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To sum the game up in three words: Inconsistent but bold
The ‘black sheep’ of the Dark Souls series. In my opinion this should not be your first Souls game, I would not recommend starting on this entry, but if you like the series I would 100% recommend playing it. It is certainly worth your time. Just be aware it has very high highs but also some truly awful lows.
Be aware it has a slow start and is very different with completely different pacing to the other two Souls games and some mechanics which will take a while to get used to, but give it a shot, there is a lot to love here. I really did not like it for the first few hours, as I was playing it too much like DS1/3, but when I had spent enough time with it and got used to the differences I really enjoyed it overall.
FromSoftware really tried something different with this game, which is commendable. DS2 could easily have just been DS1 but new areas and bosses and that would probably have been received well but they really tried many new things with this entry, which is bold and the right step for videogames in general in my opinion. Some of these new elements were great, whilst others were clear misses, but it is great they took those steps and tried them out, I see a lot more of this game in Sekiro (probably my favourite FromSoft game) than I do of DS3. Without the risks they took with DS2 we may not even have Sekiro or Elden Ring today. I haven’t played Elden Ring yet, but I have heard it includes several elements that were previously exclusive to DS2 such as Twinblades and the Powerstance mechanic, which is neat.
As mentioned, DS2 introduced a lot of new elements some of which were great and became staples for the rest of their games such as:
• Ability to respec skill points
• Ability to teleport between bonfires from the start of the game
• Estus shards to upgrade the flask
• More of a focus on the ‘hub’
• New elements for NG+: new rings, new items, new NPC interactions, some new moves/elements in some boss fights
It also introduced some which haven’t returned but I thought were great ideas. For example:
• Bonfire Ascetics: essentially reset an area including its bosses but at +1 difficulty equivalent to 1 level of NG+ on whatever playthrough you are on, good for farming or the ability to fight a boss again/ obtain its unique soul again if you wish.
• (as mentioned above) Powerstancing: dual wielding certain weapons (doesn’t have to be the same weapon twice) allows new unique animations and move sets as long as you meet the strength requirement for doing so (usually 1.5x both weapons strength requirement).
• Enemies despawn permanently (for the current playthrough) if they have been killed 15 times in total (unless you join a certain covenant to prevent this) this can really help people if they are stuck or want to make a path through a certain area/ path to a boss easier for themselves.
This game also has some incredible bosses, some of the best in the series, especially in the DLCs, I particularly enjoyed : Velstadt, Sir Alonne, Fume Knight, Burnt Ivory King and the Smelter Demons . It also has, arguably, the best plot of the three Dark Souls games.
However, at parts, this game has some of the most malicious game design I have seen in gaming which, whilst somewhat on brand for FromSoftware with the whole ‘difficult game, “get good”’ ethos, it can sometimes feel unfair and like it is designed just to be frustrating. You really must treat this game differently than the other two when playing, the old classic strategies will not work, I would recommend taking it slower and picking your targets/ managing them more deliberately, if you rush you will likely get overwhelmed by a mob very quickly. I always felt DS1 was somewhat difficult but fair, some parts of DS2 strayed from this and were ridiculous. For example:
• Decaying max hp upon death (kicking you whilst you’re down)
• Slower healing (not necessarily a bad thing but paired with less max HP leads to a rough early game and is why many players end up leaving and hating this game)
• Less than half of the I-frames on your dodge roll (I may have the exact numbers wrong but it is something like you have 5 I-frames rather than the other two games’ 13 I-frames per roll, unless you take a new stat called adaptability to 99 which gets you back to 13 I frames for a ‘medium’ roll) so it takes a while to adjust to/ you feel like your roll isn’t anywhere near as useful as it is in the other entries
• No I-frames for opening doors/chests/most interactions
• Many more traps and ambushes than DS1 and 3 (not necessarily unfair but worth mentioning in this section of the review)
• Higher density of enemies in small spaces
• Some very questionable hit boxes, especially with some bosses performing lunge attacks
• Some of the worst areas in the series with upwards of 8 enemies in what is essentially a narrow corridor
• Some areas having upwards of 30 enemies between a bonfire and a boss so every attempt takes you over 5 mins to get back and try again, these high numbers of enemies often include situations where you are being mobbed by melee based enemies and also being sniped by archers/ mages often with elemental effects etc, not ideal Shrine of Amana, Frigid Outskirts and Iron passage are the worst offenders.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a good game, it isn’t impossibly hard or anything like that but at times it does edge on being unfair, it is by far the most frustrating of the 3 games. The aforementioned run between the nearest bonfire and boss being horrendous is a great shame as it unfortunately takes place before some of the best bosses in the game, in my opinion, and greatly takes away from their enjoyment.
The game certainly has some missteps and flaws, but it also exceeds in many ways different to the other entries in the series. All I would say is be patient with the changes. It took me a while to enjoy it but a few hours in it clicked for me and by the end I really did enjoy it a great deal.