So I finished up my fourth playthrough of Elden Ring, and wound up getting an urge to revisit Dark Souls 2, my favorite in the series. I don’t think it’s the best, but I adore it. Though now I’m starting to really consider why it’s my favorite and seem to have settled on some thoughts I’m gonna share here.
For one, this is by a different team and you can tell. They’re clearly fans of the first game, and are playing around with ideas from it and adding to it. Some of these ideas would have a lasting impact on future games too. The way attributes contribute to bonuses of certain elements stuck around, as did upgrading catalysts and the like. They also took dark magic from the first game and wildly expanded upon it. They also tried to be somewhat more of a direct sequel to DS1, sort of. And it sort of works. But the storytelling is probably the weakest part. They still made a vibrant and interesting world. But it pales in comparison to DS1 and DS3, and their ties to each other. The map itself is pretty compelling and neat, but doesn’t feel quite as elegant as DS1s. Both are fantastic, but DS1s feels more cohesive.
The biggest downer for me though, is that the game is in many ways. Meaner. Not always in a bad way mind you. But it feels like they took the reputation of being punishing from the first game and tried to own that as well, and push boundaries to see what they could get away with. Sometimes this actually works I think, sometimes it just results in dick moves. Though even those are sometimes interesting due to online interactions. For example a boulder being in a zone for no reason other than to fuck you, but you will see PLENTY of notes from players warning you. Another win I think would be things like the “invisible” enemies that look like player phantoms. Even seeing them later on in the shaded woods feels just as clever and exciting as it does aggressive. However you also have things like doors to nowhere that can fuck you over if you’re not paying close attention that just feel unfun.
It’s still my favorite in the series, even though I consider Dark Souls 3 easily the better game over all. But pivoting from Elden Ring to this made it easier to think about what I love and.. don’t.. in this one. Not to mention make me sorely miss having a jump button.
