Dark Souls II [Windows, PS3 Xbox 360]

Dark Souls II is out on Windows now and that is mainly what this review will look at. It looks way prettier on PC than on it's console counterparts as this video can attest but it also has a lot of issues due to the complexity of the PC platform. Everyone has probably gotten it by now but you are compelled to read on by forces of dark magic... or something.

The game is super clunky on the PC and it will probably take many patches to get it to where the developer wants it to be, as the console versions have shown. For example in order to quit the game  you need to go back to the main screen, where it will then try and connect to the internet before you can choose the quit option. I thought it would be best to play it with a controller but at first that was a nightmare. Enemies will glitch through walls and because the game is so hard you will often exploit lapses in the A.I. I have a Logitech Dual Action controller and none of the buttons were assigned correctly, there is no easy way to fix this in game either. Eventually I found this guide to install a little app to help with this. So with this installed, I could finally learn how to play the game, oh shit, I just fell off the edge right near the start.

Frustration and a type of OCD are basic requirements of this game as you will be repeating sections over and over. I have tried playing as every class and I must say that the ranged classes have it a lot easier at the start of the game than the melee ones do. As many fans of the series will point out, balance isn't a part of this game. When you can play as a Deprived, a severely hampered class that starts with no weapons, low stats and poor armour, I think you can see the attitude towards the players here is punishment around every corner. However, I had the most fun when I decided to play as a Deprived. It helped teach me a lot more about want I wanted to do and how to level than any other class did. Plus scrounging around for each piece of gear seems to match well with the Dark Souls 2 ethos.

The thing is that Dark Souls II is based on the idea of old games, these old games were often quite short so they used repetition and learning the game as a way to lengthen the gameplay. These old games also came with beautiful manuals that explained how to play and offered tips. Dark Souls II has no manual and as such you will spend your days playing with a browser open in the background, unless you are a complete masochist. I loved the old games that came with these often quite large and ornate manuals, I would play the game by day and read the manual at night. It not only taught you how to play the game but added to the experience as a whole. I think this is something that is sorely lacking here. If you are going to appeal to the old sensibilities you should do it right.

Gameplay will vary quite a lot depending on what fighting style you go for. Even a weapon as simple as a sword will vary your fighting style quite a lot, with different attack motions, timings and defensive options. This is one of Dark Souls greatest strengths, learning the different attacks and defensive manoeuvres of your class, the weapons you have equipped and even your play style. To learn all of this you will be completing multiple runs (an enemy can be killed 12 times before it disappears, not including bringing them back with a bonfire ascetic) of the same area. You will need to do this to collect souls to level up your character and buy gear. It's this kind of repetitive gameplay that is just going to turn off some people and I think that's fair enough. I love to find new challenging areas and bosses but it's the grinding to get to them which really does my head in. Unfortunately, one of the challenges of this game, is to become patient enough to either grind till you are high enough level, or grind till you are immensely skilled at the game.

The graphics range from awesome to horrible in the blink of an eye. Textures are often poor and laid like ill fitting carpet upon large N64 like polygons. Other times the game really builds a dark and scary scene, not only through the graphics but the sounds and music as well. For the most part the animations are quite good but like all games that use melee weapons they can look a little odd at times. As I mentioned before the PC version is much prettier than the consoles but it doesn't have that next gen feel of quality to it.

Dark Souls 2 is incredibly time consuming, especially for someone new to the series like me and it's not really the kind of game you can come home tired from work and play. You will die and end up frustrated. For every problem Dark Souls has it has an equal amount of good. So I think it comes down to the question, do you want to spend the prime part of your day playing it, instead of doing something creative or productive? I know a lot of people think that about video games in general but this is not something you can play to relax. You need to be switched on and focused on what you are doing. There is a huge amount of depth to this game and there are many things I haven't even touched on yet. All the multiplayer aspects, the huge list of equipment you could go on and on about it for days. I think it is a solid game it is just much more niche than those other reviews will have you believe 7.9/10.