The best words to describe Dark Souls II are punishing and brutal. So, in the spirit of the challenge that Dark Souls II represents, I will use neither word again for the rest of this review.
Every victory is earned, whether they’re from from gaining new ground in an uncharted area or taking down a towering boss. Each new weapon or item is always hard-fought. The sense of achievement you get from any progress is unrivaled. I am not usually a very vocal gamer, but my housemates can attest that I became one who was constantly screaming in either triumph or defeat. The latter being much more common, making the few victories that much more intense.
There are very few tutorials or anything that could be considered helpful in Dark Souls II. Even finding out what certain stats do took me a while to figure out. The hardest part is, without doubt, the game’s combat system. There is no hand holding here. You just have to find out what works for yourself.
The boss battles are a perfect example of this. Your strength and fighting ability take a back seat to defense and how well you can dodge enemy attacks. Each boss brings with it a different challenge, new moves and a new environment. Some boss fights have you surrounded by elements that will kill you instantly. Others see you knee high in water slowing down the all important dodge roll and running ability. The only way to learn how to defeat each boss is by dying over and over. It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun but it becomes addictive. Slowly and painfully learning all every tell until you know what your reaction should be for each attack to keep you alive. Then all you need to do is string together a perfect run, attack at every opportunity without taking damage and you’re set. Its as hard as it sounds but its what make this game unique.
Learning from failure isn’t just reserved for boss battles; in fact, it’s the essence of the game. After exploring each new area and dying a ridiculous amount of times, I found I knew every inch of the map. Quite literally, every twist, turn and enemy spawn point. It wasn’t long before I knew the best spots to run for cover or find high ground without using all my stamina in the process.
The level design is incredible and a permanent twilight makes some parts of the game beautiful and almost out of place. I was constantly in awe of each new setting and eagerly awaiting the next. Every area flows together, making transitions from gothic cathedrals to haunting forests and tunnels. Very little is ever repeated making each part of the game feel painstakingly handcrafted. Symmetry is a rarity making things a little tougher to commit to memory straight away. It also helps to bring the overall chaos of the world you’re exploring to light. There is nothing linear about Dark Souls II and the world is the best example. You are constantly changing levels, following winding narrow paths or climbing trees and ladders to get to the next area.
Your path is very rarely open, forcing a sense of claustrophobia and making it hard for you to see if something nasty is waiting around the corner in ambush. Although things are close open windows and crumbling walls allow you to see other places you may have already been or want to get to. If you can see something just out of reach it will no doubt be accessible from another path.
The enemies range from fearsome to grotesque. Dark Souls II isn’t a horror game, but there were plenty of times I found my self jumping when attacked from the shadows by something unfortunate looking. Just when I thought I had seen it all something even more revolting or terrifying is waiting just around the corner.
Dark Souls II is a huge game and the difficulty scale is incredibly rough. Powering through without grinding at some point is impossible or ludicrous at best. This may turn a lot of gamers off but I have always loved RPGs and grinding has become a normal part of a lot of my gaming but in Dark Souls II it’s a necessity.
I have developed a real love hate relationship with Dark Souls II since first firing it up. I’ll admit it started as just plain hate as the frustrations of not knowing what I was doing or even were to go proved a little too much for me. Couple that with the constant deaths, occasionally leading to negating all the progress I had made in half an hour or so, it wasn’t looking good in the beginning. I was worried I wouldn’t have the patience to enjoy Dark Souls II. Not only have I changed my mind, but also I see it as a statement about current video games. How success can come even when the rules and standard things we take for granted in gaming are thrown away. After time I came to realize its all apart of the challenge and it’s a challenge I have learnt to enjoy. Dark Souls II will be staying in my Xbox 360 for the foreseeable future.
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