Critically Analyzing Dark Souls II, 9 Years Later...

In this video, SoulReborn goes back to Dark Souls II, and looks at whether it is as good as people say it is, and he analyzes it in great detail, in this Dark Souls 2 critique and video essay.
Dark Souls II is a 2014 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Games. An entry in the Dark Souls series, it was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Taking place in the kingdom of Drangleic, the game features both player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) gameplay. Dark Souls II was released in March 2014 after some initial delays, with the Windows version being released the following month.
Dark Souls II was a critical and commercial success. A remastered version of the game, titled Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows in April 2015. It contains the original game and its downloadable content with upgraded graphics, expanded online multiplayer capacity, and various other changes. A sequel, Dark Souls III, was released in 2016.
Introduction 00:00:00
Prelude 00:01:11
Background 00:03:29
Things Betwixt 00:06:10
Majula 00:12:22
Levelling 00:16:43
Forest of Fallen Giants 00:25:40
Heide's Tower of Flame 00:34:24
Combat and Movement 00:41:55
No Man's Wharf 00:51:40
The Lost Bastille 00:58:40
Belfry Luna 01:06:16
Sinner's Rise 01:10:46
Difficulty 01:14:45
Huntsman's Copse 01:18:37
Undead Purgatory 01:23:39
Harvest Valley 01:28:07
Earthern Peak 01:29:55
Level and World Design 01:34:17
Iron Keep 01:41:06
Belfry Sol 01:48:46
The Pit 01:50:14
Grave of Saints 01:51:16
The Gutter 01:52:44
Black Gulch 01:55:18
Healing Mechanics 01:58:18
Shaded Woods 02:01:53
Doors of Pharros 02:05:41
Brightstone Cove Tseldora 02:08:19
Weapon Upgrades 02:12:51
Drangleic Castle 02:16:52
Shrine of Amana 02:24:31
Undead Crypt 02:26:06
Covenants 02:31:59
Aldia's Keep 02:35:05
Dragon Aerie 02:38:28
Dragon Shrine 02:40:03
Memories of Giants 02:44:52
Character Quests 02:48:15
Dark Chasms of Old 02:52:05
Shulva, the Sanctum City 02:57:00
Dragon Sanctum 02:58:31
Game Length 03:03:59
Brume Tower 03:06:28
Iron Passage 03:11:26
Memory of the Old Iron King 03:14:15
Frozen Eleum Loyce 03:16:44
Frigid Outskirts 03:21:34
Throne of Want 03:25:08
Conclusion 03:29:22
#darksouls #eldenring #fromsoftware

[@ChaosSoulYT]

For those who are here early, the video is taking a while to process in HD as it is so long - but it will be in HD soon!

[@adamgrzechnik3809]

40 mins in - great video. Thanks :)

[@panamahank7108]

Did you play the original or SOTFS?

[@zzzzzzzsleepy3695]

​@@panamahank7108k09

[@t-mango2491]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on a lot of things about this, but I must say the “hard for the sake of being hard” is a 100% wrong assessment, it’s a different way to play and you can see many of these design elements carry into Elden Ring, it encourages you to go slower and more methodically and literally offers infinite healing, a player who successfully understands the mechanics and nuances of this game shouldn’t have a problem with it, and I hate the whole “oh this game just wants to be hard” that’s false, and it’s the same perception souls fans complain about when game journalists say the dark souls of this that the other, but that is the legacy they were trying to fill as well, the tagline on the case of dark souls says PREPARE TO DIE, so I don’t see how the fire keepers saying the same thing is a red flag, it’s supposed to be a testament to the player’s endurance, pressing on despite no hope, and I don’t believe that most people who review this game give it a fair shake

[@EVOLSUCKS]

I guess it's a matter of point of view. to me DS2 is trying to be hard for the sake of being hard and uses cheap tricks to achieve this all the time which none of the other games do. at least not to that extent.@@t-mango2491

[@DRENIC10]

Ah yes, another Analysis of Dark Souls 2 with a 3+ hour duration. What a time to be alive. What a time to have our SoulReborn (see what I did there?) Starting now at 00:26 AM. lesgoooooooo

[@briankeys5941]

I guess... it WAS branded as a spiritual successor too Demon's Souls ALL OVER what ppl call eastern countries. So in the first 5 mins, dudes already made a mistake, and there's more, but Im not going to bother fact checking more than one, issue. If u get the INTRO, sorry, im out, bc how can I take the opinions, serious. (Also, nothing to do with the channel, but the letssgo thing, thats what influencer type CONSTANTLY now, when pushing product and hype... might wanna drop that. jmho)

[@everilliem3292]

@@briankeys5941 rofl, who hurt you mate?

[@DRENIC10]

@@briankeys5941 what? Lmao

[@MrBenigi]

Starting 2:36 AM but probably will fall asleep xD

[@jasperfox6821]

​@Brian Keys Dunno what you're smoking m8 😂

[@JonnyfromElma]

For the executioners chariot boss run: you absolutely DO NOT have to fight the four warden/torturer enemies at once. When you step into their valley area, you can see each one standing atop a pillar. They all have their own aggro range, but due to them being close together and taking a bit to jump down, if you don't look up and then retreat as soon as one is aggro'd, you will think they aggro together.

[@MrGustavevil]

I believe it's called the Forest of Fallen Giants because a lot of giants died there and the giants are like trees.

[@evanyu4781]

In case you weren't aware, Pate is voiced by Peter Serafinowicz who's probably the biggest Souls fan in all of entertainment industry, and probably the biggest name to voice a character in the entire series (Elden Ring got two GoT actresses as well). He loved the game so much that he reached out to From Soft and wanted to be part of the franchise, hence we have mild mannered Pate.

[@blunderless]

pate is probably my favorite npc in any souls game, with some of the best voice acting of any souls game.

[@rjnash2610]

...also regarding Pate. Unless I'm recalling this incorrectly, I really don't think Pate should be similarly compared to Patches as he actually is more like the complete opposite to the infamous evil NPC we all know too well. You see, Pate actually gives the player a heads up of the coming ambush as well as the kind warning that the gate will close on the player just as it did for the bold adventurer that preceded the player.

[@Tacttactification]

@@rjnash2610That’s up until he lets you open a trapper chest.

[@fragilechinaa]

@@rjnash2610 I just view Creighton and Pate as one half of Patches each.

[@kupokinzyt]

@@fragilechinaa I view Pate as Patches without the chs

[@OmneAurumNon]

You made a big deal out of the firekeeper dialogue at the beginning, but on my first playthrough the line that really stuck with me was the emerald herald's first question. "Are you the next monarch?" It's striking. By this point its clear that you don't know where, or even really who you are. But she does. And she thinks you have a purpose. The firekeepers are jaded. They've watched hundreds of hollows walk through those doors only to die, fail, and give up. Probably all of the hollows in the things betwixt once walked through those doors the same as you, only to fail and go mad before even reaching Majula. The firekeepers don't believe that anything will get better. But this game isn't about the fire or the firekeepers. It's about the throne. It's about the emerald herald. And to me, her advice represents the core philosophy of the game much more so than the firekeepers'. "Seek larger souls, seek the King. It is the only way, lest this land swallow you whole." And when you finally find the King he repeats this advice. "Seek adversity." IMO, that's what the game is about. Seeking adversity. Doing the hard thing *because* its hard. Because if you don't, you'll fade away. I don't think the developers are as antagonistic as you say. Yes, there are some areas where they take it a bit too far (the iron passage comes to mind), but fundamentally it's still a game about overcoming adversity, and even more so seeking out adversity to overcome. The developers want you to succeed. The emerald herald tells you this from the beginning. "I will be at your side until hope has fully withered."

[@Domo3000]

Yeah people get hung up on the firekeepers and don't realize how quickly the mood changes. The firekeepers are depressing and in the dark Things Betwixt, but then you go through the light and enter beautiful Majula where the mood is way more uplifting. In regards to the Iron Passage: it's not a frustrating area if you play it as intended and summon 3 people. Each DLC has an area that's designed for coop: Iron Passage, Cave of the Dead and Frigid Outskirts. Those raid dungeons start with the coop statues that allow you to summon people that don't even own the DLC or that haven't found the key yet, and they have an increased summoning limit. The whole layout of Iron Passage is designed around coop, as one or more players can wait at the gate while another pulls the lever to let them through. So the team splits up and progresses both paths at the same time. It wasn't meant to be a frustratingly hard challenge. It was meant to provide an optional challenge for people that enjoy Jolly Cooperation, as usually areas get trivialized by summoning.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Kinda generic though, that's what pretty much every game under the sun is about

[@t-mango2491]

THIS the fire keepers got me to overcome, to prove them wrong

[@MrLisso98]

Seeking adversity, and proof wrong all the people that doubted you is the actual core philosophy of dark souls 2

[@ennayanne]

@@Domo3000 you found majula uplifting? i don't think that's the intended vibe at all but to each their own...

[@andywhite2337]

You fight the Pursuer in the Smelter Demon room in the Iron Keep. You don't burn fabric, you burn the entire windmill and it stops moving. That stops the cogs inside Earthern Peak from turning and the poison stops flowing.

[@jeffreymaxson6216]

I did this game as a Hexer and the sound of Black orbs cast is drilled into my brain because of it.

[@JLchevz]

Me too, but because of Cowboy's walkthrough lmao

[@elvickRULES]

I hear the sorcery in my mind when I try to sleep

[@keziahavila4827]

@@elvickRULES voo-wooschoo-psh!

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Lol Hexer is what they call the Witcher in Germany.

[@thepoofster2251]

Bearer seek seek lest

[@minespatch]

It's equally hilarious in Demon's souls if you haven't left the final area. The maiden in black keeps repeating her comment until you leave.

[@MrGuSombra]

I played dark souls 2 in its original release in 2014 on PS3, the covenants of rats and bells were very active and I have fond memories of PVP moments and other interactions. I particularly used the ring that turns you into a white ghost to interact and troll people in the rat areas, very fun times.

[@gee_woah]

2:37:00 one of the best examples of Scholar of the First Sin being well -- Scholar is that they removed the skeleton dragon coming to life and chasing at the player when they enter Aldia's keep and for some completely unknown and asinine reason made the skeleton only come to life when you... light all of the sconces...? Something that most players won't even do.

[@themightymcb7310]

To be fair, they put a sign right there warning players not to light the sconces. I wanted nothing more than to find them all as I went through the area to see what happens.

[@minespatch]

@@themightymcb7310 Yeah, I loved the "DO NOT TURN THEM ON" aspect, it was funny. 😆

[@elvickRULES]

Such a dumb downgrade

[@brotbrotsen1100]

When i played sotfs i thought i miss remember the skeleton coming to life

[@t-mango2491]

This also got me really bad, I tried to figure out why it wasn’t moving for the longest time and legit needed a guide, scholar got me on that one

[@GrotesqueYT]

Ahh yes, my favorite kind of video: ✅ In depth analysis/critique/essay ✅ 3+ hours long ✅ Underrated game ✅ Chill voiceover ✅ Editing that doesn't give me a migraine Time to settle in and watch this for the next 3 hours 😌

[@danieloviedo2116]

Imagine this was the complete opposite video and it started lile “whats up guys today we’re going to summon one pf the primordial serpents so it can sells us the among us potion and see if we can become the BEARER OF THE CURSE” roll bad blender 3d dubstep intro *

[@captainp.2721]

I really gotta double down on Editing that don't give headache. So many retard creators think they need resident evil movie style editing.

[@Sllandre]

I would just like to say, the Pursuer does show up after the lost bastille. I can remember for sure that he shows up in the Smelter Demon's arena after reloading the area after you beat smelter demon in the iron keep.

[@karljohan2300]

think also in second bonfire level theres soem in the drangleic castle

[@AdellRedwinters]

I'm gonna make an argument that reusing bosses in games as regular enemies is actually a fine and good thing. Some bosses are really cool and I think, under some circumstances, it is a waste to only get one curated encounter with them. It's a cool design to reintroduce those bosses in other environments, with different enemies and traps to change up the way you approach the fights. I don't think re-using bosses like the flexile sentry cheapens them at all.

[@RPGeenius]

I'm one of those rare people who finished ds2 as my first dark souls game. Your right, you don't see the flaws in the controls much if its your first. I did hate the poise break animation though. But i know there was a difference because it actually took me awhile to get used to ds1.

[@peacetea_life]

Same, somehow I found myself enjoying ds2 much more than the other FS games except elden ring. I don't know why I enjoy it more but I find myself replaying it much more whenever I feel like playing ds again

[@coreyadair5731]

Same here. It was my first souls game and I will always love it

[@caseymcdonald9714]

My fellow masters of majula

[@christopherdunn3094]

... Bearer of the curse

[@minespatch]

I played ds1 first and then platinumed ds2. Love them equally. I think it's because I wasn't trying to boss rush but treat my soulsborne games as a tourist, I enjoyed my time.

[@themightymcb7310]

59:38 actually, there are a few other Pursuer encounters. You find one in the Smelter Demon's boss arena in Iron Keep and there's another behind the petrified statue in the tutorial area after you kill the two ogres in front of the trans coffin. You also find him FOUR separate times in the Lost Bastille. Lastly, there's a double Pursuer fight in the Drangleic Castle throne room. I think he's in the game a sufficient amount and then they stop using him because players should honestly have his moveset pretty much down pat after the 3rd or 4th one.

[@elvickRULES]

You don’t have to kill both ogres. I did one went back to fight Pursuer and the second one that ganks you grabbed me and ate me as I was firing magic at a spawning Pursuer lol Haven’t seen most of the vid yet. But Pursuer should’ve changed over time to have more complex AI and movesets and have no travel limit so he… you know, pursues you. I felt more pursued by Forlorn invasions in Scholar

[@BigHailFan]

iirc i read somewhere the pursuer is actually female, but dont quote me on that.

[@yurinoworry]

@@BigHailFanare you sure you’re not thinking for the Forlorn? because some of them definitely are. but they’re also different people each time at least lore wise

[@JairRemi999]

Fun fact: DS2 was my first introduction to the souls series. That being said I vividly remember playing for 6 hours straight to beat King Vendrick. Ill never forget how excited I was to finally beat him its what really established the souls series for me. As for why it took me 6 hours, I never once leveled up Adaptability (ADP) thinking it was a useless stat 😅 Edit: 2:46:30 I also had no Idea about the giant souls reducing his HP until NOW 😂😂☠️ Im actually proud it only took me 6 hours looking back at it 😅

[@eluherrahaz1165]

When I'm thinking about starting a new soulsborne game I always think about starting a new Ds2 run. There is something spacial about this one.

[@ennayanne]

same... i always think about playing ds2 and then never do lol

[@nazgulsenpai]

I replayed it this year, first time since I beat SOTFS initially probably 4 years ago, but this time I played vanilla Dark Souls 2 on RPCS3. Was fun to see the differences in it and SOTFS. I still hated it but at least it was interesting.

[@19Szabolcs91]

I actually really disagree with Dark Souls 2 being more "bullshit and unfair" than 1. I think a lot of fans feel like they "got gud" at DS1 and learned all the places inside out, all the cheeses, tactics, etc., and they feel like they deserve to feel like a demigod in DS2 as well. DS1 had the Anor Londo archers, the first encounter with whom takes place not in a safe zone where you can learn what they do and then they place them in a dangerous place. No, you first meet them at a place where two of them shoot at you from different direction and can instantly knock you down, and you have to beat one of them at a narrow edge while the other one also shoots from behind. This is the definition of unfair and bullshit, but people forget it. The Bed of Chaos is also absolute unfair bullshit, I don't think I even need to elaborate. The Tomb of Giants is a major pain in the ass with a boss that itself a pain in the ass, you have to take fall damage at the start and before you can even see what's going on, Nito sometimes starts the fight with the spike attack from the ground. Not my idea of fair. I'm not gonna defend DS2's worst moments like the Frigid Outskirts DLC, but I just don't think it's that different from DS1.

[@elvickRULES]

I agree. I played vanilla on PC and it’s not too bad. I played it to avoid the enemy spam I heard about. And playing Scholar on PS4, I just don’t see it as that bad. Sure, if you play in the “I run by everything why are there so many enemies this sucks 😡 “ way rhat I see in 99.9% of all these videos, it would suck. But you can pull sets of enemies out and tackle them in manageable Numbers in almost every example they give of it being “unfair”. Plus if you do it enough times here they disappear forever unless you choose to respawn them either through burning or that one covenant. 🤷‍♂️ Only part that I agree on being bs is the run to Smelter Demon, that’s way worse and the pull range for many enemies is ridiculous, one comes out of the room close to the bonfire where the turtle breaks the platforms ffs. And you don’t even have his line of sight. But yet the ones across the lowered bridge in that very room staring right at you don’t come at you when you step onto the bridge. ?? Some places had fewer enemies like the bonfire nearest the sinner, there’s only one archer to clear 12 times instead of two so you don’t have to get attacked exiting every again. Maybe I’m just anal and it suits my play style more to clear out enemies but it’s not that bad for the most part if you just slow down. Self inflicted problem most of the time. I do think vanilla is better overall though, despite a few areas actually feeling too empty.

[@redace8192]

36:00 In the original version of DS2, there were no Heide knights in Heide's Tower of Flame, they were instead littered out in the world extremely similar to the Black Knights of DS1. I too wonder why they removed it in The Scholar Of The First Sin edition as it makes the area pointlessly difficult.

[@dominikleys4257]

>they were instead littered out in the world extremely similar to the Black Knights of DS1 In Vanilla they showed up in Forest of Fallen Giants, Shrine of Winter and Lost Bastille. In Scholar they got moved around a bit (the one from Shrine of Winter to the Gutter and the one from Lost Bastille to Sinner's Rise). They were never like Black Knights and still show up in just as few areas in Scholar.

[@Gary_a_normal_human_being]

Because it’s HEIDES tower of flame and they’re HEIDE knights

[@veruminfiniteofficial3334]

They generally don't auto aggro, meaning the challenge is self imposed, much like how Black Knights were generally off of the beaten path. That goes for both versions of DaS2

[@Domo3000]

They are still littered around the same way. The one from Shrine of Winter got moved to the Gutter and the one from Lost Bastille got moved to Sinner's Rise. They still show up in just as many areas and they obviously were never like the Black Knights to begin with

[@everilliem3292]

@@dominikleys4257 What are you on about, it's easily to draw comparisons with Black Knights or see them as an equivalent, at least in OG DS2, 100% not a wrong opinion.

[@Deeznutz581]

If I had to pick one game to play for the rest of my life between Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 , Dark Souls 2 would be a no-brainer

[@brucepreston3927]

Just for some clarification on the pursuer...you do see him a couple more times after the lost bastille...You can fight him in the smelter demon boss room, and you can fight double pursuers in the throne room in drangleic castle

[@gameboy8010]

And another by the coffin in Things Betwixt

[@maeziyon6751]

I believe he had a total of 9 appearances.

[@brucepreston3927]

@@gameboy8010 Yea, I always forget that one until I need some twinkling titanite! lol

[@ronnical2489]

Haven't watched a video on DS2 since Mauler, this is gonna be fun

[@Don11037]

Last protagonist also makes gud stuf

[@thestew56]

Whoa 3+hrs DS2 analysis... Saving this for "my phone inside my hard hat trick" at work tomorrow

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

Did you even try lighting the sconces in No Man’s Wharf? Because it does exactly what you’re seemingly criticizing the game for not doing.

[@BlondeMcGuinn]

This is a fantastic video! I’m only 90 or so minutes in but what an achievement. I’m a huge fan of Dark Souls II, having played it for 800+ hours. It has many flaws (Soul Memory was a mistake) but for me its strengths (bonfire ascetics, NG+ cycles, the beauty of Shrine of Amana, etc.) far outweigh them. Thank you for your hard work. I’m going to finish the video and rewatch it over and over again. Big Ups!

[@DRENIC10]

I hope you do a Dark Souls 3 vídeo, your analysis and commentary are so good to hear. I saw the DS1 and DS1SotE reviews and this are on point. Looking forward to your channel in the future, you’re doing grate my man. Congrats

[@SamuelLevant]

Interesting retrospective but there were some factual errors, e.g. regarding the ability to animation cancel after an attack: How long you're stuck in an animation relies entirely on which weapon/attack you're using. If it's a fast move, like a dagger R1, you can roll away quickly, just like in DaS, and if it's a slow R2 of an ultra, you'll be stuck in the animation for a while, just like in DaS (where some attacks took several seconds to complete, like some Black Knight weapon R2s, and no, you couldn't interrupt them with a roll). However, in DaS2, you actually _can_ animation cancel attacks with a roll if you just time your roll correctly: there's a short window after each attack, and if you press roll at the correct time, you can interrupt the attack's recovery animation and roll early. The faster the attack, the harder it is because the shorter the window of time available, and the smaller the potential benefit due to the already short animation, but this mechanic is especially noticeable with big, slow weapons where you can cancel significant portions of their recovery frames by correctly timing a roll after an attack, but I suppose a lot of players don't know this. DaS, however, has no such animation cancelling mechanic that would allow you to e.g. cancel the recovery frames of the Great Club's slow R2 attack, you're just stuck until the animation ends.

[@blrolz3544]

I love DS2, even more than i do the first DS. I understand people's issues with the game to a degree, as i feel the same way with DS2's 3 DLC games, especially Iron King and Ivory King. The way you mentioned the opening with the old ladies in things betwixed really clicked for me and gave me perspective.

[@nunchuksteev9811]

You can light the sconce in No Man's Wharf and light the chandelier and the shadow monsters are regulated to the indoors. Makes it much easier to run back through. And the Pursuer returns in the Smelter Demon arena after beating the boss and has an extra appearance or two in NG+.

[@bummedmachinist7483]

The smelter demon pursuer was cooler than the boss that originally inhabited that room in the first place lol. I love the NG+ encounter too. I really wish they had added more pursuer fights, such a cool concept.

[@GALL0WSHUM0R]

Also you can shoot the bell with an arrow and it will ring and call in the boat! I was a bit disappointed when he mentioned how cool the monsters being scared of the light was but didn't light any sconces or use the lockstone to light up the whole town. No Man's Wharf is such a good area!

[@elvickRULES]

@@GALL0WSHUM0R the shortcut should have been there in vanilla though. If you have to run through for the pyromancy dude it’s annoying for no reason

[@yurtthesilentgod1225]

Great video! Ds2 was my first and it will always be my favorite deep down. The pvp back on the ps3 back in the day was the most fun I've ever had in souls games. If you havent played the game in a while I suggest going for a hex build on the next run. It's fleshed out and has a great many useful spells. Anyway cheers!

[@JLchevz]

Up to 1:50:00 I mostly agree on everything but the enemy placement of Iron Keep. I think there are way too many enemies, they're mostly the same, if you're not really really careful they come at you at once and it feels like a chore. I like the area but the enemy placement is weird and the area feels contrived, not like a real area, it feels like you said, like a Mario level.

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

No Man's Wharf: I pretty much agree with you, it is not a great area. Nice touches are nice, that enemies scared from fire, ship detail, boss, shortcut. There are nice secrets in that area I gave it but enemy placement is obnoxious. Lucatiel is best npc, Gavlan is second best npc, Carhilion is important npc for sorcerers. Other than that there is a non hostile torch bearer hollow that follows your character. That hollow come later and causes trouble, it is a unique detail. The Lost Bastile: This area is really good, so many secrets so many exploring it is one of the best area in the game. Pursuer attacks you three different place in Lost Bastile (could be four). After Lost Bastile it attacks you in Things Betwixt near the gender changing coffin and last time after Smelter Demon's boss room. In Drangleic Castle two Pursuer attacks you in throne room but it is in NG+. I suprised you liked Ruin Sentinels boss fight. I never liked that boss it is weaker Armored Guy variant compared to others. Belfry Luna: What? What? Okay learn the lore first. Anyway Belfry Luna and Belfry Sol designed for PVP. It works like Forest Hunter in DSI. If you join you got summon depending on which place you close. You invade player as Gray spirit and your work is kill trespasser. Belfry Luna and Belfry Sol are active and fun PVP place (Especially Sol). Because of being PVP place, this areas require more experience. Gargoyle boss is returning boss from first game, it is troubling boss for early encounter but not really hard for later encounter. The idea is PVP covenants are for experinced players. Areas are actually really good for PVP fights. In DSIII they used this idea for Farron and Aldrich covenants. Farron is not great PVP place but Gang City is still the most active place. But here is the problem if you defeat boss you can't got invasion but DSII the area not bound with boss that's why they made it much better than DSIII. Lastly another cool detail is you see Gargoyles if you explore area in Lost Bastille . It is another cool detail. I didn't like this boss fight first but going later make it much better. Seeing them while exploring Lost Bastile and figthing that crowd control fight and PVP made me like this boss. Sinner's Rise: Really? Is using Flexile Sentry again really a big deal? DSI did it as well there is a Gargoyle in Anor Londo and of course Capra and Taurus became regular enemies. DS III used Dragon Slayer Armor in DLC in a really weird place. Anyway Sinner is a cool fight and a good great souls boss. That's it for now.

[@dizziebonkers326]

Oh boy, guess you watched the rest of the vid and couldnt be bothered to correct so many misjudgments and mistakes

[@chrisbriault7234]

I’m happy that the metal chest mimics stayed in ds2

[@satanicpuppyoverlord9054]

I feel that dark souls 3 is the real sequel to dark souls 1. That said, I also feel dark souls 3 benefits from dark souls 2's existence.

[@elvickRULES]

The focus on hitboxes from what I’ve seen was probably their biggest take away. I haven’t played 3 yet but I’ve seen that dancer fight and it’s amazing to see such clean hitboxes

[@elvickRULES]

The flexile sentry boss the water level raises and slows/prevents rolling if you take too long. It’s a nice touch to the boss fight. The reuse of bosses as common enemies later is annoying for sure

[@elvickRULES]

Finishing the video and you guess a lot for a “critical” analysis

[@bbr17]

In regards to the world design not making sense, I always liked how it fit the themes of the games story. I thought of it as my character slowly losing their memory/becoming disoriented throughout the journey due to the curse of the undead. Although I far prefer how the original Dark Souls did it and understand why it's not so good.

[@Lucy2Juicy]

If possible I would make the title clear that this is an analysis of SoTFS Edition, it is a big difference to the game overall.

[@Gnarkkotik_TTV]

As someone who got this game when it first came out(me and my brother preordered this) as a souls veteran who has reached level 710 on all of them(besides ER,Sekiro and BB) the original DS2 to me was a WAY better experience then SOTFS (btw if you have the original for ps3 when you go to Majula and go behind the statue in the middle that shows the death count and you see a message that says visions of happiness that is mine from almost a decade ago if not longer it’s been rated over 10k times unless it’s been removed by now) but the sheer nostalgia alone for me as my mother before she died watched me and my brother beat it will always hold happiness in my heart. This game gets way too much hate then I think it deserves but I will say SOTFS was not done right due to immense mobs. This game and the way it was done to me was beautiful and nothing beats majula. I’m glad I don’t stand alone on this. Thank you all❤️

[@luxian6619]

It also makes sense in DS1 that the Kapra Demon and Taurus Demon are literally found in the DEMON RUINS, giving it a feeling of a true continuous world. The description of both those demons are that they’re lower classed demons, so it makes sense that there would be a ton of them in the literal place called DEMON RUINS

[@shiroamakusa8075]

That excuse has never worked for me. Why are a dozen Taurus demons standing around stock-still in that one exact place where there's nothing of interest (for them if not for the player)? Why is the one hallway littered with Capra demons standing in parade formation? It feels utterly artififical. I'm sorry, but if they wanted to show them as regular population of that place, then they still shouldn't have just done a lazy CTRL-C, CTRL-P job and, e.g. have them wander around, resting or whatever.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

​@@shiroamakusa8075The taurus demons are where the chaos ember is so arguably there is something of interest for both parties. But yes the whole izalith section was never really finished so they kinda just wrapped everything up at that point, kinda obvious when we see the bed of chaos who even has checkpoints in the battle. They should have reworked this with the remaster.

[@Apexapee]

Huntmans Copse: you can lure the 'torturers' one by one and it's easy mode. Just don't run to far ahead... Then they all spawn at the same time

[@Alex_Barbosa]

Yea, I wish it wasn't so tedious though

[@bugaj187]

It's not hard to just run past them.

[@randychristensen1028]

Forlorn is the true pursuer of Dark Souls 2

[@elvickRULES]

Yes, I feel this way in Scholar. I forgot Pursuer was a thing after killing him where the Smelter Demon was. I don’t think I’ve fought him since lighting the prima fires. But Forlorn keeps coming even in the DLC areas. Leave me alone and stop with the scythe 😭

[@Johnbond27]

It is objective that DS2 will be my subjective favorite, no matter how many of these 4 hour essays I watch to completion or how great Elden Ring 6 is.

[@igniortix]

What do you like about ds2 that aren't as prominet in the other souls games?

[@Ghorda9]

@@igniortix ds2 has better bosses than ds1 for the most part and you have a lot more choices at the start from routing to builds, SotFS also doesn't hold back and requires more thought from the player to get through.

[@davealaya]

​@@igniortixpre combat decisions have a massive impact in DS2

[@Al-ji4gd]

I wish I could understand what the hell that sentence means.

[@authenticbaguette6673]

​@@Ghorda9 Why do ds2 fans always feel the need to take jabs at ds1? This is why nobody listens to y'all. I don't have to trash talk ds2 to explain why I love ds1, yet...

[@halgroda6967]

You do see the pursuerer in iron keep after the smelter demon.

[@pagapoff]

2:06:00 they don’t attack if you are in the rat covenant, so if you join it early at grave of saints then it makes the area kind of pointless

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

The Gutter: Never liked Blighttown, not liked this area too. As far as I know this place took most damage because of development problems. Not much thing to say. Black Gulch: It is more interesting place than Gutter, nice shortcuts and secrets. First time it could be annoying but ones you learn other bonfire and paths it is a breeze through. For invader there are two invaders, it is not same invader, their names are different just look more carefully or check from wikies. One of em's name is Woodland Child Victor, others name is Woodland Child Gully. They are nearly identical, just their shields are different (maybe they are twin) and if you are unlucky Forlorn could invade as well, that means three invasion most. As far as I remember they are not constantly invade you after you defeat them. Are you certain about that? Anyway Rotten is a unique boss a good one in my opinion, design reminds me Granfalloon from Castlevenia. Healing Mechanics: Sorry, but DS1's healing mechanics sucks. You got more estus from Firekeeper's Bonfire and you got less estus from regular bonfire, are you calling this better? You could easily kindle them and once you learn the game you could beat Pinwheel early and kindle further, actually that's the common strategy. DS1 is more generous in that regard, you can hardly run out of estus. Estus shard ugrade is much better system and DSIII continued that, it is a proof that system is good. For life gems it just criticised so much that they removed it next game, even Bloodborne limited healing consumable. I personally have no problem with it. It is players choice to spend their souls, I prefer better methods (faith) or better healing consumables farming instead of wasting souls for life gem. Lastly your video footage shows how reliable Estus is if there were no phantom you got the agression of boss and youu could find less opprtunity for healing.

[@alexbrown8050]

great content! please keep it up your analysis is fantastic

[@TATERplaysGAMES]

I've literally watched hours of DS2 analysis, and you are the first person to mention the game was massively altered halfway through development, and this explains why so many things feel rushed or patched together.

[@epicn00b]

You never see the pursuer again…does he know about the pursuer duo

[@BrixieGunMage]

Also shows up in Smelter Demon's boss room

[@yaniclark9370]

SPOILERS: I've scoured the entire map of Lost Bastille and I counted 4 encounters of the Pursuer including the one he mentioned. Not to mention that he appears in other places as well. But I'm letting that slide because I seem to miss his argument of why the Pursuer not coming back for another encounter is a wasted potential while the Flexile Sentry coming back as a regular mob is a poor decision despite the cool design.

[@elvickRULES]

@@yaniclark9370 the name is “Pursuer”. It should pursue you. It sort of does but they kind of forget to do anything with it later the mentioned appearances are places you’d likely never visit again since you beat the boss and there wasnt anything there. At least toss him in front of the dlc portals. Two of those require going through boss rooms you also would be unlikely to return to.

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

Forest of Fallen Giants: Definitely a good area. Last Giant is a good starting boss especially after you learned more about his lore. His hate against player and his ripping his own arm for desperate attack is amusing and make sense after you learn more. Pursuer is one of the best idea the game introduced. He is kinda like the rival of the player. Another correction here, Pursuer not dissapper if he kills you in that alternative area, only if you leave that place he dissappers and not return again. It is not one time try. For his boss place I don't understand your balista complain. Should everything tie with some lore or something? Balistas are alterative for player and Pursuer could destroy them, I really couldn't see why they are ruining the fight. Pursuer is a tough boss for early encounter, they ust gave player an option, using is players choice. For shortcuts argument, you are comparing apples and oranges, shortcuts and interconnections are different things. Darksouls I built upon that interconnection but Darksouls II introduced bonfire warp from beginning, there is no need for that interconnection and later games not built upon that design choices as well. Here is another fact even DSI's DLC scrapped that interconnectivity, AOTA DLC is much more linear and you can warp between every bonfire in the DLC. The funny part is after critisism DSII got its DLC's are built more interconnected, you can use elevator near the first bonfire for boss fight if you miss hidden bonfire in Shulva from Sunken King DLC as example and Brume Tower and Eleum Loyce designed more interconnected. For shortcuts DSII is not that bad in this case, another thing you are wrong about, there are some boss runs got many critisism, I'm gonna talk about them when in their section. If you want every shortcut open with walls exploding, eh you got dissappointment. Last thing we could add from FOFG is in Soldier's Rest bonfire there is new item named Seed of a tree of Giants a great item against invaders (player or npc). I love DSIII continued it as well. Heide's Tower of Flame: Not much to talk about right now but gonna return later for more talk about covenants. Dragon Rider is another nice introduction boss. Combat and Movement: That's the most subjective case among the players. Darksouls II has considered best PVP in the series, that means combat can't be terrible. I don't know that Deadzone thing is PC exclusive thing or not but not really felt like big problem in my PS4 version. Other than that massive hitbox thing is more about s (just level ADP). Back to combat, I actually have more trouble with DSI (maybe it is a Remaster thing) but combat is more problematic in DSI. DSI is a slow game, main bosses are not much trouble but DLC bosses are fast especially Kalameet and Manus are too fast and some weird hitboxes they have. DSIII has another issues in combat department maybe Bloodborne is best in combat case (the games I played amongst). Can't deny Darksouls II has cluncy movement but DSI was nowhere near perfect in this case. And PVP is whole another case, maybe that's what make it most balanced. Anyway combat is not objective case. Bloodborne-DSIII-DSI-DSII is my order of play and I get used DSII's controls fairly easly, its not really about playing it first (still DS remaster feel weirdest). And you didn't talk about powerstance during talking about combat. It is one of the best combat mechanic introduced in DS II. It just gave people so many different combat variety. Darksouls III tried it with new dual weapon type but it doesn't as fun as DS II. That's it for now, gonna continue later.

[@boristravar3194]

Couldn't have said it better bro! Respect

[@elvickRULES]

I find using the ballistas more trouble than it’s worth. Pursuer isn’t that hard once you know what you’re doing. Like most things. But I guess that would be true of ballistas, but either way it’s not like it’s as simple to do as he implies. It’s also not an optional fight so idk what he’s talking about

[@thepoofster2251]

Nice vid, agree with about 90% of it. Holds a special place in my heart with the PvP but def has its shortcomings

[@marcinszymanek3894]

Not sure why you think game sequels are considered worse than the originals. Looking at nearly any franchise the sequels were more often than not praised for improving on the original, and in general being better games. Civilization games, every game was considered an improvement until 4 or 5. Old platformer series like Mario, Spyro the Dragon, Crash. Racing games like Gran Turismo, Fighting games like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, strategies like Starcraft or Warcraft. Pretty much all of them had sequels which were always and universally considered much better than the original games. I'm sure there are examples of game series with worse sequels than the original, but almost all game series starting in 1990s -2000s had vastly better sequels than the original games. Both because the hardware was improving so fast, but also because the genres were young and it was really easy to improve on initial designs.

[@randychristensen1028]

As I’m watching this video and reading through some of these comments, I am baffled by how many people are ragging on the video because of missed details here and there (ones that come to mind are not knowing the specifics of joining the Covenant of Champions, not talking about human effigy, not knowing of multiple spawn points of The Pursuer) When it comes down to it……on top of this being an analysis of Dark Souls 2, I also feel like it’s supposed to tie in to your personal journey with the game which makes this video really excel in my eyes Great job!

[@ChaosSoulYT]

Thank you very much I'm glad that you understood the idea of the video! And to be fair with the pursuers additional spawn points, I played the game 4 times and never encountered him at the other points which I find strange... Thanks for watching! ❤️

[@42percenthealth]

I don't understand why everyone compares Pate to Patches. Patches is always like "Look at that treasure! Since you're my good friend, I'll let you have first pick! Go on, go get the treasure!" Pate consistently warns you of traps, and offers to let you go first because he doesn't have the guts. Also, dialogue with the map guy tells you that Creighton is a known murderer who escaped justice in Mirrah. So Creighton cannot be trusted. He says that Pate stole his ring, but Pate says that Creighton left the ring with him. If Pate was a thief, why would he state that the ring belongs to the other guy? Pate can also be summoned to help you with bosses, which Patches never does. The only exception is in Brightstone Cove Tseldora, if you help Pate and he gives you the key to the trapped chest, and mocks you when you get injured by it. Given his everything else we know about his character, this feels out of place to me. Also, if you pay close attention to the invaders in the Black Gulch, one is named "Woodland Child Gully" and the other is "Woodland Child Victor". You have to defeat both to get them to stop invading.

[@christophercollins3632]

The two invaders have the same build, but one is left handed and the other a righty

[@Alex_Barbosa]

I always found that weird too. Pate is nothing like patches. He isn't even funny.

[@CriminalizeObesity]

You fell for Pate's trick then. Pate's whole shtick is he charms you and gets you to do the dirty work for him, he's manipulating you into clearing dangerous areas for him, and, should you die, he will loot you. Check the description on Pate's gear....

[@shira_yone]

Bit off-topic but you can summon Patches for Radahn fight in ER (though he doesn't do anything and just bail soon after). I also like his characterization in DS3.

[@minespatch]

Gilligan and Maldron are other aspects of Patches. The Patches aspect is Pate being bald, the name... Yeah, they're different but I suppose the nod to Patches being theorized as the one locking Lautrec in is another aspect.

[@thecancerousdan3800]

One major problem with this review is that it focuses on the Scholar of The First Sin Edition which adds tons of enemies, it's essentially just a harder way to play the game, the original release doesn't have nearly as much enemy spam, for example in the original Iron Keep the run-up to Smelter Demon has around 3-4 enemies, unlike the 8+ enemies in Scholar

[@ChaosSoulYT]

I understand and I point out a few differences between the core Dark Souls 2 and Scholar however nowadays, Scholar of the First Sin is the main version of the game a newcomer would be, as it is the complete package, and is advertised as such, similar to the Dark Soils Prepare to Die Edition, and Dark Souls III: The Fire Fades Edition, and because it was FromSoftwares chance to fix and tweak some aspects of Dark Souls 2 they weren't happy with, Scholar you could consider to be FromSoftwares true vision for Dark Souls 2, and as such I sort of view it in that way

[@catpyjamas]

@@ChaosSoulYT That is true in that, when I wanted to get into DS2, I got SotFS. It was a terrible experience. Later on I bought the original DS2 and it was just so much better. It's a huge shame what they did to this title, and the saddest part is, most people don't know it. Everyone advises SotFS and it's just a really poorly designed version of a much better original.

[@dr.ambiguous4913]

@@catpyjamas The original is still like a 6.5/10 honestly but wait better than scholar of the first sin. The gank squads just ruin it.

[@TheStanDudley]

I think a lot of people, including myself, only played SoTFS version. The original is a bit obscure to find these days but I’ve heard the original is much better, but I suppose most people will never know 🤷🏻‍♂️ after playing SoTFS I have no desire to go back.

[@catpyjamas]

@@TheStanDudley I went back a year or so after finishing SoTFS because I had some fond memories of DS2's atmosphere. It has a really unique feel to it, I still think it's a great game, and while it might not be the best souls game, it's one of the most addictive ones. So when I replayed it, I went to the original, and it was just a much pleasanter experience. I had to experience it with a bunch of BS before, now I got to play it again without most of the BS.

[@partlyawesome]

Very nice! What will you be tackling next?

[@tmorts]

Great work @SoulReborn, I love these long form videos of yours. What's your next project? Bloodborne? DS3?

[@ChaosSoulYT]

The Dark Souls 2 let's play will still be releasing over the next few weeks and then my BloodBorne lets play I'll be focusing on, whilst my Building Lordran in Minecraft, and a Dark Souls 1 SL1 Run release alongside it

[@Sognafar]

I'm finally forcing myself to beat 3. I can't wait to see you do 3. You've given my fave DS retrospectives I've ever seen

[@ChaosSoulYT]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I put out a channel schedule on my community tab if you're interested in seeing a general idea on when I'll be reviewing each game :)

[@liquid1514]

why would you need to force yourself to play 3?

[@Sognafar]

@liquid1514 because admittedly I used to be a casual and the lore is so perfect in these games on top of I beat the shit out of Eldenring so bad I figured time to git gud

[@sirtoxic5147]

@@liquid1514 I played it originally and couldn't finish it. Had to quit and come back and liked it more.

[@Lucy2Juicy]

I cannot force myself to even play it much anymore tbh.

[@bihn]

i recommend writing a more straight forward script for a video like this. Helps to avoid repeating yourself.😊

[@NoksUndKutten]

FYI Aldia is in the original Dark Souls 2 aswell; He was added in patch 1.10 on the 5th February 2015 Afaik it was the last patch before SOTFS released

[@Nilnot]

2 was my first souls game, and the Pursuer was a massive wall to me. It’s been years and I haven’t tried the method since because I just don’t need it, but I have never been able to get the ballista bolts to hit the boss even once

[@mildlyaggravated7066]

So there's a few things that are just wrong in this. Like the Pursuers, there's a bunch you missed like in the Iron Keep, a few in the Bastil, and the Castle. Also you don't have to fight Vendrick at all, you can walk right by him so long as you have the Gaint thingy from the Dragon.

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Which dragon do you mean?

[@rosemarythedrow]

A three-hour "DS2 x, actually" video in 2023? I'm feeling young again thank you mate

[@Rascal1214]

Hey man, this is a great video and I agree with you on most of these points. One thing I wanted to point out is that the Pursuer does show up later in the game, it shows up in the Smelter Demon's room after he is killed, and in the King and Queens throne room in NG+ (or at aesthetic 2). Another one is that in Shaded Woods, the trees don't damage you, there's near invisible npc enemies that attack you and aggro onto the moaning trees when said trees are hit. Tip for Ancient Dragon: left rear foot, you bait either 1 slam or the flying attacks, and being at that foot allows you to be able to avoid those attacks.

[@Jay_daewi]

Ds2 isn’t about some character of prophecy saving the world. It’s about a kingdom that’s plagued with a curse that will affect every human. The time is different because the game isn’t about the cycles like ds1 or 3. It’s about the curse

[@dickheadrecs]

there’s another 2 pursuers in drangleic castle. pretty sure theres another one in things betwixt near the sex change coffin as well

[@anthropomorphicmonster9113]

There are so many damn gank squads in DS1 that no one ever talks about when reviewing DS2. The beginning of DS2 is great. It's just a lot different, which is fine. You are right it's obvious another team worked on it. There are some areas I feel should have been handled differently, but it is still an amazing game.

[@everilliem3292]

DS2 is Definately a more gank squad filled nightmare. Not even close.

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

​@@everilliem3292 worst thing about, agro range in ds2 is to big, lure is not a option

[@everilliem3292]

@@nicolasoliveira4903 I played through it a couple months ago, and didn't find it to be an issue Honestly, much easier than I ever remembered it being, actually cake walked through, and I was using a falcion of all things. Did die at shrine of Amana a good amount of times though, because, well..... Yeah... Other than that, was quite good, didn't notice aggro issues or anything.

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

@@everilliem3292 easier or hard dont mean mean better or wrost. Trash is trash

[@everilliem3292]

@@nicolasoliveira4903 When did I say anything about it being better or worse? I just said i found it easy and had no problems with aggro like you mentioned, If you think it's trash, that's your opinion, good for you.

[@DonutSwordsman]

Did you see the lothric knight and 3 pillars on the cathedral as pointed out by Channel Yoshimitsu? Mega interesting connections to DS3 beyond that too

[@shoobydoo]

Not if anyone has said this but the pursuer appears after Lost Bastille. If you go back to the Smelter Demon boss room after you beat him, the pursuer will appear again and drop a +1 ring. Also in NG + if you enter the throne room in Drangliec Castle, there's a double pursuer fight where two spawn and you have to fight them at the same time. Just something to note while I'm watching this.

[@mskn2745]

What an amazing video. Nicely done 😮

[@fireant353]

Ds2 introduced omnidirectional rolling, what are you talking about in the section where you bring up being unable to roll diagonally? Demons souls, ds1, and dsr actually have the problem you're mentioning yet ds2 is bad? Lol

[@Termulus]

I think the world design would be fixed if the animation for going to iron keep went down instead of up, and if dark souls 2 was still all about time travel, to explain walking through a tunnel for 10 seconds leading to a completely different looking area.

[@paulroche7588]

Shrine of Amana…fridged outskirts….blue smelter demon boss run….gotta be careful saying any of these things cause it can and will cause trauma/PTSD induced panic attacks and or seizures

[@srarts123]

Not all the information is correct. Stuff like the shaded woods the trees aren't what is damaging you, but rather the almost invisible enemies, the trees actually help you by distracting them. I don't know if I caught exactly how many times you have played ds2 but I get some of the more obscure mechanics may not be as obvious if you only played it one or two times. The only other critique i would have is linear nature of levels doesn't mean bad level design which seems to be hinted at a couple times. Consistancy and logic of the world is more important to level design which is where I feel ds2 is worse with it then say ds3 which is a much more linear game than 1

[@jacobelfrink1649]

Broo I been waiting on this one 🙏🏼

[@ChaosSoulYT]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@blazai_6070]

What is it that triggers the mini dragon slayers to attack cause they’re never hostile to me and I’ve taken out so many of their buddies until they stopped spawning

[@williamrapp6676]

I don’t think the hit-boxes are intentionally shitty and if they are that is antithetical to what dark souls is about

[@CptDuck]

Every Dark Souls 2 video always good to watch.. thank you

[@JLchevz]

The problem I have with more modern Souls games is fast travel. I get that it's convenient but the thing about DS1 is that it made you feel like you were on this amazing journey against this brutal world and after a while you got back to Firelink and felt AMAZING. But on other Souls games you just teleport everywhere and it becomes a compilation of levels, you don't have to work your way through an area only to reach the bonfire and level up, you actually have to be careful and spend your souls and level up in the same place you are, it doesn't break immersion, while in DSII you have to go back to Majula, chill a little bit and level up and then go back to wherever place you were, breaking immersion. Kind of like in Metroid when you spend hours on one area of the map only to then come to your ship for something important and it feels amazing to see how much you've progressed and how it feels to be back after toiling with stronger enemies and difficult levels.

[@mjjjhaney1]

NG + has the Pursuer(s) that you may be looking for... You can use fire to kill the creepy hands, in The Gutter, without them ever popping out of their oil slick holes.

[@Batman_83]

For the run up to the chariot, you can lure each torturer out one at a time. Just go up into the first one jumps down, bait him back a ways and kill him, then go back to get the second one. Rinse and repeat until they're all dead. Also the earthen peak was meant to be built into the side of a volcano which I wish they would have designed into the game to make it visually make more sense. And the way I've always thought about the tunnel to the castle, with time being twisted as a theme in this game, maybe the time going through the tunnel is an extra long time but only seems fast to us? Or maybe it's like a portal that advances or regresses time? I love this game but I enjoy watching the issues others find with it. I'm not blind to them and have picked apart this game a lot. It was my first Souls game and I'll always have fond memories of the game.

[@blacklung7474]

Taking into account that we have elden ring and an dlc coming up, how would you rank the souls games?

[@ChaosSoulYT]

Dark Souls 1 Demon's Souls Bloodborne Dark Souls 3 Elden Ring Dark Souls 2 Sekiro

[@blacklung7474]

@@ChaosSoulYT Sekiro is really low, interesting. Never played bloodborne since i don't have a playstation, but i thought it would be in first place.

[@ChaosSoulYT]

I don't think any game will ever beat the original dark souls for me, however I haven't finished bloodborne yet. I will be playing through it and then analysing it on my channel. I'm about halfway through it currently and it is very very good but not on the level of DeS and DS1 still for me Also I don't consider sekiro a souls like at all and I really dislike the setting, story and combat of that game

[@blacklung7474]

@@ChaosSoulYT Wow, that's the opposite in regards to sekiro. But yeah, for people who played ds1 at the time, it will never be surpassed. I played them one after the other, so ds1 a bit faded in my memory, and ds2 was just not something i had fun with. Ds3 was the one that i loved the most and to me what felt like a sequel and ending to what started in ds1. Elden ring sits in a spot where i like it, but it doesn't feel the same.

[@eclipse369.]

1 Ds2 2 Ds1 3 Demon souls 4 Elden ring Not played blood or ds3 or the ninja game

[@permadefeed5711]

Hey, thanks for the great analysis, which I mostly agree with! But for me burning the mill's rotor clearing Mytha's room from poison makes perfect sense. I think the poison is constantly pumped into the room by the mill to flow through it. So when significant parts of the mill stop working due to the fire the supply with poison also stops. I also like the general concept of Harvest Valley. It actually represents Dark Soul's theme of constant danger, agony and overall life-hostility perfectly. But, yes, the execution was poor.

[@senecauk8363]

I actually used the mechanic whereby enemies disappeared after a certain number of deaths in the frigid outskirts. It took me about an hour but I killed all those fucking reindeer. The area was empty when I was done, every time I ran through it. This enabled decent solo attempts on Lud and Zallen. I maintain the second beast should've been a different pet of the king, so you have the phase you already know, and a different animal to learn afterwards...

[@MrLisso98]

Dark souls 2: Isn't fair. And the fire keepers tall u that from the beggining. Yes, But then you realised that vendrick and many others have fallen into seeking a solution for a problem that is inevitable, Dark souls 2 tells you that you will die, because it want YOU to CONQUERT ADVERSITY OMG how people do not rememver that the entire point of this is to conquer that adversity. Seek adversity (...) Seek strenght, the rest will follow.... This Vendricks Words is what to me summarise Dark souls 2. everyone tell you you will fail, even the king tell you that you will fail, but as you advance and progress when you visit the king you can see that even he is starting to have hope in you. In dark souls the world is against you, but you seek adversity, you gained streght and Even find a Third way to live w/o a curse, you prove all of them Wrong. And to me that's feeels great abount conquering Ds I have like 700hs in Ds2 and many characters, Build diversity Is better in Ds 2 in my opinon there just a lot more spells, miracles and piromancies, even ranged phisical builds can be viable, Dark sousl 2 is amazing. ADPT whining is senseless, you can actually complete the game w/o leveling it, but yes the inconsistansy that create is bad. about the bad hitboxes I really never noticed it compared to the awful stupid grabs that DS1 have. I really like the lore of DS2 I like how it feel incoherent, dreamlike but at the same time, it gave you a good context of the many lands that used to be where drangleic is, or lands close to drangleic. Also I really loved to see the REAL overall world, and time level Consecuences of Gwyn's greed, isntead of just the consecuences on simple area. To me it's genius that we have 2 people with power that seek to correct the mistake Gwyn made, that was just *chef kiss* amazing, and should have been explored more in DS3. Instead of being a nostalgia trip of Ds1

[@mattn561]

I hated DS2 after buying it on release but after I realized I needed to stop looking at it as DS1.5 I saw it for what it was as a bold innovation on the formula. I think if DS3 had innovated more and not just updated the DS1 formula, people would see DS2 as an innovation and not a deviation.

[@DonutSwordsman]

Pyromancy also requires faith and intelligence, something new and not in dark souls 1 changing the dynamic of the game way different than DS1, where you can use pyromancy at full strength at level 1. I'm shocked you didn't mention this

[@GamersRowTheFourth]

It scales, yes, but no pyromancy spell in the game has a requirement

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

Huntsman's copse: Good area , I agree with you mostly. Boss is a nice tribute of DSI, many people criticize mid bosses but I find them rather nice. The game encourages coop play. You can use alluring skull for this fight and boss weapon is really good for hex build. Speaking of hex, another npc Felkin the outcast is here, most important npc for hex build. First encounter with Creighton is here as well like you mentioned. Pate and Creighton's story is one of the best npc quest I've ever seen in Souls series. Its another sign of how good actually B team is. Lastly boss is not that bad as people made it be, next game made it better with Deacons of Deep boss fight ( but curse is kinda annoying). Undead Purgatory and Cathedral of Blue: Firstly torturers do not attack you together , their agro range is wide that is true but unless you are careless they do not agro together. Just use the equipment the game gave you i.e crossbow, bow, consumables, spells, miracles, hexes. Now for covenant part, I write this two covenant places together because the design idea is smilar. Brotherhood of blood and Way of blue are online covenants, they are for inviders. B.o.b is for killing, W.o.b is for killing sinners and protect others. These covenants need high experience, that's why their roads are difficult. Designers actually tell players come these places later when you get more powerful but of course players forced them, i did force myself too in my first playthrough. Than you could ask why they are early areas, that's the point, now you have gaming experience and you know what to do, you could choose join earlier and play invader or protector. That is a good design choice. DSIII missed it so badly. Darkmoon covenant is in late game area and Rosarias Fingers could screw your progress for joining darkmoon and ironically blue sentinels introduced too early for the experience. You don't know how to handle invaders and game just let you became protector and result is invaders destroy you, that's why nobody joins blue sentinels. Another bad part is you don't get any reward for blue sentinels but you need darkmoon covenants rewards for achivement. Now for your review, your video lacks again mentioning these spesific aspects, I wonder your opinion just based around one playthrough? If it based around multiple playthroughs, it makes it worse for lacking so many knowledge and not understanding game's design.

[@lexlamb]

Great video so far! couldn't watch too much for fear if dark souls 3 spoilers but i'll leave some of my thoughts on ds2 here. It's been crazy how much dark souls content has been releasing on youtube this year, quite a coincidence since i had never played a dark souls game and had just started playing through them in order recently. i finished all of dark souls remastered and it's achievements, and just finished doing the same for dark souls II as of yesterday. I am absolutely loving this series so far! one of my only big criticisms of dark souls II (sotfs) is the strange inconsistent difficulty, most runs up to the bosses and most areas of regular enemies were much more difficult than the bosses themselves (which is also an issue i had with ds1 but to a lesser extent). bosses are pretty easy and predictable in comparison to the rest of the game in ds2, Artorias and O&S in ds1 are great examples of fights that are really fun and challenging because they're unpredictable and you have to be light on your feet. And with ds1 and 2 i really can't tell if it's supposed to be a thematic thing but why are the final bosses always the easiest? is it supposed to make the player feel powerful and thus like they've earned their victory? im not sure but it always feels anti climactic to me. my other big criticism is the story, in ds1 even though i had no grasp on the lore i understood the story, as in i understood where to go, what to do, and why i was doing it. ds2 was much more vague, i understand you have to collect the 4 things and see the king but after that? it really lost me, i have no idea why i need to go into the memories of giants, why i need their souls, or why this somehow causes the final boss to appear? im sure i was missing something but it's the lore that should be hidden, not the story, i need to know what i'm doing and why to feel motivated to play. anyway i just started dark souls III yesterday and after hearing people's opinions on the series i assumed ds1 and 3 were similar with ds2 being the black sheep of the series but so far ds3 feels so much different in terms of gameplay to the rest (which is the one thing i felt didn't need improvement), not to mention it's the only dark souls game i've encountered bugs in so far, im hoping with time it shows me how it outshines its predecessors because i would love for it to live up to the hype!

[@minerman60101]

I started with DS2 (Scholar of the First Sin), quit somewhere in the Forest of Fallen Giants, and then a month and a half later moved on to DS1 and fell in love. Looking back on it, there was the ever present flaws from the "combat and movement section", combined with the fact that playing mouse and keyboard even with the autohotkey fixes still kinda sucked, but I think the one singular moment that led me to drop the game was the giant sword neat the end of FoFG with an item at its end where if you grabbed the item, then two soldiers would materialize out of nowhere and climb up the sword to try and kill you. Then DS1 greeted me with Undead Asylum with the satisfaction of slaying the Asylum Demon, followed up with Undead Burg and Parish which was just a sublime experience. Much later I played DS2 a couple more times and got to No Man's Wharf but I've switched computers and haven't had much interest in installing DS2 again to give it a go. If I ever do I'll try out hexes.

[@kiliana229]

Those soldiers don't materialize out of nowhere, they drop down from a hole further up in the wall, you can see them when you turn around before picking up the Item.

[@JairRemi999]

1:26:20 Thats a really good idea, I never thought of that or realized it was right above the bonfire 🔥 its too good I bet the devs didnt even think to put a ladder there.

[@urazoe8240]

I dont want to be the guy. But I cant help and feel exausted when i have to hear about DS2 bad ambushes 9 years and counting, while everyone just keeps forgetting all the ambushes in the undead burg. or all the gank fights. DS2 certanly is flawed. maybe it truely is the worst game in the seriers. but i would hope that someone doing a 3 hour essay would have a full scriped written and is trying to be as neuterl as possible. sadly i feel like this just inst the case and its just another DS2 bad video.

[@clubb3y906]

Watching your gameplay makes me want to scratch my eyes out, you got so many facts wrong and ignored so many lore aspects, and it feels like you didn't actually do proper research, it just feels like you played this game once, halfheartedly, then decided to summarize it for a school essay lol, ds2 is for sure not my favourite one in the series, but dayum it deserves better than this

[@ChaosSoulYT]

In hindsight, this video is not my best work no, primarily because it was only half scripted and half on the spot commentary. I'm fully scripting my videos now. Check out my analysis of Doom for a better idea of what my Bloodborne analysis will be like when that comes out in a few weeks

[@HadesHatredEdge]

While I didn't find DS2 as interesting as DS1/3, it was a solid experience. I don't regret playing it. My main issue was that it felt too damn easy.

[@AlesMicik]

Bro all the games are easy.

[@kingsinnlos2934]

Maybe I will watch more or the rest of the video, in case I want to: I stopped at 41:57 Honesty my impresions after the first 40 Minutes are not great. I agree with some things you said, and I disagree with some things, thats fine and like most of those videos go. The thing, I can´t get past, and the thing that makes me feel like this Video is not really worth my time is the lacking research. First of, the first time Sotfs is mentioned, is (if I didn't miss anything) 35:55, where it is said "I only ever played the sotfs edition of this game, so I couldn't tell you, if the Heide knights are originally there". I think it would be worth a mention in the Intro, that you are analysing the sotfs edition and not the original release, because it is the upgraded version or something. From the title I thought you meant the original games + maybe dlc, because sotfs was releaseed in 2015. Not a great deal, just a bit unclear, which is unnessecary. Second, what I mean by lacking research. In the quote above, you said, you couldn't tell, if the Heide knight where originally there. Which is something a quick google search could have unveiled. If you wanted to specifically analyse sotfs, fine, then why didn't you say so, and why mention it then? Another example of this is the covenant of Champions, whre you said at 15:56 that you didn't know, what it did, only, that it makes the game harder. It is a 1 minute google search. (I timed it, and in case you are wondering:Th covenant means: Enemys deal up to 50% more dmg (especially bosses), have more life, up to 20% more resistances and a higher aggro range). And here the same, If you didn't know and didn't wanted to take the minute to google it, why didn't you say: "[...] but as a new player you don't want that, because it makes the game substancially harder." Both of these cases don't bear witness of "[analyzing] it in great detail" (as the video description states). As far as I know (and I am not a native english speaker, so I might somehow be wrong on this), great detail implies, that a good amount of research went into this, or that you at least know what you are talking about. (Those are just the most glaring examples of this I noticed, but the pate thing at 30:45 is also wrong, at least in the base game Pate is still there and gives you a white soapstone if you exhaust his dialoge, this may be different in sotfs, but in my 2 Minutes googeling I found nothing that implies a change from vanilla ds2) I just bothers me, because from your description an title I really looked forward to watching this. I also have at least an Idea how long such a Video takes to produce, so that you still didn't take the time to really get into the matter or at least enough to analyse something in great detail is just not understandable for me. If I would invest all those hours in Playing the game, writing the script, recording and editing, I would at least try to make it match the goal I had in mind. Honestly, I want to like this video, I want to appreciate the time and effort that went into creating it, but I just can't, which is sad. I am sorry for talking dirty about your work, that went into this video. I don't want to sound so negative, because in most cases I agreed with or at least understood your sentiment. Those cases of blatanly telling, that you didn't take time to analize DS2 in great detail where just to off-putting for me to ignore. I write this extensive comment to make clear what I mean. I don't want to just say your work is bad, because it isn't. I know it is not my place to criticize this video (as I only watched to fist 20% of it), but I hope my feedback after this short a watchtime is in some way helpful to you. Have a good day

[@legitimatemedicine8903]

That's my problem so far too. I'm at 1:43:00 and there's been multiple points where he could easily check the wikis to answer a question. Or he could try better scripting, because he ends up repeating himself over and again without having examples on hand. It weakens his arguments overall even if the general theme of his arguments are on the right track. I was especially frustrated by him saying the run up to undead purgatory is worse than frigid outskirts. You can pull those four strong guys one at a time with some skill and the actual travel time isn't that long. Frigid outskirts is a blind sprint with infinitely respawning enemies for a repeat boss

[@misaeltoral508]

@@legitimatemedicine8903 it’s all over the place. Honestly this is on the low end of Dark Souls analysis videos

[@thepoofster2251]

I feel like DS2 is currently on a redemption arc on KZbin. So many ds2 vids popping up after the Elden ring hype died down

[@ChaosSoulYT]

This video does not talk kindly of Dark Souls 2 overall, however.

[@thepoofster2251]

​@@ChaosSoulYT I figured, most don't. I just love seeing people's opinions about design. Lots to be learned from this game, both good and bad

[@Shatter149]

the game was surely ahead of its time.

[@JimC607]

I'm glad people are revisiting it with a fresh perspective, even if they still come away not liking it. Some of the critiques when it was released could easily be applied to DS1. Other critiques were just laughable, complaining about having to fight more than 1 enemy at a time or not liking the lock on system despite the fact that you're never forced to do it.

[@eclipse369.]

Ds2 is much better than ER

[@Battleguild]

Dark Souls 2 by far has the best supporting items and mechanics for every variant of spellcaster. (Elden Ring did better on the spells, but everything else was subpar.) A perfect example of this is the Blue Flame sword, a weapon that also doubles as a catalyst, and it is very competent in both PVE and PVP. (Unlike the Scholar's Candlestick...) It's also a notable entry in the series, because it's the only Dark Souls/Elden Ring to not tie Cast Speed to Dexterity, and spellcasters weren't shackled by damage increasing Rings/Talismans.

[@R1R1R2]

What’s your opinion on FP versus numbered casts? I dislike the requirement of farming for consumable items to restore spell usages, especially since I feel it encourages duping/muling.

[@Battleguild]

@@R1R1R2 It's a give or take honestly. On one hand, FP is nice in that you can cast any spell you desire until your FP runs out or is restored. Yet your punished by relying on it due to having to shave off your Estus to gain more casts, it has the issue of spells only being picked for their FP to Value ratio, and it innately causes duplicate spells/spell merchants to become useless post-NG. On the other hand, Set Casts is nice because once it's attuned, you know exactly how many times you can use a spell. You also have the benefit of having access to all your Estus and have the option to attune duplicate spells to gain even more casts out of a spell. The only real downside is that once you exhaust a particular spell, you can't use it again till you rest or burn a consumable that generally hits all your spells. I personally like Set Casts more, because I know exactly what I have and there are consequences to spamming the spell too early between rests. It also gave me something to look forward to post-NG as a spellcaster, whereas FP kinda defeats the purpose of progressing to NG+. It also doesn't help that FromSoft is absolutely mortified at allowing spellcasters a way to passively regain FP. Both DS3 and Elden Ring notably don't have a Ring/Talisman that regens 2 FP/Sec. (Though DS3 does have the clunky infusions that passively restores FP.)

[@R1R1R2]

@@Battleguild do you think a system with FP for weapon skills and numbered casts for spells could be balanced, or would it be redundant? I agree with the collection of duplicate spells (no PVP risk since you can’t drop spells, requires actual effort/skill to obtain) and with the strange lack of an FP regen ring. Yes, Fromsoftware, it would encourage passive play, but so do HP regen builds and the Way of Blue covenant.

[@Battleguild]

@@R1R1R2 I could see FP as a self-recharging "stamina" bar for FP dependant builds. Casters would still be confined to the Set Casts but they would be unable to spam their spells rapidly either. But this system has its own faults: Do casters ignore Stamina if FP functions as their own variant of it? Do they still use Stamina? When you go down either route, you're suddenly keeping track of a lot of things just to cast 1 spell. What of Weapons Arts? The FP recharges. Do we go back to a "Durability" system that doesn't break the weapon but caps the number of uses per Weapon Art? Do we use a Cooldown system instead? I think that a system could be made to implement both FP and Spell Casts, but there would undoubtedly be some concessions needed to be made to make it possible.

[@CptDuck]

i just don't like spell caster speed included in DEX which is doesn't make sense at all.. there is no connection between spelling magic and DEX that is not main stat for spell caster... DS2 did it right which included in spell caster main stat which is not DEX..

[@veruminfiniteofficial3334]

Fun fact: Huntsman's Copse was the area we were let loose in for the network beta test. It really sold me on the game back in the day. I bought the game on release, and actually dropped it for years, certain I'd never like it. I returned to it a few years ago, and it's honestly one of my favorite games now. It's not perfect, but it's quite good on its own merits, when detached from its predecessors. In a way, it feels closer to DeS than it does to DaS, and I'm able to see it for the solid rpg it is. One thing I like about DaS2 is that it's one of the most friendly games for greatshield users. It feels as though it wants you to be a cautious, defensive player, much in the same vein as what drew me to DeS in 2010. It rewards the patient smart dungeoneer, unlike everything DaS3 and newer, which punish non-dex players, because speed=challenge now. ER and BB are damn near unplayable for me, because of that dex bias that the action-oriented players get all giddy about.

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

Belfry Sol: And you showed your lack of knowledge again. They put that bonfire there to seperate areas, ones you jump that bonfire, you are in Bell area, you should pass territory of Bell guardians, it teaches you territorial covenants. There is no two Belfry covenants, only one and its guarding bell, it is same covenant from Belfry Luna. Ringing bell opens gate, you opened before Gargoyles boss fight in Luna and you opened gate in Sol, just watch your own video. For Bell Guardians covenant, have you ever tried it ? If you didn't try it, how can you know its not a good gimmick? Bellfry Sol is maybe the second most active pvp area after Iron Bridge. Its concept is simple and better than previous game's Forest Hunter and next game's Watchdogs of Farron or Aldrich Faithful. Bellfry Sol is better than Luna because it is open field. You could invade people or got invasion its open for all invasion and not bound with a boss like Farron and Aldrich. If we compare with others, Darkwood Garden is a wide and full of enemies, Crucifixion Woods is swamp territory makes hard for movement and Abyss Watchers area is bloated with enemies, Gang City is only good one but too big and invasions turns cat and mouse game. Bellfry Sol perfect for territorial invasion, not too wide, not too complex, npc are one time and dwarfs are easy to kill. Rewards are really good for covenant and you can rank up thanks to Mad Warrior NPC invasion. I write really long for this area but your critical analysis is horrible for this area, you didn't know anything about this covenant territory, how could you write analysis than if you know nothing? Grave of Saints: Oh, boy here we again. At least try this freaking covenants before write a critical analysis. Rat King covenant kinda work like Grave Lords from DSI. Ones you join, enemies not attack you. This covenant works opposite from Bell Guards.This time member of the covenant summons trespasser, you could activate traps and set the area for your benefit. The trespasser should survive against traps and enemies and pass through fog wall or kill the host. This is a fun PVP area for early game, its not much active for high level, Door of Pharros is more active in high level. Joining this covenant from Grave of Saints has benefits for Door of Pharros. Covenant rewards and both Royal Rat bosses are not great but PVP idea is really good. Grave Lords covenant is really good in DSI, this game changed it slightly but still good. Sadly DSIII completely abondoned both consept. There is neither Grave Lords like covenant, nor Rat Kings like covenant. For the sake of an analysis video try covenants at least once or watch videos, what the hell they are.

[@gnarlylasagna7464]

YESSSSSSS I've been waiting for thissss

[@gnarlylasagna7464]

I beat scholar of the first sin recently and the amount of enemies combined with the roll timing. its a nightmare