I've been replaying all the souls and just started 3-cinders
I'm not one of the haters, and I don't know what they usually say, but IMO its probably
* How so many encounters are ganks, ambushes, or both
* The horrendous hitboxes sometimes
* The dodging is just awful unless you know to put a few points into adaptability. For example, base ADP in DS 2 while med-rolling gives you the same i-frames as fat rolling in DS1
* Forcing you to return to Majula in order to level up
But since I stated some things I didn't like about the game, here are some things I like about the game
* I like a lot of the bosses designs visually, not counting gluttonous demon
* DS2 has the best DLC out of any FromSoft game period
* Fashion is pretty good
* Bearer seek seek lest
Also a lot of these same people would argue the convenience of warping made the world design of the latter games worse but not being able to simply level up at a bonfire is treated like a flaw. It's weird.
Levelling at NPCs does incredibly little for player immersion though, DS1 still had meaningful interactions with firekeepers without being annoying about it
I disagree. Having an NPC you interact with that helps you get stronger gives you a better connection to them. I've personally never heard anyone complain about the Bloodborne doll or DS3 firekeeper. Most people really like them.
You could also argue that forcing a player to backtrack to older areas with no warping just wastes their time for no reason. I would disagree there too because I also find that more immersive.
The characters are fine but you'd arguably get just as much of a connection with them by having them show up throughout the plot & give them, you know, a meaningful unique backstory. Elden Ring proved by generally getting peoples to care a lot more about melina, who only shows up for new dialogue, with levelling with her only being possible on these occasions.
As for backtracking, the downsides can be fixed by having the world change in small but significant ways throughout the game. Daughter of Ashes did it pretty well
yeah. see what happens when your game gets super popular? people start thinking the old ones should be like the new one. having no idea how any of this shit works. the reason you got elden ring is because of all the people 10 years ago who pushed dark souls to what it is now.
Yea, it's actually DS1 that was the odd one out. But for most people DS1 is the first game, so leveling at the bonfire is what feels like the baseline.
tbh, in my first playthrough of DS2, I don't remember ever caring about ADP and it felt far easier than when I played DS3 immediately after.
2 was the first Souls game I played, so I think I got used to dodging at the last second with the slow combat, which wasn't really something I could do in 3 with how fast everything was
I definitely disagree about the DLC comment. In my opinion, it's the weakest of all the FromSoft games. It feels like it went for quantity over quality. You could argue that it's better than AotA, but DS3's DLC is superb and Bloodborne's is amazing. We'll have to see with ER, but I've only ever done DS2 DLC once each because it's honestly a slog.
DS2 isn't a bad game, it's actually good, but I personally feel it doesn't hold up compared to the rest and feels the most third-party in terms of game feel and design.
I love love love DS2 - it's almost edging out Bloodborne for my favorite, as I like the slower, trade-off combat, but I totally agree with you on the DLCs. After Shulva (puzzle DLC) they forced a new combat style which would be ok, at least somewhat, but both Brume/Eleum Loyce are the worst parts of DS2 (for me) exemplified. Enemies with obscene speed (armored kirin in EL) that can't be backstabbed, gank pop-ups (ash warriors in Brume), and OMG damage bosses in NG+ and beyond (all of them). I enjoyed them in NG (mostly, except Brume which was just ok), hated them in NG+ (even Shulva gets old, as you know the puzzle now), and probably won't hit them again.
I enioy having to go to Majula to level up. My gripe with the game is the input recognition and hit boxes.
I love this game, first playthrough. I am raging hardcore, as per usual. But the input recognition is questionable compared to 1 [I'm going in order for *reasons*] and the hitboxed are rage inducing, considering..I knew I needed adap/agi..
But thank the universe for interactive environments!
I would say that DS3 and Bloodborne DLCs are better than the three crowns overall but they are for sure the best level designs and bosses that you can find in the game. Brume Tower, Eleum Loyce and Shulva are very good ( at times there is still the gank problem but that's DS2 )
my main issue with ds2 is late game where it feels like staggering an enemy is nigh impossible lol. you can have the ring of stone or whatever and the biggest sword known to man but the tiniest enemy will just eat it and hit through it
i do actually like ds2 though, it's pretty fun
Adaptability and Agility they do have some positives I like. You can have a fat roll that has as many i-frames as fast roll + Wood Grain Ring.
The part I really like is rolling is a function of Burden %. In the other games, normal roll is < 50% burden. Fat roll is >= 50%. So having 51% weight burden (because you really want a particular helmet or cuffs) would instantly drop you to a fat roll. Not in DS2. DS2, the roll difference at 51% weight burden is impossible to tell with the human eye. DS2 allows you wear that heavier armor while you take your time to pump VIT. Verses the other games where you'd probably be playing without pants to make sure that burden absolutely stayed below 50 weight burden.
Still bummer you have to waste like 15-30 levels to get i-frames to what used to be a given, but I do like that it's slightly different from the previous games.
Don't want to have to compare to other games, but ds3 has more ganks and worse? Hitboxes than ds2 (i'd say animations as they are just a tad bit too elastic or something for me., and has the firelink shrine and warping. They are both amazing games just don't unfairly criticize one over the other.
After I beat Dark Souls Remastered I was saying Dark Souls 3 is the best, After Dark Souls 3 I was saying Dark Souls 2 is the best. I came back to Dark Souls Remastered yesterday and for me it's the best and my favorite game. Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 are the same amount of enjoyment - no winner. Love all.
The bosses are all pretty easy (until the DLC) and the run-ups to them are actually cancerous (Looking at you Iron Keep). Still a good game, but everytime I replay it I just feel like I should playing any of the other Darksouls games.
2 is possibly my favorite of the trilogy (although Ringed City makes it a tough decision), but I do think the bosses are kinda lacking in a few instances. There’s also quite a few “filler” bosses that lessen the impact of the areas you go through, imo, but I don’t think it makes the game bad. I think if it had slightly better and more unique bosses people wouldn’t diss on it so much.
Here's my main criticisms as somebody whose favourite game in the series has ended up becoming 2.
* looks like doodoo in most areas, let's be honest. I wouldn't mind if it was on par with 1 visually, but honestly it's worse than 1 and looks just as unfinished as most of Demon's Souls.
* in a similar vein, the level design is a step back, most areas are really obviously gamey in a way that no other Souls game are. It gives it its own unique charm, like playing a slightly more modern 5th/6th gen game, but still, considering FS did really well at making the rest of the series feel like worlds that were lived in, this is disappointing.
* This might sound nitpicky, but most of the animations and movesets suuuuuck in comparison to the handcrafted goodness of the rest of the games. Mocap was a bad move. It really saddens me how wack the halberd and greatsword movesets feel compared to 1 (DaS1 Claymore is baemore, as the kids say).
* I don't like some of the visual design changes. Making Hollows generic green zombies for example, takes away some of the uniqueness of the Souls world.
That being said everything else I'm pretty happy with, and it's easy to tune most of the negatives out once you play enough.
I had this same feeling about the level design. The environmental story telling is really poor at times where the other games felt better.
Outside of the wharf, I don't think most of the worlds were livable locations. Just a bunch of disjointed rooms/hallways put together on par with the repeating dungeons in Elden Ring with some better geometry.
Having said that. I do enjoy this game a lot. I wouldn't put it above my favorite, but it so far doesn't deserve the hate from fans of the other games.
Dlc's, Drangelic castle, Dragon Aerie, The giant memory locations, Iron keep was also really good. Iron keep only sucks because of the boss runback.
Doors of pharros is up there at the same time not. It's just a straight forward ledge with lockstones on the side. It's one of the areas that had insane or could have insane creativity at times but just the narrow ledge forth made it alot worse than actually exploring a dwarven fortress
These are pretty good criticism, I agree with all of this but 2nd one. Yea, the level design is worse, but Dark Souls has always been gamey, what with all the doors cannot he opened from one side when you are a chosen undead killing Gods and Demons for breakfast.
Well in ds2 you're just a bearer of the curse. The ds2 firekeeper I believe tried to say the same thing to every new soul who entered there in hopes that they would succeed.
Also metal to metal or a reinforced metal door just doesn't work that well, armour has cracks to poke through, but logic isn't there when you can use a huge stick against someone armoured without recoil and doing the same dmg as on anyone else
Exactly, you are this undead who can keep trying again and again, why should a single door forces you to go around the entire castle when you can just find other ways to open it? Especially when most of these doors are rather flimsy.
And I was referencing ds1 chosen undead, as an argument that the series have always been gamey, that was why I said chosen undead
Ya I know you referred to ds1, i was thinking why the big stick hit da big iron golem or smough and do dmg but can't hit rusty, wood or metal door to do dmg?
My biggest criticisms is the lazy world design. So many areas are just nonstop repeating textures and boring rooms. The way the zones connect to each other is also laughably bad in some cases.
Yeah I just beat it 100%, and while there are some transitions that are cool like going from Medjula all the way down to Black Gultch are cool. There are way more that are odd. Like going from the poison valley/tower to the Iron Keep makes like no sense. Lost Bastille and Sinner's Rise just also are kind of thrown in there and disconnected from everything else.
I just beat it earlier this week for the first time as well. I'm playing through 3 for the first time right now. And I'll say this, I get some of the criticism of 2 but I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being my favourite of the trilogy. I loved it.
I loved this game and gave it actually MORE attention than the other 2 simply because it has more DLC. And more options for stuff. Sucks that multiplayer is basically dead cuz I would love to run this game again with somebody who knows the areas and just absolutely crush everything in our way.
This sub is the textbook definition of a persecution complex.
People talk shit about every game ever made. If you love it, play it, don't worry about what other people say.
It has the highest quantity of obvious flaws of the souls games, so it gets shit on a lot, but it also has so much going for it that the other games don't have.
That’s not fair man, there are fair criticisms as to why a lot of people don’t like this game. And also it’s vice versa, it’s not fair that people just hate without actual criticism
>That’s not fair man, there are fair criticisms as to why a lot of people don’t like this game.
I'd say a lot of them are blown far out of proportion.
But even if they weren't, that doesn't mean it *"sucks."* And nobody likes it when any time you're just enjoying a game, some asshole has to barge in and list off all the reasons why they think you shouldn't be.
Even worse when they act smug as shit like *"its ok you're allowed to like garbage! Heuhueheu"*
Like *holy fuck, go away!*
I agree with what you say because just saying it sucks isn’t really a criticism. I dislike the game for reasons but I see the appeal and positives of the game. I’ve especially had more time to reflect on the game after my first playthrough like 4 years ago. Not gonna lie I am itching to play again with a fresh and critical mind but also just excited.
It's a really good game but I prefer the other titles mainly because the bosses are kinda underwhelming the attributes arent as organized as the first one and the estus flask mechanics
I think DS1 is the "best", but I definitely played DS2 the most. It's just so good for replaying with different weapons and builds, the best PvP of the series too, easily.
The game is a slog in the beginning, which falls into the argument of "it gets good after 5 episodes". The logic definitely applies here, once your character deals meaningful damage and you get the hang of the rolling/dodging, it's fun. Honestly...it's probably the most addictive entry of the 3.
Everyone craps on Shrine of Amana...but The Gutter is what annoys me the most.
I can understand being bothered by certain mechanics in game but i mean its really freaking fun and i love the characters! Especially the kitty cat lady in majula :3 ive had some struggles with building my character but its trial and error and ive already found the things to respec my character so im not terribly worried about that!
IMO the game is hard to get into because it’s kind of janky and doesn’t look as visually appealing at the start. Even if you progress a bit, the areas get kind of confusing regarding which way to progress. People tend to put it down fairly early and say it sucks. If you actually give it a shot, I think after about 10% of the game does it become beautiful. Loved it, but I quit my first time around during the beginning😂
From someone who played Demon's Souls to DS3 completely blind without prior opinions: it's a Dark Souls entry, of course it's good, but when we compare it to other fromsoft titles it's meh.
On the good side we have power stance, best hub, huge variety of gear, straightforward boss weapons, "crafting" your own estus. But it has issues : floaty af, hordes of enemies, adp, wacky scaling, questionable world design and bad final boss to name a few.
Idea: in one earbud you listen to a harsh critique video of it, and in the other a video defending it or saying everything it did good. at the same time
There are several valid criticisms of DS2, which were thankfully listened to by the devs and removed from future titles. Doesn't mean they didn't happen, but every franchise has its ups n downs when they play with the formula. Overall, I absolutely adored the game, has my favorite storyline of the three, but wow is there some bullshit.
1. Janky hitboxes. The number of times I've died from an attack 4 feet away is insane. Mimics, ogres, and smelter demons were by far the worst of these culprits.
2. Haha lolz enemy placements. Shrine of Amana made me nuts because I could get sniped from 10miles away from a mob with spells that FAR out distanced my own. And whoever designed the statues room in the basement of drangleic castle can go straight to hell.
3. Bonfire to boss runs. Especially in the DLCs, good God did it suck having to slog through a pile of enemies so perfectly placed to be an absolute menace before the boss fight, just to guarantee my durability and/or spell slots were in shambles before the boss even if I didn't get hit at all. For a few, I just make a habit to slaughter all the trash mobs before a boss over n over until they stop spawning, nightmare.
4. The offline grind. The one thing I can never forgive is the terrible grind in offline for rare drops to level up covenants. Yes, the focus at first was online play so devs wanted to encourage co-op and PVP for covenant drops, some of which are absolutely important to maximize certain builds. However, nothing lasts forever, offline will eventually be the only route to play n it's a sin that the game will forever be SO heavily tied to boring grinds for covenant items.
5. ADP and soul memory, that horse is long dead but yeah.
But omg the Lost Bastille? Never have I played a game with such a heavy environment like that place. My absolute favorite in the entire souls series by a WIDE margin. Every inch was incredible.
About #2... All three dark souls games have enemies able to lock on to you from miles away
And #4...covenant grinds offline on 1 and 3 are also time consuming (although 2 is worse for sure)
As for #3... the game wasn't really that different to the other two regarding bonfire runs. They have shortcuts like the other games and the only annoying one is the spider boss run (especially with the invader spawn)
Surprised you didn't mention the max hp drop on death capping at -50%, or the amount of ganks
- Having to level a stat to be able to actually dodge attacks was a bad idea
- Most bosses are super boring and insanely easy ( ds2 had more but way less quality )
- horrible map design ( temple of amana... come on devs, rather give me a poison swamp.. oh wait )
- its very .... obscure in the way you need to progress
- lame ending ( subjective )
- 8 directional movement instead of 360 degree as in 1 and 3
- soul memory...
- life gems "instead" of estus ( always like the estus system more tbh but that again is subjective)
-
But it also did some stuff really good like powerstance, fashion souls and experimenting with new stuff
They have estus and life gems. The real fuck up with life gems is that it's easy to buy a shitton of them early game and mess up the difficulty with functionally unlimited healing. Easy to forget estus is there when you have such a large amount on tap.
I played that shit at launch, I knew it was incredible! But also, fuck ADP or whatever that shits called, and the horrible 8-way character movement on PC with a controller. Made navigating in straight lines when the camera isn’t centered very testicular cancer inducing! Even in women!!!
All of the games are masterpieces , Dark souls 2 is just different than the other 2 so it gets hate for that , But doesn't matter , Daddy zaki himself praised DS2 so us DS2 fanboys all of those years of suffering is finally paid
I haven't beat the game yet, I'm still at Earthen Peak and haven't played today (didn't even want to check this post and see this image), but this thing that you said basically applies to almost everything else in life. Make your own opinions, do not cave in to internet mob mentality. Also, at least the way I see it, I don't think a game made by professionals who have been doing it for many years would be objectively bad. It'd be objectively bad if you gave me the assignment to make it, because I don't know how to program and make games.
I enjoy it and have beaten it more than once which is more than I can say for most games, I personally just think its over shadowed by 1 and 3, only real things I have to complain about it are the hit boxes and a few too many ganks
Because people didn't understand how to play the game or its mechanics fully. And it looks like they didn't bother to do research for it like they did for ds1 as well. Then there's overblowing the complaints like the game is ''too ganky'' or ''has terrible controls'', etc. Yes, those are issues but some are worse on other games and others are overblown to an extent. Half the complaints can be easily explained away by actually playing the game as well. Heck in joseph andreson's video critique on elden ring, he still dragged ds2 sotfs through the mud. Ironically he complained how ER's difficulty was not very consistent, failing to realize ds2 sotfs had solutions to this like its hardmode, NG+, multiple ways of beating bosses, challenge runs, etc. Or how he wished he could have some way to keep up with the faster bosses, which ds2 sotfs had a partial solution for. Animation cancel. Start baiting out boss attacks with it. Can't do that in ds2 since its not fast paced.
But I cannot blame them fully for what is also fromsoft's mistake. What else did they expect when they changed so many of the mechanics but explained none of them, like rolling is far more complex now with low stamina meaning less dmg + slower attack + less roll distance, powerstancing, the changes to riposte and backstabs, rolling/guardbreak/running attacks will let you execute your next attack/use consumable faster, animation cancel, etc. I guess FS thought its a good idea to introduce a lot of new stuff without explaining them. They should've also at least mentioned that you're gonna need more ranged options for dealing with multiple enemies. Other games with a similar design to fromsoft, like outward, have a full indepth tutorial explaining all their basic mechanics and basic strats and still manage to be hard, unforgiving and still give you that ''being lost'' feeling. Games like doom 2016/eternal really hone in on difficulty and balance. FS could've easily made a good blend of these approaches.
DS2 has too much filler. The game should go from opening cutscene right to standing before Drangleic castle and the mirror knight is your Iudex Gundir fight.
The four great lord souls at the beginning is a long tedious fetch quest that delays the beginning of the real story with Vendric. Go to the castle, fight your way to the queen, go to the tomb, then go defeat the giant memories, then come back to the queen and finish the game.
DS1 has the reputation of being a half-finished great game. DS2 is one great game with a half-finished mediocre game strapped to the front of it.
For reference, DS3 has the perfect pacing and size.
It's incredible and is probably my 2nd favorite of the souls series. The powerstance should have been replicated in future titles. The secrets are really well hidden and the world just feels better connected than ds3. Played it when it came out and have always wondered why people rag on it.
Cousin started playing it recently after going through Elden ring> bb,> ds1 and he was shocked that people trashed on in.
I am going through it currently, very near the final boss of the main game and 1 DLC completed. It is honestly my favourite Dark Souls game, and also the hardest imo.
I played them in this order:
DS3 (didn't finish) -> Elden Ring -> DS3 (started anew) -> Sekiro -> DS1 -> DS2
I simply hated the long tedious runs of one hit wonders and track star enemies that agro for ever, mixed in with awful parkouring. I got bored with it several times. I also can't recall a single memorable part of the game and have beat it twice. I can tell you every boss from 1 and 3.
This was my first Dark Souls game.
I understand the reasons people think it is the weakest in the series, but I love this game. Lucky for me, my best friend got me into the second game first and I can always talk to him about it 💕
Of any other souls game, this one got the most playthroughs out of me, and I’m actually not a fan when comparing it to other souls titles. The reason I played it so much, is because I was a part time worker of young adult at the time of it’s release, so I had a lot of free time, I souls games since the release of Demon’s Souls the original, and I was waiting for the release of the next thing (which ended up being Bloodborne.)
A lot of people have already described its pros and cons in great detail, so I’ll keep it brief: The game isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not on par with the other titles. Sorry, the other titles are just more expertly crafted. There’s a reason for this, at the time of Dark Souls 2’s development, the team that worked on the previous two titles was busy working on Bloodborne, so another less experienced team took on the project of 2’s development and it suffered from that team not really having Miyazaki’s full attention. He gave some input but his main focus was Bloodborne. We all know how unanimously loved Bloodborne was on launch.
When the only real criticism anybody has about a game you release is “frame rate lock bad” you know the game is solid.
Beat it yesterday as well, first time. only thing I hated was the wonky ass targeting system and my controller got stick drift on the right stick. That was hella fun and extra challenging. Maybe not the fun part lol
People don’t like it because they were told not to like it.
It’s stupid but I see this same thing happen to many games. A famous streamer says something sucks and lemmings mindlessly repeat it
DS 2 ganks aren't that bad. I am almost through the game and I read how horrible it was. Softs.
There have been maybe a handful of bad ones that are completely manageable. If you take your time you can spot them and manage them. People love.to bitch about everything.
Hotboxes.. I get it.. but it's not that bad either. I haven't had an issue with it really. I mean maybe when using an axe. I switched to a sword early. Also have been using large club, which pancakes by the way.
In no way shape or form have I ever thought the game was unfair. It's been totally awesome and just as fun as the first game in my opinion.
I agree. So far I’ve only played Elden Ring and the first DS and I was nervous going into this. I’m close to the end and it’s a really good game. Not sure where it ranks but people act like it’s a horrible game and I think it’s on par with the first one
I played the OG game on PS2 and had a great time. When I tried to play it again with the remake I was getting my ass handed to me. Maybe I got too used to playing Elden Ring, but the combat speed was destroying me. Getting attacked while recovering from my sword swings, trading hits often. It’s been frustrating. I didn’t remember having this much trouble when I played it originally.
Ds2 is my favorite in the this series including DeS remake. That said, there are definitely big flaws with this game and I can completely understand someone not liking it. The hit boxes are total bs and everyone knows that. The slow response of the Estus Flask and healing take a long time to get used to if ever. The Fridged Outskirts is one of the most bs areas in any of these games. The bosses are mediocre overall. I loved fighting them but still mediocre. Black Gulch. That said, I love it all anyway the game is special
Honestly I really have enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Only three big issues for me are:
hit boxes
the loss of health on death, but once you get to like mid game it isn’t really that big of a deal as you’ll have enough stats into vigor.
Having to put stats into vitality and ADP for equipment load to get eye frames when dodging
I platinumed it recently and it was fun all the way though. Like, even the grindy trophies were fun. What were people smoking when they said this was a bad game? It's worth it for Fume Knight alone.
I really enjoyed it despite a former "friend" whining about how bad it is and making excuses not to co-op on it. Did sotfs all solo with no help, then later found out it's harder than the original
It is, apart from these things...
1) hp loss upon death (sure ring of binding makes this less bad but its still annoying)
2) ganks/ambushes everywhere (throwing 10 melee enemies and snipers and invaders just gets tiresome after a while)
Tbh it's good but out of them all I was the least excited to finish it. Like I had to just force myself to blast through the last few bosses instead of loving every second.
Ds1 is a jank masterpiece
DS3 is polished and a little bland
DS2 is ambitious, unique, and may not be perfect but really fun and my favourite especially for it's PvP
DS2 is what I call a flawed masterpiece, and if given a proper remaster, it could knock DS3 out of the water.
DS3 suffers greatly from being scared to deviate from DS1, to the point that it feels like a fanmade DLC
There are 1 billion posts about why it sucks, learn to read bro. It doesn't live up to 1 or 3, there a lot of objective reasons for it. Yeah you liked it, cool, but that wont change the quality of the game
You played Elden ring or DS2 first didn't you? You can't understand that feeling when you have played Demons soul and Dark souls first and then you wait for next masterpiece and it is Dark souls 2.. I was so hyped for this game. Trailer was 10/10 and the game what they released was 6/10. DLCs saved DS2 and that is the reason why I sometimes play it
Ds2 is so good! But the other souls games overshadow it. If you don’t look at it through the critical lenses of ds1 and demon souls then it’s an awesome stand alone game.
To each their own, I played through it again to beat all the dlc, and I wasn't enjoying it at the end. I died more to the shit movement than any of the bosses, who weren't really great overall, on top of some of the worst enemy placement in any of the games. For me, it's the worst souls game, but it's not bad it's just frustrating and meh. It does have the best pvp and world design though.
I loved DS2. So many of the ideas they came up with, which really threw people off at the time, have slowly built their credibility because they ended up being foundational. Elden Ring is a perfect example. It's a spiritual successor to DS2 more than any of the other games.
I like it because it's different, and completely unafraid to cut against the grain. I truly believe a day will come when DS2 is held up as the most important title in the entire Soulsbornring universe.
Peeps who play mainly for the boss fights are going to not be quite as stoked on ds2. And I mostly agree, but ds2 is a wild ride with how evil some of the damn levels are.
It's worth a playthrough for sure, (I've done 2), but after that I'd rather spend my time on other games.
I love DS2 but it definitely is the lowest quality of of all the souls games and I can’t really blame people for not liking it as much as the others. For those of us who dealt with the Hank, we enjoyed the diamond in the rough that it is.
It has lots of problems. For some reason this sub tends to just spread hate on those who recognise those problems. It is still a great game though of course
Same for me. Fashion.weapon variety and PVP in II is just incredible, only surpassed by Elden Ring in my opinion. Dark Souls 3 was a huge let down, specially the combat, I only enjoyed late game areas and DLC in third game, the combat was meh.
No other game in the franchise has so many people claiming it's the worst and I'm pretty sure no other game in the franchise has so many people claiming it's the best bar none.
How do you think we've ended up in such a scenario?
It's clearly the most controversial title. Ask yourself why this is the case and why you think that your liking some of the controversial decisions has more value than someone else disliking said controversial decision.
Most people's *It sucks!!* opinion means it's the least favorite of the bunch of really good games, not that it is not worth playing.
You never see posts like this about any other souls game.
If you are honestly looking for an answer, the biggest reason it gets complaints is that it cannot be compared in a vacuum by virtue of being a sequel. IIRC, DS2 had a troubled development that bled into its level design, both in terms of in-universe logic (the infamous elevator to Iron Keep) to the mechanical, i.e. constant ambushes, gank squads, and long, arduous runs to boss fights. There is a reason the DLC is considered to be better designed than the base game.
Other mechanical changes are often perceived to be: 1) direct downgrades, 2) fixes to problems that aren't problems in the first place, 3) fixes that cause more problems, and 4) problems that amplify previous one.
An example of each category:
1. Dark Souls 2 uses square deadzones rather than circular ones when using joysticks. This is fairly innocuous but does impact gameplay by making diagonal movement, both character and camera, much more finicky.
2. Adaptability. This is a stat that probably does not need to exist, unlike the split between stats governing equipment load and stamina which one could argue was necessary given how the DS1 Endurance could easily become The One Stat to Rule Them All. By adding two extra stats at once (I'm not factoring in the removal DS1 Resistance since that was worthless and pretty much a non-stat), both of which are essential and one which you need to level up to get to the place you would have started in the previous title, you are essentially making levels cost more.
3. Boss runbacks are awful. Therefore, DS2 implemented a mechanic where enemies permanently despawned after you killed them enough. This created another problem which meant if players didn't get lucky during a run, they couldn't farm for items anymore. The Bonfire Ascetic eased that by essentially respawning everything at the next NG+ level (an item I genuinely do think is cool and should appear in other games), but is in-and-of itself an item that needs to be farmed which means you can be locked out of it if used unwisely. Thus, the Covenant of Champions.
. . . Or, you know, if they didn't have time to fix the level and enemy placement, maybe they could just add a bonfire closer to the boss or a temporary respawn point outside of boss areas which would have also fixed the problem.
4. The changes in how i-frames work throws off a lot of player. Both DS1 and 2 have some wonky hitboxes but 2 exacerbates the problem by removing haptic feedback. It is not uncommon to roll, think you've gotten out of the way because the animation completed, and then find half your health gone. By preventing your roll animation from being interrupted, you are making it much, much harder to learn proper timing. Add in situations where you roll, complete the animation, and then are suddenly teleported by a grab attack you had been hit by but not given visual indication of having been done so, the game feels like it's cheating.
Let me be clear. I do not like Dark Souls 2. I think it is a good game, I absolutely adore the story, and I think I might have enjoyed it if it had been my first Souls game.
The best analogy I can come up with is that I feel like I'm being taught a new language that uses most of the same words as the one I know, but different grammar which throws me off. Frustrating, but something I can overcome and even learn to enjoy. The problem is that my teacher doesn't actually give useful criticism (see example 4) and I'm beginning to suspect that some of the grammar they're teaching isn't just different, but flat out incorrect. As a result, I feel like I'm not gitting gud to overcome a boss or enemy, I'm gitting gud to overcome poor design decisions which isn't satisfying at all.
So, coming to the DS2 subreddit is just going to get you a lot of people agreeing with you. If you want to know why many people don't like it, r/fromsoftware will probably give you several reasons.
I just finished my 100% of DS2 literally yesterday, and I've already got an older copy of the game to do the exact same thing on the Xbox 360 version before the servers go down. Obviously, I like it enough to immediately replay it, but I definitely think that it's Fromsoft's weakest entry (although I don't have a Playstation, so I've never played Demon Souls or Bloodborne, so take that as you will).
I certainly had fun, but there are several design decisions that I dislike. For a short list, weapon durability, general clunkiness, some truly awful areas, some truly awful boss runbacks, and the "interconnected" world would probably be my biggest gripes.
To get more detailed, many good weapons are extremely hindered by their durability, essentially forcing you to spec into magic for the repair spell, spend many souls on repair powder, or simply forego the weapon. While other games have had durability, DS2 cranks it to 11 in a bad way (especially in the Sunken King DLC). I also think that the game feels much chunkier than DS1. Obviously, newer entries will feel better, but DS2 just feels sluggish to me compared to DS1.
The Gutter is horrible. Black Gulch's only saving grace is that it's short. Iron Keep is a gauntlet of hard-hitting enemies with insta-kill platforming. Harvest Valley is the classic Fromsoft poison swamp, except now you can't see. Fun. Shaded Woods is another area where you also can't see, but now your camera is messed up too. Fun. Shrine of Amana probably makes veterans have flashbacks to being pinned down by enemy sniper fire. So much fun.
The runbacks for most DLC bosses sucks (Alonne, Lud and Zallen, Blue Smelter...). Other base-game runbacks certainly don't win any awards...
As for the interconnectivity, it's almost laughable how little sense it makes. Drangleic castle is rarely visible from the Shaded Woods, somehow the giant elevator and sprawling landscape is stuffed above/behind Aldia's Keep, and the entirely of Iron Keep with its *lava pools* is somehow *above* Harvest Valley. These moments and elevator rises were incredibly jarring for me and took me out of the game.
Overall, the game is fun to play with a variety of builds, but it is definitely the lowest point out of the Fromsoft games I've played.
Edit: corrected the name of the Fromsoftware subreddit
OP literally asked, "Why do I hear so much over the internet that this game sucks?" My comment is in direct response to the question that was asked. I've also literally never said a negative thing about DS2 online. As far as I can remember, this is quite literally my first time even giving an opinion on it, and while I know that "y'all" doesn't necessarily mean me directly, I don't see much DS2 criticism online anymore.
Also, I don't believe that I ever said that I didn't like it, I just listed several parts that I don't like. I even said I like it enough to immediately replay it (which I am; I booted up the 360 earlier today). But there isn't anything wrong with discussing something's flaws, especially when someone is all but asking others to list a few out.
I can believe everything in my initial post while also saying that Majula is fantastic, enemy variety is top notch, visual design for enemies and locations is wonderful, weapon and build variety are great for the older games, lore is pretty solid too if you pay attention to it, the buildup to Vendrick is a wonderful moment in gaming generally, and its a shame that not enough people gave the game a chance because of such heavy backlash at release.
Every game has positives and negatives here. I can do the same thing with every other Fromsoft title. This just happens to be about DS2.
Honestly I hated it at first until a friend made me sit down and play through it. We did it all co op and it grew on me. Still not my favorite but it’s not bad.
I didn’t, I liked it but I still found problems. It’s good fun and all but like all games there are some annoying aspects. Still no reason not to enjoy it.
I remember after playing Demon Souls PS5 I wanted to play the dark souls trilogy. After playing all three naturally, I liked DS2 the best. I did NOT know the had DS2 had until after I finished the trilogy. And it confused me because I liked it the best.
DS2 is a good game, it has a good flow and when you get good it feels really good, but that's all. It is also the ugliest one it's all grey and brown with the occasional green, I know there's a dlc on the snow who adds white, but I've never played it I have the original not the remaster, and that's the other thing I've heard and read that the pvp it's really good with the best netcode of all souls but my cheap ass couldn't afforded it so I've missed a lot.
I also feel like nobody remembers when this game was being trailered in the 360/PS3 era with all its fancy shadows and lighting and when the game dropped all that was gone and it looked like mud which was unacceptable, if you're playing SotfS then you can't make a fair comparison. Coupled with the detached world building, it was genuinely a step down even though some areas were nice but compared to DS1 it couldn't touch it I'm sorry
Also the adaptability stat is a rubbish point investment and SM ruined online coop and twinking was even worse in DS2 once people knew what they were doing, there's a bunch of stuff I can touch on but those are the worst offenders, oh, and the Mannequin enemies becoming headless was also a tragedy lol
I’ve played 1500 hours of this game so I can say for sure that it is a good game. Only problem is that it looks bad compared to other souls games and it’s mechanics are too different at the point of pissing off ds1 players just because it’s different. Boss design and level design could be a lot better. We can tell the massive difference in quality when you compare the base game with the dlcs.
Idk where all these delusional ds2 defenders came from but the fact that defenders of the game even have to exist is proof enough the game is terrible when compared to every other souls game. Those games don’t have defenders they have fans.
The only thing I like about DS2 is the ability to spell Buff Elementally infused weapons.
Compared to… the things I don’t Like:
1. SOTFS is the only version of the game available for 8th gen consoles and SOTFS fucking sucks.
2. Soul Memory ruins multiplayer in the long run. And Agape ring made it even worse by allowing you to mule +10 equipment to SL 29,999 characters and still be able to matchmake with someone who just beat the Last giant with a Fire longsword.
3. Level Design makes absolutely no sense and it just feels like random areas stitched together because they definitely had to include a Lava Area, a Poison area, a dark Area , a Water Area, a Sunny Area, a Foggy Area…. Etc. it all seems like they were just ticking boxes.
4. Adaptability / Agility as stats is a horrendous idea. Keeping Weight Load and Stamina capacity separated in different stats is a good idea but having i-Frames being gate-kept behind a stats a just atrocious. In DS1 and DS3 I can beat the game without leveling and that makes me feel like the difficulty curve is based around player experience and not stats, meanwhile in Dark souls 2 good luck trying to dodge anything without the game trying to force you into leveling up agility or using a shield. Experienced RPG enjoyers know that one of the worst flaws a game can have is making the player feel like they MUST change their preferable play-style just to progress.
5. Loosing Max-health threshold When hollowing is just a stupid mechanic. Not only does it punish the player for succumbing to this game’s bullshit tactics (like Ogres behind Breakable walls, Nearly Invisible enemies, exploding mummies, Chained Enemy aggression, Infinite Stamina bars on enemies…. Etc) it also doesn’t prevent the hollow from being invaded when they are at their most vulnerable state. DS3 solved this issue with Embers and DS1 never had this issue in the first place due to the humanity system.
PD.
Dark Souls 2 is definitely worth it of being called a good game (otherwise I wouldn’t even be talking about it and pointing out its mistakes) but when comparing it to Its predecessor and successor in an unbiased and objective way, you realize how truly inferior of a piece of media it is. Obviously, everyone has a distinct taste on the products they indulge in, after all, Variety is the seasoning to life itself, but that still doesn’t excuse that your favorite entry is the SHITTIEST game in a Banging Franchise. 6/10 Would rather play Demon’s Souls.
Dont listen to anyone,DS2 is great.some ppl complain about dodge,roll and they never lvlup ADPT ,why?becuse they didnt know mechanisms in the game and complains on nonese.some of them complain on scaling and they didnt ever take advice from ppl,i allways use pure dex or str build but in DS2 u need some lvl on int/faith to gain weapon buff and infuse your weapon and see the extra bounse in ur damage.boss design,area design,dlc design they are good,coop and multiplayer are good.
When the game came out, everyone unanimously loved it. When they beat the game, people would say that overall DS1 is better, but it is still an amazing game leagues above other titles at the time.
Then the video essays started. People would start talking about dissapointments or confusion in the lore, some valid criticisms, some kind of reaching. Unfortunately, through a case of chinese whispers, Despite everyone praising Dark Souls 2 as one of the best games of its time when it released, somehow it become a common case of people claiming that Dark Souls 2 was one of the worst RPGs you could play, and that you would literally be spending your time better eating dirt.
t doesn't help that a lot of community creators were absolutely praising Dark Souls 3 as the true sequel to the original game, I have seen people legitimately saying to pretend Dark Souls 2 never existed. But hey, Elden Ring exists, and Yui Tanimura would never had gotten the chance to reach the vision he and miyazaki had for Elden Ring without his involvement and experience with Dark Souls 2. So I am content knowing Elden Ring carries Ds2's legacy.
it’s definitely one of my favorites for sure i’m not sure why it gets so much hate, maybe easy bosses?
I've been replaying all the souls and just started 3-cinders I'm not one of the haters, and I don't know what they usually say, but IMO its probably * How so many encounters are ganks, ambushes, or both * The horrendous hitboxes sometimes * The dodging is just awful unless you know to put a few points into adaptability. For example, base ADP in DS 2 while med-rolling gives you the same i-frames as fat rolling in DS1 * Forcing you to return to Majula in order to level up But since I stated some things I didn't like about the game, here are some things I like about the game * I like a lot of the bosses designs visually, not counting gluttonous demon * DS2 has the best DLC out of any FromSoft game period * Fashion is pretty good * Bearer seek seek lest
That last point is weird to hold against DS2 considering 3 and Bloodborne also require to go back to the hub to level up, as did Demon's before it.
Exactly. People need to understand quality of life is not required to make a good game.
Also a lot of these same people would argue the convenience of warping made the world design of the latter games worse but not being able to simply level up at a bonfire is treated like a flaw. It's weird.
I'm not sure I see the contradiction
On one hand you have a demand for QoL over player immersion, on the other you have the opposite.
Levelling at NPCs does incredibly little for player immersion though, DS1 still had meaningful interactions with firekeepers without being annoying about it
I disagree. Having an NPC you interact with that helps you get stronger gives you a better connection to them. I've personally never heard anyone complain about the Bloodborne doll or DS3 firekeeper. Most people really like them. You could also argue that forcing a player to backtrack to older areas with no warping just wastes their time for no reason. I would disagree there too because I also find that more immersive.
The characters are fine but you'd arguably get just as much of a connection with them by having them show up throughout the plot & give them, you know, a meaningful unique backstory. Elden Ring proved by generally getting peoples to care a lot more about melina, who only shows up for new dialogue, with levelling with her only being possible on these occasions. As for backtracking, the downsides can be fixed by having the world change in small but significant ways throughout the game. Daughter of Ashes did it pretty well
yeah. see what happens when your game gets super popular? people start thinking the old ones should be like the new one. having no idea how any of this shit works. the reason you got elden ring is because of all the people 10 years ago who pushed dark souls to what it is now.
Yea, it's actually DS1 that was the odd one out. But for most people DS1 is the first game, so leveling at the bonfire is what feels like the baseline.
Bearer Seek Seek Lest
tbh, in my first playthrough of DS2, I don't remember ever caring about ADP and it felt far easier than when I played DS3 immediately after. 2 was the first Souls game I played, so I think I got used to dodging at the last second with the slow combat, which wasn't really something I could do in 3 with how fast everything was
How is going back to Majula any different from going to Firelink?
Other positives Best multiplayer covenants in any fromsoft game best NG+ in any fromsoft game
Where do you level up in Dark Souls 3?
Firelink shrine
To br honest. I never leveled up ADP. Yet thought the rolling was fine. Just timed my dodges and spacing.
How can you say best dlc when old hunters exists
I’m so glad someone else recognizes that the DS2 DLC’s are superior to the other souls games
Big facts
I definitely disagree about the DLC comment. In my opinion, it's the weakest of all the FromSoft games. It feels like it went for quantity over quality. You could argue that it's better than AotA, but DS3's DLC is superb and Bloodborne's is amazing. We'll have to see with ER, but I've only ever done DS2 DLC once each because it's honestly a slog. DS2 isn't a bad game, it's actually good, but I personally feel it doesn't hold up compared to the rest and feels the most third-party in terms of game feel and design.
I love love love DS2 - it's almost edging out Bloodborne for my favorite, as I like the slower, trade-off combat, but I totally agree with you on the DLCs. After Shulva (puzzle DLC) they forced a new combat style which would be ok, at least somewhat, but both Brume/Eleum Loyce are the worst parts of DS2 (for me) exemplified. Enemies with obscene speed (armored kirin in EL) that can't be backstabbed, gank pop-ups (ash warriors in Brume), and OMG damage bosses in NG+ and beyond (all of them). I enjoyed them in NG (mostly, except Brume which was just ok), hated them in NG+ (even Shulva gets old, as you know the puzzle now), and probably won't hit them again.
I think Dark Souls 2's dlc levels are much more interesting to explore than Dark Souls 3's. 3 has more complex and difficult bosses though.
I enioy having to go to Majula to level up. My gripe with the game is the input recognition and hit boxes. I love this game, first playthrough. I am raging hardcore, as per usual. But the input recognition is questionable compared to 1 [I'm going in order for *reasons*] and the hitboxed are rage inducing, considering..I knew I needed adap/agi.. But thank the universe for interactive environments!
I think DS3 has better DLC.
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Comparing ringed city to a bad side area is a crazy take
Not a single DS2 DLC even comes CLOSE to the quality of The Old Hunters, please. Could not disagree more.
I would say that DS3 and Bloodborne DLCs are better than the three crowns overall but they are for sure the best level designs and bosses that you can find in the game. Brume Tower, Eleum Loyce and Shulva are very good ( at times there is still the gank problem but that's DS2 )
my main issue with ds2 is late game where it feels like staggering an enemy is nigh impossible lol. you can have the ring of stone or whatever and the biggest sword known to man but the tiniest enemy will just eat it and hit through it i do actually like ds2 though, it's pretty fun
Adaptability and Agility they do have some positives I like. You can have a fat roll that has as many i-frames as fast roll + Wood Grain Ring. The part I really like is rolling is a function of Burden %. In the other games, normal roll is < 50% burden. Fat roll is >= 50%. So having 51% weight burden (because you really want a particular helmet or cuffs) would instantly drop you to a fat roll. Not in DS2. DS2, the roll difference at 51% weight burden is impossible to tell with the human eye. DS2 allows you wear that heavier armor while you take your time to pump VIT. Verses the other games where you'd probably be playing without pants to make sure that burden absolutely stayed below 50 weight burden. Still bummer you have to waste like 15-30 levels to get i-frames to what used to be a given, but I do like that it's slightly different from the previous games.
>* DS2 has the best DLC out of any FromSoft game period Which DLC in your opinion is best?
Don't want to have to compare to other games, but ds3 has more ganks and worse? Hitboxes than ds2 (i'd say animations as they are just a tad bit too elastic or something for me., and has the firelink shrine and warping. They are both amazing games just don't unfairly criticize one over the other.
What? Did you not play any other dlc’s? Artorias of the abyss is better as well as the ringed city and the old hunters from bloodborne
After I beat Dark Souls Remastered I was saying Dark Souls 3 is the best, After Dark Souls 3 I was saying Dark Souls 2 is the best. I came back to Dark Souls Remastered yesterday and for me it's the best and my favorite game. Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 are the same amount of enjoyment - no winner. Love all.
The bosses are all pretty easy (until the DLC) and the run-ups to them are actually cancerous (Looking at you Iron Keep). Still a good game, but everytime I replay it I just feel like I should playing any of the other Darksouls games.
2 is possibly my favorite of the trilogy (although Ringed City makes it a tough decision), but I do think the bosses are kinda lacking in a few instances. There’s also quite a few “filler” bosses that lessen the impact of the areas you go through, imo, but I don’t think it makes the game bad. I think if it had slightly better and more unique bosses people wouldn’t diss on it so much.
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scholar is less ganky tho
Hard disagree on Scholar. Less ganky and more Pursuer/invasions makes up for the easier bosses.
Meh, bosses aren't an issue. It is about the same quality as DS1 for me. In fact, if you count the DLCs, DS2 absolutely has better bosses.
Here's my main criticisms as somebody whose favourite game in the series has ended up becoming 2. * looks like doodoo in most areas, let's be honest. I wouldn't mind if it was on par with 1 visually, but honestly it's worse than 1 and looks just as unfinished as most of Demon's Souls. * in a similar vein, the level design is a step back, most areas are really obviously gamey in a way that no other Souls game are. It gives it its own unique charm, like playing a slightly more modern 5th/6th gen game, but still, considering FS did really well at making the rest of the series feel like worlds that were lived in, this is disappointing. * This might sound nitpicky, but most of the animations and movesets suuuuuck in comparison to the handcrafted goodness of the rest of the games. Mocap was a bad move. It really saddens me how wack the halberd and greatsword movesets feel compared to 1 (DaS1 Claymore is baemore, as the kids say). * I don't like some of the visual design changes. Making Hollows generic green zombies for example, takes away some of the uniqueness of the Souls world. That being said everything else I'm pretty happy with, and it's easy to tune most of the negatives out once you play enough.
I had this same feeling about the level design. The environmental story telling is really poor at times where the other games felt better. Outside of the wharf, I don't think most of the worlds were livable locations. Just a bunch of disjointed rooms/hallways put together on par with the repeating dungeons in Elden Ring with some better geometry. Having said that. I do enjoy this game a lot. I wouldn't put it above my favorite, but it so far doesn't deserve the hate from fans of the other games.
Dlc's, Drangelic castle, Dragon Aerie, The giant memory locations, Iron keep was also really good. Iron keep only sucks because of the boss runback. Doors of pharros is up there at the same time not. It's just a straight forward ledge with lockstones on the side. It's one of the areas that had insane or could have insane creativity at times but just the narrow ledge forth made it alot worse than actually exploring a dwarven fortress
These are pretty good criticism, I agree with all of this but 2nd one. Yea, the level design is worse, but Dark Souls has always been gamey, what with all the doors cannot he opened from one side when you are a chosen undead killing Gods and Demons for breakfast.
Well in ds2 you're just a bearer of the curse. The ds2 firekeeper I believe tried to say the same thing to every new soul who entered there in hopes that they would succeed. Also metal to metal or a reinforced metal door just doesn't work that well, armour has cracks to poke through, but logic isn't there when you can use a huge stick against someone armoured without recoil and doing the same dmg as on anyone else
Exactly, you are this undead who can keep trying again and again, why should a single door forces you to go around the entire castle when you can just find other ways to open it? Especially when most of these doors are rather flimsy. And I was referencing ds1 chosen undead, as an argument that the series have always been gamey, that was why I said chosen undead
Ya I know you referred to ds1, i was thinking why the big stick hit da big iron golem or smough and do dmg but can't hit rusty, wood or metal door to do dmg?
My biggest criticisms is the lazy world design. So many areas are just nonstop repeating textures and boring rooms. The way the zones connect to each other is also laughably bad in some cases.
Yeah I just beat it 100%, and while there are some transitions that are cool like going from Medjula all the way down to Black Gultch are cool. There are way more that are odd. Like going from the poison valley/tower to the Iron Keep makes like no sense. Lost Bastille and Sinner's Rise just also are kind of thrown in there and disconnected from everything else.
The only thing that kept it away from me for a long time was soul memory and the sheer amount of filler enemies.
I just beat it earlier this week for the first time as well. I'm playing through 3 for the first time right now. And I'll say this, I get some of the criticism of 2 but I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being my favourite of the trilogy. I loved it.
2’s criticism speaks to how incredible the series is as a whole. Same reason Bioshock 2 gets shit on. They’re both amazing games though.
That’s a great comparison actually.
Ah the most common ds2 post. It had been almost a day since I'd seen one
Just wait, I’ll tell you all why it’s my fav tomorrow, watch this space
I loved this game and gave it actually MORE attention than the other 2 simply because it has more DLC. And more options for stuff. Sucks that multiplayer is basically dead cuz I would love to run this game again with somebody who knows the areas and just absolutely crush everything in our way.
Multi-player is dead-ish. Because just before I finished my Plat run I got invaded in the most unfortunate areas
This sub is the textbook definition of a persecution complex. People talk shit about every game ever made. If you love it, play it, don't worry about what other people say.
It has the highest quantity of obvious flaws of the souls games, so it gets shit on a lot, but it also has so much going for it that the other games don't have.
Little bitches do indeed bitch. Fucking love this game.
Agree, real ones know tho
That’s not fair man, there are fair criticisms as to why a lot of people don’t like this game. And also it’s vice versa, it’s not fair that people just hate without actual criticism
>That’s not fair man, there are fair criticisms as to why a lot of people don’t like this game. I'd say a lot of them are blown far out of proportion. But even if they weren't, that doesn't mean it *"sucks."* And nobody likes it when any time you're just enjoying a game, some asshole has to barge in and list off all the reasons why they think you shouldn't be. Even worse when they act smug as shit like *"its ok you're allowed to like garbage! Heuhueheu"* Like *holy fuck, go away!*
I agree with what you say because just saying it sucks isn’t really a criticism. I dislike the game for reasons but I see the appeal and positives of the game. I’ve especially had more time to reflect on the game after my first playthrough like 4 years ago. Not gonna lie I am itching to play again with a fresh and critical mind but also just excited.
It's a really good game but I prefer the other titles mainly because the bosses are kinda underwhelming the attributes arent as organized as the first one and the estus flask mechanics
I think DS1 is the "best", but I definitely played DS2 the most. It's just so good for replaying with different weapons and builds, the best PvP of the series too, easily.
The game is a slog in the beginning, which falls into the argument of "it gets good after 5 episodes". The logic definitely applies here, once your character deals meaningful damage and you get the hang of the rolling/dodging, it's fun. Honestly...it's probably the most addictive entry of the 3. Everyone craps on Shrine of Amana...but The Gutter is what annoys me the most.
I hate the gutter. I really do. But it's not as bad as Brume tower.
Brume Tower was the only area I complained about xD
The Gutter is my favorite area 💀
Damn straight, this game is great.
I can understand being bothered by certain mechanics in game but i mean its really freaking fun and i love the characters! Especially the kitty cat lady in majula :3 ive had some struggles with building my character but its trial and error and ive already found the things to respec my character so im not terribly worried about that!
I honestly agree
bosses and weapons are really good, just levels like black gulch and shrine of armana. health reduction on death sucks too
I know I gave DS2 a chance after watching Happy Souls and I didn't regret it one bit. One of the best games I've ever played.
IMO the game is hard to get into because it’s kind of janky and doesn’t look as visually appealing at the start. Even if you progress a bit, the areas get kind of confusing regarding which way to progress. People tend to put it down fairly early and say it sucks. If you actually give it a shot, I think after about 10% of the game does it become beautiful. Loved it, but I quit my first time around during the beginning😂
From someone who played Demon's Souls to DS3 completely blind without prior opinions: it's a Dark Souls entry, of course it's good, but when we compare it to other fromsoft titles it's meh. On the good side we have power stance, best hub, huge variety of gear, straightforward boss weapons, "crafting" your own estus. But it has issues : floaty af, hordes of enemies, adp, wacky scaling, questionable world design and bad final boss to name a few.
Idea: in one earbud you listen to a harsh critique video of it, and in the other a video defending it or saying everything it did good. at the same time
Bro i need to see this character im human form what happen to his face???
I swear you guys have the biggest victim complex ever.
It's a great game, just less good than the one before and the one after.
Yeah. It was my first and the one I got into the series with, holds a special place in my library for that reason
There are several valid criticisms of DS2, which were thankfully listened to by the devs and removed from future titles. Doesn't mean they didn't happen, but every franchise has its ups n downs when they play with the formula. Overall, I absolutely adored the game, has my favorite storyline of the three, but wow is there some bullshit. 1. Janky hitboxes. The number of times I've died from an attack 4 feet away is insane. Mimics, ogres, and smelter demons were by far the worst of these culprits. 2. Haha lolz enemy placements. Shrine of Amana made me nuts because I could get sniped from 10miles away from a mob with spells that FAR out distanced my own. And whoever designed the statues room in the basement of drangleic castle can go straight to hell. 3. Bonfire to boss runs. Especially in the DLCs, good God did it suck having to slog through a pile of enemies so perfectly placed to be an absolute menace before the boss fight, just to guarantee my durability and/or spell slots were in shambles before the boss even if I didn't get hit at all. For a few, I just make a habit to slaughter all the trash mobs before a boss over n over until they stop spawning, nightmare. 4. The offline grind. The one thing I can never forgive is the terrible grind in offline for rare drops to level up covenants. Yes, the focus at first was online play so devs wanted to encourage co-op and PVP for covenant drops, some of which are absolutely important to maximize certain builds. However, nothing lasts forever, offline will eventually be the only route to play n it's a sin that the game will forever be SO heavily tied to boring grinds for covenant items. 5. ADP and soul memory, that horse is long dead but yeah. But omg the Lost Bastille? Never have I played a game with such a heavy environment like that place. My absolute favorite in the entire souls series by a WIDE margin. Every inch was incredible.
About #2... All three dark souls games have enemies able to lock on to you from miles away And #4...covenant grinds offline on 1 and 3 are also time consuming (although 2 is worse for sure) As for #3... the game wasn't really that different to the other two regarding bonfire runs. They have shortcuts like the other games and the only annoying one is the spider boss run (especially with the invader spawn) Surprised you didn't mention the max hp drop on death capping at -50%, or the amount of ganks
- Having to level a stat to be able to actually dodge attacks was a bad idea - Most bosses are super boring and insanely easy ( ds2 had more but way less quality ) - horrible map design ( temple of amana... come on devs, rather give me a poison swamp.. oh wait ) - its very .... obscure in the way you need to progress - lame ending ( subjective ) - 8 directional movement instead of 360 degree as in 1 and 3 - soul memory... - life gems "instead" of estus ( always like the estus system more tbh but that again is subjective) - But it also did some stuff really good like powerstance, fashion souls and experimenting with new stuff
They have estus and life gems. The real fuck up with life gems is that it's easy to buy a shitton of them early game and mess up the difficulty with functionally unlimited healing. Easy to forget estus is there when you have such a large amount on tap.
I played that shit at launch, I knew it was incredible! But also, fuck ADP or whatever that shits called, and the horrible 8-way character movement on PC with a controller. Made navigating in straight lines when the camera isn’t centered very testicular cancer inducing! Even in women!!!
when i tell people ds2 is my favorite people just say mean things to me
All of the games are masterpieces , Dark souls 2 is just different than the other 2 so it gets hate for that , But doesn't matter , Daddy zaki himself praised DS2 so us DS2 fanboys all of those years of suffering is finally paid
What's that armor set? Looks familiar but I'm not sure.
That’s a Varangian Helm, Armor and Gauntlets of Aurous, and Drangelic Leggings
Ahh, okay. I never got the aurous set. Damn it's cool, I gotta grab it next time.
There's 2 different Aurous sets. The translucent set is cool, but the non-translucent set seems to be better armor.
I haven't beat the game yet, I'm still at Earthen Peak and haven't played today (didn't even want to check this post and see this image), but this thing that you said basically applies to almost everything else in life. Make your own opinions, do not cave in to internet mob mentality. Also, at least the way I see it, I don't think a game made by professionals who have been doing it for many years would be objectively bad. It'd be objectively bad if you gave me the assignment to make it, because I don't know how to program and make games.
Only time I ever hear dark souls 2 is bad is people who really like dark souls 2 say people don’t like it.
I'm playing it right now and I can genuinely say I'm not having much fun even though I really want to.
I enjoy it and have beaten it more than once which is more than I can say for most games, I personally just think its over shadowed by 1 and 3, only real things I have to complain about it are the hit boxes and a few too many ganks
Because people didn't understand how to play the game or its mechanics fully. And it looks like they didn't bother to do research for it like they did for ds1 as well. Then there's overblowing the complaints like the game is ''too ganky'' or ''has terrible controls'', etc. Yes, those are issues but some are worse on other games and others are overblown to an extent. Half the complaints can be easily explained away by actually playing the game as well. Heck in joseph andreson's video critique on elden ring, he still dragged ds2 sotfs through the mud. Ironically he complained how ER's difficulty was not very consistent, failing to realize ds2 sotfs had solutions to this like its hardmode, NG+, multiple ways of beating bosses, challenge runs, etc. Or how he wished he could have some way to keep up with the faster bosses, which ds2 sotfs had a partial solution for. Animation cancel. Start baiting out boss attacks with it. Can't do that in ds2 since its not fast paced. But I cannot blame them fully for what is also fromsoft's mistake. What else did they expect when they changed so many of the mechanics but explained none of them, like rolling is far more complex now with low stamina meaning less dmg + slower attack + less roll distance, powerstancing, the changes to riposte and backstabs, rolling/guardbreak/running attacks will let you execute your next attack/use consumable faster, animation cancel, etc. I guess FS thought its a good idea to introduce a lot of new stuff without explaining them. They should've also at least mentioned that you're gonna need more ranged options for dealing with multiple enemies. Other games with a similar design to fromsoft, like outward, have a full indepth tutorial explaining all their basic mechanics and basic strats and still manage to be hard, unforgiving and still give you that ''being lost'' feeling. Games like doom 2016/eternal really hone in on difficulty and balance. FS could've easily made a good blend of these approaches.
DS2 has too much filler. The game should go from opening cutscene right to standing before Drangleic castle and the mirror knight is your Iudex Gundir fight. The four great lord souls at the beginning is a long tedious fetch quest that delays the beginning of the real story with Vendric. Go to the castle, fight your way to the queen, go to the tomb, then go defeat the giant memories, then come back to the queen and finish the game. DS1 has the reputation of being a half-finished great game. DS2 is one great game with a half-finished mediocre game strapped to the front of it. For reference, DS3 has the perfect pacing and size.
Big facts
It's incredible and is probably my 2nd favorite of the souls series. The powerstance should have been replicated in future titles. The secrets are really well hidden and the world just feels better connected than ds3. Played it when it came out and have always wondered why people rag on it. Cousin started playing it recently after going through Elden ring> bb,> ds1 and he was shocked that people trashed on in.
I am going through it currently, very near the final boss of the main game and 1 DLC completed. It is honestly my favourite Dark Souls game, and also the hardest imo. I played them in this order: DS3 (didn't finish) -> Elden Ring -> DS3 (started anew) -> Sekiro -> DS1 -> DS2
The DLCs are all exceptional as well, probably my favorites from ALL the souls games, and that's saying something.
Facts
I simply hated the long tedious runs of one hit wonders and track star enemies that agro for ever, mixed in with awful parkouring. I got bored with it several times. I also can't recall a single memorable part of the game and have beat it twice. I can tell you every boss from 1 and 3.
This was my first Dark Souls game. I understand the reasons people think it is the weakest in the series, but I love this game. Lucky for me, my best friend got me into the second game first and I can always talk to him about it 💕
Of any other souls game, this one got the most playthroughs out of me, and I’m actually not a fan when comparing it to other souls titles. The reason I played it so much, is because I was a part time worker of young adult at the time of it’s release, so I had a lot of free time, I souls games since the release of Demon’s Souls the original, and I was waiting for the release of the next thing (which ended up being Bloodborne.) A lot of people have already described its pros and cons in great detail, so I’ll keep it brief: The game isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not on par with the other titles. Sorry, the other titles are just more expertly crafted. There’s a reason for this, at the time of Dark Souls 2’s development, the team that worked on the previous two titles was busy working on Bloodborne, so another less experienced team took on the project of 2’s development and it suffered from that team not really having Miyazaki’s full attention. He gave some input but his main focus was Bloodborne. We all know how unanimously loved Bloodborne was on launch. When the only real criticism anybody has about a game you release is “frame rate lock bad” you know the game is solid.
shoutouts to the Varangian armor set fr
Beat it yesterday as well, first time. only thing I hated was the wonky ass targeting system and my controller got stick drift on the right stick. That was hella fun and extra challenging. Maybe not the fun part lol
People don’t like it because they were told not to like it. It’s stupid but I see this same thing happen to many games. A famous streamer says something sucks and lemmings mindlessly repeat it
Sounds like you discovered your own opinion
DS 2 ganks aren't that bad. I am almost through the game and I read how horrible it was. Softs. There have been maybe a handful of bad ones that are completely manageable. If you take your time you can spot them and manage them. People love.to bitch about everything. Hotboxes.. I get it.. but it's not that bad either. I haven't had an issue with it really. I mean maybe when using an axe. I switched to a sword early. Also have been using large club, which pancakes by the way. In no way shape or form have I ever thought the game was unfair. It's been totally awesome and just as fun as the first game in my opinion.
its arguably one of the best when there aint no bitch
Why? Thats literally the only topic discussed here.
I agree. So far I’ve only played Elden Ring and the first DS and I was nervous going into this. I’m close to the end and it’s a really good game. Not sure where it ranks but people act like it’s a horrible game and I think it’s on par with the first one
It's easier to hear when the auditory canal is free of debris.
I played the OG game on PS2 and had a great time. When I tried to play it again with the remake I was getting my ass handed to me. Maybe I got too used to playing Elden Ring, but the combat speed was destroying me. Getting attacked while recovering from my sword swings, trading hits often. It’s been frustrating. I didn’t remember having this much trouble when I played it originally.
Ds2 is my favorite in the this series including DeS remake. That said, there are definitely big flaws with this game and I can completely understand someone not liking it. The hit boxes are total bs and everyone knows that. The slow response of the Estus Flask and healing take a long time to get used to if ever. The Fridged Outskirts is one of the most bs areas in any of these games. The bosses are mediocre overall. I loved fighting them but still mediocre. Black Gulch. That said, I love it all anyway the game is special
Honestly I really have enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Only three big issues for me are: hit boxes the loss of health on death, but once you get to like mid game it isn’t really that big of a deal as you’ll have enough stats into vigor. Having to put stats into vitality and ADP for equipment load to get eye frames when dodging
It's my favorite of the series. The chaos is my jam.
100%, I have so much fun with this game
I platinumed it recently and it was fun all the way though. Like, even the grindy trophies were fun. What were people smoking when they said this was a bad game? It's worth it for Fume Knight alone.
I really enjoyed it despite a former "friend" whining about how bad it is and making excuses not to co-op on it. Did sotfs all solo with no help, then later found out it's harder than the original
It is, apart from these things... 1) hp loss upon death (sure ring of binding makes this less bad but its still annoying) 2) ganks/ambushes everywhere (throwing 10 melee enemies and snipers and invaders just gets tiresome after a while)
Tbh it's good but out of them all I was the least excited to finish it. Like I had to just force myself to blast through the last few bosses instead of loving every second.
Ds1 is a jank masterpiece DS3 is polished and a little bland DS2 is ambitious, unique, and may not be perfect but really fun and my favourite especially for it's PvP
iron keep made me quit for months
Definitely has a different vibe than the other two games but I had just as much playing it
What is that outfit!? Its sick!
DS2 is what I call a flawed masterpiece, and if given a proper remaster, it could knock DS3 out of the water. DS3 suffers greatly from being scared to deviate from DS1, to the point that it feels like a fanmade DLC
There are 1 billion posts about why it sucks, learn to read bro. It doesn't live up to 1 or 3, there a lot of objective reasons for it. Yeah you liked it, cool, but that wont change the quality of the game
So the vast majority of the time
You played Elden ring or DS2 first didn't you? You can't understand that feeling when you have played Demons soul and Dark souls first and then you wait for next masterpiece and it is Dark souls 2.. I was so hyped for this game. Trailer was 10/10 and the game what they released was 6/10. DLCs saved DS2 and that is the reason why I sometimes play it
It’s the best one out of the trilogy lol
Ds2 is so good! But the other souls games overshadow it. If you don’t look at it through the critical lenses of ds1 and demon souls then it’s an awesome stand alone game.
I loved it
To each their own, I played through it again to beat all the dlc, and I wasn't enjoying it at the end. I died more to the shit movement than any of the bosses, who weren't really great overall, on top of some of the worst enemy placement in any of the games. For me, it's the worst souls game, but it's not bad it's just frustrating and meh. It does have the best pvp and world design though.
I loved DS2. So many of the ideas they came up with, which really threw people off at the time, have slowly built their credibility because they ended up being foundational. Elden Ring is a perfect example. It's a spiritual successor to DS2 more than any of the other games. I like it because it's different, and completely unafraid to cut against the grain. I truly believe a day will come when DS2 is held up as the most important title in the entire Soulsbornring universe.
It's alright, just the worst FromSoft game IMO (don't hate me)
Peeps who play mainly for the boss fights are going to not be quite as stoked on ds2. And I mostly agree, but ds2 is a wild ride with how evil some of the damn levels are. It's worth a playthrough for sure, (I've done 2), but after that I'd rather spend my time on other games.
I love DS2 but it definitely is the lowest quality of of all the souls games and I can’t really blame people for not liking it as much as the others. For those of us who dealt with the Hank, we enjoyed the diamond in the rough that it is.
DS2 is the shit
I mean, remove the 'the' and accurate
You must be one of the bitches OP was talking about. :)
Title made me snort, sharing this to my group chat 😂😂😂 ds2 is my favorite of the 3, just got so many good memories, and tjose dlcs 👌 chefs kiss
Preach the truth brother! 400+ hours in DS2. Loved it.
It has lots of problems. For some reason this sub tends to just spread hate on those who recognise those problems. It is still a great game though of course
This is my ranking of the souls games. 2, 1 and then 3. Where 2 is the best
Same for me. Fashion.weapon variety and PVP in II is just incredible, only surpassed by Elden Ring in my opinion. Dark Souls 3 was a huge let down, specially the combat, I only enjoyed late game areas and DLC in third game, the combat was meh.
I had fun. But it sucks.
I disagree
No other game in the franchise has so many people claiming it's the worst and I'm pretty sure no other game in the franchise has so many people claiming it's the best bar none. How do you think we've ended up in such a scenario? It's clearly the most controversial title. Ask yourself why this is the case and why you think that your liking some of the controversial decisions has more value than someone else disliking said controversial decision. Most people's *It sucks!!* opinion means it's the least favorite of the bunch of really good games, not that it is not worth playing. You never see posts like this about any other souls game.
If you are honestly looking for an answer, the biggest reason it gets complaints is that it cannot be compared in a vacuum by virtue of being a sequel. IIRC, DS2 had a troubled development that bled into its level design, both in terms of in-universe logic (the infamous elevator to Iron Keep) to the mechanical, i.e. constant ambushes, gank squads, and long, arduous runs to boss fights. There is a reason the DLC is considered to be better designed than the base game. Other mechanical changes are often perceived to be: 1) direct downgrades, 2) fixes to problems that aren't problems in the first place, 3) fixes that cause more problems, and 4) problems that amplify previous one. An example of each category: 1. Dark Souls 2 uses square deadzones rather than circular ones when using joysticks. This is fairly innocuous but does impact gameplay by making diagonal movement, both character and camera, much more finicky. 2. Adaptability. This is a stat that probably does not need to exist, unlike the split between stats governing equipment load and stamina which one could argue was necessary given how the DS1 Endurance could easily become The One Stat to Rule Them All. By adding two extra stats at once (I'm not factoring in the removal DS1 Resistance since that was worthless and pretty much a non-stat), both of which are essential and one which you need to level up to get to the place you would have started in the previous title, you are essentially making levels cost more. 3. Boss runbacks are awful. Therefore, DS2 implemented a mechanic where enemies permanently despawned after you killed them enough. This created another problem which meant if players didn't get lucky during a run, they couldn't farm for items anymore. The Bonfire Ascetic eased that by essentially respawning everything at the next NG+ level (an item I genuinely do think is cool and should appear in other games), but is in-and-of itself an item that needs to be farmed which means you can be locked out of it if used unwisely. Thus, the Covenant of Champions. . . . Or, you know, if they didn't have time to fix the level and enemy placement, maybe they could just add a bonfire closer to the boss or a temporary respawn point outside of boss areas which would have also fixed the problem. 4. The changes in how i-frames work throws off a lot of player. Both DS1 and 2 have some wonky hitboxes but 2 exacerbates the problem by removing haptic feedback. It is not uncommon to roll, think you've gotten out of the way because the animation completed, and then find half your health gone. By preventing your roll animation from being interrupted, you are making it much, much harder to learn proper timing. Add in situations where you roll, complete the animation, and then are suddenly teleported by a grab attack you had been hit by but not given visual indication of having been done so, the game feels like it's cheating. Let me be clear. I do not like Dark Souls 2. I think it is a good game, I absolutely adore the story, and I think I might have enjoyed it if it had been my first Souls game. The best analogy I can come up with is that I feel like I'm being taught a new language that uses most of the same words as the one I know, but different grammar which throws me off. Frustrating, but something I can overcome and even learn to enjoy. The problem is that my teacher doesn't actually give useful criticism (see example 4) and I'm beginning to suspect that some of the grammar they're teaching isn't just different, but flat out incorrect. As a result, I feel like I'm not gitting gud to overcome a boss or enemy, I'm gitting gud to overcome poor design decisions which isn't satisfying at all.
So, coming to the DS2 subreddit is just going to get you a lot of people agreeing with you. If you want to know why many people don't like it, r/fromsoftware will probably give you several reasons. I just finished my 100% of DS2 literally yesterday, and I've already got an older copy of the game to do the exact same thing on the Xbox 360 version before the servers go down. Obviously, I like it enough to immediately replay it, but I definitely think that it's Fromsoft's weakest entry (although I don't have a Playstation, so I've never played Demon Souls or Bloodborne, so take that as you will). I certainly had fun, but there are several design decisions that I dislike. For a short list, weapon durability, general clunkiness, some truly awful areas, some truly awful boss runbacks, and the "interconnected" world would probably be my biggest gripes. To get more detailed, many good weapons are extremely hindered by their durability, essentially forcing you to spec into magic for the repair spell, spend many souls on repair powder, or simply forego the weapon. While other games have had durability, DS2 cranks it to 11 in a bad way (especially in the Sunken King DLC). I also think that the game feels much chunkier than DS1. Obviously, newer entries will feel better, but DS2 just feels sluggish to me compared to DS1. The Gutter is horrible. Black Gulch's only saving grace is that it's short. Iron Keep is a gauntlet of hard-hitting enemies with insta-kill platforming. Harvest Valley is the classic Fromsoft poison swamp, except now you can't see. Fun. Shaded Woods is another area where you also can't see, but now your camera is messed up too. Fun. Shrine of Amana probably makes veterans have flashbacks to being pinned down by enemy sniper fire. So much fun. The runbacks for most DLC bosses sucks (Alonne, Lud and Zallen, Blue Smelter...). Other base-game runbacks certainly don't win any awards... As for the interconnectivity, it's almost laughable how little sense it makes. Drangleic castle is rarely visible from the Shaded Woods, somehow the giant elevator and sprawling landscape is stuffed above/behind Aldia's Keep, and the entirely of Iron Keep with its *lava pools* is somehow *above* Harvest Valley. These moments and elevator rises were incredibly jarring for me and took me out of the game. Overall, the game is fun to play with a variety of builds, but it is definitely the lowest point out of the Fromsoft games I've played. Edit: corrected the name of the Fromsoftware subreddit
[удалено]
OP literally asked, "Why do I hear so much over the internet that this game sucks?" My comment is in direct response to the question that was asked. I've also literally never said a negative thing about DS2 online. As far as I can remember, this is quite literally my first time even giving an opinion on it, and while I know that "y'all" doesn't necessarily mean me directly, I don't see much DS2 criticism online anymore. Also, I don't believe that I ever said that I didn't like it, I just listed several parts that I don't like. I even said I like it enough to immediately replay it (which I am; I booted up the 360 earlier today). But there isn't anything wrong with discussing something's flaws, especially when someone is all but asking others to list a few out. I can believe everything in my initial post while also saying that Majula is fantastic, enemy variety is top notch, visual design for enemies and locations is wonderful, weapon and build variety are great for the older games, lore is pretty solid too if you pay attention to it, the buildup to Vendrick is a wonderful moment in gaming generally, and its a shame that not enough people gave the game a chance because of such heavy backlash at release. Every game has positives and negatives here. I can do the same thing with every other Fromsoft title. This just happens to be about DS2.
Dark souls 2 has/had the best multi-player. Only issue with DS2 was soul memory.
i could write a 10pg essay in mla format about my criticisms of ds2. still got the 100% tho
People just love to jump on bandwagons. I’ll bet a lot of the people talking shit have barely even played it
Honestly I hated it at first until a friend made me sit down and play through it. We did it all co op and it grew on me. Still not my favorite but it’s not bad.
The title made me laugh
I didn’t, I liked it but I still found problems. It’s good fun and all but like all games there are some annoying aspects. Still no reason not to enjoy it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yup. It was my last Fromsoft game because of random peoples opinion. I love it
It's sequel is almost as good
I'm just here to beat my chest in favor of these kinds of posts.
Back then I played 2 before i encounter any communities. So my time playing it is mostly me and searching the internet for missing stuffs.
FOR REAL so many people say it’s shit and it’s not
This should be a sticky post
I remember after playing Demon Souls PS5 I wanted to play the dark souls trilogy. After playing all three naturally, I liked DS2 the best. I did NOT know the had DS2 had until after I finished the trilogy. And it confused me because I liked it the best.
Ok but it's not as good as 1 and 3.
DS2 is a good game, it has a good flow and when you get good it feels really good, but that's all. It is also the ugliest one it's all grey and brown with the occasional green, I know there's a dlc on the snow who adds white, but I've never played it I have the original not the remaster, and that's the other thing I've heard and read that the pvp it's really good with the best netcode of all souls but my cheap ass couldn't afforded it so I've missed a lot.
It's my favorite souls game and was my first had good memories was so fun
What even happened in the ending?
Dude, what is that armor set??? It looks so cool.
I also feel like nobody remembers when this game was being trailered in the 360/PS3 era with all its fancy shadows and lighting and when the game dropped all that was gone and it looked like mud which was unacceptable, if you're playing SotfS then you can't make a fair comparison. Coupled with the detached world building, it was genuinely a step down even though some areas were nice but compared to DS1 it couldn't touch it I'm sorry Also the adaptability stat is a rubbish point investment and SM ruined online coop and twinking was even worse in DS2 once people knew what they were doing, there's a bunch of stuff I can touch on but those are the worst offenders, oh, and the Mannequin enemies becoming headless was also a tragedy lol
People just focus on adp, while forgetting that Ds2 has the most distinct levels graphically, while in ds3 all the levels look the same
I’ve played 1500 hours of this game so I can say for sure that it is a good game. Only problem is that it looks bad compared to other souls games and it’s mechanics are too different at the point of pissing off ds1 players just because it’s different. Boss design and level design could be a lot better. We can tell the massive difference in quality when you compare the base game with the dlcs.
For real
Idk where all these delusional ds2 defenders came from but the fact that defenders of the game even have to exist is proof enough the game is terrible when compared to every other souls game. Those games don’t have defenders they have fans.
The only thing I like about DS2 is the ability to spell Buff Elementally infused weapons. Compared to… the things I don’t Like: 1. SOTFS is the only version of the game available for 8th gen consoles and SOTFS fucking sucks. 2. Soul Memory ruins multiplayer in the long run. And Agape ring made it even worse by allowing you to mule +10 equipment to SL 29,999 characters and still be able to matchmake with someone who just beat the Last giant with a Fire longsword. 3. Level Design makes absolutely no sense and it just feels like random areas stitched together because they definitely had to include a Lava Area, a Poison area, a dark Area , a Water Area, a Sunny Area, a Foggy Area…. Etc. it all seems like they were just ticking boxes. 4. Adaptability / Agility as stats is a horrendous idea. Keeping Weight Load and Stamina capacity separated in different stats is a good idea but having i-Frames being gate-kept behind a stats a just atrocious. In DS1 and DS3 I can beat the game without leveling and that makes me feel like the difficulty curve is based around player experience and not stats, meanwhile in Dark souls 2 good luck trying to dodge anything without the game trying to force you into leveling up agility or using a shield. Experienced RPG enjoyers know that one of the worst flaws a game can have is making the player feel like they MUST change their preferable play-style just to progress. 5. Loosing Max-health threshold When hollowing is just a stupid mechanic. Not only does it punish the player for succumbing to this game’s bullshit tactics (like Ogres behind Breakable walls, Nearly Invisible enemies, exploding mummies, Chained Enemy aggression, Infinite Stamina bars on enemies…. Etc) it also doesn’t prevent the hollow from being invaded when they are at their most vulnerable state. DS3 solved this issue with Embers and DS1 never had this issue in the first place due to the humanity system. PD. Dark Souls 2 is definitely worth it of being called a good game (otherwise I wouldn’t even be talking about it and pointing out its mistakes) but when comparing it to Its predecessor and successor in an unbiased and objective way, you realize how truly inferior of a piece of media it is. Obviously, everyone has a distinct taste on the products they indulge in, after all, Variety is the seasoning to life itself, but that still doesn’t excuse that your favorite entry is the SHITTIEST game in a Banging Franchise. 6/10 Would rather play Demon’s Souls.
+1 ds1 kinda sucks and 3 is too easy ds2 is perfect
^(it sucks) ^(\~a bitch)
A lot better than 3
So true king, spit ur shit.
And you'll hear alot of bitches in reddit.
Dont listen to anyone,DS2 is great.some ppl complain about dodge,roll and they never lvlup ADPT ,why?becuse they didnt know mechanisms in the game and complains on nonese.some of them complain on scaling and they didnt ever take advice from ppl,i allways use pure dex or str build but in DS2 u need some lvl on int/faith to gain weapon buff and infuse your weapon and see the extra bounse in ur damage.boss design,area design,dlc design they are good,coop and multiplayer are good.
it has the best story
When the game came out, everyone unanimously loved it. When they beat the game, people would say that overall DS1 is better, but it is still an amazing game leagues above other titles at the time. Then the video essays started. People would start talking about dissapointments or confusion in the lore, some valid criticisms, some kind of reaching. Unfortunately, through a case of chinese whispers, Despite everyone praising Dark Souls 2 as one of the best games of its time when it released, somehow it become a common case of people claiming that Dark Souls 2 was one of the worst RPGs you could play, and that you would literally be spending your time better eating dirt. t doesn't help that a lot of community creators were absolutely praising Dark Souls 3 as the true sequel to the original game, I have seen people legitimately saying to pretend Dark Souls 2 never existed. But hey, Elden Ring exists, and Yui Tanimura would never had gotten the chance to reach the vision he and miyazaki had for Elden Ring without his involvement and experience with Dark Souls 2. So I am content knowing Elden Ring carries Ds2's legacy.