...About Dark Souls 2: SOFTS In 2024
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
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Dark Souls 2 is a very weird game, and in this video, I wanted to dive into why I feel it's uniqueness plays into its strengths and weaknesses.
Join The Bisness(only if you like pancakes):
/ @thatguybis1997
Chapters:
Introduction: 0:00 - 4:02
Launch Day: 4:02 - 6:17
The Music: 6:18 - 7:06
The Weaponry: 7:07 - 10:12
The Bosses: 10:13 - 12:35
The Exploration: 12:36 - 17:23
The Iron Keep: 17:24 - 23:10
The Shrine of Amana: 23:11 - 25:03
NPC Invasions: 25:04 - 26:30
The Combat: 26:31 - 28:08
Behind The Scenes: 28:09 - 31:54
Conclusions: 31:55 - 33:42 - เกม
Okay so idk what’s wrong with my brain when I say dark souls 2 was released in 2024. I meant to say 2014, but I had a brain fart. Sorry guys!
Got you bro!
It happens brobro
Unforgivable unfortunately lol jkjk
You also didn't read any of the tutorial messages or stones because they tell you how to power stance.
They could never make me hate you, DS2
It's ok to have opinions on games. They can be wrong, but its still an opinion.
Touche ContentCreature, touche.
@@thatguybis1997 lol. I was debating on stating the satire. Fr, anyone can like any game for any reason. I mean no harm. Loved the vid too
You can blame consoles for the visual downgrade.
Tweaking?
“I’m going to give DS2 a second chance.” Decides to skip the best part.
Best part of DS2 is entering Majula for the first time. After that, credits should roll.
This dude sounds like that guy who won't stop comparing ex gfs. Enough about ds1, holy shit this dudes about to buy every time he mentions ds 1.
Dark souls 2 was weird but somehow i weirdly enjoyed it!
Because it's a good game, it just doesn't stand up to any of the others in the series.
DS2 is the best Souls-like out there, but it fundamentally missed the philosophy, soul and game design standards of the rest of the Soulsborne era of Fromsoft
@@boblionia how it is the best souls like while it missed the fundamental philosophy of soulsborne games?
You can actually one-shot the turtle guys if you catch them in the guillotine lever. Or drop them in the lava with the platform switches. Or lure them into the fire jets. Also, in Scholar of the First Sin, if you kill an enemy enough times, they stop spawning. The game can be frustrating, yes. But I still love it. Never beat it though.
How have you never beat it? It's not hard.
@@jcselement I get distracted.
or how about just making them a fun or well designed mob to begin with? oh wait... this is ds2 they don't do that over there
@@xaevius5319 THIS! IS! FROMSOFT! (kicks you into a pit)
Killing an enemy many times so they don't respawn isn't exclusive to SOTFS, it happens in the vanilla game as well.
Got exploration completely wrong. You can see landmarks from Majula. In DS1 you can end up going to the catacombs from the start and having a bad time.
4:02 damn didnt even realise ds2 was released so recently! thanks for bringing awareness!
No prob brotha just making sure you guys knew when it was released
@@thatguybis1997 yo this was a good video, so was your ds1 vid too. That said, i think dark souls 2 is still a very good game and despite its very valid criticisms and develpmental shortcomings, is still an amazing game and a must-play for those fresh out of ds1 and those who want to explore the series. Ds1 still on top tho
😂😂😂
Dialogue with the Crestfallen Knight hints at you to start at the Forest of the Giants. You need to talk to people and exhaust their dialogue.
thank you fromsoft for not having tomb of giants for every level 🙏🙏🙏
I think the prower stancing makes sense if you compare the standard animations to power stance ones. In power stances, the player seems more proficient. Weapon attacks appear more fluid, there seems to be more of a techique compared to swinging left then right, and power stance almost makes any weapon seem weightless.
Yo Grim! I agree, power stancing was straight up badass.
I do love the music of dark souls 2. didn’t know about the development hell it went through but makes sense. great video!
Thanks JD!
This is my favorite game ever and I get very defensive whenever anyone bashes it. (Ok, not actually favorite game, but I tend to love something even more whenever I feel it’s disproportionally criticized/put down).
Nice video though.
Yeah this game, despite its shortcomings, is still a good experience and 100% worth playing after dark souls 1
This is my favorite Souls game of all time, best PVP also, this is coming from someone who just played the elden ring dlc. Dark souls 2 remake..to die for 😃.
@@nateortiz3364 just such a letdown. they didnt really improve upon the first one in a meaningful way and it felt even more clunk and the level design got worse. just a huge dissapointment after ds1 and what could have been a great sequel. thankfully ds3 finally figured it out and was an amazing game.
"bashing" to a ds2 fan: anything in criticized in the game that is actually true and is indeed garbage game design but are too used to the game's bs for them to think it's not.
I still really liked the premise of DS2 (dreams and memory loss) as well as the NPCs and Majula. Also my favorite armor set from any video game is in here (Faraam is so goddamn good-looking). It just really needed more time and someone competent at the helm to bring everything together. The bones are definitely in there somewhere for a worthy title.
Bonfires, Bonfires is disguise.
Nah ds2 is good asf, people just hate on it because it experimented with the formula, bonfire aesthetics for example are a crazy good idea that was never reused. Not to mention majula is the best damn hub in the series hands down, if you say otherwise you don’t have eyes and ears.
This is an arguement of all time.
experimented with bad game design
It's ascetic bro 😂
@@liszt646 I was fuckin roasted when I posted this 😂😂
So... Basically you just don't get game that you imagine and mad about it. I can 100 agree that iron keep and amara it's ridiculous bad location. Other "flaws" was in ds 1 or will be in future games like ds 3 or sekiro
1. DS1 was actually enjoyable from start to finish, that's the difference
2. DS1 didn't have incredibly shite controls and input lag
3. Deflecting to DS1 because you have no valid points isn't going to magically make DS2 good
4. Generally horrific input lag and grab attack lag along with the worst hitboxes in the Soulsborne series
5. The good things DS2 did was power stancing and PVP
6. Weird ass 2000s textures and lighting made it eye cancer tier horrible
7. Losing HP when you die is stupid as fuck, zero need to be implemented
The good?
1. Weapons and armours do look legit cool
2. Areas outside of the first 2 parts definitely looked thematically good won't lie outside of the lighting
3. Some of the bosses feel very good and worked well for the arenas they were in
4. PVP
@@GiveMeBass93
I still can't fully agree with you.
1. "Enjoyable" very abstract word. I also can say that enjoyed ds 2 from start to finish.
2. Shite content - yeah, it's true.
4. Input lag? Character roll and attack when you press button. Can't say in specific numbers of microseconds, but for sure not much different from ds 1. Bad hit box - kinda, leveling up adp makes it's much better.
5. PvP for me is terrible in all trilogy.
6. Exaggeration.
7. Valid. Especially in early hours when player don't have enough human effigy or ring that reduce this effect.
Overall I really like ds 2. And in my previous comment I could be too defensive. But I didn't had intention to be disrespectful. If I was. I'm truly sorry 😔
I think alot of your problems with DS2 boil down to SOTFS being pretty much a “hard mode” to DS2, OG DS2 is much more fairly designed and honestly alot of the level design makes more sense.
Ds2 was my first soulsbourne game and i really loved the uses of the torch gone to ds1 and missed it and in ds3 missed alot more
What use of the torch 😂 theres literally 1 corridor, 1 boss and 1 area where the torch does anything and even then if you're playing with standard brightness you dont need it at all.
I played this on midnight release and spent the entire game carrying a torch and lighting every sconce and by the end of the playthrough I was still wondering where this darkness mechanic they advertised so much actually is
Then they made the game even brighter with scholar because they realised thay they had already removed the need for a torch from the entire vanilla game so why not just light every area up
It was one of the best ideas they had in DS2 but like every other good idea they had, the team was either unable or unwilling to actually impliment the idea
I don't know why, but I like how you say "Majoula," Bis. Also, are Ornsteen and Shmo in this game?
I think Ornshteen is but i dunno bout Shmo. A real Shmo that guy.
Yeah, Ornstein has a cameo in Haide's Tower of Flame. No Smough, though.
@@ManFromThePitsit’s debated wether or not it really is ornstein or just a follower of ornstein given his lightning is not present in ds2.
@@Kerm_ST1 He's old and burned out. After a couple hundred years, your lightning would be gone, too.
@@ManFromThePits I wouldn’t know because I don’t have lightning magic. It is named old dragon slayer but is still not confirmed to be or not to be ornstein. Just like how the Havel you see in ds1 near the hydra isn’t the real Havel. This is not meant to be a shot at you btw, just a discussion lol. Ain’t trying to start an argument 😂
In the music section with that boss battle where there’s three of the armor people. I spent days there helping people beat that I had a faith build and if I believe correctly lightning hurt armor. Ahhhh the first week.
Cool review bro. I agree with everything as a fellow Ds1 lover. But I have to argue to Ds2's soundtrack is quite generic and feels like a remix of Ds 1's except for Majula of course.
Playing the vanilla version is a much better experience. I bought the SotFS version and hated it. But years later, I bought the vanilla version and had a good time.
So not sure if i prefer this video more or the DS1 video. Very well put together and i agree with every thing you mentioned, however i do still really enjoy the game :)
Can't wait to hear about DS3 bro, Even tho i watched your full SL1 playthrough on stream lol.
Bro I'm giving you bois some perks now lol
28:19 How to say you haven't played Elden Ring without saying so. The amount of Input Reading there won't let you attack first any late game boss lol.
I personally love this game. Powerstancing is awesome
2024 and still crying about it
It’s important to keep DS2 rats humble every few months or so.
We probably should keep the DS3 scrubs humble as well, trash ass game.
@@gianni.saccilotoare you implying ds2 is better than 3?
@@edgeceooffujin3074 would you be salty If I did? :)
@@gianni.sacciloto I would just be confused, these games are completely different, especially ds2 they just arent compareable and i cant think of anything that could ever make ds2 better than 3, its mind boggling actually
The mirror knight was so good imo
He was great on release when he would actually summon invaders
Scholar onwards it is such a forgettable boss, just slow slasher number 54 but with shield
I just made the stupid mistake of trying to replay it again. I have beaten it twice before, third time I hoped I’d enjoy it this time. I still hate it 😂
Dude which Nier song was playing in the streaming videos??
Lol it wasn’t, I included some songs from Automata!
@@thatguybis1997 haha ok what Automata song was it??
(Also just found your channel and it’s absolutely awesome!)
i thought DS2 was fun! the reason things feel slow to you is because they changed stamina regen so it doesn't start until whatever animation is completely finished, and when it was fully depleted, you had to wait until the bar was entirely refilled to do certain actions like running.
i will defend the first choice by saying it's not better or worse than the system of constant refilling that DeS/DS1/DS3 use, it's just different, it has the effect of making stamina management a lot more vital of a concern than other games, which is something i really liked, but i understand why someone wouldn't like it, it's the same as having your basic attack be committal, it doesn't feel good when you fail, but imo it's very rewarding.
the second choice was so you can't just get away with running at empty stamina by spamming the B button, i think there's better solutions to this, e.g. what DS3 uses (from fully depleted, you can run at 1/2), or what elden ring uses (if no enemies are aggro on you, unlimited running stamina, otherwise same as DS3)
but this was an experimental game and I'm fine with it not being perfect!
if you would like to replay DS2 and potentially enjoy it a lot more, in your head you should roleplay as basically like you're a secret agent, who is trying to break into the throne room that's guarded by monsters and security guards etc. that's sort of the mentality i picked up within the first 2 areas and it served me very well! it precipitated quite a bit of fun, calculating whether or not i was strong and agile enough to just run through or whether i had to aggro enemies sequentially and methodically take then out. once i had been through a level once, i looked for any shortcuts, and then i had an easy time refighting the bosses, except smelter demon, i killed everyone every time i refought him, fuck that part of iron keep tbh
Lol during the iron keep I tried to juke past the first turtle guy then got shocked my the second turtle guy and ultimately was locked in from both sides 😢
DS2 was amazing, great in its own way and in no way inferior. I’ll die on that hill.
Oooohhhh shiny let me pick that up lol Loved seeing that live!
That was a fun little clip lol
I thought it was weird when you mentioned the combat was frustrating because I didn't remember it bothering me all too much. Then the video segued to you shooting arrows at enemies to lure out an entire zone while complaining how boring this playstyle was, and I laughed my ass off because I was like, "Yeah I remember having to play the entire game this way now".
Love the Legend of Dragoon soundtrack you added
Yay for Legend of Dragoon music!!
Dude i got the steel ds2 case too. I still love it, i am a fan of the whole Fromsoft catalog though
4:03 wow I must have missed that release this year
Broooo don’t do me like that
@@thatguybis1997 Lol I didn't see your comment addressing the mistake before I wrote that.
@@thatguybis1997PS: I haven't watched the entire video yet but you do know there's a bonfire closer to the final boss of the iron keep right?
Dude, you should have some green tea with chamomile and replay the game.
Noooooooooooo thank you. You have fun with it though!
@@thatguybis1997 xD My other comment is also laced with humour! I'm glad you enjoyed the game, it's still a good one! :D (>•^~^•)√/.¡! ✨💖✌😸🙌💮✨
I invaded so many ppl in that belfry area
Subbed for using Legend Of Dragoon battle music.
This guy knows.
@@thatguybis1997 I see you brother.
You can run through at iron keep, every boss run is possible but it's hard
Ds2 was sick. You forgot to mention everything they improved on since ds1
Feel free to tell me. I’m genuinely curious.
literally what did they improve? everything was a downgrade.
@@xaevius5319
-8 dimensional roll
-every single weapon's moveset turned fluent
-multiplayer (password [sort of], small soap stone to summon even after a boss is defeated, covenants at their best... )
-vastly improved upgrade system
-respecting stats
-improved player animation like backstabs, more fluent medium roll etc.
-I-frames for backsteps (From literally just brought it bacj with a ring in ER's DLC)
-most likely the best balanced gear in the series (also very good for multiplayer)
-the most variety in areas
-bonfire ascetics
-vastly improved on magic systems
-vastly improved on usable/throwable items, really only ER improved it further by a huge margin
-simpletons/sceptic spices
-interesting changes for NG+ (new enemies, invaders, items, mechanics)
-no completely useless stat
-weapon durability in a sensible way
-the most overall content only beaten by ER
-one of the most interesting and deep lore
... could go on for quiet a bit...
@@easy8077 most of these honestly i feel like are just so miniscule. ill give the roll, the bonfire ascetic, i dont play pvp but i'll just believe you guys if you say it is good as well as powerstancing. but how does that compare to removing your hp every time you die, garbage mob placements and spamming, the existence of adp, enemies can aggro from narnia and chase you till peru, and those are just off the top of my head. game's honestly cooked just from the hp thing as well as the mob spamming. 'weapon durability in a sensible way' it makes sense that your weapon is that frail? what? you can clear an entire area and by the time you reach the boss your sword is almost broken? they did give you a better roll but then they didn't make the general movement 360 anyways. 1 foot forward 1 step back. 'most variety in areas and most overall content'? yeah you're definitely gonna get more if the whole philosophy was quantity over quality. 'more bosses' and then you get covetous demon......
@@xaevius5319 oh, you're that kind of person... !
Most of what you just complained about is now state of art in Elden Ring and most times even exaggerated, yet noone cries about it... but it's okey, we all have our biases and subjective truths.
But I have no time arguing with people that complain about something yet are okey with it in the same token as long as someone calls it something different, just watch "Domo3000" if you want to find objective analyses of lots of DS2 critique.
I remember playing dark souls 3 and wishing it had power stancing and then getting hyped that elden ring was gonna have it and then realizing i liked the paired weapons better and now i want that back 😂
I can't believe there are still people in 2024 who are making the "Dark Souls 2 is my favorite souls game" joke
Shrine of Amana= 999 poison arrows
Yeah it has it´s Flaws, Problems, BS..but it´s still one of my favorite Soulsborne Games. Weird, I know, but it is.
this is my 3rd fav fromsoft game, love it
Ravil's rage fuel here!
Bruhhhhh
Oh hey you're the ds1 guy! I enjoyed your ds1 video, I'm exited to see this one as well. Keep doing what you're doing man, much love!
Appreciate you, chief! Big ups :)
Having played ds2 as my second souls game after ds3, losing max hp whenever I died was the most annoying. Can't wait to play through it again, this time I want to beat the dlcs 😂
He said he’s getting old ok bis
Brooooo I know you guys are older than me OKAY
IDK man this comes off like "DS1 does it and it's good and great design, DS2 does it and now it's a problem". Like your rant about Majula and what way you're supposed to go. You say it's a coin toss on whether you pick the "correct" path and that enemy toughness could maybe be an indicator but that isn't enough. That's just Firelink shrine and the graveyard/New Londo. The difference is in DS2 there isn't a correct path. You can do either area early and it's fine.
I've also personally never had an issue with areas like Iron Keep. Like you can see where those enemies are coming from in your footage. The game isn't even forcing you to play it slow so much as it just wants you to pay attention and maybe not put your back to pits in fights like you did at 18:35. Any other game in the series and it's "git gud, try something else etc" but in DS2? Must be the game's fault you ignored the knight running up to you to attack the one that isn't even aggro'd yet on the bridge. Must be the game's fault you drank right in front of the boss without baiting an attack like at 27:06. That would get you killed in any of these games but it's DS2 ofc so nope, game's fault.
Like I hate to nitpick like this and have nothing against you personally or anything. I hope I'm not coming off as trying to be mean to you here because I'm really not. I've just noticed this cyclical thinking with DS2 where everyone knows the community trashes it so when playing people cope and blame the game and perpetuate that mindset instead of ever looking inward as to why a death might have happened. It's never "oh I messed up" and always "That's DS2 for you!" I don't understand why so many people feel entitled to play this game like they're some kind of speedrunner when they're not familiar with it and then get upset when the enemies punish the player for ignoring them. DS2 for some reason is the one FromSoft game it's okay to be bad at and blame the game for. I will never understand this.
I watched your video through to the end and threw a like on it. I really don't think we needed yet another "DS2 bad" video but you clearly put effort into this project and your opinions at the end of the day are your own. Hope you have a good day.
I appreciate the comment! Here’s the thing about Dark Souls 2 for me. There were times where a death was absolutely my bad, I can admit it.
But a lot of other times, it’s because I wasn’t using a bow and arrow and taking the enemies out one at a time, because there are simply too many to feasibly take care of otherwise. The game just throws waves of enemies at you that aggro from across the nation and expects you to deal with it.
There is a solution to this problem (just look at the gameplay clips to see how I solved it) but it also slows the pace of the game down and makes it an unfun experience. Enemy placements in this game are also just so terrible imo (Four TMNT dudes in the Iron Keep in those hallways is insane.)
Also, the only reason I complained about dying to Smelter Demon was because of what I had to do just to be able to challenge him again. If you notice, I never complained about the fight itself. The fight itself was fun, and my death to him was my fault. But having to do that all again just for another chance to fight him? I can't defend that. Making something tedious is not the same as making something challenging.
These are just my two cents and your complaints are as valid as mine. You have yourself a good day as well!
I'm with this comment. Almost everything cherry picked from ds2 can be cherry picked from ds1. I just replayed ds1 again, and I thought it was fairly easy. Except, I totally get it also has "where do I go???" Without a playthrough or a lot of guessing, there are about two areas most players would've probably never guessed that was the right way.
The gank squads are also in ds1. I just see ds2 footage where the player is being an idiot so it looks bad. Idk, I didn't think ds2 was that hard. Just pay attention.
The game was pretty good. Miyazaki thought the director who came on later was so good he brought him on as co-director in later games like Elden Ring. I'm sorry, but a lot of these videos are just trying hard to make it seem hard. It's over the top. This game wasn't complicated, really.
I got ds2 simply because I was a newly FROMSOFT fan. I've beaten ds3, bought a Playstation 4 for bloodborne and beat bloodborne. Played ds1 and while it was cool, I booted up ds2 and I absolutely hated the game. Kept playing, and kept on going and i thought ds3 was my favorite of the series next to bloodborne. Well, unfortunately that became a hard NO. DS2 became my favorite souls game of the series and I quickly started to realize how stupidly ambitious the game was. Oh, you got invaded by some neon glowy red phantom that has that level 2 glow aesthetic? Fucking cool stuff. Get invaded by a Blue phantom with that cool neon glowy level 2 covenant aesthetic? Pretty cool shit. Grey phantoms of bell tower covenant members? Sweet asf. This game truly rocks man. Ds1 Remaster, has the worst fist in the game. Ds3 also has the worst fist in the game. But ds2? Powerstance with bonefist that allow you to do flying kicks that make you land on your back? Truly awesome. I love the mechanics behind it. Doing the mental math to know you need X amount of strength and dex to powerstance whatever weapon of choice. I like the pilgrims of dark covenant. I even beat dark lurker 😂. This game was genuinely the best journey I've had in all souls games. The areas have different vibes to them. The shrine of ammamah is beautiful. Going through the castle to fight looking glass knight where you HAVE freaking HORSE GOLEMS ROCKING FREAKING TWINBLADES!!! even more dope. Iron Keep with the cool samurai general knights are cool when they unsheathe with a lightning blade is peak creativity. Then you have the pursuer which I've grown to absolutely love.
Everyone seems to have adopted the same mentality of hating ds2 for fun. Yet will call themselves a souls fan. Only to go as far as disrespecting the true genius this game has that hasn't been repeated again. Even Elden Ring half asses this attempt. If any from game deserves a remake, it's definitely Dark Souls 2. It truly deserves a remake so people can see this game in its updated glory. Armors are great and upgradeable. Too many weapons to choose from and they don't feel like the same thing. There's no corny music being played in the background. It's just you and the meek quietness of your surroundings. This game is epic. And these people making videos about how bad it is, very seldom are those who make videos talking about the lengths this game goes to be different than the rest and the ones that came right after. It's new game plus content is seriously cool. New game weapons, new game enemies. You even have the ability to use the bonfire aesthetic to level up areas to be harder. And guess what? It's actually pretty damn tough fighting red phantom enemies and humanoid types. It's just a better game. It was the first game that actually got me interested in playing builds. And I've played and beat ds3 FIRST. this game is genuinely awesome.
Also, let me not forget to mention, that after you've acquired the covenant of the fittest ring, which serverly boost bare handed fist, I've ran the game beating it with only my bare fist because your hands get an AR of 400. And you don't even need weapons. It's probably why I love this game so much unlike the others because the devs actually thought about something such as this. This game was truly made with a lot of love and attention to detail. It genuinely is a very well made, a well crafted fine piece of work. And that says a billion things to me that just seems to go right above these soo called content creators minds. I for one don't give a damn about the cliche echo chamber of like minded opinions for Ds2. I believe it was way ahead of it's time. For me anyway.
@@thatguybis1997It's not that hard to get back to the boss, you can run straight to it pretty consistently
Aside from the Iron Keep and the box boss rooms, I really enjoyed the areas in the game. The methodical moving through areas never bothered me, I do that in every game. The enemy placement was pretty dense, but I never experienced the rage that I see for this game. It's one of the Souls games I finished more than once. I love the video, though!
I absolutely loved vanilla DS2 but playing SotFS is pain despite it being the "better" version for the whole experience...
Idk man isnt there like... mods to fix your issues or somethinf?
I never really got the singled out mass criticism of DS2 out of all the DS games.
It contains inconveniences like any other Soulsborne game, I thought players though that was a "good thing"? Like the vagueness of the story, the confusion about where to go next, the counterintuitive steps you're supposed to do to unlock the next level, the clunky gamepley and overall movement, the boss runbacks, having annoying bosses with bad design, etc...
I really thought those were inconveniences that those who praised DS1 actually loved so much, they asked for an inconvenient clunky game that is challenging, and that's what DS2 provided and improved upon from DS1 on the first glance.
besides the bad hitboxes and a couple really long boss runbacks, I have absolutely no issues with DS2. I've completed it 2 times on Softs edition when it came out and once lately, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't memorable or if I didn't feel anything special about it.
That being said, I feel the most thing that bothered people might have been that it wasn't directed by the same guy who did DS1.
Ds2 is too much inconvenience with not enough content to dig into that's why.
all clunk, all jank with no good in return. also doesn't help that the game has garbage mob spamming and placement as well as punishing you for playing the game by taking away your hp. "they only hate it because it wasn't directed by miyazaki" is one of the hardest deflections and copes the ds2 community has come up with
Correct in spite of popular opinion stating otherwise. At the time it was a nice improvement to ds1. Start talking about ds2 and all of a sudden all those hollows on the way to gargoyles don't exist anymore, 4 way rolling while locked on isn't an issue, the golden walls forcing you to backtrack are not an issue, iron giant and gaping dragon don't teleport you into their grab, finding upgrade materials is never a problem, you don't die to a dragon on the bridge after getting your first chunk of souls from the Taurus demon, you don't get ganked by basilisks in the depths, you don't lose access to firelink when Lautrec offs the firekeeper, you don't have to run on invisible floors for 2 minutes to get to seath, you don't have to run for 90 seconds every time for bed of chaos. As if ds2 isn't on par with ds1. People wholeheartedly accept the infinite jank of ds1 and lambast ds2 for the exact same issue. Sleep deprived rant, sorry
@@michaelcarroll5801 difference is ds1 fans can admit that their game has faults while ds2 fans constantly cry and only point at other games to excuse their games bs. that and ds2 has way more garbage mechanics and game design that 1 ever had, so no it is not an "improvement". going to equate the hollows in undead parish to ds2 mobs as if those hollows aggro you when you're on the altar and have the movement speed of a speed walker. anything bad about ds1 is absolutely amplified in ds2. im pretty sure majority of people would rather do seath runback and lost izalith runback over going through frigid outskirts of iron passage ever again. you guys only try to bring down other games when if anything it just makes your game even worse by comparison.
@@xaevius5319 You're room temperature IQ, I like both games and admit both their flaws, and the flaws in the other games too. Check my other comment, I even conceded the lifegem problem so there you go. There are no boxes of ds2 fans or ds3 fans. People who love ds2 love ds1 just as much for the most part, because they're similar games, this is my entire argument. The hitbox problem exists in ds1. Pretend iron giant grab doesn't exist, pretend like ds3 doesn't have the exact same mimic grab jank, that ceaseless discharge doesn't have colossal hitboxes. You're just a hater bro, and a disingenuous one at that, bringing up the same tired talking points like they're trump cards. How many times do I have to explain frigid outskirts is designed for endgame co-op, that iron passage is designed for endgame co-op. If you were actually objective, you'd understand that frigid outskirts is the longest runback in the series, then after that ds2 and ds1 are totally on par with runbacks and jank. If you can't concede a single one of your emotional points, if you can't admit that seathe runback and bed of chaos runback aren't on par with the entirety of the worst the souls series has to offer, then you're arguing in bad faith.
I will say the specific gank stuff with iron keep and the sheer amount of NPC invaders is a Scholar specific problem. Vanilla DS2 honestly, was inoffensively bad. Had questionable systems and generally not great, but it had its okay moments.
Scholar is just maliciously designed in it's layout plain and simple. Its like they took inspiration from a Zelda Master Quest but forgot to capture the fun aspect.
Why the hell did they mess with enemies if vanilla was fine?
@@thatguybis1997 Vanilla had a poor reception and I presume they had the logic of "it must've not been hard enough"
The original DS2 was nowhere near as gank heavy as Scholar.
I'm often told by defenders that Scholar was build up with co-op in mind but I don't think thats a very good defense or way to build a souls game if true.
Ds2 has a lot of history and context behind its development.
U can make a whole movie about ds2 troubled development.
Just be happy u actually got a game to play.
Also this is the main point Ds2 was targeting its old player base so they turned up the difficulty.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT DS2 MAN.
There more than what meets the eye with ds2
Lock on doesn’t stay on target. Hitboxes are weird. Flasks don’t insta heal you. Stamina goes off in 2-3 attacks. Other than that it’s a great game.
Also soul memory, crappy lore, worst covenants in the series, all the cool mechanics from prerelease were removed, npc summons needing to survive a fight to continue their story, enemy placements in both vanilla and scholar, nerfing every single character by forcung you to level ADP just to make the game work properly, lack of enemy, area and boss variety, fast travel from the start, the complete misunderstanding of what Dark Souls is about and what it is trying to say, resulting in a game that seems like it was based off the 'Prepare to Die" commercials instead of actually trying to follow the heart of the series, PVP was completely ruined by soul memory and the NG+ requirement as well as invade timers etc, enemies despawning makes it possible for new players to softlock themselves in any area, it has the worst NPC quests in From's modern history and even though DS1 had lost izalith, DS2 with all DLC still feels incomplete in every possible way
But yeah other than it fundamentally being bad in almost every way a video game can be, it's great
@@boblionia every game is bad in its own way, if we only look at bad things.
Flasks don't insta heal you in ds1 either and there are also weird hitboxes in ds1
The hitboxes aren't really weird at all except for the giants in the gulch and the memories. Grab attacks will teleport you in to them but that happens in every one of these games. I'm guessing the lock on thing you are talking about is actually a feature with large weapons where you can free aim them while swinging. Yeah most large weapons are stamina intensive. The slow heal of the flask is supplemented by the lifegems, you're supposed to use lifegems during combat because you can still walk while using them and flasks outside of combat. It was pretty cheesy being able to chug through enemy attacks in ds1.
real!
Putting LoD music over DS gameplay. Very well done, my man.
Lovin the LOD love
Domo3000 is still the goat for DS2 videos.
i wish i could enjoy ds2. it has a lot of cool stuff, but i can't see past everything it does wrong. i've played through it many times, but the more i play it, the more i hate it. i keep trying to find the secret combination of build and weapon, but there is no secret. i guess you can't force yourself to enjoy something
Dude’s voice is so magnificent
Lol damn, making me blush out here
Dark souls 2 is the worst of all souls game, but that doesn't make it a bad game, it's only compared to fkn master pieces
You sound like Jake Baldino from Gameranx haha
20:06 there's a bonfire right after Smelter Demon lol
Recently beaten DS2 and somehow it felt way less frustating than DS1, but maybe I'm biased as I already got the hang of it by playing DS1 first.
Also, the weapon reforge system is miles better than DS1's BS 0,2% titanite slabs.
nah i also had the same experience and i felt pleasantly surprised with ds2 as everyone constantly shits on it.
@@Fadegalaxy-mv4mpnah fr, this video even has some weird points about how playing with a bow and arrow is mandatory. Besides the sunken king dlc pressure switches, I barely touched them.
The funniest point he made is how Shrine of Amana is like an FPS game for hiding behing pillars and shooting. My brother in christ even at 24:46 they are lined so that you can run to the caster while taking cover.
@@satiz7800 and then what? those 2 melee guys can chase him while he has impeded movement speed and they don't? if i went no shield playthrough as well i'll most definitely use a bow and arrow. i ain't going through that cancer i'd rather cheese it boringly
@@xaevius5319 Did you even play the game? Those 2 Pilgrims+Priest only aggro on you if you come closer to them lol. You can get rid of the 3 casters around the pillar circle by just moving around the area while evading the middle. The Priest has an even smaller aggro range and wont attack if you aggro the 2 Pilgrims.
@@satiz7800 oh they definitely aggro on you. this game consistently have mobs that can aggro from narnia why would that particular area be any different? they might not attack you going to the mage but they'll attack you when you do. i wish what you're saying is true, if then you're one lucky guy.
Ill admit DS2 is def the weakest of the three in terms of the combat/bosses. But the main reason I play these games is for the atmosphere/exploration, And IMO DS2 is second only to Bloodborne in this area. I played Sekiro, DS3, Bloodborne & DS1 all before DS2, And for some reason DS2 is by FAR the most nostalgic for me, There's just this dreamy vibe all throughout that the others don't have, I love the massive variety of areas in DS2, Visually it has the best locations to me, I really enjoy the puzzle aspects of its world as well, It has such an interactive world, Especially in its DLCs, Another thing it does better then others is its level of customization, I LOVE being able to infuse any weapon i want, Including boss soul weapons. Have no idea why they never included this in later titled like DS3 & Elden Ring. Being able to create a Lightning MGS or a Fire Smelter Sword, Then BUFF the weapon on top of that is such a badass thing to let you do lol, NG+/Bonfire Aesthetic is another area DS2 knocks it out of the park, Having new stuff in NG+ is very cool, And being able to replay thru any area and its boss is amazing as well. Covenants and PVP is also at its absolute best in DS2 IMO, Overall, From what many generally expect from a "Souls" Game, It's easy to see why its considered the weakest, But as an overall RPG, I think it's the most "Adventure RPG" Out of the trilogy, And its a top tier game in Fromsofts catalog. Personally, Including DLCs, It's tied at 3 for my favorite Fromsoft game, I legitimately prefer SOTFS over Elden Ring, Atmosphere man, Elden Ring is incredible but its areas never evoked the same type of feelings as DS2 areas did. Even the BS areas like Shrine Of Amana or Black Gultch aesthetically stand out and make me feel things i never felt in Elden Rings open world. Tired of fans calling DS2 a bad game, Critics actually got it right, Its a masterful RPG experience. It's the least "Souls" Out of the Soulsborne series, And thats one of its strengths tbh. Great game.
I think the hate will die down and people will eventually see ds2 as on par with ds1 for the reasons you stated. Maybe like 5-10 years. The mediocre bosses is basically the only non-overblown criticism out there for ds2
Man... I love ds2
Dark souls 2 is a good game but not as good as the rest 😁
I REALLY wanted to like this game, I finished the whole base game even though I hated most of it, I really tried to give it a change, but I just couldn't like it, which broke my heart cause I love Dark Souls 1. I didn't even try the DLC, I just don't want to touch that game ever again.
I tried too, I really did.
too bad cuz the dlcs are actually the best part of the game
@@keysos I have heard, I just can’t be bothered honestly
My first playthrough of this game was 44h long and by the end I hated myself.
@@gabehere Sorry to hear that LOL
If you want to play elden ring in a very early stage, play DS2 lol, but yeah unless you really want to fight a specific boss like Sir Alonne or Ivory king i cant recommend it, finally Adaptability is so underrated and so bad designed with 25-30 u re quite untouchable when you roll
I think the game is good and fun but deeply flawed. If you compare this game to non fromsoft games it’s still an amazing game
Yeap Waiting Domo To Make Counter Argument For This Vedeo
I welcome it.
Domo is the vigilante the Souls community, constantly debunking the criticisms and complaints Ds2 gets. I may be a White Knight for this game, but he is far, whiter than me. (That sounded racist ngl)
Doing SL1 (BL4) runs in these games is a lot of fun and make up for an interesting challenge and different experience if you’ve done and seen already everything the game has to offer. I highly recommend you go for it! Just do yourself a favor and don’t go for DS2 first, or at all if avoidable. A DS2 SotFS SL1 run only highlights all the flaws and poorly thought out and implemented ideas and mechanics of the game, which unfortunately make up or influence a large part of the game.
Invasions are the exact criteria to what makes a soulsborne interactive art peices. Dont play offline when you can.
how is getting invaded when mobs are already ganging up on you like you went to compton "interactive" or "art"?
@xaevius5319 cuz it is. To denigrate what is the lifeblood ov what makes the Soulsborne experience what it is like you are is just appalling.
@@Soulute367 "lifeblood" lol. annoying npc's that constantly invade you even though the game already has a problem of having too many mobs. you ds2 fans just absolutely love consuming bs don't you?
Among all the dark souls trilogy Bloodborne sekiro and yes even elden ring, dark souls 2 scholar of the first sin was my most favorite souls game ever the vibes in this game majula 😌 i just can't forget all those golden times i love dark souls 2 and i would give millions to get a better version and rework of it
In before they try and make u believe that everything changes after playing the dlc. It only makes it worse youtubesoulsbro, don't let them hollow you into believing this game is anything but a hyper underwhelming sequel to the absolute most influential video game of the last 2 console generations.
frigid outskirts and iron passage lmao
I love base DS2 and its crown DLC. SOTFS makes me want to check myself into the forever box…
DS2 vanilla is still fundamentally broken, Scholar just served to show us that it could have been worse and the comparison makes the OG better in our munds
I genuinely think this is the best game from software has ever made. It has always been in my top five games of all time and I've played all of the other from soft games including completing Elden ring 100%. The mechanics might be a bit Jank and the world might be disjointed, but Dark Souls 2 is so replayable and has so many challenges to offer you that I can't help but love it. Not to mention that everyone says it's so hard but once you get accustomed to how it plays- it might be the most straightforward Souls game to complete. The game only gets truly difficult after New Game Plus 3 or you do the DLC. Or maybe that's just because I've beaten the game nine times already and I'm going through it again with a friend. Say what you want about Dark Souls II but it inspired the Glorious happy Souls video and made PVP so much fun that from soft prioritize multiplayer in Dark Souls 3. Plus do I have to mention the fashion Souls and how almost every piece of equipment has a use.
Great video by the way.
I highly recommend the DLC, despite a lot of the same overall bullshit mechanics still being a pain in the ass, each DLC is a cohesive world with a lot of interconnectivity. Each DLC is like a mini DS1, but with the DS2 mechanics. And honestly, it does make you hate the mechanics a little bit less when paired with the phenomenal content that the DLC provides. I’d say the only weaknesses that the DLC have is they made every enemy have a huge health pool, incredible poise, and they do a fuck ton of damage, even in just standard NG. They still do the “here’s 6 enemies for you to fight and if you try to run past, there’s another 4-6 in the next room” mentality, but once you’re used to it, then I guess you’re used to it. I didn’t find it a problem anymore because I was already expecting it. Annoying as hell, but predictable at that point in the game
the network test has the same lightning system as the released version.
only difference is they went into the game settings and reduced brightness to zero
you can do the same thing just press start while in game go to display settings and set the brightness to zero.
You can’t unironically be this dense
Should I genuinely consider playing this? I'm playing through the Souls games for the first time and I'm about to beat the first game.
It’s a really tough recommend from me, but there’s no harm in giving it a try to see if you like it and dropping if you don’t.
@@thatguybis1997 Figured I'd give an update since I asked but I actually am enjoying it personally! The swarms of enemies get a little frustrating but overall I'm having a decent time!
I liked it.
Dark Souls 2 is the worst in the series, but it's definitely better than most triple A titles. Dark Souls 2 is a game that innovates and tries to do a lot, with some areas where it failed exponentially, but others where it did an amazing job that is not replicated fully by the other FromSoftware games. Compare Dark Souls 2 to the average EA piggy bank that gets released every year, and you have a game that had love, effort, and most of all creativity put into it. I'll take a developer who is willing to make changes and take risks to give players a unique experience over the unchanging slop modern games often are any day. Even if there's some missteps. Never change FromSoftware.
Darksouls 2 is superb dude
Iron Keep....No Shield, ignores ladder to shut off the flame spewing statues in a corner of the room with the 4 corner statue, runs headfirst instead of slowly going through it to aggro the enemies, NO WONDER YOU HAD PROBLEMS! Also a heads up unlike the 1st game you can kil enemies so many times before they will not spawn. Making runbacks to bosses wayyyy easier.
You have to kill every enemy 10 times to despawn. It's insane and not worth the time.
@@gabehere But how much leveling can ya get done just in this area. This is my perfect leveling area.
@@user-ye5gl5hp8fi just recently beat the game and have no idea why you would need to level or respawn enemies for a run back lol.
i noticed that he didn't have shield too but honestly why should the game forcibly make him go out of his playstyle so he can accomodate to their toxic and unfun area designs? you're gonna give players powerstancing but at the same time tell them that's wrong because you thought putting mages in water that slows your movement speed with homing missiles is a good idea.
@@xaevius5319 i used melee only and had no problem in the game it’s genuinely just a matter of playing smart
I love Dark Souls 2, I really do. I find it comforting, inviting and playable. I enjoy its overall vibe. But that doesn’t make me blind to how it’s definitely the worst one: I don’t need to convince myself it’s a great game to enjoy it.
What pains me is, I always feel the need to balance out any praise I give this game with some harsh criticism, just so I don’t accidentally associate myself with DS2’s group of online defenders who seem to actively seek out negative reviews to whine about. The way they behave, you’d think they’re retaliating against some kind of personal insult. I’ve seen far worse petty childishness come from people defending DS2 than I have from people trashing on it, which only further harms how the game is remembered in the long run.
Edit: Case and point can be seen below
those people are just contrarians. i would honestly say majority of the people who like ds2 are just people who are just being contrarians and trying to stand out, getting to have that perpetual "we're being bullied" victim mentality that comes from liking the game. can't give any good reason that ds2 is actually a good game tho, or at the very least not enough good reasons to counter act the bad, but they will somehow think "people just think hating on ds2 is fun" like people who critique it don't give the most obvious criticisms one can say about the game.
It's because most criticisms are overblown, that's why people defend the game. Like with iron keep runback, it's manageable. Shrine of Amana is manageable. Hitboxes are consistent relative to other games in the series. Absolutely every single criticism I've come across is either colossally blown out or an issue that applies just as much to the other games in the series.
@@michaelcarroll5801 oh yeah because ds1 and ds3 had areas like shrine of amana and iron keep and iron passage and frigid outskirts right? they'll always say the game is "manageable" but never "fun". i would rather do 20 runbacks of lost izalith and to the crystal caverns of seath before i step foot back on shrine of amana or iron passage
@@michaelcarroll5801 "Hitboxes are consistent relative to other games in the series." your s are literally tied to a freaking stat. your s are literally a variable, wth are you talking about? 😂😂
@@xaevius5319 s have nothing to do with hitboxes, your drone level IQ is showing buddy. And yes I have fun with shrine of Amana, it's an interesting dungeon. Oh, iron keep bashing? Did you have trouble running across a bridge and dealing with one captain who does 60 poise damage on his attack that is easily baited out and avoided very consistently? P.S. I ran through all mobs in iron passage first try and that's without the TWO npc summons in the area. Furthermore it's a multiplayer area designed for co-op, also its optional.
the only thing I wish DS2 had was a way of switching between vanilla and sotfs enemy placement
I will forever remember the iron keep then you go up and there’s a swamp gtfoh hahahah
I get where you're coming from. Yeah, DS2 has a lot of flaws. I think it'd be fun to see Miyazaki work on a remake to take the game and polish it up; maybe try to salvage scrapped assets and stories, and rework it into a more cohesive, satisfying whole.
I like someone that can recognize a game’s flaws but still enjoy the game regardless. I tell you, you’re a dying breed.
Out of the 6 souls games its the only one not on the original engine, I feel like if it was then it would be held in higher regard.
they did not call it ds1 they called it ds2 for a reason just git gud😑 and another one of your problems is i kinda noticed you didn't use your souls to level up AND you used a weapon to defeat the final boss that i used a little less than midway through the game
Shoulda played OG. Shit’s way less cancer in the early-to-mid game
Just in time for my daily dose of DS2 slander cheers! 🍻🍻
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Also what I hate when playing DS2 it feels so floaty, the characters moves like it slides on ice, lack of impact or feedback from your attacks, ADP already been talked numerous times because how shitty of a stats it is, the maps are bland and are lacking details with the exception of Majula. The only positive thing I find are the fashion souls, they got great character customization and cool armor I must admit.
Bro, if you like darkness so much, turn down the brightness on your TV. Problem solved.
Jesus Christ Charlie!
Charlie you bit my finger Charlie