The struggles of the Old Ivory King, the redeemed Alsanna and the Bearer of the Curse were not in vain. :') I forever thank the Archtrones team for giving us that.
I... Thought that was the whole point? Like, in DS3, the demons are clearly dying out, and very few still have the chaos flame imbuing them. I thought it was downright explicit.
It's implied that Eleum Loyce takes place around Lordran; you don't meet a single chaos demon around Drangleic. So it's reasonable to assume that the old chaos is the remains of where the flame of chaos was born. @CrescentCrusader99
yeah, that was easily one of my favorite parts about ds2. plenty of light in the environments that made it cozy. if everything gets dulled by storms or overcast skies, it makes the environments sort of blend together (or that it becomes easily boring to look at)
Yeah. I'm not one to praise DS2 for it's visual fidelity (or praise it about anything actually), but this "remake" of Heide tower looks really, really bad. Almost as bad as the demons souls remake. The contrast of the orange flame with the clear, starry sky was perfect, so let's add a storm (fucking why?) to hide the sky, and take out all of the contrast so that every surface looks the same color. I wonder if there is a single person in the team that understands composition and color theory.
@@little-rat-tim If you do this it becomes even more illogical, as Heide is on the majula side, it is illogical for it to always rain in one and never in the other. Besides, it mischaracterizes the city that was made to remember the old sun god
I actually investigated, and for my surprise, the people Who say DS2 has not that many bad hitboxes are actually right. But you would say "But I was hit by an invisible attack after succesfully rolling, is like the attack had an invisible AEO attack with no sound after being done" Well, that is whats actually happening. A lot of attacks has an "eartquake " follow Up, but unlike Some bosses that have It, IDK Champion Gundyr, these are completely invisible, giving the illusion of bad hitboxes . Insane huh? Edit: On restrospective for this comment section, there are actual more issues that contribute to the perception of DS2 hitboxes.
@Cue-Ball. No DS1 didn't do that to that extent Ds1 has one swamp and the depths DS3 has farron keep,The church that has swamp inside,Anor Londo also has shit,especially the Aldrich arena,You have Shit Snow area in the first DLC and the infamous Bug..fest The thete is the last two swamps in the last DLC
But I like how tranquil Heide's tower is. After all the fighting there, hearing the beautiful sea noise and enjoying the blue sky is a relaxing experience.
Yeah that vibe change was a bit off for me. Heide's tower is my favorite power-leveling area specifically for the easy enemies and relaxing environment. I would love to see them do a non-stormy rework though and maybe have the strom come and go. Perhaps the storm might kick in only after defeating dragonrider, as though the storm has stirred the Heide knights from their wonderful naps, and now they're out for blood lol... Resets after using a bonfire aesthetic though for when you're over the storm.
I exclusively run gandalf style one sword one staff always. deadly at every range. old knights you can literally walk around and punch to death if you wanted to. Heide knights can be taken out with a few of my 100+ Great Heavy Soul Arrows. All while wearing full tseldora, of course lol. @@nicolasleal5644
Oh my god. As someone who’s first souls experience was Dark Souls 2, this just hits me the right way. It’s so beautiful, it feels like an official change.
@awhellnah__ WHOA BUDDY, now THAT is uncalled for! It’s not a *bad* shitshow, it’s still pretty great even if it’s fairly different to the other games, great story, a different gameplay style that’s quite fun, dark magic got to shine as it was classed as hexes instead, miracles are actually quite viable, powerstancing, more methodical combat, and some quite memorable views, plus a new game plus actually worth playing! It’s not worth making this an argument though, I understand if it’s not your ideal, and if you don’t like it. Dark Souls 2 is so incredibly different to the first and third games so not everyone will enjoy it, but if you can’t respect where someone’s love for the franchise comes from, even if it’s the weakest link, that’s just… sad. Sorry for making a tangent out of this, and please, don’t argue with me over this, there’s better things to devote time and energy to then arguing over who likes what games.
The only thing I feel is a little lost is the skyboxes, because I quite like some of the DS2 skyboxes, especially the blue one, which I prefer over the clouds. Everything else looks great, though. Especially models and the way the architecture now has that signature style and atmosphere of 3.
Amazing work. I’d love to explore that version of Loyce. But it’s remarkable how such a significant graphical overhaul can’t recapture to the innate beauty of 2’s art design. The vivid palettes and the stunning skyboxes at Heide’s… just perfect already.
@@gyro6181 Because Ds2 was the source of all the good in the series. It is even said Miyazaki was inspired by Ds2 when he made Demon's Souls and Ds1. That is, if you are a Ds2 fan.
As much as I love these new visual changes, nothing will ever beat SOFTS in my mind. It was the first soulsborne game I ever played and its environments are evocative of dreams, especially the ethereal Heide’s Tower of Flame. Really, it all just reminds me of childhood, since I played SOTFS when I was 10.
@@CelestialDraconisI think it's more that a Lot of time has passed. Just like how the Lordvessel is completely broken in the basement of Majula Mansion in DS2. Archthrones is a sequel rather than a port, so it makes sense that places are getting the Anor Londo treatment.
@@CelestialDraconisdark souls 3 is the most grayscale fromsoft game though so it makes sense. It is the most dead and decaying world they've made after all.
@@trevorveillette8415 Sure, but this isn't DS3, it's DS2. Nothing says it has to emulate the greyscale atmosphere just because it's sharing the same engine. Technically, Elden Ring shares the same engine as DS3, but that game is colourful as hell.
It is a fan favorite to anyone that actually played it. Bandwagoning ledditors are the only ones who hate it. Yes there are issues but everyone still played and loved it, including everyone's favorite souls youtubers. I met so many of them in DS2 pvp around launch that it's not even funny. You don't reach that point in a game unless you really enjoy it.
it has the least direction, making some design choices kind of dubious in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time you can't replace the charme it has compared to the other titles, the locations are just amazing and iconic.
Nice graphical improvements, but I wish it wouldn’t mess with the color palette. It’s kind of difficult to see how Dark Souls 2 would look in 3’s engine when the mod also modifies the artistic aesthetic to look like 3 as well.
Well, this is more along the lines of a remake. I do hope that we get remakes for DS1 and DS2, officially as well...because they are graphically showing their age :) Demons' Souls did set a great precedent for remakes in the series, but may be a while before we see anything like that again. We can dream. Hopefully, there's no more pathetic "remasters" like DS1 Remastered...
@@FloodsyeIMO, the DeS "remake" didn't satisfy me either... I mean, it is basically a new coat of painting for a clunky, 2009 game. Enemy AI is still dumb, the boss fights were the same, World Tendency remained unchanged, the PvP was still broken..... I get that BluePoint has its own ways of "updating" old games, but for me that's not enough: I was expecting the 6th Archstone, a better Dragon God fight, a more updated gameplay, a DLC even. Imagine if BP remade DS1, sure, it would look beautiful, but that'd be it, Lost Izalith, BoC and the Asylum Demons reskins would remain the same...
@@AntiSocialismo50 Dont you know what opinions are? Lol people these days are always pressed over nothing, I prefer a more colorful version instead of shades of black and grey
I started in Dark Souls 2, and when i tried going back to 1 after getting used to 2, it was a huge culture shock, realizing all the other souls' games work differently even compared to 2
@kamilmalach6383 yeah I seriously thought Estus for other souls games was gradually slow and spells were like ammo for a gun more then a magic bar Yeah this game was its own thing....but man was it a heck of an intro to thr souls series for me xD
DS2 is flawed, yes. But it is over hated. I feel like it mostly stems from having a completely unique engine, which gives it a unique game feel that is completely different from other Souls games. And some people just can't get over the fact that its just different. I personally love it, and indeed many others appreciate the slower and more methodical combat of DS2.
@awhellnah__ hey everyone! This guy is insecure about having actually been wrong about something so he covers it up with deep-seated aggression towards others who like the thing he feels mistaken about instead of trying the thing for himself!
A bit of mixed feelings for me. I appreciate the extra wetness and all but Heide's looking like Drangleic Castle didn't work for me. I think that the light and pale palette of DS2 goes well with its more introspective vibe. Forest of Fallen Giants absolutely on point though and while I couldn't figure out what is that desert area, I ABSOLUTELY want to go there. The indoors Drangleic Castle areas are immaculate too
that genuinely looks impressive. only thing i think needs a little touch up is the armour texture, some of it looks really shiny. but this looks absolutely great!
For some reason Dark Souls 2 has my favourite aesthetic and feeling out of all souls games. It's hard to describe but it feels so eerie, the colours are so beautiful and the movements and gameplay have a weight to them that I couldn't find in Dark Souls 3. This is not a bad thing though, I like how every souls game is it's own game.
Same, I don't know why. It just feels so comfortable. It has probably to do with the bright colours and the quiet movements on screen. Not too much happening in the distance, which gives us a peaceful vibe. It also for some reason feels more spacious/bigger. Both loyce and heide feel huge due to the simple design, kind of like the ash lake DS1 vibe
this so good thank you for doing this bc i’m seriously so impressed by the archthrones team and what they’ve accomplished with this mod and getting an even closer look at it is great
The dlc area without the weather effects looks really nice in DS2. The color tone and skybox are gorgeous. I like what they did in archthrones in a lot of areas but man I never knew I liked the clear skies in Ds2.
ds2 is my first ds and I was just hooked since I started. revisiting it after finishing ds1 ds3 and sekiro I wanted to see how it feels and man my feelings did not change, when I got back to it I just couldnt stop and beat it again. I feel like most that didnt like ds2 are the ones who barely left the tutorial areas. its totally valid to not like ds2 but you should give it a chance, just cause it has aspects different from other ds titles doesnt change the fact that it also has aspects that are what makes a dark souls game what it is
Hot take: DS2 is artistically more interesting than any other souls game (Minus Elden Ring which I find has similar artistic vibes but is just bigger and better)
ds3 is just fan service. ds2 is an actual improvement in artstyle even if the game feels really dated for a game that came a year after the last of us and gta5
my biggest dislike of ds3 for me is everything looks like mud so the effort they put into the enviornments is a bigger deal for me than normal, great job from what I've seen so far
I gotta say this's probably the first time I've disagreed with the direction of a mod. While fighting those enemies and bosses would likely be a "smoother" experience. The entire mood between the scenes is different. Heide's Tower originally had a an eerie and yet cosmically serene feeling, brought together with a sense of long lost abandonment. It's crumbling and sunken architecture combined with the vast sea and blue sky revealing a sort of, "fall to nature". In the DS3 version, while the twisting vines and trees definitely add to the "fall to nature", they don't much make sense in a sunken sea enviro. The added rain and lightning removes far too much of the serenity (Along side the desaturation and intense contrast associated with DS3) instead giving a feeling of despair, depression, and loss. I won't go much further, but the removal of the warm sunlight from Eleum Loyce is another design change I disagree with. All very reminiscent of the Demon Souls remake.
I entirely agree. I respect the creative liberty that's been taken, as they're the people putting effort into modding this whole thing into reality, but I'm not personally a fan of pretty much the exact changes you mentioned.
I think it's supposed to be intentional, given that ages appear to have pasted between DS2 and Archthrones. I'd think of it like Anor Londo, Firelink Shrine/Demon Princes, and Firelink Alter/Majula Mansion.
@@theapexsurvivor9538that's what my assumption was. I think both versions do something special. The modded version just needs some lore behind it to tie it all together. Edit: I just realized that there actually is lore to it, so I'd have to watch a full playthrough to actually know how I feel about it in general. Note for anyone confused: Apparently it's not just a remake or a port but an actually completely fleshed out mod with bosses, lore, the whole 9 yards.
I spent alot of time staring at that sky in Heide's tower of flame. Something of true beauty, or even staring the tower from majula... Man I miss when this game was new.
I love the amount of detail that Archthrones added, like, I was exploring the Cathedral of the Deep and I swear it was like a different place altogether, yet it was still the same but with more stuff in it, the place actually looked lived in, just like with the Undead Settlement now called War-Torn Village.
It is really quite beautiful. The detail and shading is wonderful. I do think that the mellow high saturation warm look of ds2 was the standout feature of the general aesthetic, and the new look does gray it out down maybe too , but otherwise gorgeous!
I feel like a lot of people here think this mod is a remake of Dark Souls 2 in the DS3 engine. Um, no. Archthrones is a whole new dark souls game made by fans that features some returning locations, as well as whole new areas, such as Carthus (the desert area at the end of the video). Heide's tower and Eleum Loyce are just some of the locations, and they seem to have tried to tie them to places from DS3. For example, Heide's Tower is actually called Phoenix Tower here and its based in Irithyll. That's why they look a little different, time has moved on.
Archthrones is knocking it out of the park, my only complaint is I can't combine it with the Champions Ashes movesets and weapons but thats hardly a complaint😂
Man, Heide's Tower of Flame with the lightning (gives "bright" Tower of Latria vibes)! Wish the Burnt Ivory King boss arena, The Old Chaos, had the right colour scheme - that's one of my favourite FromSoft locations :D
I love the graphical update, but one of my biggest complaints about DS3 was how drab everything looked compared to how colorful DS2 was. I hope they find a healthy balance and let some of DS2s vibrancy shine through.
Very cool, but I'm not a fan of making tower of Heide so drastically different. It was one of the best looking places in the game and you completely changed the vibe. One of my biggest pet peaves in remasters is when colors/lighting for an area get changed and this is even worse than that.
Man, I really hope DS1 and DS2 get true remakes at some point in time. They are just before the moment in game development where a lot of the modern rendering features started coming that really have upped the ante of graphics in the past 10 years. Of course, staying faithful to originals in terms of gameplay, but damn they'd look great in something more modern like the DS3 engine or Elden Ring engine versions. I'm personally a massive fan of the Demons' Souls remake, hit that sweet spot of upgrading a product to a modern audience while still basically keeping the gameplay flow the same. Also, I'm 98% certain that if DS2 got a remake with less clunky controls, fixed hitboxes, and slightly reworking the stats (ie. removing ADP)...it'd be a massive success now because it really has some amazing area designs (which are only enhanced with modern lighting techniques).
Removing adp automatically fixes hitboxes because most of what people belived was hitbox issues was them misstiming with low adp. It has been proven that the game really doesnt have any more horrible hitboxes than the rest. Bad grabs mostly come from ds2 having jank af looking transition from grab getting registered to the animation playing out.
@@NisseDoodyep, probably also has something to do with the engine as it's the only one that has a "unique" engine* (even ER and AC6 use the same engine as DeS that's just been given some updates over the years, which is why they were so easy to open up and mod right after release) *Iirc DS2 technically uses a heavily modded version of the DeS engine, but it was scrapped in favour of the BB version which was developed in parallel and got made into the DSIII engine, but the amount of changes basically means it's a new engine but with a few familiar components (mostly ductaped on), they also swapped Havok animations for Morpheme (slightly improved animation blending, which is probably what makes hitboxes seem jank. They're completely fine, just blend awkwardly compared to othe souls games), but added Havoc cloth physics, and implemented a TON of rendering changes (about half of which got yoinked for the BB engine and a few more for the ER engine). Chances are, having a new engine that's unique to the game probably just made it feel jank because it's got its own quirks that don't line up with those shared by the others.
@@theapexsurvivor9538 nah because every souls got bad hitboxes at places. Like curse rotten greatwood in ds3 grab hitbox is so huge it extends far outside its hand. Pontiff sullyvan got the same elbow hitbox as fume knight on one of its attacks.
@@NisseDood Oh, I wasn't saying that the other's have less janky hitboxes (looks at Gaping Dragon's charge attack glitch grab), just that I'm fairly certain that one of the reasons why DS2's feel so janky to so many players, is that the animations have completely different quirks from the rest of the games in the series, so until you adjust to Morpheme's quirks, it feels as janky as when you're first learning Havok's quirks. And that there's probably other stuff in the engine that feels off. Coupling that with ADP, it makes a lot of sense that even if there's less actual jank, it feels way more janky for someone who's coming from the other games.
Been following Archthrones since it was first announced within the past 3 years, played it when the demo dropped- Dark Souls 4 is here and I'm all for it! Please give them all the love and support they need to make this a bigger success going forward
I've been very impressed with what I've seen from the dmeo so far. I'm one of the few people that actually liked DS2 so I'm happy to see it appreciated a little in this mod.
I'll stick with DS2 SotFS. I love the DS2 aesthetic, how it's a bit brighter and more colorful. Combine that with the soothing Majula, makes me think it's sort of a golden or calm age from the countless millenia between DS1 and DS3. Archthrones is awesome though played the demo it's very cool.
I agree, I would hope that it's scripted so that either at the start or part-way into the fight, the old chaos flame rekindles and melts away the ice or somesuch.
I like how it seems "canon" in their mod that we managed to keep the old chaos frozen.
The struggles of the Old Ivory King, the redeemed Alsanna and the Bearer of the Curse were not in vain. :')
I forever thank the Archtrones team for giving us that.
Yeah I was thinking the same
I... Thought that was the whole point? Like, in DS3, the demons are clearly dying out, and very few still have the chaos flame imbuing them.
I thought it was downright explicit.
@@TheodoricFriede DS3 takes place in a different country than DS2, and there have been multiple Chaos Flames that have gone wild over history.
It's implied that Eleum Loyce takes place around Lordran; you don't meet a single chaos demon around Drangleic. So it's reasonable to assume that the old chaos is the remains of where the flame of chaos was born. @CrescentCrusader99
kinda sad that the sunny atmosphere of Heide's tower is gone
its more beautiful while in storm
@@giac541No.
@@giac541Everything looks grim and shitty in Dark Souls. Heide's Tower of Flame stood out by virtue of its atmosphere.
yeah, that was easily one of my favorite parts about ds2. plenty of light in the environments that made it cozy. if everything gets dulled by storms or overcast skies, it makes the environments sort of blend together (or that it becomes easily boring to look at)
Yeah. I'm not one to praise DS2 for it's visual fidelity (or praise it about anything actually), but this "remake" of Heide tower looks really, really bad. Almost as bad as the demons souls remake. The contrast of the orange flame with the clear, starry sky was perfect, so let's add a storm (fucking why?) to hide the sky, and take out all of the contrast so that every surface looks the same color.
I wonder if there is a single person in the team that understands composition and color theory.
I wish they'd kept the vibrant blue sky of Heide's Tower of Flame. DS2 areas have somber but vibrant vibes in some places.
i guess it fits the ds3 theme more (and also looks cooler)
ds2 is probably the only game where all locations look so dramaticalluly different
DS2 skybox my beloved
@@little-rat-tim If you do this it becomes even more illogical, as Heide is on the majula side, it is illogical for it to always rain in one and never in the other. Besides, it mischaracterizes the city that was made to remember the old sun god
@@JoaoCarlos-cc3zo Funny enough a couple days ago it was raining on my terrace and not my backyard
@@JoaoCarlos-cc3zoMajula: *rainless*
Drangleic Castle: _we don't do that here_
The Archthrones team has done a really impressive job, can't wait to try it out!
Mom had no poise, Dad had bad hitboxes. Perfect couple.
I actually investigated, and for my surprise, the people Who say DS2 has not that many bad hitboxes are actually right.
But you would say "But I was hit by an invisible attack after succesfully rolling, is like the attack had an invisible AEO attack with no sound after being done"
Well, that is whats actually happening. A lot of attacks has an "eartquake " follow Up, but unlike Some bosses that have It, IDK Champion Gundyr, these are completely invisible, giving the illusion of bad hitboxes .
Insane huh?
Edit: On restrospective for this comment section, there are actual more issues that contribute to the perception of DS2 hitboxes.
@@JoseViktor4099Woah, good to know.
@@JoseViktor4099 huh neat
@@JoseViktor4099 Dark Souls 2 has a lot of effects missing and even some sound effects so it makes sense it would seem attacks that miss still hit you
@@poly_g6068 Exactly, DS2 has a notorious issue of lack of feedback, so I imagine this was the case.
There's no doubt that a huge amount of work has been done here. The graphics are the best I've ever seen.
I like that entwisting things in roots and branches is just the Dark Souls 3 brand.
And Shit Water
Dark Souls 1 did it first. In fact it's been a FromSoft thing for very long. Evergrace also had a bit of that going on.
@Cue-Ball.
No
DS1 didn't do that to that extent
Ds1 has one swamp and the depths
DS3 has farron keep,The church that has swamp inside,Anor Londo also has shit,especially the Aldrich arena,You have Shit Snow area in the first DLC and the infamous Bug..fest
The thete is the last two swamps in the last DLC
But I like how tranquil Heide's tower is. After all the fighting there, hearing the beautiful sea noise and enjoying the blue sky is a relaxing experience.
Yeah that vibe change was a bit off for me. Heide's tower is my favorite power-leveling area specifically for the easy enemies and relaxing environment. I would love to see them do a non-stormy rework though and maybe have the strom come and go. Perhaps the storm might kick in only after defeating dragonrider, as though the storm has stirred the Heide knights from their wonderful naps, and now they're out for blood lol... Resets after using a bonfire aesthetic though for when you're over the storm.
@@SquireVorak imagine power leveling and not just blitzing everything with a max rapier or mace.
I exclusively run gandalf style one sword one staff always. deadly at every range. old knights you can literally walk around and punch to death if you wanted to. Heide knights can be taken out with a few of my 100+ Great Heavy Soul Arrows. All while wearing full tseldora, of course lol. @@nicolasleal5644
Oh my god. As someone who’s first souls experience was Dark Souls 2, this just hits me the right way. It’s so beautiful, it feels like an official change.
Yooo same
Same
while not my first souls game, its was ds1 but i took a break cause i was lost, then came ds2 came out i beat that and went back to finish ds1 :P
same here
@awhellnah__ WHOA BUDDY, now THAT is uncalled for! It’s not a *bad* shitshow, it’s still pretty great even if it’s fairly different to the other games, great story, a different gameplay style that’s quite fun, dark magic got to shine as it was classed as hexes instead, miracles are actually quite viable, powerstancing, more methodical combat, and some quite memorable views, plus a new game plus actually worth playing! It’s not worth making this an argument though, I understand if it’s not your ideal, and if you don’t like it. Dark Souls 2 is so incredibly different to the first and third games so not everyone will enjoy it, but if you can’t respect where someone’s love for the franchise comes from, even if it’s the weakest link, that’s just… sad. Sorry for making a tangent out of this, and please, don’t argue with me over this, there’s better things to devote time and energy to then arguing over who likes what games.
I left an "Ahh, happiness" message next to the first bonfire, this area is peak.
Dark Souls 2: An era of darkness coming to an end, that means, a new era of light.
Dark Souls 3: Dark filter and lightning go brrrr
Well, DS3 is about the end of the world.
The only thing I feel is a little lost is the skyboxes, because I quite like some of the DS2 skyboxes, especially the blue one, which I prefer over the clouds.
Everything else looks great, though. Especially models and the way the architecture now has that signature style and atmosphere of 3.
I can't parry the nostalgia
love how colourful dark souls 2 looks
Amazing work. I’d love to explore that version of Loyce. But it’s remarkable how such a significant graphical overhaul can’t recapture to the innate beauty of 2’s art design. The vivid palettes and the stunning skyboxes at Heide’s… just perfect already.
Dark Souls 2: 2
Nah, that’s elden ring. This is Dark Souls 2: 3
SOTFS was Dark Souls 2: 2; Sekiro was Dark Souls 2: 3, Elden Ring was Dark Souls 2: 4, so this is Dark Souls 2: 5.
@@pdan4Elden ring I can see but why sekiro?
@@gyro6181 Because Ds2 was the source of all the good in the series. It is even said Miyazaki was inspired by Ds2 when he made Demon's Souls and Ds1.
That is, if you are a Ds2 fan.
Demon's Souls 3: 2
Dark Souls 2.5
elden ring?
I really like the Deserty Area, the colourpalette is really vibrant and exciting
It's Carthus my friend... Lore accurate Carthus...
One thing ds2 did really well was the cloth physics/armor and the movesets animations for weapons
No joke, there are so many armor sets and clothes in DS2 that I just LOVE...!
The animations were atrocious but the idea of movesets themselves were good.
I remember farming for the Predator looking mask for days 😅 DS2 fashion was on point
including that powerstance when you mix and match different weapons/classes, it was awesome!
Yeah, gotta love all those weapon classes with the exact same 2 copy pasted moveset on them. Really nostalgic of Demons Souls, have to say.
As much as I love these new visual changes, nothing will ever beat SOFTS in my mind. It was the first soulsborne game I ever played and its environments are evocative of dreams, especially the ethereal Heide’s Tower of Flame. Really, it all just reminds me of childhood, since I played SOTFS when I was 10.
Most ambitious mod ive ever seen! Looking great 👍
Very cool. I'm not sure about replacing the beautiful blue sky with a rainy one though if I'm gonna be honest.
I think it might have some lore behind it
Lol yeah, apparently transitioning to DS3 engine = completely dulling the colour palette, I guess.
@@CelestialDraconisI think it's more that a Lot of time has passed.
Just like how the Lordvessel is completely broken in the basement of Majula Mansion in DS2. Archthrones is a sequel rather than a port, so it makes sense that places are getting the Anor Londo treatment.
@@CelestialDraconisdark souls 3 is the most grayscale fromsoft game though so it makes sense. It is the most dead and decaying world they've made after all.
@@trevorveillette8415 Sure, but this isn't DS3, it's DS2. Nothing says it has to emulate the greyscale atmosphere just because it's sharing the same engine. Technically, Elden Ring shares the same engine as DS3, but that game is colourful as hell.
Dark souls 2 may not be a fan favorite ,but i feel like it has the most fascinating creatures and the most breathtaking sights
It is a fan favorite to anyone that actually played it. Bandwagoning ledditors are the only ones who hate it. Yes there are issues but everyone still played and loved it, including everyone's favorite souls youtubers. I met so many of them in DS2 pvp around launch that it's not even funny. You don't reach that point in a game unless you really enjoy it.
@@Spewb well in my case I didnt like it as much as 3 and 1
it has the least direction, making some design choices kind of dubious in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time you can't replace the charme it has compared to the other titles, the locations are just amazing and iconic.
@@mrbackup993 thats what happens when you have a rough development cycle like DS2.
@@schmietwechdeschiet4340 Yep, that's sadly it. although, to be fair, all of them had quite rough development cycles, more or less
As a Dark Souls 2 enjoyer (and it being my personal favorite of the series) I am in love with this.
Best Souls 2 brother
based
For me is Sekiro, and ds2 is the second, the best dark souls
fkn weirdos
Nice graphical improvements, but I wish it wouldn’t mess with the color palette. It’s kind of difficult to see how Dark Souls 2 would look in 3’s engine when the mod also modifies the artistic aesthetic to look like 3 as well.
Absolutely stunning i am so looking forward to all the DS2 stuff in Archthrones
This is what a remaster should be.
Well, this is more along the lines of a remake. I do hope that we get remakes for DS1 and DS2, officially as well...because they are graphically showing their age :) Demons' Souls did set a great precedent for remakes in the series, but may be a while before we see anything like that again. We can dream. Hopefully, there's no more pathetic "remasters" like DS1 Remastered...
@@Floodsye How about a remakester
@@Floodsyeonly dark Souls 2 is showing its age. Even on ps4 the game is ugly af, only the frame rate and lighting keeps it looking acceptable
@@antonironstag5085 Dark souls 1 too
@@FloodsyeIMO, the DeS "remake" didn't satisfy me either... I mean, it is basically a new coat of painting for a clunky, 2009 game.
Enemy AI is still dumb, the boss fights were the same, World Tendency remained unchanged, the PvP was still broken.....
I get that BluePoint has its own ways of "updating" old games, but for me that's not enough: I was expecting the 6th Archstone, a better Dragon God fight, a more updated gameplay, a DLC even.
Imagine if BP remade DS1, sure, it would look beautiful, but that'd be it, Lost Izalith, BoC and the Asylum Demons reskins would remain the same...
I honestly like the ds2 version more, still, there's MASSIVE work behind Archtrones, props to the authors, they did a really good job
The ds 2 version is garbage
@@AntiSocialismo50 Dont you know what opinions are? Lol people these days are always pressed over nothing, I prefer a more colorful version instead of shades of black and grey
@@AntiSocialismo50 💯💯🗣🗣
I'm not sure I like what they have done with The Old Chaos area
@@rulas_6656 ds 2 original is souless its not what the devs intended. It really sucked.
This mod is so good it genuinely feels like a new game.
It actually is
Fantastic camera work. The blends are seamless.
Dark souls 3 Looks way better for sure... But the way how Dark souls 2 Looks... Its just.. it gives you Nostalgia for something that didn't happen
The most impressive part is that the flames of all the towers are still lit eons later.
I want the patent on whatever those flames’ wicks are made of.
Why? You won't get much money out of it. That's why lightbulbs are produced to break fast.
Looks amazing, and I love mod efforts like this, but I absolutely love how painterly and beautiful Dark Souls 2 looks.
I would love a Dark Souls Remake Collection all in DS3 Engine.
I started in Dark Souls 2, and when i tried going back to 1 after getting used to 2, it was a huge culture shock, realizing all the other souls' games work differently even compared to 2
DS2 is a unique experience on its own. If only the game had more time for development, it could be one of my (and many others) favorites.
@kamilmalach6383 yeah I seriously thought Estus for other souls games was gradually slow and spells were like ammo for a gun more then a magic bar
Yeah this game was its own thing....but man was it a heck of an intro to thr souls series for me xD
DS2 is flawed, yes. But it is over hated. I feel like it mostly stems from having a completely unique engine, which gives it a unique game feel that is completely different from other Souls games. And some people just can't get over the fact that its just different.
I personally love it, and indeed many others appreciate the slower and more methodical combat of DS2.
@@YasonYou Slower is good. Rewards skill over reflexes.
@@YasonYou same.
I liked when it was more about positioning and stamina management than a reflex test
I played DS1 and Bloodborne before DS2, but it was DS2 that made me love the soulsborne formula, so this brings so many memories :')
@awhellnah__ what?
@@Kid_Naps That's an average ds2 hater for you, don't mind him, he's just dumb.
@@Kid_Naps he's just another ds1 fanboy who hates any praise of ds2
@awhellnah__ hey everyone! This guy is insecure about having actually been wrong about something so he covers it up with deep-seated aggression towards others who like the thing he feels mistaken about instead of trying the thing for himself!
@@sundials5572Here we witness Sundials, Scholar of the First Skill-Issue
A bit of mixed feelings for me. I appreciate the extra wetness and all but Heide's looking like Drangleic Castle didn't work for me. I think that the light and pale palette of DS2 goes well with its more introspective vibe.
Forest of Fallen Giants absolutely on point though and while I couldn't figure out what is that desert area, I ABSOLUTELY want to go there. The indoors Drangleic Castle areas are immaculate too
ahh, dark souls 3 my beloved, but now its DS2.
Finally. Dark Souls 2 2.
Oh, who wouldn't appreciate a Dark Souls Trilogy remake by Bluepoint? They did a great job on Demon's Souls. Wouldn't happen though.
that genuinely looks impressive. only thing i think needs a little touch up is the armour texture, some of it looks really shiny. but this looks absolutely great!
Damn this looks amazing.
Give me DS2 remastered now .
Softs
@@YasonYouSotFS
@@YasonYouSkyrim SE is more of a remaster than SotFS...
@@YasonYou Softs changed nothing in game except of different item and enemy locations. Game looks the same .
fuck you and every parrot asking for remasters. Make new games not worse versions of already existing games.
When Dist got to this part I was genuinely blown away.
For some reason Dark Souls 2 has my favourite aesthetic and feeling out of all souls games. It's hard to describe but it feels so eerie, the colours are so beautiful and the movements and gameplay have a weight to them that I couldn't find in Dark Souls 3.
This is not a bad thing though, I like how every souls game is it's own game.
Same, I don't know why. It just feels so comfortable. It has probably to do with the bright colours and the quiet movements on screen. Not too much happening in the distance, which gives us a peaceful vibe. It also for some reason feels more spacious/bigger. Both loyce and heide feel huge due to the simple design, kind of like the ash lake DS1 vibe
this so good thank you for doing this bc i’m seriously so impressed by the archthrones team and what they’ve accomplished with this mod and getting an even closer look at it is great
The dlc area without the weather effects looks really nice in DS2. The color tone and skybox are gorgeous. I like what they did in archthrones in a lot of areas but man I never knew I liked the clear skies in Ds2.
Dark souls 2 is my favourite
ds2 is my first ds and I was just hooked since I started. revisiting it after finishing ds1 ds3 and sekiro I wanted to see how it feels and man my feelings did not change, when I got back to it I just couldnt stop and beat it again. I feel like most that didnt like ds2 are the ones who barely left the tutorial areas. its totally valid to not like ds2 but you should give it a chance, just cause it has aspects different from other ds titles doesnt change the fact that it also has aspects that are what makes a dark souls game what it is
Now that's the proper way to say it
Heide's tower of flame still looks better in DS2. It's perfect, just something about it. One of the prettiest zones.
i also think the original was valid enough...i guess this is a different take more than anything
it's just such a surreal area
First time this early to a Dark Souls video. And it's something I'm interested in.
When you see dark souls 2 through the eyes of dark souls 3
Looks like Dark Souls 2 is still the king
Hot take: DS2 is artistically more interesting than any other souls game (Minus Elden Ring which I find has similar artistic vibes but is just bigger and better)
Count me in.
ds3 is just fan service. ds2 is an actual improvement in artstyle even if the game feels really dated for a game that came a year after the last of us and gta5
my biggest dislike of ds3 for me is everything looks like mud so the effort they put into the enviornments is a bigger deal for me than normal, great job from what I've seen so far
Wow, I didn't even realize this was a dark souls 2 themed mod. Now I'm interested.
It is not. It is a Dark Souls 3 prequel but they've integrated DS2 environment.
Most impressive thing is the transitions between comparisons
I always loved Heide's Tower. These zones look amazing.
I gotta say this's probably the first time I've disagreed with the direction of a mod. While fighting those enemies and bosses would likely be a "smoother" experience. The entire mood between the scenes is different. Heide's Tower originally had a an eerie and yet cosmically serene feeling, brought together with a sense of long lost abandonment. It's crumbling and sunken architecture combined with the vast sea and blue sky revealing a sort of, "fall to nature".
In the DS3 version, while the twisting vines and trees definitely add to the "fall to nature", they don't much make sense in a sunken sea enviro. The added rain and lightning removes far too much of the serenity (Along side the desaturation and intense contrast associated with DS3) instead giving a feeling of despair, depression, and loss.
I won't go much further, but the removal of the warm sunlight from Eleum Loyce is another design change I disagree with. All very reminiscent of the Demon Souls remake.
I entirely agree. I respect the creative liberty that's been taken, as they're the people putting effort into modding this whole thing into reality, but I'm not personally a fan of pretty much the exact changes you mentioned.
I think it's supposed to be intentional, given that ages appear to have pasted between DS2 and Archthrones.
I'd think of it like Anor Londo, Firelink Shrine/Demon Princes, and Firelink Alter/Majula Mansion.
@@theapexsurvivor9538that's what my assumption was. I think both versions do something special. The modded version just needs some lore behind it to tie it all together.
Edit: I just realized that there actually is lore to it, so I'd have to watch a full playthrough to actually know how I feel about it in general.
Note for anyone confused: Apparently it's not just a remake or a port but an actually completely fleshed out mod with bosses, lore, the whole 9 yards.
It's not supposed to be a direct remake of DS2...
@@CrackHardyikr, bunch of fools
Oh my god, after the trailer and now this i have nothing but praises for the Archthrones team, can't wait!!
This is PHENOMENAL!
Why hasn’t this gotten more attention, or were they trying to be more low-key?
It has received a lot of attention
I've just been enjoying the sights so far. It's beautiful, and makes me so happy to see dark souls 2 brought back in such a way.
Console bros, it’s okay to cry
Cries with bloodborne...oh wait..
If Convergence works on PS4, why wouldn't this? :P
@@schmietwechdeschiet4340 I ain’t gon lie you cooked me a little there
Dark Souls 3 still holds up to this day
I think it also helps a little that this mod is designed for modern PCs and not PS4
I spent alot of time staring at that sky in Heide's tower of flame. Something of true beauty, or even staring the tower from majula... Man I miss when this game was new.
I love the amount of detail that Archthrones added, like, I was exploring the Cathedral of the Deep and I swear it was like a different place altogether, yet it was still the same but with more stuff in it, the place actually looked lived in, just like with the Undead Settlement now called War-Torn Village.
Dark souls 2 but it finally looks like it did when they advertised it. Seriously impressive work.
It is really quite beautiful. The detail and shading is wonderful. I do think that the mellow high saturation warm look of ds2 was the standout feature of the general aesthetic, and the new look does gray it out down maybe too , but otherwise gorgeous!
This is absolutely gorgeous.
I feel like a lot of people here think this mod is a remake of Dark Souls 2 in the DS3 engine. Um, no. Archthrones is a whole new dark souls game made by fans that features some returning locations, as well as whole new areas, such as Carthus (the desert area at the end of the video). Heide's tower and Eleum Loyce are just some of the locations, and they seem to have tried to tie them to places from DS3. For example, Heide's Tower is actually called Phoenix Tower here and its based in Irithyll. That's why they look a little different, time has moved on.
Huh, I'm glad to know this. I had thought exactly what you said after watching it. That's amazing, now all I need is a PC lmao
DS2 but its nighttime and any color other than gray is BANNED
A high school friend that passed away got me onto Dark Souls 2. It holds a special place in my heart thanks to him. I miss you Tristan.
Archthrones is knocking it out of the park, my only complaint is I can't combine it with the Champions Ashes movesets and weapons but thats hardly a complaint😂
Oh my that would be amazing
I will wait for full release for this. I want to make a good coop run with the bois
It looks better in terms of fidelity but the loss of color is unfortunate.
That's the perfect example of how amazing a dark souls II remake would look
Man, Heide's Tower of Flame with the lightning (gives "bright" Tower of Latria vibes)!
Wish the Burnt Ivory King boss arena, The Old Chaos, had the right colour scheme - that's one of my favourite FromSoft locations :D
Brother looks AMAZING this is my favorite souls 👍🏻
I love the graphical update, but one of my biggest complaints about DS3 was how drab everything looked compared to how colorful DS2 was. I hope they find a healthy balance and let some of DS2s vibrancy shine through.
Thats the most bloodborne looking dark souls ever :D
Very cool, but I'm not a fan of making tower of Heide so drastically different. It was one of the best looking places in the game and you completely changed the vibe. One of my biggest pet peaves in remasters is when colors/lighting for an area get changed and this is even worse than that.
Finally, ds2 doesnt look like a low budget PS2 game
Man, I really hope DS1 and DS2 get true remakes at some point in time. They are just before the moment in game development where a lot of the modern rendering features started coming that really have upped the ante of graphics in the past 10 years. Of course, staying faithful to originals in terms of gameplay, but damn they'd look great in something more modern like the DS3 engine or Elden Ring engine versions. I'm personally a massive fan of the Demons' Souls remake, hit that sweet spot of upgrading a product to a modern audience while still basically keeping the gameplay flow the same.
Also, I'm 98% certain that if DS2 got a remake with less clunky controls, fixed hitboxes, and slightly reworking the stats (ie. removing ADP)...it'd be a massive success now because it really has some amazing area designs (which are only enhanced with modern lighting techniques).
Removing adp automatically fixes hitboxes because most of what people belived was hitbox issues was them misstiming with low adp. It has been proven that the game really doesnt have any more horrible hitboxes than the rest.
Bad grabs mostly come from ds2 having jank af looking transition from grab getting registered to the animation playing out.
@@NisseDoodyep, probably also has something to do with the engine as it's the only one that has a "unique" engine* (even ER and AC6 use the same engine as DeS that's just been given some updates over the years, which is why they were so easy to open up and mod right after release)
*Iirc DS2 technically uses a heavily modded version of the DeS engine, but it was scrapped in favour of the BB version which was developed in parallel and got made into the DSIII engine, but the amount of changes basically means it's a new engine but with a few familiar components (mostly ductaped on), they also swapped Havok animations for Morpheme (slightly improved animation blending, which is probably what makes hitboxes seem jank. They're completely fine, just blend awkwardly compared to othe souls games), but added Havoc cloth physics, and implemented a TON of rendering changes (about half of which got yoinked for the BB engine and a few more for the ER engine).
Chances are, having a new engine that's unique to the game probably just made it feel jank because it's got its own quirks that don't line up with those shared by the others.
@@theapexsurvivor9538 nah because every souls got bad hitboxes at places.
Like curse rotten greatwood in ds3 grab hitbox is so huge it extends far outside its hand.
Pontiff sullyvan got the same elbow hitbox as fume knight on one of its attacks.
@@NisseDood Oh, I wasn't saying that the other's have less janky hitboxes (looks at Gaping Dragon's charge attack glitch grab), just that I'm fairly certain that one of the reasons why DS2's feel so janky to so many players, is that the animations have completely different quirks from the rest of the games in the series, so until you adjust to Morpheme's quirks, it feels as janky as when you're first learning Havok's quirks. And that there's probably other stuff in the engine that feels off.
Coupling that with ADP, it makes a lot of sense that even if there's less actual jank, it feels way more janky for someone who's coming from the other games.
Great mod, and is not behind some paywall 😂
With those effort inside. I don’t mind a paywall. You just being poor
@@Flowey-THEflowerpaywall also illegal for mods
@@Flowey-THEflowerUmm no. That doesn't justify those stupid paywalls.
@@backup2593 u just poor
Been following Archthrones since it was first announced within the past 3 years, played it when the demo dropped- Dark Souls 4 is here and I'm all for it! Please give them all the love and support they need to make this a bigger success going forward
I've been very impressed with what I've seen from the dmeo so far. I'm one of the few people that actually liked DS2 so I'm happy to see it appreciated a little in this mod.
I can’t wait to explore those worlds
very cool
I love Arch thrones, I just managed to finally defeat 1 boss 😅
I'll stick with DS2 SotFS. I love the DS2 aesthetic, how it's a bit brighter and more colorful. Combine that with the soothing Majula, makes me think it's sort of a golden or calm age from the countless millenia between DS1 and DS3.
Archthrones is awesome though played the demo it's very cool.
This looks pretty cool! Almost like a scrapped DLC or something, kind of like a “return to Majula” theme going on
Great now I gotta break 50 pews in Grand Cathedral every time I wana have epic fight club
Always liked it and have around 1200 hours in Dark Souls 2 (Original and Scholar combined) so I'm very much looking forward to this
Years ago i always imagine Dark Souls 1 & 2 on DS3 engine, finally one of them is real
They should've kept the Ivory King's arena all fiery. Looks way better than being completely frozen over
I agree, I would hope that it's scripted so that either at the start or part-way into the fight, the old chaos flame rekindles and melts away the ice or somesuch.
Fixing Ds2 especially after that scholar nonsense is a noble effort.
goo for the effort, but why chages the area style? like rainy heide doesn'ìt feel right, even if it looks good
Archthrones is amazing
this is such a staggering volume of work... I'm glad mods aren't as legally vulnerable as fangames, because this would be getting C&D'd like crazy
Now I want a remaster in ds2
This makes me want this to be a real remaster