Dark Souls II
Review
Brutal, as expected.
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
Deathly
Dying is inevitable. Luckily, as you progress through the lands you'll be able to visit bonfires which then become a spawn point. But each death causes you to be slightly more hollow, essentially meaning that your maximum HP reduces by a small fraction. Die a few too many times and your max HP can become half of what it originally was. This can be countered by burning special - but scarce - human effigies which will replenish your max HP bar. As you roam around the game world, you will find many more reasons to be careful though. Most games will gradually increase the level of the enemies you encounter, but Dark Souls II does not swing that way. You can easily wander into a horde of overpowered monsters with the ability to pick you up and crush you before you can even swing an axe of cast a spell mere minutes after you get out of the tutorial.
These more difficult combatants can be taken care of once you've levelled up and boosted your stats. Dark Souls II has nine Primary stat classes, but each of these classes effects a multitude of the Derived stats. Endurance (a primary stat) for instance also effects HP, Stamina, Physical Defence and Poise. It could be a little overwhelming for beginners, but it works quite well. Of course, levelling up can only be accomplished via collecting souls. As souls are also used to purchase items and upgrades from the local merchants, the souls of vanquished foes are easily the most important resource in the game.
Audio Visual splendour
Dark Souls II looks amazing. Right from the opening cutscene, gamers are greeted with wonderfully detailed locales that help to immerse the gamer into life amongst the inhabitants of Drangleic. Forests, rivers, mountain ranges and castle ruins are just a few of the richly creative settings, often dark in colour to strengthen the sombre mood of the storyline. The characters too, are full of personality and scores of enemy types - from human guards to epically sized beasts - will cross your path during your expedition. Each is easily distinguishable from the others, so you are always aware of who you're about to come up against.
Along with the wonderful locations and beautiful graphics, Dark Souls II features a truly haunting musical score. The background music works its magic to give a sense of impending doom, fitting the nature of the game remarkably well. Citizens speak with downcast tones, further complementing the mood of despair. The sound effects are fairly standard, but do the job nonetheless. Swords slice through enemies, arrows 'thring' off bowstrings and the sound of footsteps changes depending on the setting you find yourself in.
Worth the wait
Despite the camera angle and controller issues, Dark Souls II is a great game. The extra month or so to wait for the PC version has definitely been worthwhile. It is a challenging game, but one where you feel a sense of accomplishment as you progress. The combat mechanics work well - as long as the camera angle doesn't interfere - and none of the weapons feel overpowered. The non-linear progression works a treat too, giving the gamer more freedom to go where they please, when they please. It can often result in death, as you wander into an area with some really tough opponents, but the only person to blame for that is you.
8.2
fun score
Pros
Challenging. Plenty of freedom to choose your path.
Cons
Camera angle can be annoying. Controls took awhile to get used to.
