Dark Souls II - What Happened? 

Like Breath of the wild?

@@fregatopolitis When devs have enough time to develop the engine and the game, it's wonderful.

@@fregatopolitis Every game engine was once new There are manyfold inadequate ones that don't see success

"New engine from scratch" plus "highly anticipated sequel" is the real deathblow. The dual constraints of financial demands and player expectations will always cause headaches. Engine development needs to be something you take your time on and get right before anything else can begin.

“Make this 3rd person RPG with Frostbite” is equally pain inducing. Frostbite, an engine designed for FPSs... with no built in item management...

To be fair, the old engine was crap too. Mods came out to fix the game almost immediately. Mods that I think still work better than the DS teams fixes.

@@8Kazuja8 Yea, its the kind of drug you pass out to investors to loosen their grip on their wallets. The problem is when the directors decide they can handle a few puffs.

@@dudere Oh yeah, I had someone who worked on DS3 came at my school and he talked about how the engine was atrocious to work on. (and yes I do mean DS3 so I can only imagine the 1 if that's not the same engine). Making a new engine when your actual one sucks is not a bad idea. But then you have to be very careful about the scale of your project if you do so. And here clearly they went bonkers from the beginning. All that aside, I think DS2 is a great game, besides the many problems (especially the art direction that makes no sense from the map spliced together, hello elevator that goes up to a castle sinking into lava) . So I consider it a happy ending for the game itself. It's a unique entry that many people have on their favorites thanks to those circumstances.

@Code Turtle yeah even lore wise scholar of the first sin fixes a lot of issues the original version had. It gave more context to what was happening and gave an optional ending that was both vague and very satisfying. It also answered a lot of questions the original version left unanswered. Without the dlc s and fixes to the game. This would have been a 6/10 for me but ended up being 8/10 because of sots edition.

Basically what happened was: Shibuya: "Let's make a game that is literally impossible to make on available hardware!" Literally Everyone Else: "Isn't that a stupid idea because it's impossible?"

i was half expecting for it to play the trailer music then lol

Elden ring is amazing, I guess we won’t be seeing it here

elden ring!

Why hasn't he been hired by the company as a voice actor? He's basically the official lore narrator of all of their games now, they may as well actually put him in them.

YES

A Majora's mask sorta story

soil the stillborn Not really as Majora’s Mask is incredible all round and typically considered one of the best Zeldas.

@@raltor20 I didn't mean that in the terms of hate towards it, I meant it as the time limit, rushed game and all that stuff, fanbase considers it one of the best, the mind behind it considers it his biggest failure because the vision never came to fruition due to it being rushed

It's a super different game, but I like other games too, it has a lot of charm

Also don't forget the cut spell caster counterpart boss fight to ornstein and smough that was down there too. As the recovered boss cut scene put them "The Lich" and "The Wraith" with them adsorbing the soul of the other one when one of the two is defeated in their mid battle cut scenes.

THIS sounds great.

Honestly, Dark Souls 2's original build was too ambitious for its time. It was by all means a next-next gen project that, logically, had no way whatsoever to be fully realized in the hardware back then. Scale and ambition are great, but if it can't fit into the available hardware then it all unfortunately goes to waste.

@@Warcrafter4 Forgive me but could you point out where I can look that up? I'd like to learn more but searching Dark Souls 2 The Lich + The Wraith gives me no results.

It's less potential thrown to the wayside and more naive aspirations trying to pull one over on reality. Anyone can dream big. It's why absolutely no company needs an idea guy. The greatest products ever achieved did so through clever manipulation of what was available, not demanding more until satisfaction was achieved.

The difference is that now they have team A working on it.

Let's just hope it doesn't turn out like Cyberpunk 2077, last year's open world, ambitious project helmed by talented people.

@@12ealDealOfficial why does the involvement of George R.R. Martin have you worried?

@@charlieterry8506 it could distract them from building an actually good game

@@12ealDealOfficial true call me a weeb but in terms of modern tv anime is far better written these days than 90% of the shit the west puts out in terms of television

I think Matt forgot about Bloodborne as well and tell us maybe why or when there might be a sequel 😁

Well. . .

@@helloill672 Aw yeah, [Crazy Talk] worked!

About that….

This aged like milk

Every Souls fan needs to follow illusory wall ♥

I've seen some vids, the Gutter is a particularly fascinating example

@@lezionscorner4376 yeah, real shame it got .. gutted

@@ravenousbasilisk5120 ! SOUL AT RISK !

"well, what is it"

Jesus, why did you have to remind me to the part I'm stuck at, ughh.

AGAIIIIN?

Got a problem?

@@forlorn9134 dear lords nooooo not now man, not now

Oohhhhhhhhhh Elden Ring

5:41 God bless the editor jerry-rigging a new, distinct pose by using the same hand drawing for both arms. Boldness must be rewarded

Same

Yeah, and in 5:40 he had 2 left hands...

Right? Super nice to see more animation

In this comment thread: people who never played these games and never got to know the community, but formed an opinion based on what Twitter and kotaku told them how to feel like. The soulsborne community is supportive as fuck

@@FlameHidden you ain't gon get no bitches for this bro

@@FlameHidden Even the subreddits for these games are overall very supportive (especially Bloodborne)

@@FlameHidden Exactly. The subreddit and wikis for these games are awesome. People always willing to help.

@@psycomutt Eh, the wikis are pretty shit. Not cause it's toxic but it's just so inaccurate

Out of all the souls games, 2 is the one I go back to replay the most.

Same. Easily the weakest in technical terms, but I find the focus on humans and the effect of the Curse on them infinitely more intriguing than the gods, serpents or dragons.

@@Sensko I think the story about how the curse affects different kingdoms and that the calamity repeats itself over and over was more entertaining; the two give vague intros with the, go to the castle for answers, but what you find in each kingdom is extremely fun once you realize you are not just visiting different areas, but are being transported into vastly different kingdoms.

personally i think the pvp peaked in ds2, as well as weapon designs/weapon variety.

@@vaan1570 I'll always love the Ivory King's lightsabers

Badum Tsh

Same thing is in DS3 dude

@@iceberger4600 what a difference eh

@@smearierbrutebr it doesn't say Yes or No to throw you off at least.

@@moz6388 yeah, it doesn't look like an important thing but little things like that get really annoying

ice hotel nice profile picture

it's still not that good even removed from its betters

Truckloads of franchises would kill for their best game in the series be Dark Soul 2’s quality.

@@AleK0451 Dark Souls 2 is fine. The Blacksheep of the three, but despite it having the worst combat, it had better story telling for sure.

I feel a similar way about DS2 as about SSB Brawl. Both definitely had their issues and weren't seen as favorably as the others but it's still good imo Subspace is the best part of Brawl for me. DS2 I would say...dual-wielding? As jank as the combat is that was neat

the biggest pain in the ass about that game hit me as thus: it seemed like the developer said, "Dark Souls is all about being hard yeah? Throw hoards of enemies at the player all at once."

what is velvet butter Edit: nvm I figuired it

@@OroborOSX11 wild guess, his name might be Matt

It needs

You can see all the influences carried over from DS2 as well

@@jakestocker4854 I’ve only played Dark Souls once when it was free on Xbox Gold back in like 2014? I was terrible at it and stopped playing after a day. I tried Sekiro and played for about 2 weeks but I sucked and ended up quitting that one as well. Elden Ring is the first FromSoft game i’ve actually enjoyed. It’s absolutely hard but i’ve learned to either keep trying or come back later with a different weapon or spell and I eventually get passed the plateau. 300 hours into the game and i am still finding more areas to explore and i love every second of it

@@IamSupreme333 yeah Elden Ring definitely does a much better job of not having a wall that people quit at. The whole first 2/3rds of the game being so open allows you to just go level up and explore and get as powerful as you want to to either make bosses a breeze or just less of a challenge. I'd definitely recommend revisiting some of the other games in the series. Bloodborne for example is absolutely worth giving a try. It's got a much fast pace of combat compared to the Souls games but isn't Sekiro fast. Hell, you may even be shock yourself and find that you're much better at the Souls games from your experience in Elden Ring.

The game is shit, it's unfinished

When I was on my second playthrough to get the achievements, I remember thinking that the something wasn’t adding up with the world design. I couldn’t remember how to get to certain areas because the logic wasn’t making sense as to why they should be there.

Least liked by the casual fan base for sure, most liked by everyone else

@@bophadesknutz7798 "Liked by everyone else" good one, mate. You gave me a good laugh.

Eh, the hate bandwagon for DS2 is still going unfortunately. But it's slowed down a bit after DS3 came out and people saw it wasn't perfect either.

It's my fav souls game... For a lot of reasons. They are all Masterpieces all in their own ways though of course. And Souls 1 is a very close 2nd for me

@@bophadesknutz7798 I love ds2, I put the most time into it out of the souls games but seriously don't say shit like that, people are free to not like the game same way people are free to like it you sound just like the ds1 neckbeards that say stupid shit like that

;-;

also King's Field series and Shadow Tower. Wish that FROM will be back with first person RPGs some day...

Apparently they are working on another Armored Core, but there hasn't been much news about it.

Absolutely. I wanna know what happened between AC: For Answer and ACV/Verdict Day. Such a huge change.

@@aeden8008 I would a video on that as well. As going from Armored Core 4/ for answer & Armored Core 5 feels very akin to Dark souls & Dark souls 2 where everything felt much slowed down.

Nioh isn’t that bad

DS2 is definitely not as good as Nioh lmao

@@opgroundzero2.0 true, saying ds2 is "way way on top of all the souls clones" is really an overstatement

I know people in replies seem disagree with you, but i've played games like The Surge and Nioh and tbh i still think DS2 is the most enjoyable between them all so i kinda agree with your statement, for the starter DS2 implements NG+ better even compared to the other souls series..

@@irvancrocs1753 Nioh 1 is just ok but nioh 2 did so many improvements that it became one of the best souls likes out there.

@Black Coffee shut up and go buy skyrim again

Good

@@faketoddhoward7280 if skyrim sells 5 million copies this year, can u fight the real todd howard for control of bethesda?

My powers have doubled since the last time we met todd

Matt is now a vtuber. Can't wait for the first Hololive collab.

I think the reason why it gets so much hate because people can't stop compare it to DS1 and DS3, despite DS2 is actually still a great game compared to many western-style rpg games out there.. The thing i like about Souls series is each of their game actually pretty distinctive each other, which is why starting the new game meaning it will be a completely new experience..

I think a comparison is warranted. Especially if it was a sequel to DS1. As we all know, sequels, even if the game doesn't actually share that much of a continuous story, or no matter how distinctive they are from one another. Customers and critics will always have expectations that it will surpass the previous iteration. Sadly, DS2 did not accomplish that, and unfortunately for DS2, it set the bar low on the expectations surrounding DS3 so much that when DS3 came out and fulfilled expectations, it worsened DS2's reputation further as DS3 did what DS2 did not: Being a good sequel. In addition, if we go by chronological order of souls-like games released by Fromsoft. Bloodborne, a game that came after DS2, is undoubtedly better in anyway shape or form, which just puts the nail in DS2's coffin. While DS3 eventually became the hammer that shut it down, being a great sequel to the DS franchise, AND successfully getting the torch from Bloodborne as the then latest Souls-like game during 2016. DS2 honestly is a great game compared to other western rpgs, however, since it has the FROMSOFT logo and SOULS brand attached to it. It's gonna be cursed to eternally be analyzed, ranked and compared with other Fromsoft souls-like game, and unfortunately due to the circumstances that happened to it, as well being overshadowed by its predecessor and successor, and chronological successor. It's gonna always end up near the bottom of the list.

Me too

Despite me talking trash about DS2 all the time, I just finished 2 playthroughs back to back, and can definitely see myself doing it again in the very near future, there’s just something about this game man

Same

@@MinutzAkira I would disagree, I think it's PVP is better of the trilogy

@@FatMouseGaming Yeah, the build variety was amazing too.

@@12ealDealOfficial r1 ,roll and arts spam ? dude dark souls 2 is completly oposite .spam is punished .sloppy playstyle also . that why scrubs hate ds 2 cuz they suck

@@LordDeBahs not sure what you're talking about. All the ds games punish roll spam, ds3 is no exception. Whole trilogy is as simple as wait for attack, roll, r1. Ds3 made an effort to make it atleast difficult to cheese bosses/enemies by spinning around them compared to 1 and 2. Don't try to make ds2 sound like it does a job better than the other 2. It is not a perfect game but neither are the others..... Except for BB heueheuehu

That shows how bad games really are these days, i would play DS2 over any souls clone.

Not weird at all, despite some people saying a lot fans hate DS2, the reviews from critics and players said otherwise since they stand comfortably in positive note all the time.. And in fact it's still a damn good game, if only people can stop compare it every second to other souls game..

Being the "worst" dark souls trilogy game is still a higher honor that other games could never hope to achieve

There are a lot of people who hate it but haven't even played the game. It's like half the comments, staggering amounts of " I don't like the Demon's Souls remake because my favourite streamer said so and I can't think for myself ". Dark souls 2 is good. It has its issues but it's far from a failure.

@@eliarevalo yup, people have so much fun on the bandwagon, it's a bigger party than being original and I dunno... forming your own opinion? I mean fuck me though, right? That's just insane, who would do that when it's so easy to just parrot the popular perspective than ponder that which perplexes the panderers? Am I pright?

Same

Bloodborne is my favorite soulsborne game, and dark souls 2 is my favorite souls game ;)

The original Demon's Souls is still the best for me honestly. DS2 was fun, but DS1 and DS3 were still better. Don't care for BB though.

I'm the same with you bro

Your true mentor?

It was my first and still my favorite of the Series. Majula is the best.

It has some good highs, but it all comes down to your tolerance for the general bullcrap it has. It's true for all souls games, but DS2 definitly has more unexplainable and tedious areas

It’s not really a “hate bandwagon”. That implies people just hate it to hate it, which some might, but you can’t say one way or the other. It is objectively a decent game, but it is also objectively a different experience compared to the first, and in many ways by fan and design measure, a lesser one. Nothing wrong or hateful with pointing out the many flaws it has.

It's definitely not bad enough to hate. My favorite is still Dark Souls though.

Ds2 was my first of the series and got me through a terrible time in my life so I hold it close to my heart

It was quite good really. Not in the same artistic way as its family but a very enjoyable title

Tbh is always nice seeing a What Happened on games that despite having a messy development cycle still end up decent (though still divisive or flawed) and *not* financially ruining the devs in the end.

DS2 is my personal favorite of the souls and I'm not sure why. Maybe I just like Aldia a lot idk

@@ashikjaman1940 I love scholar the most because there are tons of options right at the start of the game, and it feels like there's more build potential than in the other games. Some of the reasons I like it are reasons others dislike it. I like the combat, the varied bosses, the traps, all the different enviroments, the fashion, ect. DS2 gives me this certain adventurous and mysterious vibe that no other game can give me, and I love it for that. A good chunk of the bosses suck, it can get ganky, and the level design and item placement can be questionable to say the least, but all it's flaws add on to that mysterious adventure vibe for me

This is good enough reasoning. That was my fault please leave a bad player review under my name so I may learn from my mistakes

Might not have been dark souls 1 quality but it could’ve been worse. It could be dark souls 3

@@qumxlinger1081 disagree but that’s your opinion

@@qumxlinger1081 dark souls 3 is fantastic :(

@@qumxlinger1081 Nah ill take dark souls 3

How can SotFS be your favorite souls game if DS1 is your favorite soulsborne?

I was actually wondering what the song was. Do you know the name of it?

@@thehonestcompany867 I think it's "Aria" but don't quote me on that lol

@@Sekainoowaride I think it might actually be 'Forces'. I went looking and Forces sounds like the outro. Thanks for the tip tho!

I’m a week late but it’s actually “Sign”

This is the Dark Souls of opinions

I like trains.

"I like Santa" -kid from A Christmas Story "I like turtles" -I-Like-Turtles-Kid "I like money" -Eugene Krabs "I like Dark Souls" -supper8mmo

A gentleman of quality

same

Mine too, like 2 may have a lot of issues and we know now why, but 2 just has a certain whimsical feel to it that you don't quite get out of 1 or 3

Fuck yeah!

@@crumpetface7430 Glad we both agree!

@@mightyarbokking7197 👍👍👍👍 I had ds1 got mega frustrated with it so quit and never played it again. But the feeling of being 'defeated' by a game was infuriating so i jumped back in at ds2 and absolutely loved it.

@@crumpetface7430 Awesome!

Yeah arguably the worst game in the series but maybe it's still one of the best rpg games out there, telling you how great souls games scope are..

I played it without guides after ds1 and i loved it too. Also Majula is soo comfy

Flame swathe too. Cornering noobs in pvp with it was amazing

Became vestige which everyone kept on using. Still salty about them not adding Dance of flame

Same

What!!!! Same here

And arguably has one one of the most optimistic potential endings if you collect the crowns and potentially learn to break the cycle. Love that ending

I would say DS1 was the best at making the player feel alone

DS1 has WAY more of an isolation feel not to mention its dark gloomy atmosphere and sorrow, DS2 literally has 10 people in majula including the 4 npc's you'll find playing the game, DS1 npc's are unique and actually feel apart and progress the world/story

DS1 forces you to feel alone, DS2 makes you feel alone, loniness is not something binded to not being around people, is having people by your side and yet not being able to connect to them, DS1 is gloomy and sorrot but you're the "CHOOSEN UNDEAD" even tho u are alone u feel important, in DS2 no one have faith in you, neither hope for a better future, thats makes you feel melancholic, because in end there is no path, like the schoolar says

@@chrismanuel9768 Thats fair, is hard too the true beauty of DS2 when u are biased towards DS1

I don't know why "disappointing" is in quotes. DS2 is indeed disappointing when compared to the previous 2 games. It might've been able to match or exceed the previous two games had its development not been so problematic. That doesn't make it a bad game, but comparisons to previous games are inevitable and unfavourable.

This

Dam right

Still bad though. I played dark souls 1 and 3(playing sekiro right now), but after 28 in ds2 i gave up. Assasin's creed odyssey was my all time disappointment, but i would play It 3 times over If that meant not playing 30 minutes of ds2.

What’s up dude, I was a big fan of wolfs retarded mission back in the day, thanks for the laughs

Sorry mate

Same

Same! I really like it

@@jmjedi923 it’s secretly my favorite Souls game. Shhh!

@@deceasedvoter7970 dont worry brother, your secret is safe with me

@@silverreaps6803 but it doesn't have bonefist, think about it

It's a fucking *CRIME* that they haven't reintroduced it. *The* coolest weapon in souls.

It is Elden Ring

@@mad3721 No, an actual remake.

What?

Bingo. There's alot to be enjoyed through this game, it's a great product that has hours if not days of enjoyment to get out of it. Sure, it's flawed, but DS2 is still a fantastic game.

Also Elden Ring is the real ds2....

I love DS2

DS3 is still better than DS2 just because the PvP in DS2 is better doesn’t make it the better game the game entirely is decent at best especially compared to 1 and 3 and just like Vinente said they were thinking about making it fairer

DS2 and PVP combat don't go well together

Me too, I love it much more than Dark Souls 1 because I played it first. It's an amazing game, don't care what the haters think

It's my personal favorite even if it's objectively the shittiest Souls game We aren't alone!

@@silverreaps6803 Being able to warp at the beginning of the game, more boss fights, enemies disappear after a certain amount of times you kill them (great for players that are starting out)

@@silverreaps6803 Collecting the giant souls wad also a really fun side quest

As long you like it that’s all that matters, screw everyone else’s opinion.

I just want a single other game to have the option to run a mundane build like ds2 had, it's an inspired idea. (I only assume they scrapped it going forward because it seems like the biggest pain in the ass to balance around). Also the spice system was incredibly cool and I wish other games would incorporate something along those lines.

>ds3