Game Review: Dark Souls II - Scholar of the First Sin

I’ve been spending a fair proportion of time trying to figure out my overall perspective when it comes to Dark Souls II.  I’ve spent many years hearing many an opinion about how it’s the worst of the Dark Souls games by FromSoftware and I would be lying if I said that wasn’t on the forefront of my mind when I decided to sit down and play it for myself.  When a game develops such an infamous reputation over the years, it’s worth considering if there is any credence to its negative perception or whether that negativity has become an entity all unto itself? After spending nearly two weeks living and breathing in the tarnished kingdom of Drangleic, I think I’ve come to a clear understanding about why this game has the reputation it has, even though I don’t necessarily agree with all of its criticisms. So, buckle up, sit down, and kindle your bonfires as we dive deep into the world of Dark Souls II.

Developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Games, Dark Souls II originally released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2014 and then released the following year on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in a revised Scholar of the First Sin edition. Upon it’s release the game received a good proportion of critical praise from media outlets, though it was noted to have a few shortfalls in comparison to the prior first entry.  The general audience shared much of the same praise and criticism and if you look at the general score on Metacritic, even today it stands at a favourable 80.  I think if you ask any FromSoftware fan, they will agree Dark Souls II isn’t a bad game, it’s just not as good as it’s fellow Souls games. There is  many a consideration as to why Dark Souls II feels different when compared to the other games, but one of the biggest points is the lack of involvement from Hidetaka Miyazaki; who was heading up work on Bloodborne at the time.  Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura ended up taking up the mantle of directors on the title in respect of his absence.

The narrative of Dark Souls II follows your player character, labelled the Bearer of the Curse. Subject to the undead curse and at risk of becoming hollow, you travel to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic in hopes of finding a means to defy your undead fate.  The kingdom of Drangleic was once home to a prosperous civilization, ruled over by King Vendrik and his wife Queen Nashandra. After laying siege across the sea to the Land of the Giants however, the kingdom soon suffered relentless retribution from the giants.  As you arrive in the kingdom, it is an echo of its former self, with the undead curse running deep within the land and the land ravaged from the war with the giants.  After a chance meeting with a mysterious Emerald Herald, you are tasked with finding the souls of the four old ones and venturing deep into the capital to find what remains of the king.  Along the way you will learn many a secret behind the fall of Drangleic and the spread of the undead curse in its wake as you seek to find your own salvation from what remains of the lost kingdom.

I enjoyed the setup and narrative within Dark Souls II considerably. In the original Dark Souls, your placement in the world centered around the dawn of the undead curse and the four lords who maintained the first flame.  It was a grand tale, tailored around the legend that set the foundation of this world.  Comparatively, Dark Souls II chooses to follow the undead curse’s impact on humanity in a much more focused and grounded perspective.  The rise and fall of Drangleic is a tragic tale and it’s what helps give this tale it’s depth is it’s characters. Dark Souls I had its fair share of NPC’s, but none felt all that relevant to the overall story.  In Dark Souls II’s case, the NPC’s you encounter in this world have more of a relation to the narrative at play. They all reflect the tragedy of a world stolen of its prosperity in the wake of the undead curse. That trademark “show don’t tell” approach to the world building is still prevalent here as well.  The world is designed in a way that you have to pick up a lot of the key points from the world design and the descriptions you find on items. It’s not done to a degree where you won’t figure things out by playing through the game, that’s where the titles more flavourful NPC’s interactions help for the most part. An additional positive to note about the game is its ties to the overarching world established in Dark Souls I.  While it’s not a direct sequel to the original game with its narrative, there are key elements of the story that nods to events The Chosen Undead set into fruition from the first game, and seeing the world call back to them in subtle fashions is a worthy element to recognize.

Dark Souls II’s core gameplay doesn’t shift all that much from its predecessor though there are a few tweaks that are implemented that have been known to polarize opinion. You’ll still be playing from a third-person perspective, attacking with your equipped weapons/spells and clearing out the horde of enemies that lay between you and your objective. What does differ slightly is your ability to roll and how well you can avoid your enemy’s hit boxes. Adaptability and Agility are two new stats in Dark Souls II primarily tiered around the frames you can get for your rolls.  The lower these stats, the less chance you have of rolling and dodging your enemies’ attacks.  This was a controversial and admittingly questionable design choice as Dark Souls I never had the need for such a feature and it’s an arguable point that forcing the player to have to account for this devalues the potentiality of their builds. I also feel the game’s age comes to the forefront when it comes to movement and combat pacing.  Movement in general feels sluggish in Dark Souls II and whether you’re in combat or exploring, the limited scope of your movement can really hinder and ultimately kill you.  

Enemy design is also an aspect of Dark Souls II which feels somewhat uninspired?  There’s not many bosses from the base game or DLC that really stick out in my memory as truly memorable encounters.  I think the issue is the game utilizes too many sections to introduce a boss fight and the allure of these encounters eventually fades away due to their constant nature.  The game will also reuse certain bosses over the course of your journey which is a choice I consider quite cheap.  What made Dark Souls I so iconic was its boss design and the game never felt inflated with them, they existed in pivotal moments and played into the game’s wider impression impeccably.  In Dark Souls II, the only true memorable fights come in the form of the four Old Ones and some of the later game fights.  That decision to populate the game with so many bosses leads to another negative I wish to bring up.  While the world is crafted in a compelling manner both visually and thematically, the structure and interconnectivity of the world feels lacking.  There’s less of a focus on map design in a way to allow you to find shortcuts to new areas or back to old ones, these levels exist primarily as a large biome segmented off from its neighbouring areas.  This again pales when compared to Dark Souls I’s stellar map design and its ability to wind back around on itself. 

Despite some of the gameplay flaws, I want to bring this review back into the positive light again by discussing the visual design of the game.  Each level in the game is visualized in a compelling way that is serves the double purpose of mesmerising the player but also projecting the theme and narrative behind it.  Colour and scale are key components of the game’s visual style, whether you’re high above in the last echo of civilization that is Majula, or deep down in the decrepit depths of the Black Gulch; there’s a clear and distinct impression that these locations give off. The added benefit is there a large variety of locations to the game and it’s accompanying DLC too.  While I wish these locations were more interconnected it at least alleviates that issue with the fast travel function.  I also adore the design begin weaponry and armor in this game.  Like with the locations FromSoftware seemed to up the amount of options you have to consider and equip in Dark Souls II and that is duly appreciated. Yuka Kitamura and Motoi Sakuraba also deliver on the audio portion by giving the game some incredible range when it comes to the game’s official soundtrack.

Ultimately, I feel Dark Souls II is still a great game which offers a worth while experience.  While it’s clear the scope of its ambition faltered somewhat in the end product, that isn’t to say what is here is without its own value.  Whether it’s the more grounded approach to the narrative, or the wider variety of environments to explore; it’s clear Dark Souls II is at least trying to deliver the player the core Dark Souls experience within the confines of its own creative vision. That vision is clearly flawed and it doesn’t deliver on some core elements which is what devalues that impression in the end, but even with those trip ups, Dark Souls II is still a game you should at least try out and form your own opinion on.