Dark Souls 2 is the definitive Dark Souls experience, for better or for worse.

The status of the Dark Souls series is legendary, and its influence can be seen in hundreds of games we play today.

It essentially took the RPG formula and turned it into an entirely new genre, soulslikes. This eventually blossomed into other FromSoftware titles like Bloodborne, and of course Elden Ring, which will receive a major expansion in June, Shadow Of The Erdtree.

Check out the gameplay trailer for Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree below

That being said while Elden Ring is the shiny new toy FromSoftware fans can’t seem to put down, many still fondly look back on where it all began, and while the Dark Souls trilogy gets a lot of praise the middle child, Dark Souls 2, is often overlooked or thrown to the wayside. This is bizarre considering out of all of them, Dark Souls 2 is the highest rated game on Metacritic with a score of 91, somehow beating Dark Souls 3 which is often considered the best out of all of them for being the most modern entry.

Despite this the game has been notoriously downplayed as the worst game in the trilogy, but after recently replaying it, the Scholar Of The First Sin version to be precise, I genuinely think it’s ludicrous this game is so passionately hated, considering it arguably provides the definitive soulslike experience.

FromSoftware

Soulslike games are defined, whether fairly or not, by the challenge they force upon the player. As you progress through them you typically encounter greater threats than you did in the previous area, having your patience, confidence and skills put to the test regularly. Now of course when you’ve gotten good at one of them that challenge drops off significantly unless you’re on a New Game Plus playthrough but there’s still a chance the game will catch you out if you get overconfident or forget what lies ahead of you.

Dark Souls 2 does this in spades, as it can be absolutely brutal sometimes with its game mechanics and enemy placement, but just as rewarding as the other games in the series when you overcome the challenge, after all that’s why we play soulslike games right? To overcome obstacles and feel good about it.

If that’s true then Dark Souls 2 must be the definitive souls game, as it’s arguably the hardest one to date. When developing the sequel a number of changes were made compared to the previous game. These include taking a chunk of your health bar away when you die, making the Estus Flask a slower, stationary healing item, decreasing invisibility frames after being hit or rolling and more. Enemy placement was also increased, and items that help the player become stronger such as Estus Shards and Titanite felt less common in the open world. This made the game a significantly harder challenge than the original Dark Souls , so much so that things were dumbed down for Dark Souls 3 for a more accessible experience. Yet despite the idea that souls games are good because they challenge the player, Dark Souls 2 is often slated as the worst in the series for being too hard.

FromSoftware

It’s true that Dark Souls 2 has segments that border on unfair, like the boss run to the Smelter Demon fight, but I think there’s sometimes a misconception between tough-as-nails hard, and just plain annoying and that’s largely due to the overall game design. Running back to a boss is one of the key sources of frustration for Dark Souls 2 players, and that’s largely due to how many enemies you have to pass along the way, and a lack of invincibility when travelling through fog walls, something future games thankfully reintroduced. Yes it’s annoying but that’s not the source of the game’s difficulty, as that’s not the playstyle the game is expecting or encouraging, show through how it punishes those who try to steamroll ahead. This is especially clear with the boss encounters, many of which seem incredibly difficult at first glance, but are secretly pushovers when you take the time to see what they do and what’s going on around you. Almost every boss in the game has some sort of exploit to make the fight easier. The second boss in the game, The Pursuer, can be instantly killed by the crossbows in the back of his arena, and The Old Iron King can be made completely redundant by standing in a certain part of his arena. Adding to this, most fights can be made significantly easier by NPC summons, with some fights allowing more than one depending on what side content you’ve experienced up to that point. If you’re still struggling you can exploit a weakness found within most bosses, they have no idea what to do if you circle them. I’d say at least half of the bosses in the game can be bested by walking around their left side and wailing on their back while they’re swiping at thin air.

FromSoftware

What Dark Souls 2 truly is, and the same can be said for the majority of FromSoftware games, is excessive. The Dark Souls games aren’t as difficult as many players would have you believe, the challenge comes from the onslaught of enemies and environmental hazards thrown at you. By the time you’ve made it to a boss you’re usually feeling the pressure of having to run all the way back to the arena if you fail, which is usually the main reason you died aside from a skill issue. Dark Souls 2 is no different, in fact it’s the worst one in that regard as many bosses are ages away from a bonfire, and unlike the previous game you’re not invincible while entering a boss arena so half of the time you need to kill the enemies on the way or you’re not even getting through the door.

These are the kind of games that test your patience more than anything else. If you give up, you put the controller down, uninstall the game and play something else. If you’re determined, you’ll keep trying until you win all so you can feel that little sense of pride and accomplishment when overcoming a challenge which spurs on to keep playing.

FromSoftware

By that logic, Dark Souls 2 has to be the definitive Dark Souls experience, because it’s relentless in its challenge and the way it tests the player’s resolve. Even series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki holds the game in high-regard, saying a lot of its core mechanics and ideas were carried over to future entries, many of which are critically and commercially acclaimed by fans and critics.

Sometimes Dark Souls 2 borders on unfair, and looking back on it in the year of 2024 it’s obvious it hasn’t aged gracefully. That being said it has to be one of the most satisfying games in the series to overcome, which, again, is why you play a soulslike.