What's the official verdict on Dark Souls II?

So Dark Souls Ii has been out for quite a while now, and so far I have heard very mixed things about it. Some people seem to really enjoy it and think it's one of the better Souls games, while others think it's actually a rehash and the weakest game in the series. What does System Wars say?

Just to get the ball rolling...

I thought it was as good as DaS1, but in different ways. Thought the atmosphere was great, the fighting was still fun, overall strong level design. The game felt easier than DaS1, but still provided the challenge people have come to expect. The lore is also fascinating in that it connects to the first game (Dark Souls 1).

However I thought overall the level design of the original was better, and the bosses were a lot more challenging in Dark Souls 1 (there was no boss that compared to Ornstein and Smough in DaS2). Still, I liked some of the conveniences they put into the sequel like warping and all weapons being repaired at bonfires.

what says System Wars?

Theres absolutely nothing official about System Wars.

If you want the Official Verdict then Metacritic has all the verdicts.

It's good but not on the same level as Demons/ Darksouls.

Still better than 90% of the other crap that floods this industry.

Better than Dark Souls not as good as Demon's Souls is the official word.

That´s the "official" word if you´re a playstation fanboy,otherwise it´s called an opinion and it clearly is in the minority.

I loved the shit out of it. It ran beautifully, the environments were great, the combat was fair, yet challenging. Altogether a great game. Highly recommended. Some of the things people are complaining about (like that it seems clunkier) are down to them not investing any points in the adaptation stat, which raises your agility, which in turn controls stuff like roll recovery and how quickly you use items.

Seems like the verdict is it's more of the same

If you liked Dark Souls then you'll like it

If you didn't like Dark Souls, then why the **** do you care

Actually, according to GS they are equal, and according to Metacritic DS2 is a better game than Demon's Souls

pretty much, i personally think is not as good as dark souls but is still a great game

I think Dark Souls was a diamond in the rough, DS2 challenges both of those titles, its more polished but not as special. The world feels thrown together, a lot of the bosses are forgettable and easy, many areas follow a really similar structure to each other and enemy variety isn't as good. Combat is still awesome, character building/customization is still awesome and it still has a needlessly cryptic narrative that makes the game feel pretty aimless at times.

Dark Souls 2 has parts that are impossible to know where to go next. There's also many things you can choose to do to mess up your game with wrong choices. It has the most boss fights of any with 31. The problem for me is that it becomes redundant & dull about 70-80% the way through the game.

For me Demon's Souls is the best, the DS, then DS2

objectively it's pretty bad. Massive slowdown, unresponsive controls, horrendous multiplayer, terrible loading times, lazy uninspired boss battles, ridiculously bad character build system that nullifies strength, dexterity and quality builds. The game is simply not very good and the rose colored glasses everyone has confuses the issue, it's just not a very fun game. I probably won't buy their next iteration

Don't blame the game because you decided to buy the potato version.

Haven't played the game yet, but the response seems to be that the game is good, but didn't receive the same acclaim as Dark Souls 1.

Also, strength is OP as ****. Mace for days.

They really need to fix these hit boxes as well, it doesn't feel as well balanced as Dark Souls in that regard.

It's a great game but the weakest in the series. I think it's time for the series to end unless they start changing things up.

Ds2 wasn't handled by Miyazaki and his closest developers, that's a big reason why.

Also one of the head artists that was responsible for demons/ darksouls look wasn't on board this time.

They were all probably working on Beast mode souls.

Haven't beaten it yet but so far it's a bit of a mixed bag. Overall it's amazing and definitely the best game I've played so far this year and improves on Dark Souls in many respects. But Drangleic isn't as compelling as Lordran, the boss fights aren't nearly as memorable, and the atmosphere compared to Dark/Demon's isn't as good. And then there's stupid design choices like Soul Memory which shouldn't exist.

Dark Souls 2>Demon Souls>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Dark Souls

Lol wut, no one says that.

its sort of the thing cows say to remind people demon souls was an ps3 exclusive.

Dark Souls is better than Demon's.

I have no idea how anyone with any sense of taste and quality could say Demon's is a better game.

In some ways, but when it comes to mood and setting a tone? not even.

Demon's souls is still very much king of atmosphere.

So? Dark Souls is substantially better in almost every area, and "atmosphere" is entirely subjective.

So is the notion that Dark Souls is an objectively better game, opinions.

I think the verdict is still out. It's a toss up. I don't think Dark Souls 2 level design is as inspired as the first one, but the combat is more refined, especially at 60fps. Those two elements are essentially the game for me and it's a push. Demon's Souls still wins in that tone aspect

Damn Sorcerer class look like a homeless person with dirty rag...hell even naked person look better. :P

The biggest detriment to the game for me is why From decided they should have fucked with the hit boxes when they already had a good thing with Dark Souls/ Demons Souls.

That and some of the design decisions they made are just Wtfidon'teven.

Not sure what you mean about the hitboxes.. Dark Souls 1 definitely had an issue with hitboxes, If anything they are better in DS2, but they are definitely not worse.

I've seen major complaints about the game not being inter-connected like Dark Souls, graphic inconsistencies, Bosses not being as memorable, severe input lag and detection and overall, the game's lacking Hidetaka Miyazaki's touch in environmental design and gameplay tightness.

The gameplay mechanics seem better, but about everything else falls short in comparison to Dark Souls uno.

Come forth Project Beast, I want your hidetaka inside me.

They feel alot worse to me, there's been quite a few situations where I know I've hit and it didn't register in the slightest, or times I've been completely clear of an attack and still take full dmg from the resulting impact.

First Souls game I've had this issue with.

No, they are much worse, you are possibly the only person to actually think that they are better in DS2.

It's funny because I was just thinking about this today. I've come to the conclusion: DaS>DeS>DaS2. It's too early for many people to not see and be blinded by DaS2's problems--if you want to call it that. It will show itself in a the coming months. My biggest problem with it is just how closed off this game really is. Drangelic just seems so disjointed and disconnected. Good game though, just not as solid fundamentally as the two previous installments.

Official verdict? Da ****? Read a couple reviews, watch a couple gameplay videos, then maybe rent the game if you haven't made up your mind yet.

Demon's Souls › Darks Souls 2 › Dark Souls ... I know I'm probably in the minority on this one... to answer the topic, I thought Dark Souls 2 was a very good game I think my play through was about 60 hours, and I didn't find any of it to be frustrating or "un-fun". There were a few bosses that my build wasn't well equipped for but that's when you bring in other players to help out O_o

yeah the hitboxes are a joke, hit a guy, no damage, hit a guy, no damage, dodge, get killed. fun game

Stop hitting enemies with the handle of your weapon noobs.

IDK. I had issues with it in Dark Souls. I like to be lite and roll a lot and it was an issue in Dark Souls 1 for me, but it depended on the enemy and animation. I haven't ran into many enemies that have the same issues in Dark Souls 2. It seems pretty clean

Better than Demon Souls, neck to neck with Dark Souls. They both do things better than the other.

Really? So far, I like it the best. Perhaps because they fixed the horrid multiplayer issues from Dark Souls 1.

I can't seem to block those dang spiders. They always seem to hit me, shield up or not I take damage even with the Drangleic shield.

To me, its a great game. I love it. Its just not as good as Dark or Demons. Levels are tiny short bottles, bosses are boring rehashes. None of them have made me go oh crap yet. Multiplayer is awesome, 1080p and 60fps is great. The levels just don't have that feeling of wandering around a giant interconnected garden that DS1 had.

You know how? When they actually have a PS3 and have actually played it. LOL silly nub. Did you forget you have your games collection up which includes not a single PS3 game? You're a fuckin' bum and you and all the bum ass lemmings and Hermits who actually think Dark is better then Demon's obviously think that because one of those games they don't have access to.

...have you considered those aren't all his games?

And it seems the critical consensus agrees that Dark souls 2 is better than Demon Souls

I have mixed feelings. I've found it to be the best Souls game yet due to being able to warp to any bonfire lit straight away, and enemies not respawning after a while, with the option to bring them back with Bonfire Ascetics. Being able to reallocate points for your attributes with Souls Vessels was a good idea too.

The only downer for me with it has been a recurring problem with the run button sometimes not responding even with plenty of stamina, especially during busy scenes like boss fights, when you most want it to work.

I recently changed back to the Dualshock 3 from my original PS3 and it seemed better for a while, but not so much anymore. Well, it seems more like you have to sometimes push the button harder than you'd expect, but not as bad as it was with the other controller.

For the first time in a Souls game I'm sometimes dying when it's not my fault. I know it's not Adaptability because that's at 37 and I've noticed improvements in movement but not the running issue. It is rarely a problem though, but just really disappointing.

If you like playing with others, you can connect WAY faster with this one.

I think its too eatlier to ask this.... People gotta experiment with more builds 1st.

Once everybody has experienced more or less the same things... Ressurect this thread.

Its one step forward and one step back. Why is running speed not in the game anymore? And also, the maximum health penalty is a useless feature because the binding ring comes so early. There is no reason to ever take it off. Also, by penalizing you, the game discourages exploration, which is bad.

However, the new estus system is great. I love how shields and armor have scaling now, too.

But overall? It doesn't have the initial shine of Dark Souls, at least for me. But its a great game in its own right.

No its a lot better than the first game.

Sure, the first game has more memorable boss fights, however, Dark Souls II doesn't have the stinkers like the first game did....I am looking at Bed of Chaos or Capra Demon.

The level design in Dark Souls II is much better....please tell me how Lost Izalith was good level design? the Iron Keep is so much better. Hell, the only area that isn't great is the Gutter/Black Gulch. Dragon Aerie is awesome.