Where Dark Souls 2 Went Wrong

I can barely contain my excitement for Dark Souls 3's impending release. Dark Souls is maybe my favourite game of all time - it helped me cope with major depression, it was that fully realised an allegory for the illness. Demon's Souls still holds up incredibly well. Bloodborne, whilst I haven't been able to play it due to lack of a console, is widely considered to be one of the few essential games on the PS4.
One game is missing from this list. That game is 2014's Dark Souls 2 - one of the most disappointing games I have ever played. It's not a bad game per se, and were it not burdened by the canon of the Souls series it probably would be considered an above-average action RPG. The general reaction, however, suggests that it just doesn't hold up under comparison to the other games in the series.
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In this episode of Writing On Games then, I attempt to break down why I think (and remember, this is just my opinion) that in terms of its design, its mechanics and its general tone and approach to the message the previous games arguably convey, several confusing decisions were made along the way that illustrate the team's fundamental misunderstanding of what the series was actually about during Dark Souls 2's development. It's a slightly longer episode today, but that's only because I believe there is a whole lot to talk about here.
Also, I talk about this at the end of the video, but seriously - thank you all so much for supporting the channel. New subscribers are coming in every day and I genuinely appreciate every single one. You guys give me the energy to keep doing this.
Some other videos I mention here that are well worth checking out:
Don't You Dare Go Hollow by Fork - • Don't You Dare Go Holl...
Dark Souls 2 Critique by Matthewmatosis - • Dark Souls 2 Critique
Everything Dark Souls 2 Gets Wrong by Matt Lees - • Everything Dark Souls ...
Also, apologies if some of the footage is a bit choppy here - I think a combination of an aging processor and clashes between DSFix and Bandicam contributed to that.
Other footage used:
Bloodborne footage from penguinz0 - • Bloodborne Gameplay an...
O&S battle footage from Punisteri - • 60fps Souls: Ornstein ...
Dark Souls 3 trailer from Bandai Namco - • Dark Souls 3 - PS4/XB1...
Ogre footage from Codemanster - • Dark Souls II: Ogre - ...
Thanks again for watching! If you feel like sharing it with someone you think might get a kick out of it, I'd greatly appreciate it!