A Decade of Dark Souls 2 | Video Essay

What was ACTUALLY wrong with Dark Souls II? It's been ten years and no one has any clue
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:40 Hitboxes
06:44 ADP
09:44 Movement System
13:23 Human Effigies
15:13 Co-Op Areas
20:08 The Shopping Cart Theory
26:35 New Game Plus
29:41 Conclusion
Subscribe if you want a part 2, and follow me at / babsofeao in case I host a fight club stream or something

[@mothmantis0708]

None of the other games have 'dual wielding broken kitchen ladles' as a viable build option.

[@motivateddad]

Only rivalled by Skyrim with knife and fork

[@__Xeese]

5:44 Fun fact: he's getting back handed here. Literally, because there's a hitbox attached to Fume's off hand when he swings it back during this stab

[@ramrodbldm9876]

That's not a fun fact clown

[@ramrodbldm9876]

Not a fun fact like at all clown

[@BlueMareen]

Found this through your short talking about the movement and how it compares to DS1. Really glad I clicked on the full vid. The intro was way sick! I absolutely loved the camera work! Really nice to see more videos talking about DS2 positively instead of all the rampant negativity. Hopefully the algorithm catches this video and spreads it like wildfire

[@kbo8385]

A fellow Dark Souls 2 defender 🫡 Respect

[@ianwilliams2632]

We are rare but we are strong from years of struggle. Don't go hollow.

[@rkle3498]

​@@ianwilliams2632bro it's a fucking video game fuck you mean struggle?

[@aoiyozora67]

Epic video, I really really love Ds2. Not just my favorite souls game, but my favorite game of all time.

[@AtreyusNinja]

hey Aoi ^_^/

[@aoiyozora67]

@@AtreyusNinja whats up, hows it going?

[@ianwilliams2632]

Friend!

[@vojtechspinler6363]

Based!

[@cristiangarciagomez9020]

I want to become a writer, Dark Souls has been really influential in my life and right now I'm working in a story about a character who, originally, was born as a Dark Souls 2 character. It just so happens that I sent a tale about her to a contest and I won, right now I'm around the 200 pages mark and I have never been so passionate, so in love with an idea of a character, and it all began with a Dark souls 2 run. I'm telling you this because I see you appreciate the game and it has given you so many good things, you're not alone, this game gave me my best character who will, one day, become the protagonist of a novel.

[@darkjackl999]

Just curious, what character was it?

[@connorburris4846]

I'll say my point, Manual Lock-on aiming is far too revolutionary, that shit needs two tech guys in a lab teaching it as they point it out how the camera works. It would make a nice menu option to discover, but lock-on locks on for a reason. So you don't whiff attacks via manual controls.

[@boxman7044]

I only play sotfs so the revelation that frigid outskirts and the like were meant to be co-op blew my fucking mind, I mean in hindsight it makes a lot of sense

[@Domo3000]

He also forgot to mention some extra details. They have an increased summoning limit and grant special item drops during coop. Getting summoned to Frigid Outskirts before you get the DLC key is the earliest way to get a Bone Fist.

[@dondada3638]

​@@Domo3000 he's hereeeee

[@luzie3317]

Omg, thanks to this video I finally understood those statues and why the DLCs were mostly desinged the way they were! Thank you very much.

[@hiddenshadow2105]

I have my gripes with DS2 (mostly how I cannot evade grab attacks properly and keep falling off the bridge on a way to Chariot) but it is still the only game out of three I replayed more than 3 times (2 in original and 3 in Scholar) like no other in Souls series. Bloodborne might come close second and Elden Ring is its own Elden Beast entirely but DS2 is still the best in mood, tone, colours, even people. DS2 gave us GAVLAN! No other game has Gavlan.

[@darkjackl999]

WITH GAVLAN YOU WHEEL

[@hiddenshadow2105]

@@darkjackl999 GAVLAN WANTS SOULS! MANY, MANY SOULS!

[@lewd_lewd]

dark souls 2 has always had a special place in my heart it was the first dark souls game i played and probably the second game i ever took seriously , it was also the only game from 2014 that could work on my super low end laptop at the time and i used to take it with me everywhere even on family trips since i wasnt the kind of person who liked social interactions or going outside too much , the world of dark souls 2 might have been very depressing but to me at that time it was a shining beacon of hope , no matter how many time i died , no matter how many time i got bum rushed by 8 enemies , i could always prevail . even now whenever i feel down or get the feeling of "thats it" i would remember the time beat dark souls 2 on a family trip screaming out the balcony of a hotel room with joy knowing that if i beat that game then i could beat whatever im up against now.

[@28_Spokes]

Just got the plat for this game last week. Definitely a game I love and will always love. Great video.

[@Xbolu16]

I love dark souls 2 for the armors and Fashion souls

[@smoothyodaproductions4373]

Velstadts armor🔥🔥

[@darkjackl999]

And the weapons too my god Rediron twinblade my beloved

[@mehdotmeh]

The issue with Adaptability in my opinion is that it demands player investment. As for Ember vs Hollowing, the player feel is important. When you Ember up it feels like an improvement from the base, whereas each subsequent death lowering your health more and more can feel more demoralizing. Also the ring of binding reducing the health lost can feel like a tax on less skilled players. Repeat bosses, I disagree that the co-op areas feel optional in the same way that the optional bosses from Elden Ring do because they have Souls attached to them. Boss runbacks are an issue because of losing souls and just the issue of wanting to rechallenge the boss as soon as you can. Despawning enemies can also feel bad for players that are farming for a specific item or are trying to get strong enough to face a boss. While there is the CoC, it doesn't really communicate what the effects of joining the covenant are and just says that your journey will be harder. Also more than anything else, Dark Souls II fails to explain how it is different from Dark Souls I. It took me years to find it in myself to enjoy DS2 and there are still parts I'd rather not engage in. These are just my thoughts and while I'd like conversation, I do think it might lead to argument. Cheers.

[@a_rat_named_mouse]

The problem with Adaptability which everyone just ignores is that virtually every player will end up investing in. At least to a specific point, for a similar amount of i-frames as you'd probably have in Dark 1 or Demon's. Which, at this point, the question becomes... why bother? It is literally just going to pad out your level for PvP, or slow your growth early-game for PvE purposes. People don't like being given choices when one is so clearly the best option- otherwise they walk away feeling punished for choosing what they want rather than what they didn't realize was so vital. Do you wanna level up Intelligence so you can use cooler spells sooner? Or maybe Strength so you can finally make use of that giant axe burning a hole in your box... The correct answer is ADP, idiot. Enjoy having terrible rolls for another few levels.

[@rslrandy]

"Repeat bosses, I disagree that the co-op areas feel optional in the same way that the optional bosses from Elden Ring do because they have Souls attached to them." Many optional bosses in Souls games have souls attached to them. Moonlight Butterfly, Oceiros, and Champion Gundyr are examples deom DS1 and DS3 that are fully optional. "Boss runbacks are an issue because of losing souls and just the issue of wanting to rechallenge the boss as soon as you can." This gets to an idea that friction is bad in games when it isnt. Why should the game allow the player to challenge the boss as soon as possible?

[@mehdotmeh]

@@rslrandy Point One: Yes you are correct. In fact that is part of my point, those optional bosses feel just as important to the game and their areas are not designed as total gauntlets. Ocieros is a bit of a bad example in this regard as you do have to beat him to unlock one of the endings and in order to reach two late game areas. Point Two: Friction is good. But it is something that has to be balanced with player retention. There is a reason that Elden Ring introduced the Stakes of Marika even with lifting a lot of other design elements from DS2. You don't have to reslog through the area again to rechallenge the boss, but you can't change up spells or spend your runes.

[@noamias4897]

This video was refreshingly analytical and sound while defending DS2, but I disagree with some of the conclusions he draws as they disregard the player’s feelings when playing. Embers feel better than humanity, and even if the hit boxes technically aren’t broken that doesn’t make them feel any more fair

[@holler_pit5243]

The investment is neglectable. Not only is the cost of leveling up smaller than in other souls titles you also don't have to level adp to finish the game.

[@AtreyusNinja]

beautiful video man, alrdy added to my favorite

[@jaesjmes5498]

Despite beating the game several times I somehow never noticed the dragon knights bowing, even when I did 1v1 the big knights and they let me pass I somehow ignored it or didn’t notice them or forgot that happened immediately after. That area was one of my least favourite because of all the enemies, but really I’m just super stupid. And those stone knights in heide’s tower, well I just never trusted them and so never settled for fighting that middle guy, always thinking the other two enemies would surround me if I didn’t try and leave quickly

[@larrywalker1371]

Great video. DS2 was simply ahead of its time. Makes sense that it would have staying power ten years on

[@Maceyoshiman]

Very well done video. Your editing is great, and major brownie points from me for using the 'FATE' soundtrack.

[@86fifty]

The visuals for The Shopping Cart Theory reading?? Peak. PEAK, I SAY! You deserve 10, no, 20 times more subscribers, you're doing great work!

[@calvinnefzger3440]

It's always enjoyable seeing people who really like this game and why, as somebody who came from ds1 and never clicked with it. My main issue was clunkiness. This mostly comes from actions feeling slow and less responsive. Also, I think the movement being in limited directions is still an issue to me even using camera. I play unlocked a lot, and will be trying to move my camera in a different direction. I agree, the repeat bosses are a big isssue in Elden Ring. It's the only major issue I have the game. I sadly was limited in my experience with the multiplayer as not long after starting ds2 I would get horrible horrible ping and my opponents would move maybe once every 30 seconds. Only ever had these issues on ds2. For the general design, it's just a preference but I don't like long boss runs. I played through the game a few months and the boss I struggled with was smelter daemon. The boss run was annoying, which just meant grinding out all the enemies in the area which was very boring. Likewise with the bonefire aesthetic. Redoing an area again afterwards doesn't sound like much fun, and once I'm at an appropriate level for ng+, I'd rather just move on. NG+ changing drops and enemy placement and encounters is very cool. That is the coolest part of DS2, but the bonfire aesthetics isn't interesting to me.

[@86fifty]

Majula theme goes HARD, BRO, congrats on the work!

[@Knight1029]

Thank you for making such a great video. It's been interesting just to see the view on Dark Souls 2 change. I remember watching Noah-Caldwell Gervais's video on Dark Souls and having my mind open. It's such an interesting series and the second one is just "the bad one" it's more than that. From gameplay to story. Thanks for making this video!

[@nyusankin8473]

Maybe you are the only KZbinr who explains why and how Dark Souls 2, even KZbinrs in my own country (Indonesia) really don't like this game because he can't explain it himself like you, you get new subscribers✌️

[@anthonytovar9292]

I like ds2 sotfs even more than I like elden ring, and I've played thousands of hours of that. My guess is that many people don't like adventure games, they'd rather have a boss rush game.

[@dafulegend5905]

Ok soo thats a wiiiild opinion. I love Softs, it’s the first souls game I ever played, but Softs better than elden ring? I dont know mannnnn. 😅 I’ll give credit where it’s due though, Dark Souls 2 incorporated so many experimental ideas that were polished in the later games. Power Stancing, special movesets, build variety. Other unique mechanics like the looking glass knight boss invaders, playing on the dlc without owning the dlc, etc. Dark Souls 2 despite having questionable level design choices also had like some really unique mechanics, like the unfreezing of eleum loyce, the activation of the iron tower, and the hidden pressure plates of the sunken city, burning down the windmill in the earthen peak, and the soul golems in Drangleic castle. Without Dark Souls 2 as the stepping stone, many of these things that came after it would not have been possible.

[@Tater_chip_00]

@@dafulegend5905I second this. Putting DS2 over Elden Ring is a willlld take

[@ianwilliams2632]

​@@Tater_chip_00 I'm with OP, i like DS2 more than ER for many reasons.

[@ihmpall]

Ds2 is the best souls game

[@Touma134]

That is a good reason. It's more an adventure than an action game. Ds1 lent more to combat (as well as better feeling combat) so people who weren't too into the adventure aspect could enjoy. Not sure how I'd scale them but there definitely is a fading of the adventure elements. I hope they reverse it in a future game.

[@dj_daem0n]

No one who ever goes through the AGILITY = IFRAMES argument every mentions how Attunement also increases Agility. Yes, that's how the mage/cleric with a ton of spells/miracles and 3 ADP rolls through your attacks.

[@BabsOfEao]

it's nowhere near the same extent as ADP. high ATN and no ADP does not equal high I-frames.

[@dj_daem0n]

@@BabsOfEao ATN doesn't stack Agility as quickly as ADP, but my end game mages always have minimum 99 Agility purely from ATN, so I have no idea what you're on about.

[@FrozenPanda07]

@@dj_daem0n if you have like 20 ATN and 20 ADP you would probably have more s than with 40 ATN

[@dj_daem0n]

@@FrozenPanda07 Yeah, i'm aware it's not one for one. But my point, again, was that it ALSO builds Agility and eventually gets you there for mage/cleric builds.

[@Ldg638f6ug]

@@dj_daem0n completely agree. You level fast enough in DS2 that by the end I almost always am running some form of a battle mage even on a str or dex build, so I almost never actually up my ADP and can roll just fine

[@rotvein4629]

I have been trying to complete DS2 several times but have gone back to DS3 each time. Now I see it's because I really just have missed these mechanics and have not been understanding the peculiarities of the game. Thanx a lot for this eye-openning video. Hope this time Flume Knight won't be my last boss in the run.

[@lordptk4115]

DS2 was the last Souls-Game I picked up, mainly because of it's reputation, but to my surprise I really loved it. It just clicked with me almost immediately. For one I love the vibe of the game. It feels more like an adventure through old kingdoms a little as if someone crossed dark Souls with Uncharted and for some reason it really works for me. The NPCs, the way you discover new and visually completely different areas so frequently really made me feels I was on this fantastic adventure. I also adore the build variety. Out of all the games this one encourages you the most to play around with different builds and weapons, mostly because they are just cool, but also by giving you additional levels and many upgrade materials. It also provides the most creativity with powerstancing and funky cool weapon arts. Also levelling and infusing weapons is so much improved from the previous games it's insane. I made heavy use of the wiki and bonfire ascetics to cobble my build together and I had the most fun character building out of any of the games (Elden Ring included) Even though I haven't mastered the movement system at all I like it a lot more than DS1s. The fact that the jump-button in DS2 is actually functionable and does feel good to use makes it wild to me that they went back to the horrible old jump for 2 more games. Regarding the enemies and areas it never bothered me. I like the more methodical and careful approach to getting though an area and lo and behold the game actually gives you the tool you need to do that, like making bows and crossbows actually viable, so that you can pick away some enemies from afar. Am I the only one that actually likes the Hollowing system in DS2? I never used that ring outside of like the first hour of the game. Other than that I just let my health dwindle until i felt it necessary and useful to use an effegy. And at least the effegy-economy was spot on. I always had just enough to comfortably use the effegys to reverse the hollowing effect. When to use them felt like an interesting choice I had to make when to use them most effectively while managing the amount i had left. I like it a lot more than in DS3, because here it is an actual core mechanic, whereas in DS3 it felt tacked on and also made balancing really weird, because embering gives so much HP. The hitboxes are for the most part fair, but it is an unfortunate combination of the Agility mechanic, the way the game handles grab-animations and how it handles staggers (like you'd often not get staggered at all while taking damage which makes people think the damage was unfair in the first place). I am on the fence when it comes to agility. On one hand it can create interesting build choices, on the other I am generally not a fan of locking core player abilities within the progression system. It makes levelling ADP not really a choice, which is kind of the most interesting thing about levelling up and allocating your stats. At the same time the devs compensated for that with giving the player much more souls, designing bosses/enemy's movesets in a way where strafing and outspacing is totally viable and disincentivizing spamming roll because of the insane amount of stamina it eats. Overall eh, but it is time for people to stop complaining, just level it a little and it's fine. So yeah, overall I really love the game and I am happy, that Fromsoft seem to reintroduce some of the ideas from DS2 instead of just dropping all the good ideas from that game.

[@everilliem3292]

They didn't go back to old jump for 2 though, well... bloodborne, but that's it. DS3 is l3, and elden ring is Sekiro Style.

[@sgi_cris3780]

really glad someone made a video like this talking about how dark souls 2 isnt the horrible game everyone things it is, and it simply is diffrent in the way you are meant to play it. Coming from a aspiring dark souls 2 enjoyer i really hope you made some people change their views on the game

[@ianwilliams2632]

DS2 is my favourite of the series. Has so much more character and personality than ER. I love how you've tackled the problems it has, as well as tried to recontextualise them. Hitbox section is breath of fresh air, but the shopping cart analogy is spot on. DS2 has a quirky sense of humour that does not connect with most people. Those of us who love it know each other.

[@Alfadhirinn]

Awesome vid man, keep it up. Would love to see more soulsborne stuff

[@LuminousLuna01]

I sent this to my friend as he is starting his first playthrough soon. This video does a god job at highlighting a lot of what I love about this game, and a good few of its flaws. Excellent video for my favorite game in the series.

[@francissebastiansamson8561]

Those why-ds2-sucks videos actually inspired me to play ds2 again! It's funny how people don't know how to approach areas methodically and blame the game for something those people failed to learn. These people don't shoot long range enemies. They just run in with their broadsword, triggering every gank point, and rush to the fog wall and get hit... it's quite hilarious. Though I tried doing that in Elden Ring, and the game became a whole lot easier, which made me respect ds2 a bit more. I'm happy to learn that pvp etiquette is a ds2 thing. I'm proud of our community!

[@madcashewnutjob3345]

I played that game repeatedly when I was deployed. I spent so much time on the SoTFS edition after growing up on the vanilla version. My big claim to fame is not keeping my ADP. That stat stayed at 14.

[@madcashewnutjob3345]

Meant to say, “not leveling ADP.”

[@pheonixwrong1431]

Mr babbbs i love you its so rare to see another spear user

[@BabsOfEao]

haha that was my return to drangleic character. I abandoned him because I didn't like the spear. I love powerstancing them for PvP though!

[@ambience273]

Only got to play DS2 pvp last year, despite playing it on 360 on release. I really play it as respectfull as possible. Sometimes I get a good match. But others are so sweaty. Like my build is of a hexer for pve and I only use meelee on arena, but sometimes the player is so sweaty (like using a bow on the bridge). Like man, we are on Vanilla, be thankful you had another player to fight. And I lost multiple times to him, only won twice, the last I just left after. Or when I was invaded twice on Belfry Sol and the two jumped on me. I on the other hand let them deal with the enemies when I invade. Like when I was on sl1 and I let this newby heal once because an enemy attacked. I ended it no hit.

[@a_rat_named_mouse]

PvP is one of the few things this game does best, I'd argue. Definitely experiment with anything and everything, you'd be shocked at just how viable and even fun many options are. Even seemingly worthless spells like "Shockwave" and "Soul Spear Barrage" offer utility that your stronger spells cannot. The opponent keeps dodging your Soul Arrows? Cast Barrage, watch them roll under three of the little pellets and eat the rest. Shockwave, on the other hand, is a wonderful tool to use for inducing panic. It'll pancake people and instantly break through small and some medium shields, and can be free-aimed at your feet to (literally) trip up aggressive players. And that's just base game Sorcery spells. Pyromancy and Hexes offer more, and the DLCs introduce things like Soul Flash. Go wild.

[@kcrad1527]

DS2 made me want to know more about the game world. DS1 was dark spectacle and DS3 met expectations, but DS2 was the only one out of the three that made me curious.

[@bassy9524]

14:44 i still think that being penalized for each death sucks in ds2. in ds3, embers feel like a buff to your character, and every subsequent death after losing that buff doesn’t penalize you so much. plus, you get embered after each boss kill which makes it feel more like that extra health was earned. in ds2 you spec into your own health pool only for it to be taken away with each death, and effigies aren’t as common (at least in my current playthrough) as embers are. That being said i’m enjoying the hell out of ds2 rn, videos like these are kinda giving me more fuel to enjoy it

[@propyro85]

I had no idea about the DS2 PVP etiquette. I personally always gesture and never heal when I'm being invaded, and typically wait for the invader to make the first move. But that stems from me being really bad at PVP and just not liking it at all, and wanting the invasion to be over faster. Plus, it just felt natural when I was playing DS1, especially when my first few times being invaded my invaders had good etiquette. Now, I love being summoned to help with bosses, or that the small soapstone is a thing for short periods of cooperation. Edit: For what it's worth, I got platinium in DS1 like 4 months ago and I'm 3/4 the way through platinum on DS2. I very much enjoy both these games, and understand them to be two horses of different colours, but they're still horses ... metaphorically.

[@myg3637]

Pretty sure I remember back step iframing that barrel in undead burg just after the Pine resin in ds1 but has been a long time maybe ive miss remembered it

[@unrefinedmorosis5546]

There are no i-frames on backsteps in ds1, so it was likely either a bug or you're misremembering.

[@FRealw27026]

@@unrefinedmorosis5546There are, however it’s an incredibly small window of opportunity. Something like four s. However backsteps on DS1 also have infinite hyper armor meaning you can trivialize a lot of traps by backstepping through them, such as the barrel in Undead Burg or the ball trap in the Asylum

[@a_lethe_ion]

the one point i can understand well is the lack of hit feedback for some enemy hits where you take damage bc ds2 I frames seem to start earlier than ds1 (and 3s are super variable anyway) but people take damage and the visual blur makes it harder to feel

[@FlappableElf]

This was an excellent watch! Dark Souls II is also my favorite fromsoft game! No matter what I will always get chills walking into Majula for the first time on a new character!

[@NiKNAC777]

you make good videos keep it up

[@KiraKageYT]

I loved Dark Souls 2 Scholar Of The First Sin, it was my 3rd Soulsborne game, I got the plats on all of them last year now I'm going back and getting the other stacks, I'm really looking forward to my replay of this one, I didn't learn dodge rolling till DS3 (played them in order) I'm looking forward to a change of play style when I play it again, also had no idea about the backstep dodge or the heideknights not fighting you, usually I used arrows and had all 3 come at me I died alot at that part of the game.

[@Lucy2Juicy]

Based, DS2 was not my first game, Demons souls was, I played them in order and really loved them about equally back then. Coming back to them I realized DS2 is the best aged from just how much of a really good ass video game package it is overall. Demons Souls second, then Dark Souls 1 are all so amazing to replay. From just what all is super viable to the classic Iron Keep bridge dragon fight nights especially on the weekends this game just has so damn much. Its very mechanically rich, like one of those 2000's games that you discover stuff decades after still.

[@Peacefrog91]

Awesome video please make more we can feel the passion. I personally loved ds2 probably more then ds1

[@86fifty]

12:15 - thank youuuuUUU - this was the solution I came up with, once I noticed I was locked to 45-degrees. It was actually nice, I could really DEPEND on my character to go EXACTLY STRAIGHT if I moved the left stick forward at all and i DIDN'T have to be so exact with my left-stick movement, and the right stick helped me line the view up for those terrifying drops in Iron Keep, for example.

[@BOSSHUNTER17]

Dark souls 2 let's you wear a sallet 10/10

[@ArceusShaymin]

I do have two (imo, quite important) counterpoints to your point on Adaptability being similar to other Dark Souls games' poorly-explained mechanics. The first being *those other mechanics weren't as immediately impactful and player-facing as rolling i-frames are.* Nobody will really bat an eye when Gravelords fail to happen in NG worlds, and they'll eventually learn to tune out the weird white circles on the ground in DS1 because they really didn't do much of import to the average player. However, *every single player* of DS2 will roll, and will notice some weirdness with it without knowledge of ADP. Those other mechanics are esoteric not only in form, but in function. Adaptability, on the other hand, is extremely important in function, and therefore should NOT be esoteric in form as it currently is. Had the ADP stat been explained better in the menus, then it likely would have raised less eyebrows overall. The other counterpoint is that other Souls games' poorly-explained mechanics are equally valid areas of critique for just that reason, and shouldn't excuse ADP's poor communication, nor the poor communication of all the games' esoteric mechanics. Nonetheless, I do still love DS2, since I feel like it had the most experimentation out of all of the Souls series titles. Just figured I'd add to the conversation a bit, since I believe it's important to still be critical of even games that you love.

[@thekerminator6521]

I’ve not been using Bonfire Aesthetics in my play through cuz I just didn’t know what they did. Sadly I’m a bit too far into my play through (I’m just finishing the final DLC now) to really make use of them. So one day I’ll come back to DS2 and use the aesthetics in NG+

[@BabsOfEao]

never too late to use em

[@eath2496]

This is a good video, the only criticism i have is that when you flash text on the screen when i go back to pause and read it the youtube pause UI is over your text making it very hard to read so if you could put it a bit higher that would be nice. but on the vid topic DS2 is my least favourite out of all the ones i've played thus far, I'm not terribly far into the game yet thou, I'm trying to give it a fair shake thou and honestly i would never have used bonfire asethitics until i saw this vid

[@kireacts6026]

I love ds2 i love the dark atmosphere and personal journey it takes you on the npcs are so cool and the story is so good and i love that its not directly connected to the other 2. Being told about King Vendrick through out the game having you feel like youll be having a epic with him like Gwen only to find him hollow walking around dragging his sword as a shell of what he used to such a dope twist. I bought this gsme ps4 when it came out and on my pc this year with modded graphics that makes the game look way better. DS2 is the most played dark souls conpared to the other two i own.

[@Lulu_Gaming1025]

Ngl I love this game more than ds1

[@AtreyusNinja]

Ds2>ds1

[@CrimsonRyou]

You are so real for this video!

[@theblakwarior]

And you have not even talked about the lore. The characters. The tragedy of lucatiel. Of every poor soul that made its way to drangleic. The game is beautiful and somber. So much has been forgotten. And so much will be forgotten still. What made me fall in love with ds1 was the atmosphere. Just how much is conveyed despite so much being hidden. Ds2 is no where near that. But its a beautiful continuation and it saddens me to no end that ds3 just threw all of it out for a more straightforward but more meta plot. And so much retreading of old ground. Also, I encurage everyone to replay the frigid outskirts with summons. Its genuinely one of my favorite experiences in any fromsoft game.

[@Lab_Analyst]

You just might have influenced me to try DS2 my friend. DS2 was the first souls game I tried and I hated it, but when Bloodborne came out it completely took over my life and I’ve since played/loved every souls game EXCEPT for DS2 and Sekiro (I hate the lack of build variety in Sekiro…). I think I’ll get DS2 to hold me over until Erdtree comes out🔥

[@TimeofRagnarok]

I really like dark souls 2. I never got the complaints.

[@joshakins4923]

Great take sir

[@alexrippy2125]

Commenting to boost because you deserve it

[@molkwi9077]

This guy is spitting straight fucking facts the whole video goddamn!

[@puckmccormick7129]

I have a saying when it comes to Dark Souls 2, "This game sucks, I love it." It took me 8 different attempts over the course of a year to even get comfortable enough with this game to make it past Lost Sinner. Even when I said I hated the experience, SOMETHING kept me coming back, to keep trying until I finally just grabbed a battle axe and ran through every single level and loved the experience. There are just so many weird little interesting quirks, that honestly outweigh the problems it has. DS2 just.... has a unique feel to it. It actually feels like an RPG, in ways the other games don't. There are mechanics in this game From still hasn't tried again even up to Elden Ring (its dual wield system is still nowhere near as complex as powerstancing in DS2 for example). I love the incongruent world design, I love the somber and otherworldly atmosphere this game consistently displays from start to finish, I love the build variety - which I honestly think only Elden Ring can come close to matching, even then DS2 is the ONLY of the soulsborne titles to have a DEDICATED dark magic system, with hexes. I'm glad the DS2 community defends this game to the death, because it deserves a fanbase that loves it for what it is. I just hope someday the people who made it will love it that much too. I know Miyazaki was barely involved, but it often feels like From is almost embarrassed of this game, when so many people consider it their best title. Cheers to all the others who love this game, and cheers to this video, I will always put my spare time to a good video dissecting why DS2 isn't a bad game at all.

[@amatirangaming2946]

Dude I Love Dark Souls 2 So Much As Fuck... But... Can You Explain... What Will Happen If We Burn Human Effigy On Bonfires... I Just So Confuse With That Thing...

[@BabsOfEao]

the opposite actually, it prevents invasions. sometimes you'll get the effect just by fast traveling to a bonfire, and you have to "nullify human effigy's effect" in order to do any multiplayer. no idea why

[@holler_pit5243]

@@BabsOfEao The effect has to do with the clearing of areas. I guess it's to prevent huge soul loss after defeating bosses.

[@PdiddySmurf]

Your spot on with everything, Ive personally only played DS2 out of the soul games (so far) but i got back into DS2 recently on pc (was a console player back in the day) we convinved a friend to play ds2 with us and it was his first time, he has since had a go of eldin ring and DS1 remastered and he personally feels like DS2 has the best feel to it. I'm due a crack at the rest of the souls games but what I can't understand is the hate DS2 gets. Was it perfect? No! But it was a great game and still is. I can see myself having another player through when it hits 20 years. Easily a top 5 games for me personally :) Great vid bro earned my Sub xD

[@EoteVessels]

13:44 I think I know what's going on here, and it's a psychological trick. I'm going to steal this example from an extra credits video, but apparently, during World of Warcraft's development, there was an exp debuff if you play the game for too long. People didn't like this, but instead of changing the mechanic, they changed how it was framed by making the "normal" state now appear as an exp buff, while the former debuff was now framed as the "normal" state. A similar thing is going on with Dark Souls 2 vs 3. Instead of framing the situation as "you lost half of your max HP", they changed nothing about the system, but instead made the half normal and the normal HP "double your HP" because psychologically speaking, people are less frustrated by that for some reason. It doesn't matter if they are both similar; it's that one feels better than the other for silly moneky brain reasons.

[@BobJones-yq9gj]

If you’re a true DS enjoyer, then everything ‘different and quirky’ about this game is a feature to be explored and enjoyed. There are new challenges not offered by the other games. As with the other games though, you will have great success with creative problem solving, patience, composure, and resistance to greed. As stated in the video, when you master an aspect of this game then you will come to love it too.

[@Arc-coop]

DS2 slaps idc what anybody says. Amazing video man can’t wait to see more!

[@EzioAuditore9655]

Adp, keyboard and mouse (I can't spam m1, it doesn't chain attacks, I need to time them)- bad, Dual wield - good, Bows are ok in pve. Idk what else to say, never finished the game yet :D

[@benjaminturney56]

This video is amazing! I totally agree with most of your points! I had so much fun with this game. Most of the criticisms here like a map that doesn’t make sense, or too many ganks - are not things that bother me at all

[@The_Breaded92]

May have to come back to DSII before elden ring dlc comes out. 🤔

[@itchyt2997]

I like dark souls 2 more than i like essays

[@jasonrallo]

my gosh, another one, the point of movement is valid.

[@c0nfusedkoala]

Cool vid good editing

[@eeroke12]

Majula goes hard.

[@cicisprocket4400]

I just stumbled on this video i have recently been working on 100% every souls game im mostly done with 3 and completely done with 1 i was told that i need to come into this game thinking of it as not a dark souls game and based on how you describe i think thats right in dark souls 1 and 3 ignoring enemies until you're strong enough to defeat them is how i have gotten used to playing one can argue whether thafs good or bad but it is different than most games i normally play i usually play rougelikes procedurally generated games that are difficult for the hell of it and expect you to die games rhat change apon each death and games that you can progress in via skill not rammint your head into a wall my favorite game of all time is vagante a rogue like and when i go into it i make some of the same points you made for dark souls 2 i never recommend people start off solo the game is very built for multiplayer even if not many people play it and even your team is new to it having extra people around to goof off with makes rhe game really fun when you get a feel for the controls play alone the game is hard alone and extremely rewarding when you do eventually get it and never ignore enemies in normal mode the game loves to pile things on to you if you dont take care of it first i get told a lot that people find the game wat too hard to be enjoyable and considing i have over 200 hours in it and only beat it twice im inclined to agree but thats what makes me come back to it when it comes to dark souls 2 my partner the person ive been dating for nearing on 3 years loves 3 and 1 and has been playing with me through my goal of 100%ing the series and they once had the same goal they don't like dark souls 2 and based on how we both play the other two games its understandable we both look at dark souls and treat it like a run and gun get to the boss as soon as possible because the enemies are the real threat and if you can skip them do i will play ds2 and hopefully 100% it but im going to go in to it not with the mindset that it is a souls game but with the mindset that it is a rougelike which hopefully allows me to enjoy it although i really hope the servers are more dead than in ds3 and ds1 because i absolutely hate pvp in both of those games overall this video told me something no one else whos played ds2 around me has and thats how to go at the game if i remember ill come back to this video and leave a comment on my thoughts on the game but for now the only thought i have is hopeful its a different game and i cant go into it like its one i know thank you

[@simonkisielewski3327]

Nah ds2 sotfs and elden ring are my two favorite fromsoft games tbh

[@The_Steele1]

Wizard’s Chess

[@danielhunter8008]

Solid essay, I love this content

[@xanthosamoni2072]

I only watched this video because a friend, who loves dark souls 2, sent me this video. I still think it's not a good souls game. Also, I would argue that Demon's Souls was the foundation for combat in the franchise which carried over to DS1.

[@thekerminator6521]

Been playing through DS2 for like a month and I love it more than DS1 and Bloodborne.

[@curiousshiba]

11:35 27:58 don’t take the name of the Lord in vain

[@darkjackl999]

Agility is also increased by leveling attunement!!! It scales less than adp but its very important to know for mage builds (att also increases cast speed instead of dex, why the fuck didn't they keep this) Edit: on the code of honor in pvp part, i find it funny that you bring this up because 1 of the most parroted complaints you see is the game is 'just dudes in armor' so to have both enemies and players become chivalrous is funny

[@phoenixparadox88]

It's always bothered me how much hate DkS2 gets, as someone who started with OG Demon's Souls, DkS2 is still my favorite. Yes soul memory, adaptability, and the over-the-top durability were flawed game mechanics. But the covenants, NG+ enhancements, and weapon variety haven't been matched by any other FromSoft game imo.

[@jacoblesterud9000]

I feel as though the innovation that ds2 did for the series is so vastly underlooked. infusions and weapon upgrades all take after ds2 as well as how boss weapons are handled. the variety of consumables filled a hole in dsr sandbox. POWERSTANCING OMG and I find it to be the most balanced iteration requiring +50% of the requirements and increased stamina costs as well as the pace at which you get upgrade materials was masterfully planned for. spellcasting is in a league of its own for creativity and balancing pyromancy to be effective for all spell casters as an alternate damage type but weak for non casters but not inaccessible. gear with special effects also was a huge part especially considering how much of the important pieces were tied to npc interaction and questlines which encourage the players to emotionally invest themselves into the message of the game. to me ds2 is a flawed masterpiece that has its flaws under a microscope without it ever given opportunity to shine away from its haters. ds2 is my beloved and it honestly saved my life during a difficult period of contemplating suicide.

[@user-jw1qp7ju1c]

So sad you made this great video for only 1K views

[@bbogdan7583]

I tried ds2 for the first time this month. Finished every single fromsoftware game except for Bloodborne and demon souls(i game on pc and the emulator for demon souls doesnt run well enough). I put this game away and never tried it because of all these youtubers leaving bad reviews for it, and i regret not playing it for so long. Its such a great game, it feels different, it feels like a breath of fresh air. This game lets you play however you want to and the only thing hindering you are the people who dont like it and dont want you to like it either. As said in this video, download it, play it , see for yourself if you like it or not. Remember, people avoid Sekiro for being different too, and that game fot GOTY and its my favorite game of all time AND before i played it for myself i did avoid it for being different.

[@dbzsuperfan711]

Dark souls 2 SOTFS is by far the souls game with the most hours for me and my 3rd most played game on my entire playstation account

[@Chiefofbricks]

Saw your essay after watching some youtube shorts. First off, great video! I can admit that Dark Souls 2 (and SOTFS) are likely the weakest games in the Dark Souls triology, but Dark Souls 2 is defintely my favorite Fromsoft game. I love the build variety, story, atmosphere, and the manner unique mechanics it has. Honestly in some ways makes me wish more Dark Souls games were made with the philsophy of DS2.

[@ghostoffantom]

DS2 did a lot of things well and a lot of other things not so well. It deserves to be the most controversial of the series. I still enjoyed it despite it's flaws and sunk more time into it than DS1 and 3 combined. Not as much as in ER though. But i can see why someone could dislike the game. I hare people who can't just accept that they don't like something and move on with their lives. Some people will not enjoy DS2 and that's perfectly fine. No game is made for everyone. But there's people who just can't accept that something that they don't like can be appealing to others. Looking through KZbin or god forbid reddit you'll find plenty of dumbasses who made "DS2 sucks" their entire personality. It's just sad honestly.

[@grandtaco5066]

Mmm. I should try dark souls 2.

[@RatpoisonX]

I played maybe 15 minutes of all 3 dark souls and asked myself wtf did I buy this. Skip forward years and years I got elden ring. Never thought I'd beat it. I have 800hrs on in and beaten it countless times. After that I needed a fix. I re downloaded DS2 and I fucking loved it. I love the atmosphere, the weapons, the lore, the sounds, the music, the ominous back ground that makes me feel like I'm alone in a dying world. Now I've played all the DS games. DS2 is my favorite then DS1, ER, DS3. My buddy gives me shit for loving DS2 and not really liking 3. It's not that I don't like it or hate it. It just doesn't give me that feeling that DS2 does.

[@thefastsnake3015]

13:02 "this is one of those games" no, this is a buggy mess of a movement system that could have been decent if it weren't for all the bugs such as direction snapping and makin the player hit in the complete opposite direction they aimed randomly

[@AtreyusNinja]

pls do more video about ds2

[@BoogiePM]

I really enjoyed dark souls 2! it was my first real dive into the soulsborn category. this video was really good, now I want to play D2 again 😂

[@audricburris6946]

I love ds2, have beaten it and probably 20 times in the last 3 years. I'm also really glad elden ring is out so I don't have to play ds2 anymore

[@faIIenskys]

Part 2

[@fakebenxn9497]

Lol I remember the first time I've played dark souls 2 i was in the champions covenant till I reached the bell tower covenant it was absolute hell especially that dark souls 2 was my first souls game

[@michaelhernandez9187]

someone posted the honor fights on reddit a few years ago and they were getting cooked bc they didn’t believe it lol

[@vespasian266]

After yrs on 1 an 3 I've gone back to ds2. I like it now but hated it back on release.

[@Robsu_AGF]

Man, really good video. It's refreshing seeing someone not shiting on Dark souls 2. Although I hard disagree with a lot of your points, I enjoyed it good job

[@fabriziofichera5894]

Best game cuz I can have poison wings

[@AchilloTheStalker]

Ds2 Pvp is the best souls pvp ever made.