Dark Souls II is a grand sequel; it perfectly encapsulates the original games brutality while still managing to make the game accessible to the casual player coming in. The opening area does have a nice set of slabs with which to teach you the basic controls of the game. Using the bonfire at the start respawns the basic pawns for constant plays until you feel ready enough to go forward. Once in Majula, the starting town of the game and the main “Hub” area for travel around the world of Drangleic, mostly using the bonfire which now has the instant warp system from the first game at the start.
Even with this ability from the start however the game doesn’t seem or feel small, running through the lush green forests of giants, into the pits of Brightstone and the hellish infernos of the Iron Keep do not stifle the sense of epic that Dark Souls is capable of showing. Early on in the game it boasts various paths to travel, all of which lead back to Majula one way or another, with characters to meet and speak too, allowing them to return to Drangleic for easy access later in game.
The newer updated graphics engine really works here, especially in places that require the torch, illuminating your path beautifully with flickering fire effects and showcasing what the game can do well. Another great aspect about this updated sweep of wonderful things is the variety of basic enemies you will find all over this twisted and degenerated world of horrible wonders. Some of the creatures here are truly abhorrent, including monsters like the Darkstalkers and Ogres, although they are far more grotesque monsters like the flexile sentry and the Royal Rat Authority. Many of these monsters have a unique way of being dealt with; others just require a constant wailing on the forehead first.
Now with regards to the games mechanics some elements have changed. Mapping the jump button to L3 is a horrible but thankfully changeable decision made. Tapping a button like that to perform a crucial function is akin to trying to write using your left eye socket. The raising of one’s shield, something that seems minor, is noticeably slower, increasing the sheer number of times the hits I took until I increased my ADP (Adaptability) early on.
The game now has multiple items with which to heal you in the forms of various life gems that increase in power. The trade off for this is less Estus flasks at the start of the game, meaning that you need to keep your eyes open for not so obvious areas to find the Estus Flask shards, scattered around Drangleic to increase the number you carry, including walls that aren’t walls! Take from one hand while giving with the other, typical Dark Souls!
This doesn’t serve to be overly problematic however, especially if you feel like you’re getting into the game quickly. Gathering four large souls to progress is the starting goal given to you by the Emerald Herald, seeking the King of Drangleic. To get these great souls you must endure and defeat an onslaught of weird and wonderful bosses, this however being the beginning of my first and only real major problem with this game. The wonderful thing about the bosses of the original Dark Souls was their design in both enemy and boss monsters, human or otherwise.
While I appreciated that this game does have a diverse array of creatures, I feel that the boss monsters received a lot less creative love in comparison to the other wonderfully designed characters in the game. At least 6 bosses in boss rooms, definitely more later on, consist of a man in armour, using a weapon of some kind. To me the creature design in the game is brilliant, but that shouldn’t, and certainly didn’t stifle the curious brilliance of the game before, so why slow down to a walk when you took a running start at the open front door with the first Dark Souls? I didn’t consider playing it safe to be one of From Software’s styles; even the giant monster in Lava showed in the trailer is a bit of a disappointment. It does make me miss the Ceaseless Discharge or the Gaping Demon quite a lot but I digress.
Another couple of gripe filled choices in this game have led me to find frustration in 2 major gameplay aspects from Dark Souls. Dark Souls II has incorporated a system called “Soul Memory”; essentially this is a running total of the entirety of souls collected through the playthrough. This sounds cool, it is however exactly the opposite, the memory directly affects your ability to connect to other players, meaning that someone who has done a lot of grinding will lose out on co-op chances with others who may not have done so. This doesn’t just affect random players, but also in my experience, having friends come into my game.
It was extremely frustrating that they couldn’t summon me in because the game registered their soul memory was far too high for me? I suppose it helps balance for PVP but when it comes to summoning friends for that ever loving jolly co-operation, using the Name Engraved ring is the best way forward. Choosing the same god as your mates basically only shows summon signs from others who chose that god also, and only others who choose the god can see your signs. It’s a very good system, but perhaps shouldn’t have been necessary, but then again, it’s easier than sifting through a mess of signs on the floor I guess.
With these gripes in hand however you can’t exactly fault the sequel for being exactly what it is, a sequel. While the game doesn’t do anything nearly as revolutionary as its predecessor, it is hard to follow up something as hard hitting, especially in a time where doing something new is considered a game designers Faux pas, heaven forbid you do it and it become successful. Dark Souls II is essentially more Dark Souls, a notion not passed up easily until something decent comes out that can actually challenge it. I guess we can only look forward to the next generation of the Dark Souls saga, or challengers from other game developers wishing us to die, a lot!