in and be rolling".
- enemies can also chase you really fast and at long distances, so you need to eliminate them.
> You need to have a good build:
- With stamina recovering slower here as well as estus drinking, plus poor rolling due to low adaptability, you are punished more if you don't have a good build.
> You need have a long range option:
- You are expected to use the bow and arrow or spells to eliminate long range enemies. Not doing so will make areas like Iron Keep and Shrine of Amana torture to play. You can imagine how this will infuriate people who just won't use a bow.
Certainly, not approaching methodically and not using long range, will make the game look like it was trying to be hard just to be hard.
The early area, Forest of Fallen Giants, actually teach you to be methodical. The Mossy Rotunda area has multiple hollow infantry playing dead and a long range enemy. You will really hate this game if you barge in this area like you're playing Devil May Cry.
You forgot one important aspect as to why so many people hate it. Miyazaki didn't make it therefore bad . As you and the vid point out, it has legitimate issues. Many seem to use those as A smoke screen to hype miyazaki up and shine his knob, rather than just as honest criticism. Far too many people treat him like the second coming of christ.
I honestly feel like having to methodically approach any situation is key Dark Souls not just Dark Souls 2
@@JimnyThePython Perhaps DS2 just punishes it more than the others do.
what longrange option? you trippin youngbuck. you'd only need a bow for exploring dlc areas like when you gotta shoot triggers in poison dlc. or throwing knife would do, but that one s got bad aimin. other than that I just pew pew everytin with da waifu char + flower skirt + power stance the two smelter demon swords cus style is #1
@@svenarlington3310 Melee is indeed #1. Long range is only an option in the right circumstance.
Usually for one-at-a-time agro, sometimes to eliminate annoying casters.
It doesn't destroy your double smelter demon sword build.
My friend championed me trying this game after ds3 and elden ring and eventually offered to gift it to me. I'm on my second dlc now and I think that this game may be my favorite from the game yet.
I'm curious if you have played DS1 yet? for myself, I found DS1 to be endlessly more frustrating than 2 especially once at the last third or so of the game after beating O&S, so much so that the frustration got directly in the way of my enjoyment of the game.
DS2:SOTFS may throw a lot of enemies your way but I rarely ever found the environment I was fighting those enemies in to be a direct, almost intentional feeling, hinderance to whatever it may have been that was attack me.
flaws and all, Dark Souls 2 captivated me like no other game in the series other than Bloodborne and I wish I had given it a shot sooner and didn't listen to the "muh broken hitboxes!!!!" crowd for so long.
Imagine liking what you like in a game rather than angry nerdos saying gaem bad :'') I like your video! Few things I wanted to add.
Yeah I love the world setting too! You can still be colourful and fun while maintaining the lost-bygone world vibe.
I think the story is solid enough. I really like the idea of Vendrick and Aldia being the first (as we know it) people to understand oo shit we actually just be going in cycles of world rebirth here ooo noo :^)
I've never been a NG+ person so that side never appealed to me, but this games NG+ is clearly the best!
Glad you liked the video Lenny! Great things to add too. Vendrick and Aldia truly are the goats of the series for figuring out that they've been on a carousel for a billion years.
honestly ds2 shows you why lighting is important. you walk out of the darkness and see the beautiful cliff/shore of majula, and i don't know how you can love anything else.
@@saketbakshi4235 And then you walk into any other area and can't see shit.
@@Hollow_Tim just like real life (plus torches are so cool)
Sure you'd say the same after the 24h marathon?
I adore DS2. I love the Abyss covenant activities and its boss is an All-Timer for me. I love the dark fairy tale environments and the gorgeous scenery in the Shrine of Amana. The Sunken King DLC is my favorite map out of all DS DLC maps, with the Ringed City a close second. I love the build variety and hidden weapon mechanics, like how you can get that halberd (?) from the rat place, and then break it by the bird’s nest to change it to the most OP twinblade in the game. It’s such a massive game with deep, obtuse mechanics and I dig this video for giving it the praise it deserves. Liked, subbed and Big Ups!
I really like Darklurker, but boy do I hate the Dark Chasms of Old. Of course, this could be solved with some git gud on my part, but I still dislike it lol
@@marcelovieira519 Lol, they can be frustrating, especially with the Effigy cost, but I actually like that you have to do a bunch of shit to get to the Darklurker. What a reward after some frustration.
Is SOTFS worse than vanilla
@@wrackfardage6055 I prefer Vanilla. You lose the Agape ring that way, but you get a more reasonable amount of mobs. I dig SotFS too, but Vanilla is more accessible.
I love the DS trilogy as a whole with each installment excelling in different aspects. Personally what captivates me the most is the method of storytelling and delivery of the themes as even two first time players finishing the game for the first time can have vastly different impressions of what happened to the world and the motivations of characters even provided the exact same information. DS2 is the one I always keep coming back to tho, the focus onto the effects of the curse and it’s repercussions it has one the characters is so much more intimate and feels so much more personal. Also the VA for Aldia and his monologue is by far my top favs things in the Series.
I would love to see a DS4 but it ended with 3.
I have always enjoyed DS2, and felt like it is my personal favorite of the soulsborne games, with the best of the currently released DLC, (still waiting on the supposed Elden Ring DLC). I absolutely loved the kind of hopeless and times long past feelings that the game portrays through it's soundtrack and world design. You have a level that is a castle being reclaimed and sinking into the sea because it's been there for so long. A forest and castle filled with the remnants of a long forgotten war that left them scared and in disrepair. Sure there were things I didn't care for in it, but I definitely feel like the pros outweigh the cons of this game. And if you never played it because you heard it was bad, that is your loss.
As someone who is playing the game with the dlc it feels like the rest since you can either follow the mainline story or go straight towards picking off the crowns. I’ve gotten two of crowns without even going to vendrick. That was a bad idea since I was fighting the fume knight with half the damage I could’ve been :). Yet the game with dlc stands tall. I will say two things break my mind one being the backtracking from certain bosses mainly looking at the rotten
I was watching a ZeroLenny video, and he made the whole joke of "If Ds2 was so good why isn't there a Ds2 2?" Before saying he'd actually really be interested to see that happen. I agree completely, this game has a lot of cool ideas both gameplay and lore wise. It's my first souls game, and my first playthrough ended all because of the Ruin Sentinels, then I got a shield and played through the whole game years later. Now I don't use shields anymore, but this fact remains: I love Ds2, and I love it even more than Ds1.
elden ring is ds2 2 imo 💀
I actually think the slowing down of combat was what made its PvP the best among the souls series. Slower combat actually meant combat had more weight, whiffing attacks was far more punishable than DS3/ER's roll spam that was extremely hard to punish, and playing footsies was a lot more fun than DS3/ER. Better yet was the turning ability of each weapon type that gave more nuance than "in range = can hit". Katanas were extremely powerful at trading, but its poor turn ability meant that it was very easy to roll past a person and counter with a rolling attack. Spears dont perform similarly (or even better) than straight swords because you had range, but you had no turning ability. If a straight sword user got close to you, it was very easy for them to roll behind you and attack because you couldnt turn very well while attacking. Compare this to the current ER spear meta where spears perform better because they turn infinitely well, and stabbing attacks had lingering hitboxes vs sweeping attacks. I had the most fun in DS2 PvP because it felt the most nuanced among the rest.
I always praised DS2 PvP as the best in the series, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. The weighty, slower animations definitely reduced roll-spamming and made duels much more engaging, like a proper fight, baiting your opponent into playing into your hands, punishing their mistakes, and rewarding the player for clever plays and successful predictions. They couldn't just roll-spam away. The combat felt methodical and nuanced and not without its punishments for spams or overcommitment. I fondly remember falling in love with the humble Broadsword because of its charged R2 sweeping attack, which could whip out a full 180 sweep when you unlocked your targeting, letting you roll-catch and punish backstab farmers. Players were rewarded for learning little techs like that, and it was a great expression of player skill. That slow weightiness made the tempo for PvP was just right. (And the lack of a Hornet Ring helped alot too.)
This game teased out my deepest emotions.
Playing this at release, back in the day, made me rage quit.
Going for the 100% years later made me appreciate it a lot more.
The dlc where absolutely amazing. Easily the highlight of the game
I pretty much agree with most of what you said. I've now put 200+ hours into original DS2+DLC but keep in mind I had a really really hard time getting into SOTFS. They are different games.
DS2 although definitely flawed, will go down as one of my favorites. A game that I had a whole hell of a lot of fun playing. Because I want to keep playing it despite its flaws, definitely says a lot. It is doing a lot of things right.
Would you recommend Ds2 or Softs i played soft and liked it and dont Knie the difference
@@meistermarius24 sotfs is vastly better, objectively, and despite what many say.
@@Ecco_The_Dolphin wht are some of the differeneces?
I agree but his criticisms on sotfs are objectively wrong. “The game encourages you to run past everything” but all the from games after ds2 did that exact thing so it’s not a criticism AND it’s wrong. Ds2 actively punishes you for running past everything, it encourages you to fight enemies as they’re presented to you
@@meistermarius24 Sotfs is better in almost every way. More shortcuts, more unique mechanics, clearer path of progression, less unfair ganks, better access to key items, etc
The best piece of advice I ever saw was level adp to 25. Choose the class with the highest starting adp and then put EVERY level into adp until it hits 25. With that you can roll normally and it’s a pretty fun game like that
This was my last game in the series. I played Dark Souls 3, then 1, and I finally beat 2 today and I’ll say there’s a lot of painful enemy placement but from a gameplay and lore perspective it’s extremely cool. I love it just as much as the other two. I’m so happy to have finally beaten all 3 of these games. My favorite game trilogy of all time🙏❤️🙌
genuinely curious, what was cool about the gameplay?
I plan on running through this game again in the near future, it was amazing to me being my first souls game, yeah the mobs were weird and some didn't fit the atmosphere of the area they were in, and yeah the mapping was bad with all the overlapping, but it still had something you know? Something unique to itself.
I enjoy the sluggishness it makes sense if you swing a sword with your whole body when exhausted you might be dedicating moving all the way thru that swing so it feels sorta realistic in that regard for the time I played it in my youth that's what made me enjoy it so much was that it was the hardest game I ever encountered that drew me in with he beautifully terrifying world it dwelled in
I just started my first play through of Dark Souls 2 a couple days ago and I must say…..as much as I’ve heard about how much the community hates this one for multiple reasons, I’m having an absolute blast with the game
4:23 bro ran straight through 50 enemies and said “the enemy placement sucks”
it does tho.
@@stewrat0420 I really dont know whats about the iron keep, enenmy placement is pretty normal for ds level. Just play slowly and get a better results
Great video! I just started DS2 the other day. It's the last game I'm going through and so far it's really fun. There's some jank even early on, but the creativity and dreamlike nature of the locations are really fascinating. It's especially striking by comparison to the other two mainline Souls games. It really makes me wish we could get a full remake of this game someday, that keeps the highs and fixes the lows.
even if they fixed all the issues and made it perfect, DS fans would still complain it's not a 1:1 of DS1.
@@BigHailFanThat's not true man, I have tried to play Ds 2 for over 200h but never seem to be able to finish the damn thing. I see so much potential but the way the game controls, adaptability, shitboxes and poor boss design combined with the enemy spam in every fucking area just makes me not like the game as much as the others. Which is why everytime I play the game I get bored at around the halfwaypoint of the game and quit. Which is sad cause I can see theres a lot of cool shit in the game .
@@milanelst5754 yeah, im calling bs. there is no damn way you are 200 hours in and are half way into the game. if that is ACTUALLY true, then that is clearly a you problem and not the game.
though i highly doubt that is true and you're making shit up. quit parroting what others have told you to say and actually play the game.
@@BigHailFan Yeah he clearly is just regurgitating popular talking points. I feel like a lot of DS II haters just made up their mind about the game without even playing through it, just vomit out same shit they got from their shit-tubers. Like, "muh adaptability". You're really gonna keep complaining about the stat that you can be done with leveling by the time you beat the very first area of the game? That is supposed to be the big game ruining thing? Oh no, this action RPG dared to make stats more impactful, what a tragedy. The only bad thing about was poor description that fails to tell you what the stat really does and thus you need to find out on internet. But then there are plenty other poorly explained things in other Souls games as well. It's a flaw of the series as a whole, being unfairly fucked over if you play completely blind.
Good lord thank you, I'm a souls veteran who loved ds2 from the gate and while I understand it had some flaws I always thought that people were unnecessarily cruel towards it. Loved the introduction to power stancing, loved the bonfire aesetics, loved the story and how it was told. It felt like a great game to me
It is a solid game, and I do think that it gets more flak than it deserves, but I also do think that it does deserve it’s placement at the bottom of the list. It’s a 6 or a 7 in a series that otherwise ranges from 8-10.
It’s at least an 8-8.5 in a series with 9s and 10s
@@AbdulB agreed, I'd place it at a solid 8/10 compared to the 9/10 I rate most the others
@@rock21611 Agreed, the DLCS are a step above which will eventually bring me back one day.
I love how in ds2 you can sprint properly, dark souls remastered I couldn't even sprint, I also like how you can warp to any bonfire now
The one other negative that I've found during my genocide run, is that some enemies have attacks that, literally, have no wind up, no tells. Just BAM you've been hit. (Looking at you, hiede knights) add that to the love of chain aggro, adaptability and the slow animation timing, and it all comes together in a package that *feels* like they couldn't figure out how to make it difficult without cheating or going for cheap shots. There is a lot to love about DS2 in the greater world building, majula is absolutely beautiful and haunting. I don't even have an issue with life gems, they balance well with how estus was handled. It's the moment to moment gameplay that makes playing through an absolute slog.
the same no wind up thing can be said about bloodborne, like 90% of enemies and bosses just instantly hit you
The hiede knights do have tells though?
@Maniac in the fextralife wiki, it's called a backslash. It has no wind up and comes out almost instantly. Try backstabbing one and see how fast it comes out.
@Danijal Jahic I can't say that I've seen it, personally. Not to say it isn't there, but BB is much higher paced than just about all the souls games and is tuned for it. So, it wouldn't feel nearly as out of place as it does with DS2 and it's, almost, plodding pacing.
@@danijaljahic1312 but bloodborne is build on aggression and counteraggression. being hit by cheap shots isnt as bad, if you are able to instantly turn the aggression around, since that regenerates your health.
Dark souls 2 was the last dark souls game I got every achievement for. I was told it was going to be shit. Fast forward to today and it holds a special place in my heart, from the vast array of weapons to the dlc, I simply can’t describe it. It’s just so great it’s sad that many see it as bad
I am playing through it for the 2nd time now (I played DS1, 2, and 3 for the first time last year. I have 100% on DS1 and DS3, bit annoyed that DS2 requires you to do online play to get 100% (sunlight spear and hidden weapon I believe), but perhaps it will be good for me to give online play a go. The servers were all down the first time I played. DS2 is the best and the hardest in my opinion, I don't understand the hate, aside from the whole Miyazaki fanboy stuff, and the handling being a bit odd (you get used to it though).
@@-opus you can farm sunlight medals and the bell covenant rank completely offline, just look it up on yt
@@rafaelbrito9519 Thank you, not sure if I knew that the first time I played through, I still had half a dozen boss soul spells to get via NG+, so probably hadn't worried too much about the covenant stuff. I left them until last on DS3 as well due to the farming being mind-numbing. These games would be completely different without youtube, fextralife, and mugenmonkey.
@@-opus ds3 also technically doesn't require multiplayer but it will save your sanity to just do the online to get the achievement
@@Asterion_Mol0c Yes, I got 100% offline on DS3
I completed dark souls 2 and the DLCs around 3 days ago and i do have to say i really enjoyed myself in the end. 2 things i hated were how many enemies there were and the loss of your health when you die it also felt like the devs hated the player and wanted to put as many inconveniences into the game as possible without making it unplayable lol. For me the bosses were fun but not very interesting or particularly challenging compared to bosses from other games however with that being said, it was so much fun once i got used to the mechanics and got invested in the story/lore. I had the same feeling of wanting to continue playing like i had with DS1 and Elden Ring (the other fromsoftware games i completed). I didn't think id enjoy it especially after hearing so many people tell me to skip it and go straight to dark souls 3 and my first impressions weren't the best either.
This was my entry to the series, so I came into with with fresh eyes. I was blown away by it, and fell in love!
More than often I said “oh this is Dark Souls 2!” while playing Elden Ring. Overall color palette, armor designs, power stance, snowy invisible areas, running on huge chain, etc.
Dark Souls 2 is indeed a very good game. Not the best of From Software, but it still deserves the title of Dark Souls.
Occasionally when I see clips of people playing elden ring I think to myself “‘man dark souls 2 was a great game” then I realize it’s elden ring cause they do look similar at times
ds2 has nothing in common with elden ring, you're just coping, the games couldn't be more different.
The way I see it, the throne ending is either the rekindling of fire/not rekindling ending depending on the main character's choice, while the walk away ending is not accepting the latter two fates that were kind of forced upon you, but rather finding your own purpose.
DS2 is the ultimate mad hollow simulator. It somewhat makes me think of TES4 Oblivion's Shivering Isles. For the sake of every character being mildly forgetfull, perhaps even blissfull. And the contrast of design between the gritty dark dank zones and colorfull almost psychedelic zones is refreshing. Majula, Heide's Tower, Shrine of Amana and Shaded woods feel very comfortable. Gave a bit of the Never Ending Story/Labyrinth vibe, with an ounce of Dark Crystal.
im just gonna go ahead and like/sub only 51 secs in. so im replaying the series myself after getting a friend into it. just finished up with int and faith builds in ds1. was a blast. now im onto ds2, my personal favorite of the trilogy. demon's is my actual favorite, but its bc it was my first experience with the 'series.' i think we are all a lil biased towards whatever our introduction was, and i think thats valid. ANYWAYS, thank you. you've alrdy made me happy cry from the intro alone bc i feel very much the same. ok back to actually watching, but i just wanted to say thanks for making this even if you feel like its just 1 of many. those few matter, bc those few are the ones that appreciate the game for what it is, instead of what it isnt. the whole reason i stumbled on this vid is bc i wondered while playing if the stigma surrounding ds2 has changed at all.
edit:
concerning enemies spawns AND some of the bosses. imma just get this spill outta the way. i think a lot of ds2's design choices were specifically meant to target habits ds1 players developed. things like s on levers and fog doors. things like running thru entire areas unpunished. things like spamming dodge roll instead of timing dodges (bc in ds2, stam econ is much more rigid.) anyways, i think all those things were meant to increase difficulty if you didnt adapt. what i mean by that is taking advantage of the despawn mechanic. how i think they WANTED you to play, is slower, taking out problem enemies, so your runbacks were either completely enemy free, or you made it to the boss with more supplies. one of the best examples of this i can remember are the degrade bugs in shrine of amana right next to a bonfire. you were clearly meant to despawn those before progressing. or for example, all the enemies surrounding strand. anywho, my point is, i think the balance of enemies is designed with some of those enemies being despawned by players. what that means for players who dont interact at all with those systems is they end up chased by a horde of enemies treating ds2 runback's like ds1 (or whatever other title.) i also think the reason bosses feel weaker as a whole is bc the area itself AND the boss are the 'fight' in a way. its a battle of attrition, of who can sustain longer almost. so i think the areas were made harder, while the bosses are oftentimes weaker. this is true for areas even in ds1, like blighttown, catacombs, or sen's for example.
favorite areas: no mans wharf, shrine of amana, gutter, lost bastille, black gulch, drag castle, undead crypt, dragon aerie, dragons sanctum, and frozen eleum loyce
favorite bosses: pursuer, chariot, looking glass knight, fume knight, and sir alonne
this is SUCH a refreshing video, i cant even put into words how much i enjoyed this. life gems are my main form of healing generally. to balance out being able to get them early on i like to only buy them after ive lvled up. so say i have 15k souls, use 12k on lvls, then spend 3k on life gems. it gives those souls a use and also helps with not just having an overabundance of life gems early on. i very much agree even the negs are a part of the game as well, and you learn to appreciate or at the very least understand them.
One of the best things about DS2 is that it rewards challenges like "No Death" or "No Bonfire" with special rings.
I loved those runs and/but they were only enjoyable because of bonfire ascetics and life gems (imo).
It's such a different experience to play it like that and get something from the developers for that other than a PS-Trophy.
Fun vid, I largely agree. Though i wouldn't say that Scholar's enemy placement encourages the player to run past everything. Getting too hasty with your approach to these encounters leads to the gangbangings that most DS2 critics cite as a flaw in the design.
Then I'll ask more to maybe learn something cuz I want to eventually beat this game.. what is the correct way for encounters? Cuz sometimes you round a corner and everything comes out other times you open a door and everything rushes the door way but I still can't get a swing in on all of them stacked up cuz of how frequent they attack I've heard shield is the way to go but how? most of the time I've tried one or two hits even from little guys still breaks it rolling feels weird even with recommended agility score and yes take my time pull back be meticulous and slow about everything only works so long as enemies aggro far enough before returning to their spot which usually has at least one other threat leading to these awkward clumsy fights against two enemies or more maybe that last part is skill issue on my part but still... again not mad just at a lost over this game
@@mitchlinder1689 Take the game slowly. That's how DS2 is meant to be played. Of course, running past everything is an option, but in some places like Iron Keep and Shrine of Amana, you are gonna get ganked into oblivion trying to do so. Take one enemy or 2 at a time and slowly clear everything. Some Boss Runs can be solved by simply despawning everyone if you want too, I at least like to do it on Smelter Demon because Iron Keep's first half is loaded with enemies
@@mitchlinder1689 In my experience, veterans of the other, more reflex-based souls games and soulslikes tend to try and brute-force or outskill every encounter, and run past when that doesn't work. It really is best to treat DS2 like a hardcore dungeons and dragons game or an old-school, unforgiving RPG. The encounters are harsh and difficult yes, but you are given lots and lots of tools and resources to deal with them even from the start of the game. It's just that these options might seem counterintuitive or conflict with a certain character fantasy you're trying to go for. It's biggest sin in my opinion is that it doesn't do a great job of informing the player of them.
For instance, this game gives you every single ranged combat option you could ask for and will treat you like a chump for not using them to their fullest extent, which is different from other souls games. Knives, bombs of every elemental type, rope-bombs, pyromancies, and crossbows are all completely viable with no stat investment. Even sorceries and miracles can be used with little stat sacrifice with the spice system through the vendor in Iron Keep.
Life gems are available to you in unlimited quantities (granted that you know to exhaust the hag's dialogue) after the first area and are meant to act as a buffer to keep you moving through the unforgiving environments when your estus dries up. Resin buffs are also available early on through certain paths you can take.
The durability system, while annoying at times, heavily encourages you to diversify your arsenal and the encounters follow suit. (Wide slashing for multi-enemy encounters, thrusting/slamming for tight corridors).
If you're having a tough time, you're playing as intended. But in my experience most souls veterans that try this game get offended at the mere proposal that their skill and reflexes alone may not suffice enough for certain encounters, which is very in keeping with old school RPG design philosophy. How you feel about this approach is up to you, it's certainly not a perfect implementation here. But I would try not to see the game as a skill contest but rather a survival game. DS2 is going to play dirty and be unfair at times, and you have to be just as clever and resourceful to match, even if that doesn't feel as satisfying as 2-hand Zweihandering your way through the first game.
If you're at a road block, head back to Majula and take stock of everything you have. Could you try upgrading a different weapon to suit the encounter better? Do you have ranged options? Is there anything to buy from the Blacksmith or the Hag that will assist you? If all else fails you can try a different route and gain some levels and more resources before tackling that one again (unless you've made it a certain way in the game, which at that point, the game expects you to come prepared).
Seek souls, bearer of the curse. For only a true monarch may walk these grounds.
DS2 is one of my favorites. The world interaction functions are top tier. Explode certain walls, make the enemies break them, move traps, get naked to run in acid, zip lining, light torches, torches help you see, burn things with torches, wind and water can put out torches, reveal hidden enemies with torches, distract enemies with moaning trees, scare enemies with torches, rings help you traverse paths, light up braziers with torches, break doors, knocking on doors so enemies will open them for you, secret trap doorways, dowse yourself in water to minimize fire damage, set off explosive barrels with fire, heal springs, unpetrifying people, Giant Seeding invaders, invaders joining the Looking Glass Knight fight, booby trapping your world and attracting invaders, and equipment durability actually mattering, but sometimes it breaks into something better.
As for lore, at least 65% of DS3's world is effected by DS2's lore. Then 20-30% is DS1's. The rest is DS3's alone. Almost NOBODY can tell you the tree sorcerer Pontiff is a descendant to the Oracle in DS2.
0:01 You have no argument.
Lol but bad take
Cope
Dark Souls 2 will always have a special place in my heart, it was actually the second Dark Souls game I ever played and is the only Souls game I have ever gone into New Game Plus 8 on. The build variety and the combat alone make this game a blast to play and that doesn't even mention the fact this game is actually really fun to speedrun and do challenge runs.
I have beaten this game 18 times and just started another playthrough to see how fast I can actually Beat It wow incorporating all the knowledge and glitches I have gained over the years.
Bloodborne and Dark Souls 2 will forever be the best in the franchise and for me personally my least favorite would have to be held in ring because I still think the souls formula should never have gone open world, it's a fun game to complete your first time but I think after your first time completing it Elden ring loses a lot of its luster just because of its size. But that's my opinion, My Last Hope is they finally remaster Dark Souls 2 like they did to Demon's Souls. Guarantee it will become one of the most popular ones.
What I like about Dark Souls 2 is how many souls and weapon upgrade materials it gives you. It can absolutely be bullshit with ganks sometimes, but it gives you more tools and resources to deal with them. I'm going through new game plus and have more than 10 max level weapons to play around and have fun with. I make boss weapons just for fun because I don't need to consume the souls to get an extra couple levels. And the rings. I love the variety of rings in Dark Souls 2. Even if I'm not gonna use a lot of them they're still fun to collect.
It is much better being able to equip 4 rings
Played all of the SoulsBorne games last year. DS2 was really fun even if I had a lot of issues with it lol.
Also I like the idea that the game actually has 3 endings. The first two are combined in a sort of Schrödinger’s box type deal with how the throne is shaped like a kiln and closes you inside. At that point, the player character embodies both endings from DS1 as they technically can choose one of the other- we’ll just never see it. This ending continues the cycle light and dark.
The third ending then sees to it that the player character exits the cycle altogether. They are still undead, but with the DLC crowns, they no longer have to worry about the effects of the curse. They have escaped the cycle. I like to think this is the true ending because it means that even though Vendrick couldn’t protect his kingdom or himself, in the end he was still able to find a way for someone to live outside of the cycle.
If DS3 is to be believed Aldia's ending is the canon ending of DS2.
As the DS2 items and their descriptions in DS3 would be impossible unless Aldia's ending is canon.
For example the "taking the throne" ending would make both the Hollow Slayer and Lucatiel's Mask appearing in DS3 impossible.
I’m surprised you didn’t enjoy the story as much as I thought you would when keeping in mind the rest of the video. Ds2 has some of my favorite stories in the series. I especially love the different personifications of the dark and the lore implications that they imply. I feel like it definitely expanded on many concepts from ds1 and did a good job of foreshadowing some of the issues in the world that are illustrated in ds3. Anyways great video!
The story also does a great job demonstrating the cycles of rebirth and destruction, where Lordran was so long ago that only a few hints to its existence are present. One example that really stood out to me was Straid of Olaphis, which was so long ago that nobody besides him even knew that kingdom once existed. It's a lot of little touches like that, instead of being in your face about despair and desolation, instead being an omnipresent and subtle reminder about what will happen someday even if you become a monarch.
...Then DS3 happened with Anor Londo shoved in your face and a lot of other throwbacks, to the point it feels like DS1 happened a decade or two ago.
Amazing video bud! keep it up
I'm playing DS2 now for the first time, currently doing the DLC before finishing the main game. I'm really enjoying it. I'm doing a fully offensive strength build for the first time, which I have learned is very difficult. But it's so fun and I love uncovering the story as I go. At least, what I think the story is.
My main complaint is the hollowing mechanic. I get being barred from doing certain things when hollow, but constantly chipping away at your health just feels like being punished for trying and not already being good. Glad it wasn't in Bloodborne or Elden Ring. And it would be nice if the stats had a description explaining what they do like in Elden Ring.
But other than that, really loving the game. It's beautiful, moving, and every victory feels earned.
I mean you get what the stats are doing ingame, same as in Elden Ring.
The hollow mechanic can be tough early on, but you can find a Ring in one of the starting areas that halfs the HP loss from that mechanic.
Or you can also farm some effigies early on and buy more.
Not to mention DS2 is the one with rings that you get doing various challenges (no bonfire and death run).
I love Dark Souls II, like really, it's litteraly my favorite game of the franchise because of its differences. All of the areas introductions are probably some of the greatests moments I've lived in a video game. Thank you so much for giving love to this game, even if you knows that it has issues !
this was my first dark souls game but since then i’ve played them all multiple times with different builds and can still say ds2 is my favorite. ds3 felt so shallow with the areas yet dark souls 2 had so much personality and enjoyable locations over the others
DS2 has the coolest locations but the lamest boss fights. It does some things better and other things worse, it doesn’t deserve so much hate, but it’s definitely not the best Fromsoft game.
With true weapon mastery, a lengthy game, huge rewards for exploration and experimentation, and mechanics that keep things interesting it's a great entry. In fact, Elden Ring could have benefitted from the bonfire ascetic mechanic. My favorite out the Dark Souls trilogy.
I loved DS1, but neither it nor DS3 really gripped me like DS2. It's the only one in the series I find myself going back to.
I've never really seen ADP as an issue, since even 10-12 ADP is enough to avoid most attacks with proper timing, especially if you have enough attunement for even 1 spell. The only exception are those dang thunder reindeer xD If you know you know. If you don't, you lucky plonker.
One of the really stronger parts of DS2 are its variety in how different the areas look from one another. Even at the very start, the 3 first areas from Majula are so different. Instead of just grey and undead here undead there, ooh that undead has a torch; what a sight to behold. DS2 has a ruined and overgrown fort, a pristine but "partially" sunken castle, and a shadowy pirate bay
Hey awesome video man, been playing souls for years and this was so informative with the story and everything
Dark Souls 2 was my first Souls game ever it will always hold a special place in my heart. Its not perfect but man is it fun! I've passed this game at least 12 times and I'm still not tiered of it. Much love.
Scholar ?
@@wrackfardage6055 yesss
DS2 also handles casters the best as well. While Elden Ring does have a good variety of strong spells, the actual support for casters presented there absolutely pales in comparison to DS2.
I miss those old days when it was new. All the crazy 1v1 PvP, chasing each other across the map. Most fun invasions I've ever had. It didn't feel like someone was just coming into the world to annoy me, but they instead felt like an integrated challenge of the world itself. I expected it. They literally became a boss I had to overcome to proceed. All that came to a thematic peak when I actually had an invader smash through the mirror shield during the Mirror Knight battle! I did not know that could even happen and it had to be the coolest thing I had ever fucking seen in a game. I about lost it. XD I had two phantoms with me at the time, so it was the Boss + Invader against the three of us. You just can't find that kind of experience anywhere else.
sousl game is still very good. i have played all dark souls, demon souls, bloodborn and elden ring......dark souls 2 is the best of all of them except elden ring. elden ring was better, a fuckign masterpiece. but after that dks2 is best
DS3 did something similar in the Ringed City DLC where the Invader becomes the Boss himself in the Spear of the Chruch Bossfight. The idea of assisting the Boss (DS2) or beeing a Bossfight (DS3) is just genius.
Nothing like an angry player smashing into the world through the boss' shield to make you go straight from plan B to plan O. DS2 definitely has the best online play in the series in my opinion. Plus a few of the bosses have some expertly crafted drama to them. Namely the Ivory King and Looking Glass Knight (though with npc enemies it can be less dramatic).
*SPOILERS*
It's so cool to jump down to the lava place with your 4 knight buddies, doing superhero landings and all, then fighting the bad knights while yours sacrifice themselves 1 by 1 to stop the bad ones from respawning. Then when you have just 1 or 2 allies left, the freaking king shows up, and your last knights fall during the fight and it's just you and the king 1v1. Masterpiece
Can't wait for Mauler to make a 9 hour series about this video too.
Mauler, the "gamer" version of Stefan Molyneux
If I get the blessing that is MauLer's ridicule then I would die a happy man.
Unlike Hbomberguy's video, this one is mostly if not entirely subjective, acknowledges negatives with the game and is not, among other things, attacking and ridiculing another creator (Matthewmatosis), telling people how to play and just hating on Dark Souls I for no reason instead of actually defending Dark Souls II. Those things made Mauler respond to it, not because Hbomb simply liked the game. The video was just plain bad and many of the points he used made little sense.
@@jokemon9547 Same way with Maulers video, he is better when it comes to movies.
He even complained about not being able to backstap soneone white the other wears the harlequinn armor.
You can see that Mauler did not put much effort into tha video, just some rage bait for the DS2 hater.
@@henriklarssen1331 Mauler's video is far from perfect and some of the things shown, such as the Jester armor backstab, is one of them. However that didn't really negate the point he was making in that section about the backstabs as a whole, as they are extremely inconsistent in Dark Souls 2, as was shown with the other examples. The backstabs working from an angle instead of directly behind the enemy leading to confusion and the weird "punch" that occurs sometimes as if the game is registering a backstab, but not following through with it because an enemy is not in the correct position for it are both poor craftmenship at worst and questionable game design at best on the devs' part. I still agree with many of the points made in the video and I think Hbomb's video was a poor attempt to bash Dark Souls 1 instead of actually doing what the title suggested, because almost everything in the video amounted to "but Dark Souls 1 did x and that was worse". And this is coming from someone who actually likes Dark Souls 2 and I consider it to be my favourite despite the many flaws with it.
@@jokemon9547 You can and should critic every Game because they all have some flaws.
Thats fine and good.
The point is, Mauler HATES DS2 and cant force himself to say anything positive about it.
I made a super chat at open Bar a couple Month ago with a P.S at Mauler saying "DS2 is a good Game" and he did not react well to that and said no.
So you can see that most of his critisism comes from the typical DS2 hater corner.
And it showed in his Video.
Granted i havent watched that several hour long thing again, so i cant point out every little detail.
To me every Souls Game did questionable things and other things bad, while other things good.
DS2 is still my most played Game on Steam, thanks to all the great design ideas they had and the insane build variety.
And i realy hated it when it came out.
I played Dark Souls 2 for the first time only after playing Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1 and 3, and Sekiro. With the experience of those games, I went into DS2 curious to see what all the fuss was about. I liked a lot of things about the game. The locations were beautiful, the story was intriguing, Majula is a great hub area and that music is mesmerizing, going into the memories of the giants was a cool idea, Bonfire ascetics were fun to try out, I liked how backstab animations were different for each weapon instead of the same like in DS1 and 3, and although the map doesn't cross and intersect and loop back around like DS1 or Bloodborne do, I still liked that you had many different paths to choose from connecting to Majula. From the start I was really curious what was down that hole in Majula, but didn't have enough health to survive the fall. Eventually, going down there and discovering just how deep it went was a really cool experience.
However, being experienced with the other Souls games, I couldn't help but notice that something about the gameplay felt off. The character was noticeably slower at everything, no matter the equip load. Rolling was slower, drinking estus was slower, the health filled up slowly and not instantly, the time it took roll after an attack or any animation was much longer, and for some reason I couldn't understand why I was still taking damage when I swore I dodged at the right time. That wasn't an issue I had in the other games and of course I had no idea adaptability was a thing. I struggled through most of the game thinking it was the wonky hitboxes everyone was talking about, until I finally read somewhere that leveling up adaptability increased your speed and invincibility frames when rolling. After leveling it up a little bit, all of a sudden the game felt how a Souls game should feel. Rolling and drinking were the right speed now.
This is one of many aspects of the game that were put in just to make it harder, but it wasn't fair difficulty, it was just for the sake of difficulty. Constantly being swarmed by too many enemies to handle at once, too many bosses were only challenging because they were a 3v1, having your max health be reduced with every death until you use an effigy, enemies' attacks had farther reach than you would expect, many enemies had combos that were just annoying and unpredictable, and the fact that your health fills up slowly caused so many deaths that wouldn't have happened in the other games.
It just makes it a less enjoyable experience overall.
I have 1200 hours in DS2 and pretty much have a complete different view about it.
I realy hate how simple and stupid DS3 gameplay is, you can just spam attacks and roll as much as you want, stamina dosent matter.
in DS2 stamina management is super important, you realy have to thinka bout every attack and dodge and i assume that many Players playing DS2 last just dont do that because they come from games where it dosent matter.
They also dont know that every point in weight lower the stamina regen.
A feature i realy like and its only possible because with ADP the i-frames are no longer bound to the weight system.
I also dont get swarmed by tons of enemies all the time, i have no clue how people manage to do that.
Or i mean play undead burg in DS1, the first area in that Game you get "ganked" the whole time and no one cares.
If you are new and die alot, there is a ring early on which halfes the HP loss with every death.
Or you just farm effigies.
And which combos were not fair?
I never had a problem with them, talking about Elden Ring on the other hand, that Game is full of supid Bosses and enemies with insane combos and damage, but no one realy cares about it again.
Makes you wonder.
DS2 did so much new and better then any other Souls Game and most of the complains are from people who go in blind (i hated DS2 when it came out and was frustrated, but mostly because i did not know anything about the mechanics because there wasn a wiki yet) or force their DS3 playstyle on the Game.
APD is also not unfair or anyoing, you get like double the amount of levels in DS2 compared to DS1+3, so it dosent hurt any build at all but putting a few points into ADP from time to time.
@@henriklarssen1331 Dude, seriously... "i hated DS2 when it came out and was frustrated, but mostly because i did not know anything about the mechanics because there wasn't a wiki yet", meaning that a wiki or guide or article made by a random person is needed to enjoy the game or know how to play? That statement alone can make the whole design fall apart on itself...
Loosing max hp every time you die and depend on a finite resource to fix that is unfair af, specially from the start until you get to Heide's Tower of flame where the ring is, ring you can potentially skip without the help of a guide or a wiki.
"I realy hate how simple and stupid DS3 gameplay is, you can just spam attacks and roll as much as you want, stamina dosent matter.", I'll just ignore the fact that I beat pretty much every boss in DS2 with the exact same strategy and stamina didn't matter at all because I barely needed it, when DS1 and 3 bosses actually made me rethink my combat style for many of them because no I couldn't spam attacks and roll as much as I wanted. I can only think it's because of different builds, but still, that'd be like saying all Souls are stupid because you can be a mage and LB/R1 from the distance and that's the whole gameplay...
"Most of the complains are from people who go in blind", you mean without watching/reading any guide or wiki? Like when the game first came out and was meant to be played? Like how ever souslike is meant to be played if you want the full experience because it encourages learning and improving by yourself and that's what makes the expierence beautiful?
My friend, I don't believe DS2 to be a good game, yet I don't doubt it can be enjoyable for many, but you're only making it look much more worse than it is by saying that it's the player's fault not to have read a guide before.
What really makes me wonder is how some DS2 fanboys just hate on everything Fromsoft made after DS2 and wonder why people don't see things the way they do, and you can never see that maybe it's because those game don't feel broken or off in any moment? Or unnecesarily unfair? Or were games they could beat by learning and overcoming the challenges by themselves without the help of any guide, reassuring how important not having a detailed tutorial telling you exactly what to do in soulslikes is?
@@emilianosalvado6196 Sorry i cant read such bad formated text walls, it makes my ead explode.
But i bet it was well informed and worth reading.
@@henriklarssen1331
I disagree with everything you said.
Stamina management is important in all the souls game, so saying it's hard for players who came from games where it didn't matter is wrong. It did matter in the other games. DS1, DS3, and Bloodborne are very fair with stamina management. DS2 on the other hand made many weird changes that make the game unfairly difficult, for the sake of being difficult.
1. The main one was ADP, which yes, is unfair.
- You aren't told by anyone anywhere in the game how important it is, and people coming into this game after DS1 I aren't assuming that there is a stat that affects i-frames.
- It has a huge effect on gameplay. You essentially are forced to level up ADP 20 levels to get the game to feel like DS1 or DS3.
- I disagree about the amount of souls you receive, I spent hours farming just to level up ADP, so no it wasn't balanced at all.
ADP is also a broken mechanic because if you level up only ADP and nothing else, you can dodge roll out of anything and everything throughout the whole game with no chance of taking damage ever. It's ridiculous.
2. Another big one is the time it takes to roll after an attack animation or drinking Estus. In both DS1 and 3, if you attack, you can roll out of the way pretty quickly, and if you drink Estus, the same. But in DS2, you are basically stuck for a whole extra half second, spamming the circle button, trying to dodge.
3. Drinking Estus is way slower, and the health fills up much slower. In DS1 and 3, not only is the drinking animation faster, but when you drink, your health fills up instantly.
In DS2, if you're trying to heal during combat, you will most likely die even if you already drank the Estus, because your health didn't have time to fill up all the way yet and the damage you took was larger than your current health. This is unfair because although the amount of health the Estus replenishes could have been enough to survive, it didn't fill the gauge fast enough.
In DS1 and 3, you have a fair chance to time when to heal and if you are hit right after the animation, most likely the damage you took would be less than the health you replenished.
4. In DS1, the undead burg, there are a lot of enemies. However most of them are slow and don't do much damage. It is a good area to learn the basics of combat and space/stamina management and planning timing attacks.
In DS2 however, too many areas have too many enemies. Forest of Fallen Giants, Dead Man's Wharf, certain areas in the Lost Bastille, Shrine of Amana, etc.. are all full of amounts of enemies that are nearly impossible to handle all at the same time. It's not similar to anything found in the other games.
This combined with the unfair slowness of the stamina, health refill, and dodging added to the game makes things even more difficult.
5. There are many enemies that have insane combos that drain all your stamina or health very quickly, and those attacks happen randomly with no good indication of the timing. Just another weird change that only exists in DS2 to make the game artificially difficult, and not really fair.
6. I used the ring since the start of the game, and despite that, it was still annoying needing to bring my health back to full after dying a few times. In DS1 this only happened when you were cursed from specific enemies. Being penalized every time you die is yet another lame "difficulty" feature that again, only exists in DS2.
7. I don't think DS3 gameplay is simple or stupid. It is definitely faster, and took a lot from Bloodborne, but it is no more simple than the rest of the games. Stamina management, blocking, rolling, attacking, and timing. There's a reason DS3 removed a lot of the unfair mechanics that DS2 implemented and brought it back closer to what DS1 was, and that reason is Miyazaki directed DS1 and 3, but not 2. DS2 was a project run by people who didn't understand what made DS1 so great, so they just shoved in anything they could think of to make it as hard as possible.
@@henriklarssen1331 Well, let me say it more briefly... If you need a wiki to enjoy the game or be able to play it at the very least, it's poorly designed.
I’ve said it before and will stand by it. A Remake of this game would be seriously awesome. Touch up the graphics, fix issues like SM and ADP. The content is there. So much to offer.
Hopefully that happens, they remade Demons Souls and that is far inferior.
I'd actually like to see a full trilogy remake. DS1 was great but the gameplay has a lot of jank. I think it would also be cool if you could get cross-game multiplayer, like you invade in Darkroot Garden and end up in the Shaded Wood. A lot of locations in one game have a corresponding location in one or both other games. Such a thing would likely require unifying the mechanics across all three games, which would mean making some big changes to one game or another. Does every game get the slower estus healing of DS2, or does DS2 get the instant estus healing of the other games? That's the one thing making me hesitate about this being a good idea (not estus specifically, but all non-uniform mechanics).
Ye you’re coping a lil too hard there bud. That’s never gonna happen.
@@ethanmcgehee7016 Probably not, but we can dream, right? It would probably be better to get an entirely new game rather than a remake, though.
I LOVE the slow combat pace of DS2.
I also love the agility stat (raised by adaptability and attunement) - cool idea, if you ask me.
There are hardly any games I enjoyed as much as DS2. The aesthetics, the soundtrack, that special kind of spooky athmosphere, the controls and gameplay (way better than DS1!!), the always fair difficulty,... Simply loving it. More than I will ever be able to love it's predecessor.
yeah I actually prefer it since you can have a "light roll" and wear armor.
@@chuckyxii10 You can do that in Dark Souls 3
DS2 holds a special place for me because of when I played it (playing it new rather than being a couple years behind like with DS1) and how fun it is on replay. I've come to appreciate what makes it different from DS1 and DS3 and it's the one that often comes to mind when I have a hankering to play even though, as you mentioned, DS3 is the most repayable perhaps.
Iam realy surprised why some people think DS3 is the most replayble.
Its my least played by far and thats mostly because it has zero NG+ content and the world design is a straight line with 2-3 side branches.
So you play through each area in the same order every time and you are also limited early on when it comes to build variety.
Meanwhile in DS2 you have new NG+ content and even more important, you can reach tons of different areas early on which gives you tons of different toys to play with.
And on top of that, you can play through each area in a different order every playthrough.
Thats why DS2 is my most played in the series, new runs and challenge runs are realy fun and different every time.
I agree with most, and I think the absolute most underrated fact is the NG+ thing. Stuff even changes into NG++ right? More than just the Nil sword (which also is a really cool thing). There are also rings and stuff that are super hard to get, like the ones where you have to beat the game without dying, without using bonfires etc. The game really gives you stuff to strive/fight for.
Also love the fact you could still upgrade armor.
I guess the thing I like the least about DS2 is that spells are underpowered and that there are not many weapons overall that make you feel powerful.
Thank you for supporting this game it was my first and is probably my favorite souls game to play because I think elden ring is maybe a bit too long this games pacing is just perfect but when I heard of all the hate the game gets I felt like it always needed someone to stick up for it so thank you for being that person
My sentiment exactly. It might be stressful in a few areas, but it's a game that should be praised just as much as the rest of the series
Man I miss those cool creative mechanics from Ds1 and 2
It's probably the thing I miss the most in the newer games
i miss demon's souls
I think my biggest issue with this game has always been the way it just...feels. The movement just always felt sluggish in terms of dodge rolling through i-frames, enemies would take damage but their models wouldn't respond as if you hit them at all, etc. Don't get me wrong, I really like DS2, but it's definitely the game in the series I revisit the least
If you don't lock on it helps greatly
Basically sums up my issues with the game. It does come down to how the movement feels, and it is the one I have replayed the least.
@@personman1148 man that's such cope haha. the movement feels so insanely bad no matter what.
Godlike movement, give it another shot and try a diff build
There's all kinds of stuff you can do. Did you know you can fake-shoot arrows? Did you know you can fake a fake, but it costs stamina? Just try stuff. And don't be afraid to lock on
Get good
It's a great game, with certain issues. Most people that dislike the game haven't even played it. Make your own opinion guys, use something called critical thinking.
I love dark souls 2!!! I keep going back to it even after replaying the others.
dark souls 2 did quite a few things right in my opinion, it was the last game to have long lasting consequences to the player, like curse status/repeated deaths decreasing your max health, bonfire ascetics permanently increasing NG cycle, relevant item durability.
surely it has quite a few problems, but i *really* missed that kind of hardcore creativity in subsequent fromsoft games.
Yeah half the charm is gone these days. It's just big bosses and rolling alot.
@@stinkfinga4918 This is the thing nostalgia-blind idiots say. Makes absolutely no sense cuz you roll a lot in every Souls game.
"Relevant item durability" Yeah relevant in the sense that it constantly ruins the game.. Why of all things would you praise the two worst things about this game? The r*tarded durability and decreasing your max health. What a stupid concept. If you're dying a bunch you're probably already struggling; why then punish players further by reducing max health and making it even harder?
Long lasting consquences don't make sense in a game where you can die as easily as these games.
@@Hollow_Tim you're entitled to your opinion, but i like games where there's something at stake.
Git gud?
Man time flies, this was my 1st ever souls game back in 2014, i didnt know what i was up against i just wanted something fresh and to this day i still love the game and lore and the music in ds2 is great.
I did not enjoy dark souls 2 though I keep on trying I just started playing again going for a magical build, All I really like about dark souls 2 is that it is unique and is really smooth combat system
smooth?... it aint smooth since you need to level up ADP for it to be smooth
I just beat dark souls 2 this Tuesday and getting to that point was awesome and really enjoyable and I agree dark souls 2 is criminally underrated.
Man i love that this video popped up for me, i put so many hours in dark souls 2, probably my favorite in the soul series. The builds people came up with was insane. It is a bit slower on the animation side compared to other games but idk i think its what gives its unique feel to it.
Great video! And I completely agree! When I first played the Dark Souls series, I didn't like DS2, didn't even finish the expansions... but a couple years ago I played it again, and it trade places with DS3 for me, becoming my favourite in the series! Sure it has its problems, like all games in the series, but I just found it so fun to play!
I have fond memories of getting drunk with a few friends and being stuck on the forest of fallen giants at 2am. It was my first experience with the original, and i must say i'm very warm to that version of the game.
Something i really missed in ds3 is breakable objects and traps. In Ds2 you can break weak doors or make tough enemies break some damaged walls to open new areas or shortcuts which was nice addition. In Ds3 and Bb a warrior who kills eldrich horrors and overworldly monsters can be stopped by simple wooden door which "does not open from this side".
Wooden chests in ds2 are breakable and loot inside can turn into rubbish if you do so which makes you act extra carefully around it. In other chapters you just whack chests with your Instrument of Ultimate Destruction +10 without any consequences.
And traps just kept you on your toes each time you saw something valuable. Even if chest in front of you isn't a mimic there can be trap inside or pressure plate around it which could damage or even kill you so you have to always watch out for those.
And don't get me started on Power Stances! It's really sad that many good ideas were undeservably forgotten.
Fromsoft realized that players just want to dodge and parry boss fights
@@TheFloodFourm ...and tons of fanservice instead of actual lore
Was a thing in DS1 too
@@historicflame972 what?
@@ГлебКаменский-я7й One in Sen's Fortress for example, ds2 just added breakable doors as well as walls
This video is describing the quality of the game, which obviously matters and still has different opinions. Bit to be honest, i think a lot of peoplw overlook the most simple and basic aspect of games where you control a character in a 3d space: the controls. They first thing you can do after starting DS2 (other than seeing the cutscene and where you spawn) is how you move. The weird, spread out controls that are unlike a lot of games we are used to throw us off immediately and makes the process of relearning controls not fun, usually resulting in giving up the game before being fluent in how to move and attack. (this is about PC controls. I just got to borrow and XBOX controller recently, but that doesnt help because i have the same problem: learn new controls. I didn't grow up with any consoles (or even PCs and phones but those are easy to learn) so figuring it out was annoying. Ill still keep trying though. Stick drift is gross.)
It is a beautiful game with a stunning world and lore.
"criminally under rated" - Whole video is like 'I know it's bad, buuuut'
Dark Souls II really didn't get the love it deserved. I will never ever forget the first time I played this game. It was the first souls game I had ever played and usually when people describe their once in a lifetime experiences I can't really relate. I have a hard time imagining the spark they must have felt when explaining those experiences, but for me Dark Souls II was exactly that. I had never experienced anything like that game ever before and haven't ever since. If I had to describe the experience I felt in one word it would be magical. In the most literal sense. I had never been so immersed in a game. For anyone reading, if you have the time I would highly recommend playing this game. Especially if you haven't played a souls like ever before.
I’ve always said it. I love DS2, the most major complaint for it is why is there a volcano at the top of a elevator that’s not in the background of the poison swamp? If that’s the biggest flaw for most people, then idk what to tell them lol…to me it has some of the best most interesting areas to explore, and there gorgeous.
That is 100% not the biggest complaint from people
As someone who love DS2, I can say that I haven't ever noticed the animation thing he talk about here. I say this because I think that sounds very scary, and I don't want that to turn people of from trying DS2.
My praise: The game truly has some of the most epic locations in the whole series, and some of the most epic bosses too. The game also has the MOST bosses of any of the soulsborne games. And most of them are good. Some of them a truly amazing, and amongst the most memorable :D Lastly, I find Firelink Shrine in this game to be my favorite. Both the music, and the view/location. In DS3 Firelink Shrine was just bullshit. Dark room, and you teleport everywhere. DS1 and DS2 had it be an outdoor location interconnected with the world around it, and DS2 does this just like DS1 does, only I personally like DS2 location and music better for this.
Something to note about Scholar, if you take areas slower and dont run by enemies, Its much easier then the original version in almost all cases imo. Ive beaten up to NG+ 4 in both versions (with some areas being ng+7 due to Aethetic use) and while places like Iron keep are an exception, Most encounters seem to have split grouping in scholar Allowng you to take smalller groups out without agroing an entire room.
This game is fantastic and there’s a big community of people of the subreddit that absolutely love this game. My favorite souls game just happens to be whichever one I’m playing at the time and I find myself playing this one alot
I love dark souls 2. Criminally underrated and has such a great story and lore. Plus the weapons are BadA$$!!