Dark Souls II

Editor's Notes

Digital PS3 version reviewed.

Introduction

In 2009, Atlus elected to bring a game to the West that though in popular in Japan, debuted to little fanfare in the US. Within a short time though, the word began to spread that 'Demon's Souls,' a third-person action/fantasy RPG, was offering an experience not in the typical modern hand-holding style of game. And that was just the beginning. By the time that the spiritual sequel, the Namco Bandai published 'Dark Souls,' made its western debut, a huge fan base was waiting, having watched the Japanese version online and eager to tackle the game's many mysteries. The announcement and release of 'Dark Souls II' has seen the franchise rise to heights unconcerned with going on sale the same week as 'Titanfall.' Concerns do abound though as this time around changes in the team at developer From Software and possible concessions made for a larger audience have worried fans. An even bigger cause for concern is that this is the first of the 'Souls' titles to debut directly to a Western audience. Under such scrutiny, can 'Dark Souls II' possible deliver, or should it just prepare to die?

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Having now poured some 200-300 hours in the three 'Souls' titles, I can easily name myself a big fan of the series, and yet still be aware that there are echelons of fans who have done things in the games that I would find crazy and amazing. Naturally, I began my playthrough with an ongoing worry that the game would not measure up to its predecessor and would be less refined without the extra time to receive post-release fixes that the first two games had. Ultimately, what I have found is a slightly diminished title in a certain important respect, and yet much improved in another.

Once again you play the role of cursed being in a land of cursed beings. That curse bears itself it out in that though you die many, many times, you will always rise again. The learn through death, strive through death, face seemingly insurmountable death and despair is the series, is the series most shouted characteristic, and it's even more true if the death of NPCS and bosses in a given playthrough is factored in. (Even favorite in-level enemies can eventually be dispatched in this new game.) For the first time though, the series really challenged me to live. That is, to become alive, achievable through precious items or by assisting others online.

The beginning of 'Dark Souls 2' is where the game stumbles for me. Extra cutscenes and a halfhearted tutorial give way to the game's hub area before letting the player work towards the first boss. At this point in the game with slight gear and abilities, death is around every corner, but I found the tension to be little off the mark. Those moments where simple enemies need to be carefully or artfully negotiated somewhat lack as memorable a design as in the two past titles. Two factors play an important role in this diffused experience.

In 'Dark Souls,' the moment you get the ability to fast travel, the game changes. It loses much of its 3D Metroidvania interlocking design, and defeating a boss often means hitting a dead end. This adds the benefit of less backtracking and times where it seems the player has several completely different paths to try. Still, the sense of discovery and adventure, where anything could be around the next bend, is slightly hurt by this change. It also plays hell with expectations for ramping difficulty. When that happens in 'Dark Souls,' the player has already progressed through much of the game and likely has a well defined playstyle and character. In contrast, 'Dark Soul II' gives the player the ability to teleport right after the tutorial area.

In a possibly related change, it felt to me as though 90% of the enemies had an easily exploitable tether. Most enemies encountered in levels are more concerned with staying at their certain spot than with fighting the player. Any ranged weapon can (eventually) kill such a enemy. There are even bosses that can be chipped to almost death at range. One might argue that the game then just supports ranged combat as one of several combat or progression styles, but it also preyed heavily upon a sense of caution.

If the beginning of the game made me unduly paranoid, imagining that each enemy viewed through the binoculars was a one-hit tireless destroyer, then middle of the game made me truly appreciate life. There are penalties for being dead, such as a reduced health bar (up to a 'Demon's Souls' like 50%) but the bar against most forms of online is worse in this game than series' past. Only when I came upon the area featured in the beta did I realize that I was past lamenting the comparative quality of the games' beginnings. That may be in part due to the online features.

Beyond the sometime helpful and amusing messages and death stains of other players online, the ability to summon friendly phantoms and to take part in the many invading phantom/covenant tasks is so much more accessible now, thanks to an improved online infrastructure. In 'Dark Souls,' collecting Sunlight Medals for helping players was such a chore, and it always seemed like there were only a few places at a given time where it was even possible. You had to drop your summon sign and then pretty much set the controller down. Maybe in ten minutes you would be rewarded by getting the one player who runs in and instantly is smashed by a boss. Likewise, grinding for souls (grinding in any game is at the least regrettable) was required as the game wore one. In 'Dark Souls II,' I felt like I could hop into another game at almost any time.

Want to check out a boss? Hop into another game and face him. Need souls? Hop into another game and get them. Need to become alive so you can summon allies or play one of the many PvP options? Forget using a precious effigy, just start hopping into other games. Eventually, you become human and rack up loads of souls while enjoying a live display of others players' abilities and failings.

Once alive, I became extremely cautious, embracing the challenge to stay alive as long as possible. I would even bypass new bonfires, pushing my weapons' durability to the extreme in an attempt to clear areas without a death (or the accompanying restart.) Even so, there are so many bosses, and the difficulty levels for bosses and for some areas varies so much that it wasn't always practical for me to be alive. In one area, I went from being alive and carrying a ton of souls to a half health bar so quickly, I pulled the network cable out of the PS3. It still took me few more deaths, but then I was able to focus on taking some revenge.

By the point that I became comfortable with my rashly chosen character build, abilities, and online play, the real shift in the game became more visible. What the game lacks in quality is makes up for in quantity. This applies to bosses as well. A nice quantity, often with several available to fight at a time, but lacking much of the flair of the previous titles.

As for gameplay issues, much like the preceding titles, there were times when I would cue up attack commands in a way where the input felt delayed or unresponsive. These times were rare enough (as usual) that it was hard to delineate between an issue with the game or with the player. There were also a few moments of teleporting enemies in online play that were rare enough to make me glad that they were so infrequent. I used an effigy early in the game only to find later that I had become hollow while still at full health and without dying. The plunging attack was much harder than I recall in the last game, but the overall changes and additions to the combat system are welcome.