Dark Souls II Announced

[Xeogred]

No, pretty far though I believe. SL100 something... one of the big four bosses left. I finally just had to look up a map on how to get to Huntsman's Corpse, probably could have been there 5-10 hours ago so I imagine I might tear through it. lol

Like before, I can't tell if this one is just that easier or my build is a lot better now. The difficulty curves are a little funny. Some of these bosses were destroying me, so I figure things out on the side and upgrade/level up, go back and then completely destroy them. I'm mainly using a maxed out Bastard Sword, the Guts Greatsword, and just got some boss weapons since I finally found that merchant. Also doing really good whenever I get invaded haha.

Still have no idea which one I like the most, but there is no denying how much I love the fast travel here. The backtracking in DS1 is probably what burned me out stopping me from finishing. I think I was equally far in that one at this point between the two, just had to take out the last of bosses or something.

Whenever I go back to DS1, I think I'll just reference a map and some stuff to get by the cryptic design here and there.

I feel like I might like both the Dark games the most in the first half when you're more fragile and discovering things, then it's kind of a goose hunt later on. Demon's on the other hand got better as it went for me, so the hub world helped there I think. I think it would be cool if they revisit the hub setup again if they keep these games going. I'm thinking Demon's was probably as small as it is compared to Dark, just because it was the first of these three... so they could probably do another Demon's / hub styled one with way more levels at this point.

[Retrogamer0001]

Believe it or not, I was SL166 when I beat the game - I'm a grinder though, so that might be a reason I found everything so easy. That being said, DS2 did a lot of things right, especially with the fast travel and non-respawning enemy hordes. I guess my issue is with the lack of challenge in a lot (but not all) of the boss fights compared to the first two games. Remember Sif, Seath the Scaleless, Gravelord Nito, Ornstein and Smough, Gwyn? I remember those fights vividly because they were unique, fleshed-out, and interesting fights. There was a lot of build-up to those battles, something that is sorely missing in DS2.

I also didn't find the world of DS2 anywhere near as interesting or beautiful as the first Dark Souls (Anor Londo is stunning, the castle in DS2 doesn't even compare) and like I mentioned before, the NPCs are also somewhat lame. I'm really hoping that Demon's Souls 2 gets a release in the years to come with a return to the Nexus/hub and the more classic feel of the original game.

[Dylan]

I also didn't find the world of DS2 anywhere near as interesting or beautiful as the first Dark Souls (Anor Londo is stunning, the castle in DS2 doesn't even compare) and like I mentioned before, the NPCs are also somewhat lame. I'm really hoping that Demon's Souls 2 gets a release in the years to come with a return to the Nexus/hub and the more classic feel of the original game.

I think a lot could be said about how standardized the art direction in DS2 feels compared to earlier entries in the series. As has been mentioned a lot of the bosses were basic humanoids. No gaping dragon or adjudicator equivalents anywhere. Even the NPCs were less eccentric and interesting. Many levels felt like generic ruins and jungles in DS2. Some places managed to be pretty cool like Iron Keep or the Tower of Flame though.

[Retrogamer0001]

I also didn't find the world of DS2 anywhere near as interesting or beautiful as the first Dark Souls (Anor Londo is stunning, the castle in DS2 doesn't even compare) and like I mentioned before, the NPCs are also somewhat lame. I'm really hoping that Demon's Souls 2 gets a release in the years to come with a return to the Nexus/hub and the more classic feel of the original game.

I think a lot could be said about how standardized the art direction in DS2 feels compared to earlier entries in the series. As has been mentioned a lot of the bosses were basic humanoids. No gaping dragon or adjudicator equivalents anywhere. Even the NPCs were less eccentric and interesting. Many levels felt like generic ruins and jungles in DS2. Some places managed to be pretty cool like Iron Keep or the Tower of Flame though.

I was very disappointed when I realized this after about an hour playing the game. The graphics aren't bad by any means, but it's just a step in the wrong direction. Part of a good Souls game has become the interesting/unique environments (which there were a few) but the ones in DS2 felt a little recycled.

[Xeogred]

I would say... recycled in a good way. Bastile really reminded me of stage 3 in Demon's, the towers. Beyond that I've really enjoyed most of the environments in this one and don't mind that it feels a bit less natural than DS1 (some article pointed this out and I can see what they mean, the environments here feel a bit more detached and the flow isn't as organic, but I didn't mind that).

That said there's a few stinkers, but I can say in all of the games I've never cared for the putrid/Blighttown styled levels and there was like 1-2 here (that dark place before the Gulch). I thought the Wharf was really cool though and the ship part was really neat.

Heidi's Tower blew me away and got me pumped since it feels like Anor Londo, but I was definitely disappointed that it ended up being a very small place. I think overall I've always liked the castle environments in these games the most. I thought the Giant's Forest area was really cool though and some of it later on was similar to stage 1 in Demon's.

Sorry I don't remember the names of the levels in any of these, haha hopefully that made sense.

The enemies not respawning after awhile I do think was a cool idea. It's never really gimped me at all, but in a way it also kind of forces you to push forward. Maybe that's what they were going for.

The art direction is still pretty cool I think. Maybe not as obtuse and weird as the first two, but still nothing I'd call generic or Westernized/medieval stuff like Elder Scrolls or whatever.

Are you doing NG+ at all Retrogamer0001? I wonder if this one ramps it up then. Also what soul level were you when you finished DS1? Just curious.

I will say the mid/larger size enemy types are a bit disappointing here. As always I can't tell if it's just my build compared to the previous games, but none of these guys have been that daunting. I still think those turtles in the Giant's Forest were some of the tougher enemies with good movesets and all, plus if you didn't have much poise they'd launch you. I haven't really encountered anything else quite as intimidating as them. The large Knight's and Mastodon's here have really basic movesets and are pretty easy to get around. Don't even get me started on how easy the Dwarves are, lol.

[MrEco]

Just a quick thought, but a lot of people (On this forum and outside it) are pointing out the sort of lack of originality that DS2 has compared to the last game and it's recycling of content. I just thought I'd mention that, ironically, I use to think the same thing of the first Dark Souls. I was initially disappointed with it from how much of the game seemed like idea's were borrowed from Demon's Souls. I remember the first time I rescued a guy in a cage who had a menacing voice named Lautrec. His gold armor and promise of a reward didn't fool me, I instantly knew he was Yurt 2.0 and suspected he would try killing off an NPC sooner or later.

I think the reason Dark Souls 2 seems to be even more lacking in originality is because, well, it's Dark Souls 2. This is unfortunately standard for sequels, they always lose some of the charm and uniqueness that made the first games of the series great. It's a simple case of the developers running out of ideas. If we ever do see a Dark Souls 3, or Demon's Souls 2, I think we'll see even more of this happening as the series get's slowly more formulaic and the developers run out of fresh designs to try.

It goes back to what I said earlier in this thread, that I kind of wish they would start over again with a blank canvas. I don't think it's necessary by any means, but it's certainly one solution that could help each new game feel different from the last.

Are you doing NG+ at all Retrogamer0001? I wonder if this one ramps it up then.

In NG+ all enemies get a 50% increase in health and damage. Many new enemies are added, including some red phantom versions. Also supposedly some existing enemies spawn in new places, though I haven't gotten far enough in NG+ to see any examples of this myself.

[Retrogamer0001]

Are you doing NG+ at all Retrogamer0001? I wonder if this one ramps it up then. Also what soul level were you when you finished DS1? Just curious.

My next play-through of the entire Souls series will likely be years away, but then yes, I'll be doing NG+ play-throughs of all three, probably in a row. I have too many games to play to sit around and play the same one over and over. I was SL128 when I beat the first Dark Souls and really, really, struggled to beat Gwyn with a straight up melee build. I can't describe the exhilaration I felt when I finally did it though - it was literally better than sex.

[Phades]

[Stark]

Canadians don't do sex right, don't judge.

[Retrogamer0001]

Canadians don't do sex right, don't judge.

Here it is...wait for it...that's not what your mom said last night!