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8/11/2019 Dark Souls II - GameBasin.com
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Dark Souls II
http://www.gamebasin.com/news/dark-souls-ii
IntroductionFirst,therewas'Demon'sSouls'onthePS3,thentherewas'DarkSouls'onthePS3
and360.Butbefore'DarkSoulsII,''DarkSouls'receivedbothaDLCexpansionandaPCversion.
The longawaitedPCversion includedthe 'PreparetoDie'DLCatabargainprice,sowhatcould
possiblygowrong?Alot,asitturnsout.Notonlydidthegameneedausermodjusttoescapethe
720presolution,itwasalsobuiltonthewretchedandnowdefunctWindowsLiveplatform.Fast
forwardto2014andthePCversionof 'DarkSoulsII'arrivesameresixweeksafterthelastgen
consoleversions.Thegamehasalreadybeenvettedbyfansontheconsoles,butdidBandaiNamco
andFromSoftwarelearnfromtheirearlierPCmistakes?TheGameItself:OurReviewer'sTakeNote:
Fordetailsspecific to thePCversion,see the 'PCVersionNotes'at thebottomof thissection.
Havingnow
poured
some
200
300
hours
in
the
three
'Souls'
titles,
Ican
easily
name
myself
abig
fanoftheseries,andyetstillbeawarethatthereareechelonsoffanswhohavedonethingsinthe
gamesthat Iwould findcrazyandamazing.Naturally, Ibeganmyplaythroughwithanongoing
worrythatthegamewouldnotmeasureuptoitspredecessorandwouldbelessrefinedwithout
theextratimetoreceivepostreleasefixesthatthefirsttwogameshad.Ultimately,whatIhave
foundisaslightlydiminishedtitleinacertainimportantrespect,andyetmuchimprovedinanother.
Onceagainyouplaytheroleofcursedbeinginalandofcursedbeings.Thatcursebearsitselfit
outinthatthoughyoudiemany,manytimes,youwillalwaysriseagain.Thelearnthroughdeath,
strivethroughdeath,faceseeminglyinsurmountabledeathanddespairistheseries,istheseries
mostshoutedcharacteristic,and it'sevenmoretrue ifthedeathofNPCSandbosses inagiven
playthroughis
factored
in.
(Even
favorite
in
level
enemies
can
eventually
be
dispatched
in
this
new
game.)Forthefirsttimethough,theseriesreallychallengedmetolive.Thatis,tobecomealive,
achievable through precious items or by assisting others online.
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The beginning of 'Dark Souls 2' is where the game stumbles for me. Extra cutscenes and a
halfheartedtutorialgivewaytothegame'shubareabeforelettingtheplayerworktowardsthe
firstboss.Atthispointinthegamewithslightgearandabilities,deathisaroundeverycorner,but
Ifoundthetensiontobe littleoffthemark.Thosemomentswheresimpleenemiesneedtobe
carefullyorartfullynegotiatedsomewhatlackasmemorableadesignasinthetwopasttitles.Two
factorsplayanimportantroleinthisdiffusedexperience.In'DarkSouls,'themomentyougetthe
abilitytofasttravel,thegamechanges.Itlosesmuchofits3DMetroidvaniainterlockingdesign,
anddefeatingabossoftenmeanshittingadeadend.Thisaddsthebenefitoflessbacktrackingand
timeswhere itseemstheplayerhasseveralcompletelydifferentpathstotry.Still,thesenseof
discoveryandadventure,whereanythingcouldbearoundthenextbend, isslightlyhurtbythis
change. Italsoplayshellwithexpectations for rampingdifficulty.When thathappens in 'Dark
Souls,'theplayerhasalreadyprogressedthroughmuchofthegameandlikelyhasawelldefined
playstyleandcharacter.Incontrast,'DarkSoulII'givestheplayertheabilitytoteleportrightafter
the tutorial area.
Inapossiblyrelatedchange,itfelttomeasthough90%oftheenemieshadaneasilyexploitable
tether.Most
enemies
encountered
in
levels
are
more
concerned
with
staying
at
their
certain
spot
thanwithfightingtheplayer.Anyrangedweaponcan(eventually)killsuchaenemy.Thereareeven
bossesthatcanbechippedtoalmostdeathatrange.Onemightarguethatthegamethenjust
supportsrangedcombatasoneofseveralcombatorprogressionstyles,butitalsopreyedheavily
uponasenseofcaution.Ifthebeginningofthegamemademeundulyparanoid,imaginingthat
eachenemyviewedthroughthebinocularswasaonehittirelessdestroyer,thenmiddleofthe
gamemademetrulyappreciatelife.Therearepenaltiesforbeingdead,suchasareducedhealth
bar(uptoa'Demon'sSouls'like50%)butthebaragainstmostformsofonlineisworseinthisgame
thanseries'past.OnlywhenIcameupontheareafeaturedinthebetadidIrealizethatIwaspast
lamentingthecomparativequalityofthegames'beginnings.Thatmaybeinpartduetotheonline
features.Beyondthesometimehelpfulandamusingmessagesanddeathstainsofotherplayers
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online, the ability to summon friendly phantoms and to take part in the many invading
phantom/covenant tasks is so much more accessible now, thanks to an improved online
infrastructure.In'DarkSouls,'collectingSunlightMedalsforhelpingplayerswassuchachore,and
italwaysseemedliketherewereonlyafewplacesatagiventimewhereitwasevenpossible.You
had todrop your summon sign and then prettymuch set the controllerdown.Maybe in ten
minutesyouwouldberewardedbygettingtheoneplayerwhorunsinandinstantlyissmashedby
aboss.Likewise,grindingforsouls(grindinginanygameisattheleastregrettable)wasrequired
asthegameworeone.In'DarkSoulsII,'IfeltlikeIcouldhopintoanothergameatalmostanytime.
Wanttocheckoutaboss?Hop intoanothergameandfacehim.Needsouls?Hop intoanother
gameandgetthem.NeedtobecomealivesoyoucansummonalliesorplayoneofthemanyPvP
options?Forgetusingapreciouseffigy,juststarthoppingintoothergames.Eventually,youbecome
humanandrackuploadsofsoulswhileenjoyingalivedisplayofothersplayers'abilitiesandfailings.
Oncealive,Ibecameextremelycautious,embracingthechallengetostayaliveaslongaspossible.
Iwouldevenbypassnewbonfires,pushingmyweapons'durabilitytotheextremeinanattempt
toclearareaswithoutadeath(ortheaccompanyingrestart.)Evenso,therearesomanybosses,
andthe
difficulty
levels
for
bosses
and
for
some
areas
varies
so
much
that
it
wasn't
always
practical
formetobealive.Inonearea,Iwentfrombeingaliveandcarryingatonofsoulstoahalfhealth
barsoquickly,IpulledthenetworkcableoutofthePS3(thishasn'tnecessaryonthePCasofyet).
Itstilltookmefewmoredeaths,butthenIwasabletofocusontakingsomerevenge.Bythepoint
thatIbecamecomfortablewithmyrashlychosencharacterbuild,abilities,andonlineplay,thereal
shiftinthegamebecamemorevisible.Whatthegamelacksinqualityismakesupforinquantity.
Thisappliestobossesaswell.Anicequantity,oftenwithseveralavailabletofightatatime,but
lacking much of the flair of the previous titles.
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Asforgameplayissues,muchliketheprecedingtitles,thereweretimeswhenIwouldcueupattack
commandsinawaywheretheinputfeltdelayedorunresponsive.Thesetimeswererareenough
(asusual)thatitwashardtodelineatebetweenanissuewiththegameorwiththeplayer.There
werealsoafewmomentsofteleportingenemiesinonlineplaythatwererareenoughtomakeme
gladthattheyweresoinfrequent.IusedaneffigyearlyinthegameonlytofindlaterthatIhad
becomehollowwhilestillatfullhealthandwithoutdying.Theplungingattackwasmuchharder
than I recall in the lastgame,but theoverallchangesandadditions to thecombatsystemare
welcome.PCVersionNotesReplaying 'DarkSouls II' from scratchon thePChasdone little to
changemyopinionongame.Itstilllackstheamazinginterlockingnatureandmemorablebosses
of the firsthalfof 'DarkSouls'whileprovidingagreateramountofcontent,anddeeper,more
varied systems. There have been small things (both good and bad) that I missed on my PS3
playthroughonlytofindonthePC.PlayingtheprereleasePCversionmeantplayingwithavery
smallonlinecommunity,butwiththelatestfixesand"calibrations."Evenwithallofthetechnical
changesmentioned in this review, thegame stillplays verymuchas itdidon thePS3.MyPC
playthrough was quite vanilla. No external tweaks or Black Armor items. I used a wired 360
controller,and
the
game
controlled
almost
exactly
as
expected
with
aslight
difference
in
the
targetingsystem.Thegamedoessupportkeyboardcontrolsandsomewhatbizarrelythesecontrols
areenabledevenwhenusingacontroller,whichwasakeyinatleastonecatassisteddeathinNo
Man'sWharf.There isanentire submenudedicated tokeyboard keybindingsalongwith the
controlsoptioncommonwiththeconsoleversions,whichmeansverylimitedcontrollerremapping.
Alongwithvisualdifferencesdetailedbelow,thePCversionfeaturesblazingloadspeeds,andthat's
withoutanSSD.Oftenthegame'sloadingscreenitemdescriptionsjustblurby,makingtheinitial
loadandbonfireteleportingloadtimesonlyafractionofthePS3version.Alsoworthnoting,Iwas
not troubledby any specialDRM constraints. Atonepointduringmyplaythrough, the Steam
serversdecidedtoafewminutebreak.Thegameinformedme,muchlikeitdoesonthePS3,that
I was disconnected from the online features (messages, invasions, etc.) and would need to
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reconnecttoenablethosefeatures.Likewise,thegame'stitlescreenexhibitsthesamebehavior
asontheconsoles,waitingfortheplayertopressstartbeforecheckingfornewonlinecalibrations
andallowingtheplayertostartanewgame,load,quit,oradjustvideooptions.(Videooptionsare
also accessible via the ingame menu.) The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
ThemovefromlastgenconsoletothePChaspaidsomeexcellentdividendswithregardstothe
visuals,andyetfromamoreobjectivestandpointcouldbeconsideredlessthanideal.(Justtryto
forgetabouttheearlydemoshots.)UnlikethelacklusterPCportofthelastgame,'DarkSoulsII'
onthePCoffersbothafullarrayofsupportedresolutionsaswellassomescalablePCvisualoptions.
(My playthrough was mostly at 2560 x 1440 except for some time spent at 1920 on a TV.)
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Alongwithavastlysuperiorrenderedresolution,theframerateisalsoverysolidthoughsubjectto
motionblureffects.The zoneby zonehitchingcommon to thePS3version isgone.Equallyas
importantastheseimprovementsisthepresenceofhigherresolutiontextures,whichisamajor
upgradeforthecharacters(thereshouldreallybeanupclosemodelviewer),butalsohelpspretty
upmanystructurestovaryingdegrees.Improvedshadowdepthanddrawdistancealsoareeasy
tonoticeandenjoyasmanyfaroffdetailsnowresolvethemselvesproperly.TheUIscaleswellwith
theresolutionmaintaining itsfidelitywithoutartifacts.Withsuch improvement, includinggood
stockAA,onemightaskwhywoulddescribe thePC'svisualsas less than ideal.Thatwouldbe
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becausethatgameremainsalastgenproductwithseverallastgenvisualissues.Mydescription
ofthePS3'svisualsremainsmainlyaccurateevenwiththeimprovements:"Andhere'swherethe
quantity focus hurts the most. I expected lots of ugly textures, seams, light leaks, reskinned
characters,items,andobjects.Ialsoexpectedthattheartdesignwouldtrumpmostthesetypical
gameconcerns.Sadly,thequalityofthegame'svisualsreallywanders.Thereareafewimpressive
vistas,reveals,andinterestingdesignsforbossesandcharacters.Mostlythough,thegameisastep
downfromitspredecessorwhenitcomestovisualfidelityandartdesign.Itoftenexhibitseven
lesssizzlethanthe'DarkSouls'expansion.""Thetextureresolutiononmanyofthebackgrounds,
(thoughgreatlyimprovedonthePC),makesforthekindunsightlinesstosuggestthenotionofanti
demomaterial.Muchofthegame'sUIelementsandenemysetarerecycledfromtheprevious
game,andoveralltheartstylecanfeelimitativeandlessinspiredandpolishedthanpastefforts.
Thenewtorchmechanicwhilesometimesfunmeansentireroomsoflowlightthattypicallyonly
receive a point light after being cleared out. "While running through complicated areas both
quicklyandslow,thereweremanymomentswhenholesintheworld,missinggeometryfaces,or
othersimilar
environmental
artifacts
became
visible
or
noticeable.
These
issues
did
not
affect
play,
andneverwherebadenoughtofillthescreen.Theyareonlyglaringwhenspecificallysearching
for them." For example:
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AllofthesepointshurtthePCversion,it'sthislastonethatisthemostilluminatingastothecause.
Inspiteofthebigstepupinhardware,'DarkSoulsII'remainsagamebuiltforthelastgenplatforms.
Theunsightlygeometrythatmakesupmuchoftheenvironmentsremainsinplace.Whileatthe
same time, the game continues to load, unload, andocclude thePS3/360worthyworldwith
PS3/360constraints.Whilemostplayersarefinewiththegame'sdesignremainingfaithfultothe
consoleversions(i.e.keepingtheworldthesamesize,withthesamenumberofenemies,objects,
etc.),thePCversionwindsupstickwiththesameoftenuglygeometryandoverallamountofworld
loaded limitations. The Audio: Rating the Sound
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I'mahugefanofthePS3'ssoundcapabilities,anddon'talwaysfindthePCversionofagametobe
anobviousimprovement.Nevertheless,itseemsliketheaudiosamplingofthePCversion'saudio
assetsareofahigherquality.Overall,thesounddesign,whilesimilar,isabitsmootheronthePC.
Whenitcomestoaudio,thegameisterriblyeffectiveatwhatitsetsouttodo.Whetherit'sthe
limiteduseofmusicorthejingleofchainsofaenemyhiddenbehindasecretdoorortheterrible
voiceofariledandformerlyfriendlyNPC,thesounddesignbendsnearlyeveryruleinaneffortto
subtlybuildtension,andthiswithamostlyrecycledsetofsoundeffects.Rarelyeveringamesare
the surroundsengaged to simultaneously fooland inform theplayer,and 'DarkSouls II'never
relentsonthisaudioassault.Letalargeenemychaseyou,andyou'llfindthattheirloudstepshave
justtherightbreakbetweentocastdoubtsabouttheircontinuedpursuit...untilyouturnaround.
Be it desperate, crazy, or sanguine, voice acting for the NPCs retains an exaggerated quality.
Somehow,whencombinedwith the limitedandoftenperfunctoryconversation loops, (key for
extractingstorydetails)theresultjustseemsevenmoreperfectlysuitedforthisinstallmentthan
thelast.ReplayFactorHavingonlyprogressedtotheBelfryGargoyles/Skeleton LordsonthePC,
it'shard
to
reassess
my
original
feelings
towards
the
game's
replay
value.
Despite
seeking
anew
playstyle,inmyhasteIneverthelessgravitatedtowardsweaponsandtechniquesthatworkedon
thePS3.Releasingsoclosetogether,thosewhohavealreadypoured100+hoursintotheconsole
versionsmaynotfindthePC improvementsworththeeffortofstartingoveragain.Thenagain,
anyonewhotrulygetsintothegamewilllikelybefinewithaPCreplayandmayevenrelishit.As
obsessivelyreplayedasthe'Souls'gameshavebeenforplayersinthepast,thisnewgameoffersa
greaterquantityandvarietyofcontent,withaspectsappropriatetoallkindsofplayers.Youcan
ferretouteachhiddenchest(thatonechestIdestroyednolongerhauntsmenow),orplungeinto
NewGame+.Youcantakeonadifferentmagicdisciplinewithanewcharacter,oruseoneofthe
fewrespecitems.Youcanrankupincovenantsandfightplayersineitheryourregionorallover
theworld.Thereareevenitemsandoptionsformakinganyplaythroughfeaturetougherenemies.
Withtheonlineworkingsowell,it'sfeasibletowhileawayhoursinotherpeople'sgames.Youcan
dedicateslaveslotswithcharacterswhoonlyplayonline,orpursueyourperfectbuildallonyour
lonesome. HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?
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ThePCversionIplayedthroughlackedallthedigitalgoodiesthatappeartobebundledwiththe
retailversion.Theseitemsincludethe'BlackArmor'weaponspack,digitalsoundtrack,anddigital
comicbook.Thescoregivenhereappliestothoseitems.OnefeaturethatIwouldhavereallyliked
toseeisSteamCloud,butfornowitseemssavesareboundtoeachlocalsystem.FinalThoughts
Formuchofmyplaythrough,IkeptthinkingthatifIhadtochooseoneofthe'Souls'titlestoplay
orrecommend,itwouldbe'DarkSouls.'Andyet'DarkSoulsII'wasclearlymeanttoentertainthe
veteran 'Souls'playerwithadepthbeyonditspredecessor.Thoughpartsofthegamefeellikea
poorrehash,everythingthatmaketheseriesthrilling,challenging,andenjoyableisherealongwith
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revampedonlineoptionsthatdaretotempteventhemostsolitaryplayer.Huntingdown items,
NPCs,bosses,areas,shortcuts Igorgedmyselfonitall,andcontinuedtimeonboththePS3and
PChasyettosatiatemydesireforthegame'sparticularkindofhurt.Detractorsoftheseries(those
thathaveactuallyplayedatitle)canbecomfortableoptingout,buteveryoneelseshouldseethat
death isonly thebeginning, thepreparationnecessary to live.Whiledisappointed that thePC
versionretainsthegeometryandvisualleaksofthelastgenPS3,thetextureupgradesandother
visualimprovementsmakeforamuchmoreappealingvisualexperience,whilethequickloading
timesfeelluxuriousafterplayingontheconsole.Andallofthisupgradecomesinasolidpackage
withouttheneedingcommunitymods.Ifyou'vebeenwaitingforthePCversion,waitnolonger,
the best version of 'Dark Souls II' (by far) begins here.
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