Dark Souls 2 Bad Game Design

I was lied to about Dark Souls 2...it's much worse then the other titles.

Thread starter CenturionNami
Start date Nov 12, 2017

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Love Dark Souls 2, and I find the incessant need to shit on it to be one of the most puzzling trends in all of gaming.

Yeah, the narrative went from "it sucks" to "best in the series" over the last couple of years.
Feel sorry for newcomers who fell for it. Dark Souls 2 sucks so bad it made me gave up on From Software, good thing that Bloodborne was good, haven't played Dark 3 yet.

Dark souls 2 softs is actually my favourite dark souls, played through it multiple times.

Your criticism is valid however and the game is not for everyone. The agility stat was critical for a good experience

Lost bastille, the gutter, majula and the dlc just have a special place in my heart.

Luuluubuu? More like lol boo your post :(

Already better than Dark Souls 2

Yeah, the narrative went from "it sucks" to "best in the series" over the last couple of years.
Feel sorry for newcomers who fell for it. Dark Souls 2 sucks so bad it made me gave up on From Software, good thing that Bloodborne was good, haven't played Dark 3 yet.

Ah, you trolling I see.

Clearly you are because Dark Souls 2 is the best.

It's the only one that feels totally different, including DeS and Bloodborne. There is a fundamental difference in controls and handling and how your attacks interact with enemies. This is the major reason it's the worst one for me and undermines a lot of the cool stuff it did well like covenants and PVP variety

Love it, still the best Souls game.
Bloodborne has lots of shitty hitboxes.

True, especially grabs but that's something all Souls games have problems with.

DS2 with low agility is on another level though.

Yeah, the narrative went from "it sucks" to "best in the series" over the last couple of years.
Feel sorry for newcomers who fell for it. Dark Souls 2 sucks so bad it made me gave up on From Software, good thing that Bloodborne was good, haven't played Dark 3 yet.

Dks3 basically feels like dks 1.5, if that helps any.

It did for me, shit feels so good to play.

The best thing about Dark Souls II is Sir Alonne.

And Fume Knight. Crown of the Old Iron King was the pinnacle of the game.

If there is one thing that DS2 has better than all the soulsborne games is that NG+ is miles better.

You're all wrong. Dark Souls 2 is the best one.
It is because I enjoyed it the most.

Wrong. This just means you don't know what you enjoyed the most.

Wrong. This just means you don't know what you enjoyed the most.

Don't make me trip out, bro.

If there is one thing that DS2 has better than all the soulsborne games is that NG+ is miles better.

Yeah I really wish they took some of these ideas for DS3's NG+. Bonfire ascetics could have been really cool in that game.

I forgot to stick this in my first post too, out of all the gripes I did have with the game, Fume Knight still remains my favorite boss fight in all of souls.

Dark Souls 2 kind of ended up with a much better reputation than it really deserves because Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 didn't carry over every feature it had, despite being much better games anyway.

Art Design: Really hit or miss. There's some fantastic designs, but some really really bad one that stick out like a sore thumb. It generally looks more like High Fantasy then Dark Fantasy, which I don't mind, but at the same time I much prefer the other games art style.

Even with looking at the game as a high fantasy art style it just looks.. off. Like even the better looking set pieces have this very "clean", well plastered look.

It's kinda funny that Dark Souls 2 is the only one in the series that I have actually played twice because I got it from the Humble Monthly Bundle and decided to replay it. But yeah, It's easily the weakest in the series.

DLC is great tho.

Dark Souls 2 is a good game in independence, but pales in comparison to the other titles in the franchise.

The Mario Sunshine of Dark Souls, if you would.

While I totally understand while people don't like it, I think it's a great game. Especially SotFS. flawed, but still great
They did try something different.

a few things that I loved:
- Most build variety among souls games
- dual wielding
- bonfire Ascetics
- fantastic, meaningful DLCs
- NG+ changes
- best fashion among souls games.
- I think Majula is the best Hub in souls games

biggest criticisms are the number of underwhelming bosses and Adaptability.

You're all wrong. Dark Souls 2 is the best one.
It is because I enjoyed it the most.

Bloodborne is actually the one you enjoyed the most. It's just an implicit attitude for which you're not conscious of. Checkmate, opinions.

Dark Souls 2 is a good game in independence, but pales in comparison to the other titles in the franchise.
The Mario Sunshine of Dark Souls, if you would.

But Sunshine was the best Mario game (I do not frequent the Mario Sunshine subreddit that probably doesn't exist anyway, I swear).

Dark Souls 2 is my favorite in the series, I know from lurking at the other place that 2 is hated with a passion but I'm a simple gamer and just had a blast with it. I ditched the shields after one playthrough and dual wielded ever since. Got the music from the game as well which I think is pretty good.

Oh and this was before the dlc which turned it into something far greater for me. I fight Fume knight every now and then which is possible because of them bonfire aesthetics which was removed from 3.

There's certain things I don't like about Dark Souls 2, for sure. The world feels more linearized in a way, but also much more fragmented. The artistic design of each area also seems hauntingly depressing, in a way, and while this is sort of expected for a Souls game, it just feels so much more desolate in a very sad way.

I forgot to stick this in my first post too, out of all the gripes I did have with the game, Fume Knight still remains my favorite boss fight in all of souls.

The DLC really elevates the game. Awesome area with a challenging boss that rewards you with a weapon that's fun to use

Bloodborne has lots of shitty hitboxes.

Lold

Dark Souls 2 hitboxes are the CS: Source of Souls games. So damn bad.

Should have listened to me. I've been saying it's the worst for years now.

Yeah, DS2 isn't a bad game, but it's very clearly the worst Soulsborne game. It suffers from the inevitable comparison to all the titles in the franchise, each of which is brilliant.

This is my stance as well. Definitely a great game but the others in the series are clearly superior, so it makes it look much worse than it really is. Also it has the clunkiest feeling combat of any souls game, and that sure as shit doesn't help it win any points in replayability.

Bloodborne is actually the one you enjoyed the most. It's just an implicit attitude for which you're not conscious of. Checkmate, opinions.

Oh my god I haven't even PLAYED it yet :o Crazy.

You actually just inspired me to finally get started with it. Sunday Bloodborne! This thread is GREAT! And yeah, its literally been sitting on my shelf for 3 months now. Stupid, I know. Maybe it is better than Dark Souls 2! That would be nuts.

Hey we've gone 2 pages of this topic without anyone attacking another poster.
ggs fams

50ppp pleb.

Hey we've gone 2 pages of this topic without anyone attacking another poster.

ggs fams

I wish they sort of included Bonfire Ascetics and certain torch mechanics in some form in BB or DS3. They were some of my favourite features in whole series.

I had so much fun with it and by far the most playtime out of any of the Dark Souls games. But I can totally see why others wouldn't like it. Making invincibility frames a stat you have to raise is weird to say the least. And the tracking enemies. And the dull colors.

Lold
Dark Souls 2 hitboxes are the CS: Source of Souls games. So damn bad.

if you cherry pick your way out, sure, sure.

Hey I enjoyed it the most. And I know about all its flaws. People have different tastes ;)

Top:
Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Demon's Souls

Not puttin any real order, they all have something great about it, and could lead in massive panic because of my coice.

Good:
Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the first sin

A good game on his own. Vanilla was bad, SoTFS saved it and made it an enjoyable experience.

Average :
Dark Souls 3. It was ok. The more i played with it, the more the rating i gave it went down. Half the time to complete it compare to the others. The quick style taken from Bloodborne, forgetable areas, and most of the boss with some exception, well were fairly just easy. I seriously ending up selling my copy this friday, not feeling any need to replay it sometime.

OP, give it a chance, it sure look a step back once you play the top three, but its a better game than DS3.Its not a masterpiece, but its a great game. It sure look flat after you have played Bloodborne and DS3 in terms of visual, but there are great areas in this games, some cool bosses, lots of things to do, it sure deserve a good 8.5 out of 10.

Oh my god I haven't even PLAYED it yet :o Crazy.
You actually just inspired me to finally get started with it. Sunday Bloodborne! This thread is GREAT! And yeah, its literally been sitting on my shelf for 3 months now. Stupid, I know. Maybe it is better than Dark Souls 2! That would be nuts.

Do it bro. I loved DS2 and found Bloodborne singleplayer to be amazing.

Dark Souls 2 doesn't exist
It went from 1 to 3 directly

I can confirm this from multiple sources. Apple and Microsoft did a similar tactic.

It's always felt like DS2 gets nitpicked much more than other games in the series.

All of the games in the series have pretty major flaws. Take Dark Souls for example - multiplayer on console was extremely shitty. Multiple covenants were completely broken. Not to mention that if you did manage to connect to someone, there was a 50/50 chance that they would be a cheater with a hacked save. IMO, that is a much bigger problem than DS2's hitboxes, but the latter takes a disproportionate amount of flak.

Dark Souls 2 has the best NG+ and the most online options, I will give it that. However the base game is so bad I have no reason to ever get to NG+ or use the online.

Didn't really feel the game as well, it had great moments and brought some fine improvements to the table but overall it fell short. Luckily the DLCs saved the experience for me, well, basically the 2nd and 3rd. Sir Alonne remains my favorite boss even after playing Dark Souls 3.

My favourite Souls. And Majula's theme ...

I warned ya bro.....I warned you about them souls.....

Dark Souls 2 doesn't exist
It went from 1 to 3 directly

I really hope we get 1 on Switch. Pleaaaaaase

As my first proper Souls game (abandoned DS1 before the Taurus Demon) it will always have a special place in my heart.

DS3 surpassed it for me but I still really love a lot of the new ideas introduced in DS2 like being able to do the Rat King's bidding in that covenant.

The Ruin Sentinels are the hardest DS boss for me as well.

They're all good games, some prefer this one and some prefer others.

It has been awhile since I've played 2, but I remember it more fondly then 1 and 3. I liked that I could farm an area until nothing spawned and then run through those areas unbothered. That's not to say I didn't enjoy 1 and 3 though. Each Souls game has been a fantastic experience.

Top:
Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Demon's Souls
Not puttin any real order, they all have something great about it, and could lead in massive panic because of my coice.

Good:
Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the first sin

A good game on his own. Vanilla was bad, SoTFS saved it and made it an enjoyable experience.

Average :
Dark Souls 3. It was ok. The more i played with it, the more the rating i gave it went down. Half the time to complete it compare to the others. The quick style taken from Bloodborne, forgetable areas, and most of the boss with some exception, well were fairly just easy. I seriously ending up selling my copy this friday, not feeling any need to replay it sometime.

OP, give it a chance, it sure look a step back once you play the top three, but its a better game than DS3.Its not a masterpiece, but its a great game. It sure look flat after you have played Bloodborne and DS3 in terms of visual, but there are great areas in this games, some cool bosses, lots of things to do, it sure deserve a good 8.5 out of 10.

I feel playing through it three times is more then enough and is "giving it a chance" And I still find 3 way better then 2 is every way imaginiable (Barring New Game Plus)

DS2 for sure feels the most "off" of any of the games. The biggest problems for me were boss fights, movement/combat and world design.

The boss fights in this game are the weakest in the series by far IMO. Also overall combat just didn't feel right to me at all, Spells, Dex, Strength I tried a bit of each and I'm not sure how to elaborate more than that other than it just felt mehh. The world also felt pretty disjointed to me.

I will still say I enjoyed my 100 hours with it and I really liked the NPCs and the dialogue in the majority of the game. Great game just weakest of the bunch for me.

Dark Souls 2 is definitely the worst Souls game, yeah. There's really no competition.

Still say it's on par with Bloodborne

I don't understand the hate for this game. In a vacuum, I liked the locales, (majula the best hub) and characters. PvP is also at it's best here and the power stance builds are some of the most fun builds I've made in a souls game. Bosses tho? Yeah, I've seen better.

It was my 1st entry to the series. Not really newcomer friendly.

I played DaS2 over 200 hours, and is still my least favorite of the series.

My biggest gripe has to be the map design. It really doesn't make sense from a physical perspective when you look at where areas are from other areas. The progression also has you going around from one end to another at times, it just feels like pointless back tracking to extend game time.

I mean just look at the map design. There's so little cohesion. Many areas overlap, and there's no connection between them. Some areas next to each other, have completely different art styles and enemies.

Now look back at DaS. As you progress shortcuts open up to make your movement easier. There are connections that make sense. The art and enemies of adjacent areas mix and influence each other.