DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin

Completed 100% Overall grade : 8.5/10 Dark Souls 2 is the ambitious sequel of the renown Dark Souls. It had innovated on quite a few mechanics of it's predecessor while also suffering from the colloquially dubbed "B-team syndrome". In other words it was being made alongside Bloodborne which was clearly the Director's focus. That being said the game is not by any means bad, just different. PROS : - World building : The world feels much vivid and colorful compared to the other dark souls games. The main hub Majula is famous for having a breathtaking horizon. The levels are all quite unique and different from one another, even when moving from one level to the next. - Story : Rich and interesting story of a king who tried to stop this endless cycle of linking the fire. While you can read the item descriptions as usual there are lots of NPCs that will tell you the juicy details of the main plot. - Equipment and builds : This game has tons of items. You can collect to your heart's content. When interacting with other players I have rarely seen 2 people using the same build. Fire, Magic, Dark, Lightning, weapons big and small, take your pick. - Creative innovation : This game added tons of new things to the souls series, such as useful and interesting consumables, ability to "power stance" 2 weapons of the same type, the ability to send only 1 part of the map to the next new game cycle, open secret doors or create traps for invaders with a new item etc. - 3 Cool DLC : Visit lost kingdoms from legends to collect the crowns of their deposed kings and forge a new destiny. In the usual DS fashion the DLCs have the most interesting bosses and items. However this time they added even more. Every DLC has a cool new mechanic, either solving puzzles with your bow, going through the same areas that have changed because of your actions or even interacting with intelligent NPC invaders CONS : - Overall clunkyness and lack of agility in your character that we are used to in modern games. You will fall off that narrow passage because of a bad roll. The larger enemies might hit you when you thought you dodged. - Soul Memory : They added a feature that records all the souls you have collected on your journey. This has one use and that is to allow you to skip some main bosses. However it uses this instead of your level for matchmaking with other players. After finishing my platinum trophy I was having trouble finding people to play with or fight. It doesn't make sense to punish people for playing your game more. - Enemy density : Some bosses and areas are infamous for having terrible, long run-backs with annoying enemies that are just as likely to end you as the boss is. Luckily if you defeat them 12 times they will disappear. Minor Cons : - Useless stats : There are stats for helping you dodge better and wearing more equipment which are part of your kit by default or part of other stats in other souls games. This makes some people disappointed at lower levels because of this forced investment. - Hollowing : Dying makes you lose maximum health and turns your character into a zombie. In order to reset it you need a semi-rare consumable. Personally I like my character to look pretty. I hope my review of this game will give it a better chance to receive some love from the fandom and newcomers alike. It has a bad reputation that I think is undeserved and is a valuable link in the evolution of the souls games.

This is the game that made me fall in love with souls. It is the reason i got DS3 and Elden Ring. However, It also introduced me to what i would arguably call one of its biggest flaws. The best way to experience a Dark Souls is at launch, You see the masses of blood stains, every boss has someone waiting to be called, Every Area has an ally. Its amazing, but after the hype dies down and people have stopped playing and bossing the experience is Lost, and very lonely.

Very clunky gameplay and a bunch of forgettable bosses that are just boring fights. My least favorite from fromsoft. Compared to the other souls games just doesn't have the same replayibility. Not for me personally but it might be others cup of tea.

idk why people dislike it. its a completely new experience and the only logical reason to dislike it is because its different from ds1 and ds3. the game itself is amazing

It is fun and it presents different challenges. A pain to complete though. Worth playing through to understand the memes at the very least.

Jankiest buggiest game in the series with the largest amount of F-you sections, and anyone telling you otherwise is a liar. You should still play it anyway though

Things I liked: -the story -the gameplay -bonfire ascetics Things I didn't like: -the lack of cloud saving -Adaptability -somethings need to be tweaked (visual bugs) -lack of settings options -certain areas suck I'd give this game a 8/10. I think this game is very overhated. It definitely wasn't perfect and I felt like it overstayed its welcome sometimes, but I enjoyed my time with this game a lot. Dark Souls II has a reputation for being the "bad one" and out of the three, it probably is (I haven't started Dark Souls III yet). I feel like that reputation is well-known. I know people who are not into the souls-like games that know about that reputation. I think people shouldn't go into this game with that mindset. I personally had a great time with this game. I don't think there were any bosses as annoying as Bed of Chaos in this game, but there were a good bit of frustrating or stupid ones. Ancient Dragon and Fume Knight were very hard or frustrating. Another boss that stands out to me is the Demon of Song, but not for any good reasons. This boss fight isn't the hardest and it is pretty easy, but his gimmick makes him kinda annoying. There were things I wish I knew about before my first playthrough: 1. Illusory walls activate by using the activate button, rather than activating after being attacked like in other souls games. 2. Adaptability: a new stat that was introduced in this game and hasn't returned since. It basically increases the amount of I-frames you get. The stat does other things, but that is the most important part. 3. Burn the windmills. In the Earthen Peak, there is a boss that has an arena in a poison pit. This pit will eat through your health at a decent pace, not unbearable but also not fun. This pit will also heal her. Thankfully she is pretty weak to fire and I have read that there is a summon sign for a character that is a pyromancer nearby. Thankfully you can burn the big windmill in the area to remove most of the poison from her arena. I did not learn about the windmill until I had beaten the final boss and started the DLC. I am slightly embarrassed about that, but you live and you learn

Dark Souls 2 feels really different from DS1 and DS3. The world is much bigger and sometimes confusing. Some areas are horrible and some ideas are just bad, but there are also great parts that work really well. I liked the story a lot and it’s the first one in the series where I kind of understood the story on my first playthrough. Places like Majula are legendary with its theme song. The game can be unfair and unbalanced, and some of the design is really weird, but if you play it with an open mind, it’s a solid challenge and worth finishing. I left this game on my first try but then came back, and understood how it should be played and it was really enjoyable and unique experience, so if you were struggling like me try to not rush some areas. Hardest fromsoftware game for me. 8,5/10

It isnt the best soulsborne, but still peak, the DLCs are one of the best in the series

One of the worst games I've ever played. Haven't beaten it yet but I can't exaggerate more how unenjoyable this game has been so far. EDIT: I have now beaten the game 10 hours later. This game doesn't get better, every boss is first try and don't explore any cool ideas, every level is not intuitive and looks terrible for a game made in 2014, objectives are obtuse but this is slightly excused by the lack of a manual and this was made in the time of game manuals. This game is such a weird attempt at difficulty. For some reason death is absurdly punished in a game that starts you with the worst roll in the series (that you have to waste your first 20 levels to undo), enemies are just placed in extremely mean ways. The game is not shy early to let you know you'll be getting ganked constantly and gives you no alluring skulls (an item to lure enemies for 5ish seconds to a spot), even if it did give you this item a majority in the game are simply immune to the item's effects :)))) The game is full of obtuse mechanics that differ from other games such as constant placement of doors, the lacking of invulnerability frames on nearly every animation (INCLUDING BACKSTABS AND FOG WALLS!! AN ENEMY CAN GIVE YOU ITS BACK AND YOU DIE FOR IT BECAUSE YOU ATTACKED!! VERY FUN!!), parkour "puzzles", and torches that are consumed with use. I was invaded in this game by another player online four times in total throughout my 30 hours, the very first one was right after I had dropped 50,000 souls. Anxious to not lose my souls, I steeled myself as I'm pretty good at pvp in Elden Ring and understand fundamentals of combat in souls games- the enemy player was a cheater and just killed me instantly. The second invader was a player named "kill me". Upon my friend seeing this he told me to kill myself because the invader might give me an absurd amount of runes if I killed him. The third invader I mistook for a PvE invasion as their name and outfit seemed likely, however, they were a massively overleveled player who killed me. The fourth invader I never engaged with, I killed myself as soon as I saw the prompt- saving myself the time. Do not play this game, if a friend of yours endorses this game they are out to get you and should be excised from your life. I did not smile playing this terrible game, every moment I saw a glimmer of something interesting the idea was squandered and failed terribly. I started with exploring areas thoroughly and wanting to see what was offered and about halfway through the game I simply ran to the next area that progressed me, ignoring all other paths until I was eventually gated arbitrarily and had to look up what was next. Dark souls summer.

I'm playing this game mainly to complete every game from fromsoftware. So far this game has been my least favorite. The game overall feels janky and ugly. Some fundamental changes were made between DS1 and that were frankly unnecessary. - How fast the estus flasks can be consumed is tied to a stat that you had to lvl up - How the healing from estus is slowed down - Every time you die you lose max hp, and to get it back you have to spend human effigy (humanity) - when you want to level up, you have to teleport back to a hub world and speak with an NPC. - the freaking petrified statues that acts as obstacles to progression. - enemies can interrupt you while interacting with doors/mistwalls. There are some unique bosses that have been good like the Executioner's chariot. But many bosses have felt kinda lackluster in terms of scale or memorability. DS1 is a classic for better or worse, DS2 is just a skip in my opinion.

DS2:SOTFS has some of the highest peaks in all FromSoft Soulslike games but suffers from some of the most frustrating retarded design decisions they've ever made. Agility, Soul Memory, bizarre delay in controls and bad enemy placement. Despite it's flaws, the value and fun of the best moments of this game far outweigh it's problems. I highly recommend the game, but please don't go in blind and study up on things like Adaptability stat and it's effect on gameplay as well as other "noob" traps.

i love this game , the builds you can make are so diverse like elden ring , you can be a dex wielding katana mage and be OP ,, love it .. Elden Ring Senior

This is a good game. Normies just don't like it because it's not super edgelord fast with anime moves, dodge boss attacks for a million years until you can land 1 hit to do chip damage, and it doesn't have a big empty open world with nothing to do.

Yes this game have so much problems in comparison with ds3 but... in the same time this this game have unique atmosphere and if u like this u will love this after completing through the main plot. For pros I can write like huge amount if weapon, cool power stance with dual wielding weapons in same category and maybe more but real reasons why this game overwhelming is: adaptability stats u need to rank up, infinite agro range of mobs, really some stupid level design (anyway locations looks cool and I like it), personally for me worse armor design in comparison with ds3 for example, when u hiting enemy ur weapon should hit with full weapon blade or ur damage would be less to the enemy... I love this game, but here's much troubles, but if u accept rules of ds2 then this really cool game, for me its 8.5/10

For ppl who's looking for extra challenge i know lots of ppl said this game is trash etc. the rather weird hitbox & 'overly' overwhelming enemy count in a single (sometimes small) area. Once you know how to 'cheese' it or figuring out what's the best strategy for each area, you'll find that this game is easier than the other dark souls series (just the boss fight, the 'regular' enemy is your TRUE BOSS FIGHT). Currently on my NG+ run and it's still as easy as my normal end game ds2.

I love Lucatiel. Genuinely do not think any of the enemy placements are any worse or more difficult than in any other fromsoft game. Really like seeing what they pulled from this game for Elden Ring--this one feels the most like Elden Ring of all the Dark Souls games. The bosses are for sure easier than in other games and not just because I enjoyed seeing just how many npc summons I could string along on the way to the boss fog (it's so many??? the npc summons are so charming.) Playing this game in 2025 after years of seeing people talk about how much it sucked has made me a Dark Souls 2 defender. It's fun. It has a plot. I love populating Majula. I want to take Lucatiel with me through the whole game. Me and my friend #myfriend.

This game could have been a masterpiece in the FromSoft catalogue if it was given the same development treatment as Bloodborne and DS3. As it stands, it is still a massively enjoyable souls experience, if you can put up with a little jank. It will never be remembered the way the above mentioned titles are, but if you are looking for a challenging and unique experience, then play this game.

I wish I could give a mixed review instead of good vs bad. Before you read this, I feel the need to provide a bit of context just so you know that this is not just unjustified hate: I played this game in 2019. This was my first souls game, and it being my first, it was my favorite. I went on to play Ds3, Elden ring and finally I played and finished Ds1 a week ago. I still considered this as my favourite game. Then I played again Ds2. End of context. Dark souls 2 is missing a lot of from what made ds1 as good as it is. For example the item descriptions. Ds2 definetly has item descriptions but in Ds1 item descriptions gave you hints to what you had to do or where you had to go. It never told you stuff directly but you then remembered another piece of context that made it all click. "This is the ring of mr stupid it has the shape of a RIGHT buttcheek" and then you remember someone saying "Mr stupid is missing a right butcheek" and you go "HOLY SH*T" If you've played Ds1 you know what I mean. Another piece of great game desing missing can be seen within the world. You've already heard about Ds1's map interconnection, a small open world(-like) map, full of shortcuts and alternate paths you could choose. The hub just happens to be a peaceful part of the world where everyone hangs out. In Ds2 majula (the hub) is in the middle of everything and every path you take is closed off from one another. Once you finish a zone, you have no need to go back, unless you need an npc but if your build doesn't require it, the zone could dissapear and it would make no difference. The story is not bad. While Ds1's story was berserk-like ds2's is more game of thrones-like (I have never watched game of thrones but it gives me the same vibes). It is not bad it's just handicapped because of bad game design and poor or non-existent visual story telling. It feels like the game is separate from the story. You're just going from room to room killing guys. That is not necessarily bad in a game but this is (supposedly) AN RPG. It doesn't work well. I am aware of the development hell this game went through and I see the vision they had. This game could've been up there with Elden Ring if creative liberty was allowed within the company. That's the most heartbreaking fact. Who or what can we thank for this?? Good ol' capitalism, encouraging greediness over a good product. Now for the last part I'll mention some of the things this game did RIGHT, because when things are done RIGHT godamn they are RIGHT RIGHT. 1rst atmosphere: "but Mr epic gamer didn't you say that this game has poor/non-existent visual story telling?? Isn't visual story telling supposed to go hand in hand with atmosphere??" Correct child. The thing is; visual story telling in this game is inconsistent. Sometimes is there and sometimes it just isn't. Sometimes is great and sometimes it just isn't. Spoiler warning: [spoiler]From the start the game tries to give you a sense of hopelessness either with the state of the world or with what the characters say. You are without purpose in a world without meaning. Then you find a purpose, to kill the evil king; this keeps you going, this gives you hope. So you fight and fight. You don't stop unless you find him. And then you do. The man is hollow. Running around in circles. He is unconscious. You feel awful, not because of him, but because of you. You had one purpose in this purposeless world and now you don't. That shit breaks you. Your hope completely disappears and you wonder "why? Why am I doing anything? Why am I here?" Hear me out. What if, and this is a big what if, your character is in a limbo between hollowness and life? Or maybe in a purgatory? That would explain why everyone can't remember how they got to majula. That would also explain some senseless geography; for example, the most famous criticism, earthen peak's elevator to iron keep. Seeing it like this, everything starts to make sense right? "You are neither dead or alive in a dream-like world wondering why you are there" straight up a purgatory [/spoiler] 2nd thing: Fashion-souls There's 2 types of armor in ds1: Armor that increases your poise and mask dropped by pinwheel combined with anything else. Ds2 introduced fashionable armors to the franchise. Without this game is hard to imagine we would have them in future games. 3rd: Power stance If you don't know what power stance is, don't worry it's a hidden mechanic (not explained anywhere in the game) that basically adds a whole new moveset as long as you're wielding 2 weapons with the same type of attack. This makes your damage go "bonkers" (XD). This is what inspired weapon arts/ashes of war in future games. 4rth: weapon variety In ds1 weapons boiled down to: "look it's the same type, but bigger??!!" In Ds2 on the other hand, it seems like they were just throwing ideas to see what stuck, and godamn a lot stuck. They went crazy with them. Also what opened the doors in future games for the possibility for Goofy/unusual/creative weapons A lot of the good (and some bad) things about this game either opened the doors or were used as inspiration for future games. There's a lot of other things I didn't mention. But you can tell, after playing other fromsoft games, we wouldn't have them without Ds2. Like I said I see the vision they had. What they were trying to do. It just cuts a deep wound within my heart knowing artists were not allowed to complete their craft. It's not bad, but it could've been great. In conclusion: The first Dark souls is a GREAT rpg while Dark souls 2 is just a somewhat good but unfinished souls-like. If you care about consistency, game design and visual story telling. This game is NOT for you. But if you only care for a challenging boss run type game, you might enjoy it.

This game is now what everyone says it is. This game is fun, it has some really good bosses and its story is rich and could be argued to be better than DS1, however... it comes with issue. The main one is the sheer amount of enemies and the fog gates, together hell is unleashed and is well, hard, which is what we signed up with. This game is probably the hardest in the trilogy and do recommended, however do know that you have to lvl up ADP!!!!

Goat vibes, the game is great, underrated because people like to think with other people's opinion, if you don't like DS2 you got no vibes and zero personality.

another fromsoft w,it is the weakest fromsoft game but still a really good game

Enjoyable game if you can look past a bit of jankiness. It gets a lot of unwarranted hate which I do not understand. I loved the game from start to finish. Has a beautiful OST, well designed bosses and a lot of exploration.

it's better than people say but not as good as people say

Speaking as someone who loved the first one, I call this one a massive success. The changes take some time to get used to, but it's well worth the time I've spent on it. Even though I don't like all the changes they made, I love the ideas I can see they had in making those decisions. It all has a feeling that everything will one day disappear and be done, things will one day run out for good, and all that used to be taken for granted or put on a pedestal will go away and be forgotten. So, perfect for a Souls game! Things I like: The stat rebalancing, each level doesn't increase in cost so much, and every level increases something useful in multiple areas. (Leveling every single stat gives you an extra point or two of health as a bonus, so you aren't dumping stats and seeing no result until the required level. And Attunement also adds a cast speed bonus.) Strange decision to make it now via NPC, what if you accidentally attack her? You can buy multiple copies of every spell and stack them up to large numbers. The increased ring variety is so nice, I get so many new options of things to equip. Teleportation between bonfires from day 1! And they come with a nice little thumbnail. (There's more but I can't think of it right now) Things that I didn't like as much: Hollowing takes your health away, resources are limited, and each enemy will disappear if you kill it too many times. I both like and dislike this, as it always pushes you forwards where DS1 let you hang around at any place you want, which is really nice to see the variety in locations, however it also can leave you stranded if you aren't careful. It's worth checking out the Covenant of Champions for a harder mode, as it also allows infinite enemy respawns. I'm invaded multiple times a day, sometimes the same person 5 times in a row. I know I can block them temporarily, but this seems to be a really high number.

One of the most over-hated games ever. The enemy placement is good, and you've been lied to. Have you seen those clips of players getting cornered by like 20 enemies? That stuff only happens if you play very stupidly. Be cautious, attentive, and defensive – the way the game wants you to play – and it won’t be unfair or traumatizing at all. I went into this game dreading that it would be unplayable, but I had a great time. The only parts I didn’t like were a few of the runbacks.

If you enjoy other Fromsoft/Soulslike titles and are considering skipping this one because of the negativity surrounding it, don’t. It certainly has its flaws and those are very well-documented, but it’s a genuinely fun game with a lot of heart. About 20 hours in, I actually prefer it to Dark Souls 1.

Awesome and extremely over-hated game, most of the popular complaints on the internet are completely backwards. The only genuinely offensively bad feature was Soul Memory screwing you over when you want to PVP/Coop in lategame, but despite that the multiplayer holds up way better after a decade than DS1/DS3, its much more lively with more creative builds around. [b]If youre playing on keyboard+mouse, you need to turn on "Disable double clicking" every time you boot up the game if you dont want huge input delay[/b] Its a very different deal than DS1 with its ups and downs compared to it, it doesnt have as great as a world (mostly branching paths instead of interconnection) and atmosphere and sense of mystique, but it has a lot more action, more tricky fights, more build variety, more side activities and all People constantly complain about hitboxes, but it has the best hitboxes of the trilogy : I played with almost no points in ADP and it was so much more engaging to actually dodge the enemy attacks, have to roll in the correct direction, stuff like that. It feels like the game was actually designed around that and its easier than it sounds. There are exceptions like ancient dragon, but that goes for every game, just less so in this one. And if you dont like it, simply level ADP. Just watch out for Frigid Outskirts because you cannot dodge these ice stallions without luck or i-frames. People constantly claim it has the worst bosses of the series, but Fume Knight, Alonne, Smelter Demon, Ruin Sentinels, Sinh, Pursuer, Looking Glass Knight, Mytha (with the poison floor left on), among others, were all really neat, specially when they made me actually be mindful about the direction i roll when trying to evade attacks. Its a satisfying middleground that has more straightforward action than DS1's bosses, while still keeping interesting gimmicks and arenas, instead of being repetitive rollslop like DS3. And actually having to evade attacks by dodging the hitboxes is infinitely more engaging than, say, rolling forward against every single attack Sif throws out. Once again, if you dont like it, just level ADP The powerstancing is amazing, left hand weapons having a full moveset is great, the jumping feels much better than DS1. parrying feels the best in this game compared to others, among other stuff, makes it have a great gamefeel. People call it clunky but i didnt find that in the slightest I really like how it not only gives you much more upgrade materials, but also has much more oppressive enemy placements/ganks that encourage you to think more and have a wider arsenal, level up a lot of different weapons and experiment with stuff. So many more neat ways to play compared to DS1/DS3, so many more neat interactions like the effects of being drenched, more encouragement to interact with PVP/PvE, better ranged stuff, more interesting consumables, that parry with the ultra-greatswords and giga clubs, i like lifegems, i like the new hollowing mechanics, just so much neat stuff around!!1 Bonfire Ascetics and enemies running out of respawns are two wonderful features that i wish more games had copied Also it has the coolest dragon form 🐉 good luck grinding those scales though..

Simply put : FROM Software took the legacy DS2, did not improve the few good things and made the bad things worse. The plethora of ambushing mobs are so annoying that farming has become a tedium with no end. Video games are about having fun. My recommendation : skip it and play DS1 and DS3.

My father-in-law is a game dev. He is insanely gifted. We were looking at a dark souls II together years ago and I asked him what it would cost to build it today. I will never forget his answer… 'We can’t, we don’t know how to do it.'

Solid game. Not sure about ADP stat and the hitboxes tho.

This is my favorite game period. It is the bones of which Elden Ring's flesh was grafted on, and yet still does many things better. The atmosphere oozes with bitter hope, the combat is deceptively complex, and the NPC's are so distinctly memorable (even if you can't figure out their quests). DS2SOTFS feels very different from Dark Souls 1-Elden Ring, but that's a bonus. I play all From games regularly on rotation, 100%-ing 3/5 so far, and I am always excited to wander through the Forest of Fallen Giants again. Dark Souls 2 has a lot of bad PR and misinformation. The game is amazing; different, but nonetheless amazing.

Having played Demons Souls, Dark souls 1/2/3, Blood Borne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, this one is by far the weakest entry. Its a deep cut. Play it after you've played all the other ones and still want more. The combat is very singular in feeling and tempo. The game becomes very predictable very quickly. The bosses are probably the easiest in the series, except for maybe Demons Souls. Once you get used to being ambushed by 5 or 6 enemies at a time almost constantly, this becomes the easiest entry in the entire line of soulslike games made by Fromsoft. It never throws a curve ball. Its always an ambush every time without exception. There isn't much challenge when you know whats coming and when almost none of the enemies move fast or have quick combos. Just make any kind of fast build and it becomes incredibly easy.

I love this game, my favorite is Elden Ring and many people say it's most similar to Dark Souls II so that may be why. There are some bad things here and there, annoying enemies and areas, but that really is the same with any Souls game. I've enjoyed it more than Dark Souls I, the exploration was great with multiple cool level designs of either making your way up or down through a gigantic tower, slowly making progress and looking back down (or up, in one case) to see how far you've come. Great bosses, some were abysmally awful though. Still, I love this game and the armor has to be the best from any Souls game.

It fucking rules. Little ADP, little salt. Mmm mm perfect.

I really did not like this at first but got more into it then started liking it, now this game is super flawed lots of issues but also some cool things with that but mainly just bad design choices/systems and all that but looking past that enjoyable game, also dlcs are pretty good iron king dlc might be the highlight of the game but right after that is ivory king dlc which is the worst part of the game imo

Definitely the worst Souls game in the series, although it's worth keeping in mind that it's a game that's been around for several years and has aged poorly. However, its essence is still there, with its clumsy gameplay and absurd difficulty, for which the series has earned its fame. But in short, it has (more shadows than lights).

Among FromSoftware’s iconic Soulsborne titles, Dark Souls II often sits in a controversial spot. Following the groundbreaking success of Dark Souls, many fans expected a direct continuation—identical tone, atmosphere, and design. Instead, Dark Souls II took risks, made bold design choices, and delivered something thematically unique. While it diverged from its predecessor in many ways, these differences don’t make it a failure—they make it a masterpiece in its own right.

Probably the best Souls-inspired game, but I still prefer the original Dark Souls series games like Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 3.

I know this is the unpopular opinion but I think this is my favorite of the dark souls trilogy. Yes, soul memory sucks but I only play solo so I dont actually care about it at all. Yes, agility sucks but it sucks a lot less than most people say it does. You level up so much in this game that sacrificing a couple of levels to get your agility up but leveling Adaptability is not bad at all. Yes the black gulch and the gutter suck as areas. Yeah those are just bad but so was blight town. Overall there is a lot of content here with some of the more creative ideas in the franchise and I think that makes it very worth playing if you like dark souls. I highly recommend this entry.

This game feels different from DS1 but has its charm. Some of you would like it, some wouldn't, but don't hate DS2 only because it is popular to hate it. Try and judge it yourself. The game isn't that hard and punishing. All you need to do is: 1) pay attention to your surroundings; 2) do not try to run through unfamiliar locations, aggroing hoards of enemies. However, there are three distinct locations, one in each DLC, designed specifically for COOP (you can tell you are there by the group of weird statues). These locations can be hard for a solo playthrough but are not impossible. And don't forget about ADP stat ;)

Some might say that this is the best or worst game in series but it is still Dark Souls game, so if you want more Dark Souls here it is. I had fun playing it. It is as hard as Dark Souls 1 (not hard at all), but DLCs can give you more difficulty especially on lower levels.

Wow... another one down. I can't believe that I finished the first game, now this one... and only DS3 remians(out of the souls trilogy). Look, this game has problems, A decent amount of them, and I know and understand why it's the black sheep of the series. But I still loved it. I really did. Entering a setting, seeing plot threads from the first game manifest here... Amazing. The journey of my cursed one is over. And despite all of bad stuff in the game, I had a good time. Just be ready before you try this, okay? And don't play with DS1 mentality. Btw, just two things I belive I should say to new players. 1. Level ADP to at least 20. 2. DO NOT GO THE OPTION CO OP AREAS. Especially the frozen outskirts. I didn't bother with that one, and neither should you.

Unfairly criticized by many players for its excessive and punitive difficulty, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin may seem like a completely different gaming experience and a story entirely separate from Dark Souls I, but this perception is misleading. It's undeniable that this chapter feels different due to the change in director. However, if you have the patience and willingness to listen and observe, you'll uncover a narrative of love—a more "human" story that, while sad at its core, is also touching. This title might not be for everyone, but it's worthy to play.

Imagine being inside of a boat thats actively filling up with water and there is a guy with 2 clubs and has a conjoined twin with 2 swords attached to his back.. Then you have to beat them before you drown. Or imagine running to the same spot over and over and over .. I think that is this game.

I honestly enjoyed this game, well despite some crap here & there like Frigid Outskirts… man that area was bullshit tbh. I do understand the complaints of every other player, this is a weak sequel to the Souls series. But i don’t know why, i will always love every FromSoft games… they’re just that good to me

To appreciate the best, you have to experience the worst, and this is by far the worst experience I've had playing a game. Almost every boss took 1-2 tries, but every area is just spammed with enemies for no reason, this game is so artificially difficult and it baffles me that there is a community of people that enjoy this game.

Incredible game that get compared too much to the other games. Awesome NPC interactions, areas challenging but solvable, and cool animations.

A master peace of a game and the story and gameplay is amazing