A massive in-depth look at the epic high's & awful lows of the most polarizing Soulsborne title yet. Email: EndymionYT@hotmail.com Twitter: @EndymionYT Instagram: endymionn Twitch: / endymion_yt Patreon: / endymiontv
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DS2 was a unique experience for me, because it was my first Souls experience in 2014, so I didn't have anything else to compare it to, and I thought it was spectacular. I started playing it after I watched the Two Best Friends Play series on it, and I didn't really have a problem with it. To me it was all new and wonderful and I didn't notice the flaws because I hadn't played DS1 yet.
DS2 had such a dreamlike atmosphere compared to the other souls games and I always loved that about it, it leaned more into the “fantasy” aspect rather than the Medieval or Horror.
That's a big reason why I love it. There's a lot more classically fantasy elements and locales compared to the other instalments. I go for that more than dark fantasy.
Totally agree. The game evokes what I imagined in my head as a young boy reading books like the Neverending Story and the Chronicles of Narnia. Makes me feel nostalgic and sentimental in ways Dark Souls 3 or Bloodborne doesn't.
@@leinad2934 Add some Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, and we are complete. Surrealism and eye-candies, help balance out the dark fantasy factor really well.
That's why I always despise these type of stupid, smarty pants essays All they do is talk calmly with a monotonous voice to sound smart and knowledgeable with very subpar gameplay in the background
@@Sohelanthropus Mauler's review of the game is 80min long and has very little wrong informations. Biggest mistake he makes is not knowing the jester's garb protects from backstabs, and even then he provides plenty of other pve exemples where backstabs don't work properly. The problem is not how the person presents his review, it's just that some people don't know the game well and some do. But most of the time they'll point out the same problems, because this game has more than plenty. In fact, this video barely scratch the surface of what is wrong with this game.
Uhh guys I don't think being unaware of little details is enough to discredit his general opinion. Nor do these little details suddenly not make it the weakest game in the trilogy.
Oh an Bonfire Ascetics don't just make the enemies tougher for that area, they fully move that area into it's NG+ equivalent, and as far as I remember that remains when you actually enter NG+, meaning any ascetics used in your first playthrough to acquire specific NG+ items will carry over and make your NG+ areas into NG+2 areas.
My brother basically ruined his game with those. He didn't understand that the area he used them in was now going to continually be over the top difficult.
@@rabbyd542 Yeah, usually best to use them on specific areas for certain items you want for your build, and make sure you've beaten the area once and have picked up the Bonfire after it so if the area ends up being too difficult you can just progress the game instead
Yes there's one bonfire you should up in every run, its the one after skeleton lords. There's a chunk in the little poison cave next to the bonfire and the lady with the big boobies, which becomes three chunks in ng+. This is an extremely valuable level up for your weapon. And since the next bonfire is a sneeze away it doesn't really effect the game beyond that
You can actually respawn enemies by joining the Covenant of Champions in Majula. I love all the Souls games, even DS2, but I can also see their problems. The Souls games are my favorite games of all time.
The guy have no knowledge about basic things in the game. When I heard he doesn't know some so widely known ways for farming like covenant of Champions or how he have no idea which one is the Rat king 👑 I realize this is BS video full with false claims, lack of experience to fully understand the game's mechanics or just pure ignorance made by one complete casual
I didn’t mind the blue smelter demon fight so much but the route to get to it was ridiculously bad. When i finally killed it, i didn’t even feel satisfied like with most Fromsoft bosses. I just felt like my real life expectancy stopped getting shorter
3:19 I always like to interpret this cutscene as an metaphorical representation of the Undead Curse. You wander, aimlessly, dying and reviving again and again, while your own memories fade away and melt. Like the old lady says, you will go hollow, and prey upon souls to stall out the curse. The entrance to Dragleic feels like you, after all this time, finally facing the Curse head on, and being swallowed by it's ever present maw. Notice how the Darksign in DS2 is a spiraling circle, which mirrors the whirlpool that you fall into in the cutscene. It can be confusing, but often the best art is confusing if you try to look at it from a literal standpoint. And as a piece of art, this intro might not be the best storytelling, but it's the best in a metaphorical way.
I see it in literal sense and it pretty much says "we are cursed that degrades us slowly to the point of blank and shows how we already forget important things like the mother and child just fading, we search for a cure and ready to take huge risks for it, that's why we jump in on the whirlpool, the fire keepers then told us what the perils of the journey and it could just lead to our curse consuming us before we complete the journey" I guess that people relates the "you will die" dialogue of the fire keeper as a tongue in cheek joke but it's a story related dialogue as the more we did, the more we go hollow which is the thing we are desperately trying to preveny
by the way, I read the ''Dark Souls The Breath of Andolus'' comic book and it touches on that exact same theme, the main character ''Fira'' a cursed undead looking to stop a disease that is killing her village, dies and slowly loses it's memories ( i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1543952767i/26687486._SY540_.jpg
Was super happy to see Power Stancing and areas so dark you need a torch in Elden Ring. Elden Ring really does feel like the amalgamation of all that From has to offer.
I LOVE the fire mechanic in Ds2. Wish we had more of it. Something weirdly satisfying lighting up an area, probably my somewhat OCD but I love it. And enemies cowering cause they fear light? Love it. Wish we had more of it
Honestly I feel like elden ring feels too much like DS2 in all the worst possible ways. Including location design and enemies variety. To be short, I think both are among the worst in the soulsborne series.
@@Mrlaneck Oh please. I'm not buying that for a second lol. Elden Ring has gotten nothing but praise from Soulsborne veterans and newcomers for being nothing short of phenomenal. Hell, it's already entered the pantheon of "one of the best games of all time". It's also been the most commercially successful FromSoft game to date. I'm assuming you're aware of all of that, which is why you WANT to dislike it.
Pursuer has a spectacle, though. The way he is dropped by the giant raptor and his eyes start glowing is one of the most badass introductions to a boss, IMO.
@@boglurker2043 It's not the red eyes themselves, but the way he is introduced. Otherwise, a lot of the standard enemies would be considered spectacles, but well, they're not.
I still, to this day, despite not liking DS2 anywhere near as much as the other fromsoft games, consider Majula my favourite hub. To go from fighting demons and deadly monsters, to being able to mess with my characters abilities and just chill for a bit in a scenic cliffside harbour town?.... Perfect balance, in all things
Yeah it's super chill but the game never does anything with it. DS1 also had great music and visuals and atmosphere for Firelink, but the game repeatedly reinforces this comfort with actual gameplay beyond characters turning up there. It's a real shame that all it takes for some people is wave sound effects to make Majula their favourite as it completely ignores the massive impact gameplay has on your perception of a location. Playing DS1 through without using a wiki every 5 seconds let's the gameplay force you to consider firelink home by returning you there when you don't expect it, making the bonfire the best one you will use for many hours and also taking it away from you later on. Meanwhile there isn't any gameplay that effects majula whatsoever. Yes it is comfy but anywhere is comfy with the right lighting and soundtrack. Firelink could be ugly and completely silent, but the gameplay would still make it feel like home.
i love the atmosphere this game creates. playing it for the first time was unlike any other game i ever played. it always felt like there was more content and it was fun knocking out some of the small easy bosses.
For some reason, out of all the Souls games, I have the most nostalgia for DS2. Although DS1 is still my favorite to this day with DeS following, there's something about DS2 that always captivated me into being incredibly fond for it. The PVP in this game is, in my opinion, the best out of all the Souls series. The build diversity, fight clubs, invaders and players overall just felt different from the rest of the Souls games, which I believe is the greatest strength for DS2: it's different. Which is why I feel makes it more memorable than it should be since the other Souls games look and play very similarly to each other. Despite all it's faults, I still remember this different take on a Souls game to this day.
Once I fully replay DS3 in a bit here I’ll know which is my fav. As of now...probably the original Dark Souls. But opinions might change! We’ll see. Thanks for commenting 🤘🏻🔥
@@EndymionTv I have platinum in all souls games, including both versions of ds2. And in ds2 they made you rank up your covenants by farming the covenant items in the pvp (in case you wanna do it faster) , otherwise you have to wait until ng++ if you wanna do it offline. I accept acknowledge that pvp exists in souls games but that's it and I only chose to indulge in it if I have to. I prefer fair pvp games where everyone is on the same terms like fighting games anyway, where you win your own skill, and not some bullshit cheap build.
@@HaohmaruHL yeah I need to get to ng plus 3 then talk to the chancellor then I’m good. And besides Ds2 I just need Ds3 platinum & then I got them all. But ng+3 seems like a lot for some spells but ehhh. It is what it is
Not sure I agree with you on Vendrick being a better final boss. The fact that he's just hollow in a tomb (and also non-aggressive) is supposed to be something of a plot twist. The game sets you up to think that the meeting with Vendrick is going to be some kind of epic showdown. But instead of finding a king down there, you just find a man. He's afflicted with the same curse as you, and like you he has no answer for how to fix it. The game gave up this climax in order to drive home its themes about losing oneself to the curse, which -- say what you will about game design -- is actually pretty good storytelling. If your character attacks King Vendrick in his hollow, passive state, that says something about your character.
@@Pelayum far better and more personal writing than bb or ds1, so much of ds1 and especially bb is copy pasted from different mythos and writers like berserk, greek and norse myths, king arthur and lovecraft. ds2, demons and elden ring lore is far more unique and better written if you ask me. nothing in bb or ds1 comes has the originality and personality of npcs like vendrick, aldia, lorian and lothric, ishin, and practically all elden ring npcs lol. gherman almost has a personality, but its ur generic souls trgedy trope that the older games were infested with. theres more variety and personality in elden rings side npcs that barely had diologue than he does, also, other than that time he cried in his sleep, hes mostly a monotone asshole without much personality in the dream, so not much actual personality or writing if you ask me.
@@flamingmanure I agree it's great, I wouldn't go as far and say it's better than DS1's or Bloodborne's, but I would agree it's more personal than DS1 or 3's.
@@gstvntt cleared it all so I didn’t have to be bothered lol. I prefer Fume Knight, but he was good too. Shocking two of the best bosses in the game are in the same dlc section.
I disagree with you on a lot of this video, but they are valid criticisms. The one thing you got wrong though was Vendrick. Vedrick is one of my favorite bosses and the atmosphere fit his story perfectly. If that boss fight looked like the Burnt Ivory King it would almost make a mockery of him. Vendrick is a tragic figure and his boss fight is solemn and gloomy to match. The fact that he is optional is a wonderful choice as well, do you let the decayed king rot or put him out of his own misery? If I recall, the complete music for his fight is about 9 minutes long (in game, not the soundtrack version), and if you try and fight him before you have all giant souls it may take you that long. All I'm saying is that Vendricks fight, though not glamorous or flashy, was intentionally designed for you to pity him and question your actions And although I agree with you on Nashandra and Aldia, the fact that the fucking throne room is along a narrow path that stretches over and endless drop, a place no ceremony or procession or parade could get to, the fact that the throne is in this tiny little stone box that shuts as you get inside like a fucking coffin? It's not grandiose because it isn't supposed to be. Linking the is a dismal choice and the room matches it. The boss fights are shit but some of the design choices tell you that linking the fire has gone on so long people have started to figure out it's bad. Dark souls 1 is about being tricked by the gods to prolong the age of fire, the age of the gods, instead of ushering in the age of dark (what could also be called the age of man). Dark souls 2 is about a king who tried to stop it and couldn't. Even if you don't link the flame, someone else will. It's a game about futility. It is the despair you need to feel before being able to snuff out the flame in dark souls 3, and vendrick is key to that. The fact that Vendrick is not the final boss, also speaks to the inevitability you're supposed to feel, that the system keeps turning with or without you. Vendrick is a stand in for humanity, being crushed by over extending the age of fire. I didn't eat today, so this rant may not make a whole lot of sense but Vendrick is vitally important and the understatement of his situation is in line with his story
You are rigth about Vendrick, but i think the fight could be a little better. For example, Gwin is just a shadow of what he was, he is not at his best, and you can feel it, but the fight still is good (from a gameplay pov). And Vendrick is "meh", he didn't need to be extremely hard, or stronger, just have a better moveset, because i think this is what kinda ruins the sad atmosphere and emotional weight on this bossfight. My dream is that one day they create a remake of DSII, fixing problems like adp and improving things like this fight
Vendrick was one of my least favorite bosses mechanically but him and Aldia are probably my favorite characters in Dark Souls and probably why I love DS2 story the most (though the DS3 DLC story is probably my 2nd favorite)
Fun Fact. DS2 was so poorly optimized that that if you played at 60 FPS on PC the game would cause your weapon to lose durability and twice the normal rate of 30 FPS.
@@gv2212yeah but DS1 was made on a fraction of the budget, under 2 years of dev time, it was one of the teams first PC releases, was already considered a failure by everyone involved and was essentially an experimental art piece. DS2 on the other hand had millions of dollars just spent on marketing, a massive dev team, enough dev time and importantly the team had already ported DS1 to PC so they should have learned. These are completely incomparable as one game was basically an indie project whereas the other was a massive flagship AAA release 😂
@@aryabratsahoo7474 Yeah...because he is a braindead hollow. The beauty of the encounter isnt the fight. Its the fact that the King, who you set out to kill, is a husk of its former self.
No mention of Alonne as a boss? He was my favourite boss of the entire series outside of Bloodborne. A duel between 2 great warriors, felt a lot like fighting Artorias.
bb has your favorite bosses? really? to each their own but imo other than maybe 5 or 6 bosses, most bosses in bb range from mediocre to down right trash compared to the newer games. hell i think the only great boss in the main game after vicar is basically just gherman.
@@flamingmanure Nothing outside of Sekiro has topped Lady Maria for me personally. Bloodborne has a lot of repetitive bosses but I think its better ones outclass DS bosses by a lot. Nevermind Elden Ring which in my opinion was really weak in that department.
@@vicmanvalfre96 I would consider Ludwig and the orphan of Kos to be standouts boss in bloodborne lady Maria is really great but she's too exploitable for my liking
Making a boss just a normal enemy later after U beat it is an amazing detail & a message to the player that he's now become a better player than when he started the game .
When they forced the B team to produce a sequel in the wake of the success of DS1, while Miyazaki and the A-team were already working on Bloodborne. That said, DS2 remains the game I replayed the most (post-DLCs). -insane build variety (and Miracles used to be so fucking cool) -pretty good location variety after the dull early game - despite some quueeestionable transitions (lava peak lol) -AMAZING lore 10/10 -Bonfire Ascetics are fun -3 DLCs that can be played in any order are fun (and I LOVE Shulva and for the most part Brume Tower) -actual variety in NG+
Yeah it’s a good game but it has flaws and that’s okay. I can still call them out while enjoying it, warts and all. The transition to lava peak is literally such a big wtf lol like no hint whatsoever just here you go some lava
@@EndymionTv I LOVED The Old Iron Keep on my first playthrough, but I seriously lost my sense of the world at that point. When I later on went to Cove of Tseldora, I just gave up :D Too fond of DS1's interconnectivity lol - but I do appreciate that we can see Drangleic Castle's tower and the giant bridge etc. from Majula!
@@ihatehandleupdate earthen peak ain't supposed to make sense the world doesn't make sense and you ain't gonna know why you just do things without really knowing why and it's cool and intriguing unlike ds1 where the story is gwyn his allies the four lords or kathe did it that's the answer to any questions
Agreed, the atmosphere and design in everything (environments, armor, characters, etc.) made it feel like the most close and special experience. DS3 felt so bland in comparison. Not to mention the story is focused on YOU and YOUR choice. The variety in everything really breathed life into the game and made it feel more vast than 1 and 3.
I agree. I just can't hate this game. I remember playing it about a year ago for the first time, and It was weird how different the atmosphere was compared to DS1. It was way less dark and much more chill. It's still my favorite game from the Dark Souls trilogy.
16:21 Good thing it's not the only solution. Or do you not know about the covenant of champions? 28:37 What lore exactly? Semon of Dong has no lore lol. 29:00 Blue Smelter can't heal itself. I don't know where you got that from. The proximity fire thing is meant to encourage you to use lifegems, it's not punishing melee players.
Despite being new to the Souls series, I did watch other vids in the past talking about DS2. Some choices were absolutely mind boggling, like the level designs, but overall I just blame it on certain people not being familiar enough with Souls games especially since this is only the third Souls game made and was still niche. The intro with the witches told me everything I needed to know. Made Varre's original maidenless comment sound kind.
It's very mean and I love it! The game was rushed and the dev had to do something with the assets they already have created, and considering the time frames they had to do, the game is pretty good. It only becomes meh if you compare it to other soul's games.
In my opinion this game uses Vendrick in an absolutely incredible way. You've spent all of your game time trying to find him, he is your ultimate goal as far as you know it. And after slogging through the undead crypt you fight his bodyguard, who is a pretty hard fight, you get ready to meet him and instead of the grandiose fight that you expected you just get to a husk of the former king, naked and dragging the symbol of his power accross the floor. All your efforts until now were in vain, as were all of Vendrick's before you, the curse cant be escaped. It's such good storytelling
Nah, you got some stuff very wrong. You don't need bonfire ascetics to respawn enemies. Just use Victor's Stone; the Company of Champions covenant uses Dark Souls 1 mechanics for enemy spawning. The only downside is that enemies are a bit harder, but if you're farming souls, you can pick your spot. Also the Duke's Dear Freya fight is about one handed combat. You hold a torch to keep the small spiders away. And the intro of the game makes perfect sense, if you listen. Well done on the quality of the video though. It just comes across as whiney when you're complaining about things that you should have known, or could have found out easily. Btw, my understanding is that the project had to be rescued from its ambitions, so levels ended up being smashed together in weird ways. I mean, you can see there's nothing above harvest valley... I don't know why they didn't reuse the bird.
@@ArvelDreth yes it does. These are just examples of how he blamed the game for things that were his own misconceptions. Take the two Dragon riders for example, that wasn't a main boss. It was just a mid level boss that led into a hallway. The main boss of that level was the mirror knight. In context, the dragon riders were like the Demon Firesage in DS1. Nothing special, just a mid level boss, and yes, reusing assets.
@@nestormelendez9005 absolutely not. Bonfire ascetics "respawn" the area only by pushing it into NG+ or NG++, etc. Victor's Stone (the Company of Champions covenant) disables the despawning mechanic entirely while you're in it. You can farm enemies as much as you like, and then when you exit the covenant things return to normal. It's idiotic to use bonfire ascetics to farm regular enemies. It might make sense if you're farming bosses or you specifically want NG+ level enemies (i.e. invaders or more souls if you're OP). That wasn't the complaint though. The complaint was running out of enemies to kill.
the thing i loved ab ds2 the most is that the true challenge was progressing through the areas rather than fighting overpowered bosses, it gives it more of a harsh journey feel
@@BioshockDrill true, but tbf that’s how every dark souls game was, either the bosses were the real challenge and the areas were easy or the area was the real challenge and the bosses were easy
One thing I dont hear talked about when it comes to DS2 is the spell system. I'm not a huge fan of Dark Souls 2 but I think that game had it best for pure caster builds. First I like the old tabletop rpg style of magic where you use a spell with a certain number of uses and can get more by equipping multiple of the same spell. So attunement giving you more uses per spell is great and I love the items that reduce the requirements for spells. The variety is amazing and a lot of them look dope. I've never been a fan of FP for casting as it was a complete downgrade. You now have less heals, everything draws from the same pool limiting your total cast, and you rarely ever use anything that's too FP intensive so you use mid teir spells to conserve.
The original version of ds2 is just perfect you have so many options of what to do from the start, and the early access to the dlcs make for amazing combinations and routes
Great video! I honestly love Ds2, it's the first souls game where I got it, and yes it is flawed but I'll never forget the sense of awe travelling from area to area, it's the first From Software game, I co op completed and it was just pure magic, and ever since I've been a diehard From Soft, fan.
There's something about Majula it's like the more time you spend there the more you don't want to leave and slowly the actual purpose of you being there is forgotten it's a very unique hub I also feel that out of all the souls games DS2 has the least amount of concrete lore besides bloodborne which whether intentional or not gives the game a weird feeling of being in a dream like state I understand why most people hate ds2 but I would rather play this over most of the crap that comes out nowadays.
Yeah a lot of the bosses felt like throwaway lore wise. Like Mytha or Skeleton Lords. They just felt like they existed because content. And Majula is home, love that place. Need more quaint lil towns full of weirdos in more games
@@EndymionTv Before elden ring ds2 had the most number of bosses of any fromsoft game that number being 42 including the dlc bosses they went for quantity over quality many bosses don't even feel like bosses like prowling magus, the dragonrider feels like a mini boss turned into a full boss.
@@KratosisGod Which is a problem. Rats are not bosses lol. Neither are normal enemies even if they don’t seem normal earlier on and then become normal. Just don’t like it IMO
@@minerman60101I feel the same way, I don't like ds2 as much as the other fromsoft games but I would rather have games like ds2 over most of the games that come out nowadays
Not finished with the video, but I wanted to comment on what you said about the opening cinematic. I always, always felt that this sequel was meant to push the idea of loss of self and loved ones. Remember, this is years after Lordran. Who knows how long actually. The cycles of these epochs never end. Everyone is exhausted, and hollowing for generations has taken its toll. I don't think many people see the tie between loss of memory on a grand scale and what the world would look like. A lot of characters reflect the loss of memory as a theme, so I do believe this was an intentional theme. I'm suggesting this is the perfect theme for a sequel to Dark Souls 1. It's somber and depressing, exactly what I expect after all these years.
True I mean when you meet Lucatiel of Mirrah, she has no idea how she came to Drangleic. Maybe they were all lured to the land by Nashandra. And since she is a shard of Manus & also basically the Abyss, she used that power to create a kingdom. And a kingdom needs it’s subjects, which you are one of them. That’s how I see it anyway
My biggest issue with Ds2 is the pace of fights in the game, they are kinda slow which is mostly due to the character animation having a lot of recovery time. Also, The game has potato AI just like the dragon lord in elden ring(The dragon borke twice in my 3 playthroughs and just stopped moving or attacking)
The AI felt like any other FS game for me. But in Elden ring, one of the secret boss fights glitched for me and the boss stopped moving. So that wasn’t very fun
For many it was their first souls game, so to them it will always be precious. If you came from Demons/Dark Souls and followed the hype surrounding the release of DSII, you will remember that sinking feeling of being a few hours in and realising this was a different game. It was so out of left field and not what people had come to expect. One of the few game releases that broke my heart in terms of how much of a letdown I found it, but I revisited it after SOTFS for another playthrough years later and can appreciate it for what it is. It is the bastard child of the series and rightly so, but it’s still better than 90% of games today.
It was my first souls game. I went back and played DeS and DS after DS2, then on to BB, DS3, Sekiro, and then ER. Even though DS2 is my least favorite now, I was always have these nostalgic memories of how much I absolutely loved DS2 the first time I played it, and how it got me hooked on the soulsborne series. It felt like going on such a grand adventure, and for that DS2 will always have a special place in my heart
I'm sure someone has mentioned it, but the champions covenant (or whatever it was called) makes all respawns permanent like the first game. However they become stronger as well. You can use bonfire ascetics ontop of this as well.
I came to this video, saw a comment with a time stamp saying that this video said Blue Smelter healed himself. As someone who’s beaten Blue Smelter solo, I felt confused. I clicked it and saw he used both phantoms and Warmth, a Pyromancy that anybody who’s played the game would tell you heals everyone in its radius. Knowing the video maker is beyond dogshit at this game, I find no reason to watch the rest of the video nor acknowledge the existence of the video maker’s brain.
DS2 is definitely the one I've pvp'd the most in, the bridge in the iron keep was a real fun place to hang out. Also it has some cool weapons, puzzle sword is possibly my favourite weapon in the series
Crazy how you didn't mention the cancerous boss runs, where the bloated enemy placement really shines its crappiest. Coupled with the mechanic of fog walls not giving you invincibility until you're 80% through the wall, it makes each boss carry with it more dread, not because they themselves are scary but because you know that, if you die, you'll have to repeat the boss run. And that's where I think the limited spawning comes in handy because at least it gives you SOME reprieve...
it wasn't always like this, though. this was only a problem in the re-release. vanilla dark souls 2 was awesome, and people seemed to love it. so easily forgotten is the history of this game.
idk I wonder sometimes if the way they did enemy placement and removed s from fog walls wasn’t to force engagement, which they would later reward by clearing the enemy out entirely. Because I’m sure they see videos of people playing the game as they run by 99% of the enemies when they no longer feel afraid or in need of souls. But they could also just be incompetent, but if you play slowly the majority of sections aren’t even that bad. Even in Scholar. Smelter demon one sucks, as does the Sir Allone, I didn’t do the blue, because no thanks. That looks terrible. Gank Squad was bad enough of a run and blue smelter seemed like that but significantly worse
About the light thing, I'm pretty sure they implemented this in Elden Ring, Beast Repellent Torch and Sentry Torch. With the BRT you can scare off beasts like wolf and the likes and ST let you see invisible assassins.
DS2 isnt half as bad as people make it out to be. If it came out first people would have loved it. It is arguably the worst soulslikegame of FromSoft, but considering how great these games are that doesnt mean much
Yep later on in the vid I say basically this. It’s the worst of their soulsborne games, but when compared to like 90% of what’s out there it’s still way better than most games. And just cause it’s worst doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. Thanks for the comment!
@@EndymionTv ye i didnt watch the vid before i commented, but i know your vids and didnt think youd hate on it anyway ^^ great vid as always , appreciate the content
@@BBQcheese huh? You just said its even worse than people think it is, which is not true. I get youd dislike it because its missing Miyazakis vision but its still a good game overall
@@BBQcheese i disagree. Its an interesting , intruiging fun game with a compellibg setting and a fun combat system, a wide variety of weapons , a few good bosses and a few okay ones along with some bad ones, a few great and good areas and two or three that needed s lot of polishing. What you can see in this game is underlying, unused potential, but its still a good game and no other non souls gameis similiar to it except for the most part, poorly made copies of smaller publishers. You are entitled to your opinion, but so am i.
You also forget people that consider DS2 the best in Souls series, such as myself. And I've got an explanation which makes a lot of the topics you mentioned make sense, at least for myself: 1. Level design. It makes sense that world is fractured. It always has been that way. The examples can be found in each Souls games: Ash lake, Kiln of the first flame. DS3 explains it more direct and leans more into it. 2. Gameplay mechanics. Equipment durability is a preference. It is actually implemented great, balancing out the power levels. Usually a weapon won't break between bonfires, unless it is a fragile one. The stat you are referring to is Agility. It increases by increasing both Adaptability and Attunement, I would expect you to know that, going in-depth in that video. The only thing, implemented badly with this mechanic is the Agility description, that doesn't describe the effect of the stat correctly. The presence of this mechanic is a preference either, in the rpg sense, your character progression affecting your dodges is perfectly fine. If you don't like enemies respawn number being limited, enter the covenant of champions. The increased leveling speed will be balanced out by increased difficulty. In repeat, I expected an in-depth study to know that. 3. Lots of bosses, you either like it or don't. In every game there were 3-5 great bosses and the rest were meh. 4. Spectacle is just a dust in your face, especially when the opponent is lacking compared to the spectacle. Elden Ring suffers from this problem a lot. Overall, I wouln't say it was that in-depth, but a good review. Thanks for not discouraging people of playing the game. I would add an advice for people to not play the Scolar of the First Sin version first, the slightly enhanced graphics and 60 fps aren't worth the questionable game design choices made mostly for people that played the vanilla before. Play Vanilla with DLC's and if you liked it you can try out the SotFS.
Haven't played the SOFTS yet but I love the original DS2 and even better with DLC. I play on the xb360 offline. The cloth physics and atmosphere give it that extra awesomeness that builds upon DS1. Never worried about adp. Can enjoy with or without, just adjust approach.
Tbf there’s a huge essay/video on it that actually explains why iron keep is there and how it actually does make sense in terms of hints and geographic locations. It’s pretty interesting but it’s an insanely long read with pictures and what not
adaptability being tied to roll s and soul memory. That really was it for me. I have an appreciation for early game bosses being used as common/bruiser enemies later on. Shows how strong/gud you've become over the course of the game and there's usually a lore reasoning behind it.
it was Soul Memory for me. I feel like Adaptability, if it was EXPLAINED IN GAME LMFAO and also scaled just slightly differently would make it a good innovation.
@@music79075 I don't know, it still feels terrible to tie your actual roll mechanism to a stat to determine how effective it could be. It's like adding a chance to your attacks to determine if they could actually do damage or not. Maybe in a different game, Morrowind had those passive chances rolling for every attack, but that was an RPG sim, none of that should be in a game like DS where you need the mechanics to be reliable.
@@music79075 the issue stems from the roll having an animation, and the I-frames don't match that animation. All we know, even when knowing what the stat does, is that it gives you more I-frames. So the problem is we don't know when during the roll the I-frames are actually active or not. And the inconsistent hit boxes don't help either, getting hit with an attack that clearly missed is frustrating, doubly so when you rolled out of the way.
Not sure if this is a hot take or not, but I fucking love the level design of DS2. No other game is like it and that's what I love. It's got a sort of Narnia feeling where you walk through a door and an impossible world is lying right on the other side. You turn around and the door to the mansion is still there, but now you're in the middle of snow-covered woods as far as the eye can see. DS2 is just a couple dozen different Narnia doors and I love the sense of bewilderment it gives me. I can't ever predict where I'll end up next and always makes me stay on my toes.
All things aside, I'm just really sad you didn't mentioned the ONLY boss in this entire game that is true to it's name and also has spectacle when it appears.. the Pursuer, people for some reason sleep on this boss, just because you can cheese him easily, fighting him as the beginning without the ballista is super hard, and later on when he starts to invade you randomly, he gets Dark magic powers which he didn't have before, which catch you by surprise. Honestly the whole pursuer thing is amazing imo
@@ihatehandleupdate Not even DS2 have a facepalm worthy "boss" as the 2 pests in ER. Even freaking royal rat vanguard is more creative than slapping 2 completely normal enemies I already fought in drows and calling them a boss.
I'd be okay with a dumb generic enemy having a boss health bar, hell I played the chalice dungeons in bloodborne, its kinda funny when you dont see it coming. what I can not stand is fighting the same boss upwards of SIX TIMES in a single play through, if I have to fight ANOTHER asylum demon reskin in any other souls game ever again, I am going to cosplay the deprived starting class and start clubbing everyone to death in my neighborhood IRL.
I have to be honest, I really dislike DS2. I can overlook some of its lesser flaws like the level design and dull bosses, but for me DS2 is the only Fromsoft game I've played where it didn't feel fair. Bosses with hitboxes far larger than their weapons giving the appearance of being floored by thin air, the inaccurate grabs which would get you even if you were clearly not in range and the massive groups of enemies sharing aggro triggers and who couldn't be seperated caused me to really sour to the game. It's not even the most difficult imo, I find Bloodborne and Elden Ring significantly harder. But at least when I die in those games it's never felt cheap. DS2 seemed like it was out for cheap kills. That said, I'm glad other people can find enjoyment in it despite its flaws. I agree that while it's not up to usual Fromsoft quality, it's still a high quality game compared to many other studios' releases.
Not gonna say, just git gud. But Just just gotta tackled the game differently. Playing through SotFS as my first Souls game, like pretty much everything you said can be dealt with by just, playing the game cautiously. You don't get ganked, if you don't run into situations asking to be ganked. There are very few situations (definitely still some) that you can't break down encounters into micro challenges. Especially aggro triggers, I found that most mobs don't, they just have triggers within close proximity, but you can break them apart, by moving in slowly or taking advantage of ranged options. Pretty much my experience just felt like the game rewarded working smarter, not harder. Maybe less so with some of the DLC areas, but base game most certainly.
I haven’t made it through the video yet. Just wanted to say, that regardless of the overall view of this game, it was my first souls game. And because of that it will always hold a special place in my memory. I can admit it does not stand up to fromsofts other titles, but I look back on it with fond nostalgia. What a ride it was.
dont let other idiots dictate what is good or bad like be honest with yourself Dark souls 2 is fucking amazing and has a unique dream like atmosphere and fantasy asthetic no other souls game has matched!
@@alannielsen4099 nah elden ring matched it in dreak like atmosphere, hell it almost even tops bb in really effed up atmosphere in some places, elden rings greatest strength was its open world atmosphere and exploring in it. ds2 is a close 2nd though in pure uniqueness and goddamn does ds2 have such fantastic vistas, far better thn bb or ds1 ever did.
Same here. People are just like it’s not DS1 so I’m going to nitpick everything. The map not making sense…. Um it’s a fantasy world! People just want to fit in and join the crowd.
@@43pages55 that's fairly disingenuous and unfair of those who didn't like DS2. The game has some significant design and mechanical flaws that just make the game difficult to enjoy if you can't overlook those issues. I want to like DS2 more than I do, and it's the game that I try to come back to the most out of the 3, but it's also the one that drives me away the quickest as it frustrates me to no end at times.
Game was like a fever dream, the moment I'll never forget was taking an elevator towards the sky in Earthen Peak and ending up in Iron Keep, leaving me completely confused lol
In Dark Souls 1 inside the castle found in Anor Londo. There is a picture of Majula viewed from Heide's Tower of Flame. Also pictures of locations found in Dark Souls 3.
You dont need to use a bonfire aesthetic to respawn enemies just join the champions covenent in majula and get infinite respawns, simple problems require simple solutions
I always felt the confusing story and landscapes were a bonus. The lack of looping in the levels is a loss for sure, but I enjoyed and fondly remember the places themselves. I don’t mind the stitched together feeling here because it is kind of dreamlike in its nature. Like, you leave poison peak, a mountain range, and come up underneath a lava ocean? It’s clearly impossible, but in a good way.
I agree. I personally enjoyed the incoherence of location placing, which worked because of the esthetic and wonder of the levels, I think. In my experience, it contributed to the magical ambience of the world. Because of that, this Souls felt more beautiful to me than DS1 and DS3. (Of course, Majula and its music also played a central role in this feeling.) I understand that it doesn't work for some people, even maybe for most people, but it sure did for me.
In reality earthen peak was supposed to be built into the side of the mountain with a bridging location between it and the iron keep. It was scrapped for time.
I mean it kinda makes slightly more sense when you see the area in the DLC in the past as a mountainous/hilly region so it seems like there could be a lake of lava ADJACENT to the poison mountains, it just kinda stretches believability that it seems to be placed directly on top of another area.
I don’t get why DS2 gets so much flak. When I played it I had never played a souls game and tbh I hadn’t been drawn into a game that much in a long time. The last time I remember being that absorbed in a game was Zelda ALTTP. I was that engrossed in the game I didn’t notice things like level design and whether the geography made sense, I was too busy wandering around trying to find a fight. I personally think it’s a great game to just play through, same as the other souls games, sure it’s got its flaws but not enough to shame it as if it shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as the other souls games.
Something that most people seem to miss is that DS1 takes place around a small area (think of a large town) while DS2 takes place over a large continent. Thus, you would have two options, either have your character walking for a long time (since each area is not that large), or have some janky transitions.
DS3 gave lore reasons for why the DS2 geography is messed up. The lands are converging, which is why the Catacombs are below Farron Keep. More convergence is seen in the Ringed City DLC, which takes place at the end of time
DS2 was the first Fromsoft game I played. At first I was like WTF is this. Its ridiculous how easy it is to die! I persevered to find my self totally hooked. For this reason alone DS2 still remains my favourite of them all.
Same. I remember missing the Forest and going to Heide's Tower first, and missing that fist bonfire as well. I kept getting wrecked by the big knights and rage quit over having to run back from Majula over and over. After a break I looked up some guides and I'm glad I returned.
I loved DS2 some of the bosses are unfairly hard but that aside the PvP felt more alive when I played and that was after DS3 and all its DLC was out. I feel like the areas not logically connecting making sense is part of the world.
@@EndymionTv yes that boss and the DLC bosses you mentioned getting the freed Knights to help you, didn't know about them so that boss was the biggest pain, never got so frustrated in souls since
About the spectacle aspect of the bosses, I'd agree with you, nearly none of them are memorable, except King Vendrick's fight, because it uses the same mechanics as DS1 Gwyn, a calm theme to fight an hollow king. It's the only time i felt engaged in a boss fight in the entire game with Velstadt and Mirror Knight, the rest of them I did not care at all and cheesed them as much as possible to make it faster. I never did this in DS1 even if I struggled a lot more, i just liked and respected all the bosses.
I wish you would’ve mentioned the memories system I don’t think it was used in any other souls game it was so good and added a lot of depth to the story especially vendrik’s memories
I’d have to go back and play it to really see, but when DeS first came out, I bought it on a whim and LOVED it. Me and my high school best friend co-oped all of DeS, DS1 and DS2 and we loved all of it. I do remember DS2 feeling harder for the wrong reasons, though
15:30 you realize there’s a covenant you can join that also makes the enemies respawn right? I joined that as soon as I noticed enemies stopped spawning and didn’t really have that problem again
There is a lot of DS2 in Elden Ring. People often complained about DS3 dropping viable build options and making magic sucky. With Elden Ring they really hit a home run with the amount of build options available. Shows that they really listen to customer feedback. Elden Ring took what was great about all the souls games and put them together in one huge epic.
There maybe a few minor details used from DS2 but honestly the engine and gameplay is horrible trash compared to all the other games that Miyazaki actually developed. So yea Elden ring definitely built off of all the successful Miyazaki games but any one with vision and a brain knows that DS2 was just a cheap initiation of the real works with a splash of creativity from a few amateur game designers that couldn’t get 95% of the game right.
@@jadedkaiju pure nonsense. Outside of Elden Ring DS2 had the best build options and variety, the best PvP experience and some of the best dlc additions to date. Plus it was the largest one to date with all dlc, with Elden Ring beating it by a small margin. It also had an excellent soundtrack. The only reason people dog on DS2 is because they know Miyazaki didn’t direct. If he had then all the haters would be praising it. It’s cognitive dissonance that lays at the core of DS2 hate.
@@mindoftheswarm7 The game being large doesn't change the fact that the engine, graphics, physics, and boss designs were all shit. The most important parts of the game were shit. Sure it can have a nice soundtrack and the Aldia lore from the DLC was nice but that doesn't negate the negatives. People can see and feel the the game being different from the very start, the lack of Miyazaki directing isn't why people rag on DS2, they see that as the explanation of why it's such a poorly designed game.
@@jadedkaiju I can agree that a lot of bosses were not great but some were very good and memorable. Chariot, Darklurker, Smelter Demon, Nashandra, Throne Watchers, Velstadt. There were plenty of cool bosses. Graphics had to be toned down due to the size of the game, in dev it had D1 levels of shading but they had to cut it and was probably not an easy decision to make but a necessary one.
I'm not entirely sure if you mention this later, but at around 15:16 you mention enemies despawning after so many kills on them. If you enter the covenant of champions in majula, enemies will respawn indefinitely just like every other souls game. Edit: @ 19:00 the Royal rat (the boss) has a big mowhawk of hair on his back, and bigger ears. But yeah honestly that boss sucks LOL Also just want to say that DS2 is my favourite DS title :D
One minor thing I would like to point out is that the covenant of champions makes it so enemies don't despawn, however it also disables multiplayer and makes enemies deal more damage so it's not really much of a solution to the enemy despawning problem which I agree never should have been in the game in the first place.
I actually liked the despawning mechanic, it made it less annoying to run back to the boss if it kept killing me. There were even times where I would get rid of troublesome enemies before moving on to the boss so I wouldn't have to deal with them later. Although, I guess a better solution woul've been to have bonfires closer to the boss.
Those optional bosses of the DLC are specifically marked as co-op zones. You're not meant to be boss running them solo. Cave of the Dead, Iron Passage, Frigid Outskirts. Seriously, look it up. That context had been lost over the years.
@@malpheus4299 that is in fact some information that I've never heard before but you say that as if it makes it much better to like though, you should have the option to do it yourself without it seeming impossible especially since the game is so old at this point and it's hard to find people to play with personally
@@mortysmith2192 actively playing a new save now and I have had a ton of co-op and invasions. This is right before the souls community event for return to drangleic begins in February where there will be way more too. If you look at the soul memory brackets on the fan wiki and the co-op items reach up and down brackets it is pretty easy to gauge where you can get multiplayer.
I know it is hated and I do see the combat problems… But this one is actually my favorite. The eight way dodging is wonderful and it’s the most beautiful world.
I love dark souls 2, it was my first, I can remember the fear and curiosity of exploring each area of the game, wanting to understand what had happened in that world and why I was there, maybe it's the worst of all in the opinion of most, but all this hate just makes me feel an even greater affection for DS2.
DS2 was my first of the series. Back then it felt so weird, so hard. I remember losing more than half of my HP bar after dying so much in Heide's Tower of Flame, to a point that it was impossible to go any further. So frustrating! Never thought I would get the platinum :D Then DS3 was an amazing new game, so captivating! After that, I played the original DS for some backwards nostalgia! I still return to DS2, the atmosphere is nostalgic, and so is the hardship. By the way I fought the Burnt Ivory King with just two Eleum Loyce Knights freed. It was a nightmare!!!
About the rat boss fight. The one rat that takes damage has a trail of spikey hair going along its back and head. It looks a lot different to the other rats
The diversity of weapons and armors in this game is unmatched! There are sooo many possible build-styles, damage types and the amalgamation of sorcery and miracles tied in so well with the overall story! Multilayer in this game greatly benefited from all the above, unlike every game since! (Bloodborne and Elden Ring included). The lanterns and torch mechanics should have played a bigger role! But yeah, the game itself is the worst of the lot. It playes and feels the worst of all the souls-borne-ring games. So sad! It really had potential
Who cares about various builds and multi-player in a Souls game? Especially when the core game is so mediocre. Just look at bloodborne, it's the complete opposite and is a much better game as a result
@@HaohmaruHL That's a funny response! "Who cares about various builds and multiplayer in a souls game?" The games were built to be replayed, and the ability to go for different gear or respeccing for a completely different build Is going to have people stick around. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that pvp is a thing? Elden Ring pvp is rivers upon rivers of blood, as far as the eye can see. At least pvp on the iron bridge was diverse and it was fun to see what builds people came up with... Look up sunlightblade's top 10 cosplay videos from "back in the day". Ds 1 was only great in regards to pvp because we didn't know what we were missing, until every one was giant dad's and "bass cannon"'s. Ds2 is a league of its own in regards to replay value and build potential - I rank Bloodborne the lowest in this regard. Yes! It's a better game, but aside from strength, dex and arcane that's basically it except for consumables only runs
Elden Ring probably topped DS2 for diversity... It's a shame a lot of the weapons and armors are just really not viable compared to the broken shit. 2 remains the most "balanced" Souls experience.
Ds2 is one of the best of the genre imo. The build variety and possible routes for builds is only beaten by elden ring and thats only because it's open world.
Funnily enough, DS2 is my favorite souls game because of the level and boss fights design: -I love having multiple types of enviroments and not just that one blend gray world of the other games, the only downside being that they dont connect. -I love being overwelmed by a lot of enemies in boss fights, wich for me makes it way more fun than just circling a big enemy for 3 minutes like you do on the other games. -Also, having bosses come back as regular enemies add a sense of progression to me.
I like adaptability a LOT actually. DS2 levels are much cheaper than in other games to compensate for needing to level ADP to restore rolling to DS1 effectiveness. It just opens up so many more gameplay opportunities. You can pump it super high to make your rolls extremely good, or you can forgo it altogether if you're going to focus on blocking everything, or anywhere in between. It's just another option, and options are good. I like lifegems too. I never really felt like I had to use them to have a fair shot at progressing. They're just a good thing to include to make it a little easier if the player wants that.
@@gv2212 I personally think adp is, at least on paper, the worse of the two. Levelling up a stat to make the combat system function is worse than overturning (which is still bad just to be clear).
@@insertedgynamehere___969 Yeah but you can pretty much kill the dragonrider and invest all lvls into adp and forget about it while in elden ring you are stuck with leveling vigor.For me that is way worse
Nice work, man! Liked it a lor... even the jokes. Sincerely, I don't dislike DS2 as much as people tend to, but some things terribly ruin it for me: > Cheap level transition (mostly due to rushing on development for release); > Cheap level designs that exists sometimes (again, due to rushing development); > Ragdolly combat, which takes off a lot of the fun in playing it.
Thank you for watching it. The early game was weird for sure. Just felt odd how it was all placed. But I enjoyed it regardless. Except for the snow field. F that place
I think the level transition is good for the story it's almost or probably is intentional you go to a earthen peak to a iron castle and well there is no explanation and unlike ds1 or 3 it's okay because ds2 story makes you think about things then makes you realize this is worthless in the grand scheme everything in ds2 does not matter but that's what makes it interesting
It may be because I played the upgraded version with all the dlc as my first entry into DS2 but I loved it. Especially the DLC is like prime souls experience to me. Though it is something to keep in mind that I specialize in STR builds so I am not too bothered by the lackluster roll invuln that plagues light build playstyles.
The whole Reign of Drangleic feels like you're stepping into some other side, like a world made from the essence of death people, a dreamscape formed by the memories of once mighty beings long lost to time. I mean, in the beginning you're throwing yourself at what looks like the Gates of Hades forming in the water below you.
I'm a huge souls fan, and I really did not enjoy this game at all. It took me three different attempts to be able to finally finish a playthrough. Maybe I should re-visit at some point to see if it can click.
@@snap4936 the enemy placement has been much more in line with the other souls games. I felt that in the scholar one it just dumped a ton of enemies around you all the time for no reason
I wanted to like Dark Souls 2. I started the series with DS3 and is probably still my favourite entry. But DS2 is almost unplayable. The level design sucks(majula is nice tho) and the gamplay is wretched and feels like moving through mud.
What ruined the game for me was a lot of things. The near constant npc invasions. Probably would be much worse if I played while online. The gank boss fights. The bs boss fights. And by that I mean the boss fights just give off bed of chaos vibes. Cause you just die to bullshit usually. The track to boss fights are probably the worst in the series. Like for example to go from the closest bonfire to the executioner’s chariot you have to kill a like 15 enemies. And an npc when you get to the bridge. Who can one tap you with his heavy attack. That’s just one example and it’s not even the worst one. The bosses that actually were fair fights weren’t even a challenge usually except maybe vendrick. Not including dlc bosses btw. If we go by that tho most of them are unfair too. Only dlc bosses I enjoyed fighting were fume knight and the old iron king. Everything else was just pain and suffering Movement speed was way too slow. Which becomes a problem with some of the bosses you fight. Like the kings pet in the old iron king dlc. The cat that is invisible until you do something about the blizzard? Yeah with how the movement system is in this game it’s hard to dodge that cat’s attacks. Only time the game became easy is when I unlocked the giant lord’s boss fight. Cause I just farmed him until I got to a really high level and thanks to that it trivialized most boss fights Edit: also when I said old iron king I meant the ivory king XD idk why but I get their names confused sometimes. Old iron king was ass, ivory king was a blast
You know, with all the talk of reused bosses, random enemies and groups of them being bosses, etc it sort of reminds me of another game... Like the rules in r/shittydarksouls, "Elden Ring is Dark Souls 2 2, no exceptions"
I always thought that the fact the connections btween levels doesnt make sense is a reflection of how fractured and falling apart the world is and adds to the dispair. For some reason I just cant hate DS2.
@@ExileTwilight i am replaying sekiro now, yeah then I have to admit its really of another level than DS2 design. I really dont know why I loved DS2, guess nostalgia is 90% of it, and rest of it mejula the harrald and Aldias questions perhaps...
As someone who considers DS2 his fave Souls game i have watched many critiques of it. but this one feels like the least genuine. this is sensationalist and not informative
I agree with most of the stuff in this video but I think you’re wrong about old bosses in Dark Souls 1 coming back later on as regular enemies being lazy design. I believe it was absolutely intentional. When I first played through the game and had struggled to beat the early bosses the first time but now had risen up and was slaying them in herds as regular enemies it truly made me feel like I had become the boss.
I haven't played it yet, I'm currently working through my first DS1 playthrough and 2 is up next, but things "making sense" in Soulsborne games is not high in From's priorities. This footage just makes me more excited to play, it looks beautiful. I'm not bothered about one thing connecting to another. DS was cool and everything in terms of "oh hey!" moments, but it's not the be all and end all of level design.
Ppl might kill me for it but I genuinely think DS2 is a better game than DS 3 and Elden Ring, especially considering the replay value. This is my opinion after playing every Fromsoft Souls games and replayed DS1 and DS2 like 2~3 years ago. (dlc included ofc) I really think DS1 and DS2 has superior level design and unique combat style compare to DS3 and Elden Ring.
I honestly think it's a more well rounded experience than the first game, especially if you include the DLC's. The first game was such an epic experience I thought I'd be let down by this one but it has earned a very special place in my lil gamer heart.
