Dark Souls 2 Graphics - Network Test vs. Vanilla vs. Scholar of the First Sin

[@nicolasriveros943]

"Firekeepers" is such an underated track. I hope Elden Ring has more ambience music like that

[@krzypl5959]

@@velaikka It's in Dark Souls 2 soundtrack so it has to be underrated

[@bt70a9]

Obviously it has. It's everything dark souls, but better. Its getting 10/10 by players and companies left and right.

[@titans2720]

still one of the best pieces of music fromsoft has created, and they have some absolute bangers under their belt spanning across every game. this is right up there with ds1 main menu music except i always loved how it was in the game itself. there's something nice about going back to your safe home and hearing the calming music to relax you from intense battles. and the thing about majulas theme, i could listen to it for hours on end without it getting old.

[@Lofirainbows]

Dark Souls 2 ost has that unique feel from Demon's Souls/ Dark Souls 1 and 2. Menu Music/Things Betwixt/Majula/Executioners Chariot/Queen of Drangliec/The Kings Royal Aegis/King Vendrick/Nowhere/Darklurker/Chasm Of Old/Crowns of Kings Dlc, etc are all great tracks and some of their best in my opinion. Nobody seems to have ever pointed this out, but the Majula theme from Dark Souls 2 is the Dark Reality theme from Kings Field IV the Ancient City. The Majula thene is one of the oldest pieces of music composed for the game, back when it was still the pendulum of time. I've always felt Dark Souls 2 is more Kings Field than Dark Souls, in my opinion this is due to Natoshi Zin (creator of Armoured Core/Kings Field and Elden Ring and executive producer of Dark Souls 1 and maybe 3 I forgot) being the main director. Hence the countless similarties between 2 and IV, kind of interesting the music reflects this too. Kind of lends credence to my theory.

[@naoiwatani8402]

I doubt you could even imagine it. That which commanded the hype, gave life it's fullest brilliance was shattered, by someone or something. *hold shot on 2014 Bandai Namco*

[@duncanmacleod7287]

I think player feedback was the reason why they ditched the higher contrast. But apart from that shame they couldn't keep certain effects on either, the skeleton lords boss room looks quite a bit nicer in the NT.

[@SirBrandan]

Interested to see the difference between The Elden ring NT and the finale product.

[@lil_blue2984]

Theres no difference. They upgraded the hud visuals but everything other changes was purely gameplay

[@SirBrandan]

@@lil_blue2984 the network test looks beautiful so I’m not stressing.

[@Aden_III]

@@lil_blue2984 WHO CARES?!!’ Sick of you graphics obsessors

[@lil_blue2984]

@@Aden_III theres no graphic obsession here man, i think the game looks so fucking gorgeous as is

[@lil_blue2984]

@@SirBrandan oh yeah the game looks stunning. The 25th can not come soon enough

[@Lynnfordthegreat]

The music brings back so much nostalgia.. unpopular opinion DS2 was my favorite of the series aside from Demons Souls (2009).

[@weaselbeee]

2 is my favourite of the dark souls series but bloodborne is my favourite game ever

[@allmasterofficial]

Not my favourite, but deserves to be one of the best games ever, i'm serious.

[@ash_1419]

DS1 is my fav..the lore in that game is just mind blowingly amazing

[@allmasterofficial]

My favourite is Bloodborne, everything about it is really perfect! And it has the best DLC!

[@Alolan.Vulpix.Getting.Railed]

2 is my favorite aswell

[@ericzao3096]

man, ds2 ambience is so unique. where it lacks on level design/connectivity, it makes up with those beautiful dreamlike scenarios and ideas. i wish ds3 did more of that, but instead they settled with areas that don't stand out that much.

[@BrawnyStream]

Luckily DS3 had the highest avg boss quality to make up for the level design issues

[@FreedomAndPeaceOnly]

Soooooooooo true! If you ask me that was the only thing that really disappointed me in DS2. The missing, brilliantly connecting area's like in DS1. Not even in DS3 they managed to make it.

[@LuM4rex]

What do you mean by level design? Visually, they look very good, someone does not like the gray filter, but it is easily disabled using the mod. The locations themselves are projected at a high level, although they are rather loosely connected to each other.

[@LuM4rex]

@@FreedomAndPeaceOnly They didn't try, as far as I know. DS3 is a completely finished game, someone likes it, someone doesn't. You are no longer an explorer, you have one last clear goal- to bind the flame, let it go out or prolong the era of fire. And well, Santa at the end of time, when everyone will fucking die.

[@ericzao3096]

@@LuM4rex ds2 has some of the best level design in the series, i just wanted to point out the lack of connectivity it has. for example iron keep at the top of earthen peak, or no man's wharf being underwater when compared to heide's tower of flame location. matter of fact, i feel like by being disconnected it created a freedom to be more dreamlike and experiment more, since the areas don't have to make any sense, and i appreciate that.

[@ApplesGhost]

Gotta admit SOTFS's fire animations look really good.

[@fraserduffy4576]

Honestly? I reckon SOTFS's fire graphics, especially in regards to pyromancies, FAR outdo the effects in Dark Souls 3.

[@cop6576]

admit?

[@ApplesGhost]

@@cop6576 In most respects DS2 is kind of a trainwreck imo but its fire physics are ridiculously good

[@cop6576]

@@ApplesGhost Why? Coz a big youtuber said so?

[@ApplesGhost]

@@cop6576 Because I played the game after playing bloodborne and it doesn't even come close to holding a candle to it.

[@thegreycrusader]

The first souls experience I had a a unique one from the others. It holds a special place in my gaming history for me.

[@2D_Stranger]

When StayD's Flames of Old mod for DS2 is ever finished, please make a comparison with it. It's looking amazing, but he's taking his time to really make it great.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

I've been following his work for a while and to me it seems like he's losing himself in details that are either only tangentially related to the general lighting, or completely unrelated. Still cool, but... it'll take a long ass time to finish.

[@giuliorivera3977]

@@iWillWakeYouUp He's also trying to fix some details of the game left unpolished on his own in addition to the lightning

[@YavNe]

@@iWillWakeYouUp Doesn't matter to make a product perfect you need longass time anyway. He can take 10 years more and I would still play it 10 years later. :DDD

[@YavNe]

@@giuliorivera3977 Lighting*

[@giuliorivera3977]

@@YavNe That's some great dedication to grammar, man - mad respect.

[@docbukabu8484]

Interesting that the Faraam armor torso was composed of two parts in the Network test, just like in the announcement trailer. In the animations the lower piece is attached to the hips and not the chest. It's very noticeable on the attack animations. I'd say it look better than the single bulky cuirass of vanilla and sotfs.

[@Lofirainbows]

That's why it looks so strange

[@Mk_Otaid]

Oh yeah it alleviates some of the plastic feel for sure. Even today some developers forget this when it comes to 3D model deformations - armor should NEVER warp like plastic because of the model's movement. Go the extra length to attach each piece to a fitting bone near it and accommodate for potential clipping with proper animations and designs. For Honor used to have this rule a while after it's release (before lore, hero and skin designs started to go bonkers). I loved seeing shoulderpads etc. dangle alongside your movement instead of being glued on the character model!

[@ginx2666]

Remember how FS promised to include Dx11 features in DS2, but then it shipped without them and they later added those in PAID DLC? I haven't forgotten.

[@JaytheLay1]

I know this is old, but I genuinely cannot think of a more frustrating transition to have used in a comparison video. Otherwise, I appreciate this bit of history being preserved for us.

[@JaytheLay1]

@Dman_Underneath Yay!

[@VideoGamingSociety]

The only thing I would bring from the NT to SOTFS would be the fog gate.

[@benknightbus1729]

I prefer the fog gate from SOTFS, but that just might be because it looks so much smoother. What fascinates me is how much better the lighting looks in SOTFS, but how better the game would be if areas were naturally darker like in the NT and Vanilla. The Gutter was the only place that really took advantage of darkness and low visibility. While that area was stressful the first time around, it would’ve been cool to add it to more than just that one hallway in Forest of Fallen Giants.

[@lobstrosity7163]

The character being darker when holding a torch was nice too.

[@VideoGamingSociety]

@@benknightbus1729 You should check out Seeker of Fire mod. It really brings that darker atmosphere, and the changes are good and significant to make for a great full run.

[@hepic2874]

@@lobstrosity7163 I think what they are trying to say is that you dont get I frames.

[@robertpowell1464]

I dont know how you do this sorcery you do, but I like it. I hadnt really noticed going from DS2 on PS3 to Sotfs on PC the difference because I thought it was platform difference. Now I see they do add nice fine details each itineration.

[@dgmsstuff]

resolution aside, the network test looks more atmospheric imo

[@cubixman9676]

What does that even mean? It just looks worse unless you think otherwise which is fine

[@hussien04]

It just looks darker if thats “atmospheric” to you just lower the brightness if you olay sotfs lol

[@dgmsstuff]

@@hussien04 it's not "just darker", there are a few differences in shading and light falloff, but if you don't see it, it's fine, just not my problem... why reply something worthless in the first place?

[@Korcunu]

Same for me. The lighting is more ambient and is not green-ish as in SOFTS, and the game looks way better

[@duncanmacleod7287]

@@hussien04 Do you even know the difference between brightness and contrast? the NT has a lot more contrast and makes it look a lot nicer overall compared to the more flat looking retail. And there's also differences in particle effects and shading, pretty noticeable in Skeleton lords boss room, I noticed the better looking water right away and the shading on the corpse piles.

[@gtabro1337]

This almost feels like my Internet Explorer finally loaded the video I wanted to see in 2014...

[@generaldurandal3568]

Dark Souls 2 was secretly King's Field 5 all along. Which is a reason why it's my fave Dark Souls game. Elden Ring also has King's Field Elements. It's like every amazing thing FromSoft did in one game... Well, except Armored Core. Would be neat if there was a Armored Core mech in the game. As an Easter egg or something.

[@TheCrewExpendable]

Sword of Moonlight, but this time it’s literally one of the Armored Core ones. So instead of it being a Faith or Intelligence scaling weapon, this time it’s Strength scaling because it’s heavy as hell.

[@nathanbritto9960]

Their next game is Armored Core

[@karasis69]

patches

[@Lofirainbows]

I've always said this cool

[@Ghost_gc]

I personally think sotfs has weird shading and brightness in certain areas, where some stone textures almost looked like metal for how they shine. Weird artistical choice but, i guess it works in a mangled and twisted world. At least they tried something.

[@Mk_Otaid]

It's a limitation that many older games had unfortunately. The materials didn't have PBR so you were limited to "faking" it with a couple values pretty much. You can see the same thing in other games as well, like Skyrim - where metal often doesn't shine or get lit believably enough, often being inseparable from wood and stone. They had to mostly rely on texture readability for that and manual glossiness/roughness & specular values.

[@Lofirainbows]

1:19 Adding that ugly orange glow was a mistake; it takes away from the isolation

[@armando1is1great]

I still have the most hours of pvp in ds2. Life had something to do with it too pf course, but I really liked some of the spell cpmbos you could do, and the dual weilding was awesome

[@Ultrakrill2411]

I have the most hours overall in ds2 lmao

[@allmasterofficial]

Best thing about DS2, to me at least, is the Powerstance mechanic (Duel Wield), i'm happy that they brought it to Elden Ring.

[@waltuh11121]

Dark Souls 2 remains still (at least for me) as the most beautiful Souls game ever. That feel when I first reached the Brume Tower was just ubelievable

[@PintsofGuinness]

lol

[@ghostreflect5940]

Feels fake to me, a lot of areas seem like props or set prices for a movie. Lots of repeated textures and empty boxed rooms too.

[@allmasterofficial]

@@ghostreflect5940 it doesn't matter, the game is still great, but not the best.

[@nikitos3558]

@@allmasterofficial Its sometimes good, sometimes ok. I felt so disappointed after finishing DS1 and playing DS2. After finishing DS2, I went to 3 and it was so much better. I had a constant smile while playing it.

[@DarvosNethven3E]

Vanilla looks the best imo.

[@HiCZoK]

Interesting. Thank you. I think network test looked the best

[@duncanmacleod7287]

Something that I didn't notice before but the proportions of the armor are very different too, not sure if it can solely be attributed to bodytype differences in character creator but in beta it definitely looks more proportional 1:38

[@anatoliasmercenary.]

Playing the network test right now, Dark Souls II is so beautiful and special

[@MomentaryStir]

In my opinion Vanilla is the best. SOTFS is full of artificial lighting and too bright in dark areas for no reason.

[@CosmicKnightly]

Honestly, sotfs is the best looking version. Yeah the old game was more atmospheric but it was really blurry and meshy

[@masaru8162]

Also the armours looks less plastic in sotfs

[@hesiolite]

I prefer atmosphere over graphics personally so I would like it better. Also for me the lighting is the worst in softs

[@CosmicKnightly]

@Hesiolite normally id agree i.e elden ring>demon souls look, but thr old version is so blurry it almost it woudl probably strain my eyes a bit while playing.

[@macalvand]

Scholar turned this game into Bright Souls lol

[@TheMidian46]

green souls

[@ArcRay20]

its funny that one general difference is lighting and polish, which i wouldnt be surprised if it was a hand in hand thing like: make the trees brighter, oh they're just totally black with no texture. then they did it again and the texture was too blurry now that it could be seen better with better resolutions and since they clearly wanted the game to be even brighter.

[@TheUnknownGamer215]

Damn I remember the network test feels like yesterday

[@duncanmacleod7287]

I tried the NT and the dark areas are actually dark and require a torch such a shame they removed it last minute probably due to player feedback. Wonder If some wizard out there can restore it and implement it back since it's just a contrast setting, the code has to be buried in the Eboot right?

[@marieb73304]

DS3 is easy to love. DS2 is hard to love, but when you do, I feel you do it more fully than any other Dark Souls. I hated that game but kept playing it, eventually 100%. It's a vivid experience, it's the most depressing and the most colorful of the 3 in my opinion. When you're low, you're at the lowest, but when there's light, it's the brightest. DS1 is never so colorful and DS3 has too flat of an atmosphere. Love all 3 ofc, but DS2 def got into me like no other. Thanks for the vid and those visuals! We've come a long way and the black sheep of the souls is a hidden gem for me

[@ISetYourFaceOnFire]

the constant ganking and of squads and mobs of enemies that rely on cheesing and poison arrows etc just breaks the enjoyment when i remember the good things about it like pvp, dual weilding, variety of builds etc.

[@rily2885]

all gems but you have to respect the little black sheep, it was trying something different, I can forgive all their flaws with the things it did well, it was a bit harder with ds3 being ds1 but faster and colorless, almost felt like a downgrade in many ways, even now ds2 is the one that aged better, specially with the multiplayer aspect,

[@joshuadehler5039]

@@ISetYourFaceOnFire replayed them all before elden ring. I found Ds2 slight increase in gank battles preferable to ds3’s every enemy attacks with a berserker onslaught.

[@saninpain]

@@joshuadehler5039 You're just factually incorrect on that one, often if you're in a situation when you're surrounded by enemies in DS3 two of them will attack you, the only situation where it can be remotely unfair is if you're in that one specific area in Lothric Castle with all the firebomb throwing hollows, this is just a fact based on how the ai scripting works. Unless you've been unknowingly playing the Onslaught mod, everything you said is a lie.

[@joshuadehler5039]

@KILLTHESCRIBE “Berserker onslaught” was not meant as a scientific term. I just mean almost every enemy is relentless with their attacks (their first attack is usually something that hit multiple times and often a sneak attack). They may be programmed to attack only two at once, but there are much shorter windows to fight back and the others fill in any down time so it ends up feeling no better. Love both game btw, just don’t feel more raped by one over the other…

[@aifos5171]

3:17 !Weapon broken!

[@allmasterofficial]

Dark Souls 2 is really one of the best games i've ever played despite its terrible development, still a masterpiece at least to me.

[@chris_vp]

ye it god alot of hate for not being made with the core devs.

[@chris_vp]

@@CerealKiller na you prob wernt around then. polish hasnt mattered in gameing for along time bethesda has been messing up for years. i suppose your thinking of cyberpunk and that being unpolished . at the time doe people hated it the same reasons people hated ds 1 over demon souls. just new devs plus new ideas.

[@chris_vp]

@@CerealKiller wooo 2 paragraphs lol well ill take you at your word that you played it. is bye chance your fav dark souls number 3?

[@chris_vp]

@@CerealKiller ahhh i just assumed you havnt played it. who writes 2 paragraphs on youtube comments ye weirdo ye

[@JellyJman]

Honestly this video just shows how much lighting changes a game. Sometimes scholar looks better but a lot of times it looks worse with a weird green color grading. Other times scholar looks too bright. Thank you so much for this video

[@slaveknightgael7017]

What a beautiful game but the most hated souls game. I love it 😍

[@allmasterofficial]

Said by Gael who belongs to DS3, perfect!

[@ateenwholikesvideogames303]

Most hated? You mean least liked

[@Lofirainbows]

@@ateenwholikesvideogames303 Nah, a lot of morons hate this game

[@slaveknightgael7017]

One last powerful duel request before elden ring please: Slave Knight Gael 3xhp vs 5xhp Lorian and 5xhp dancer of boreal valley

[@Demokaze]

I never had problems with my eyesight not permanent ones anyway but I imagine those who do see like the NT without their glasses.

[@deusfaust]

It's not my favorite Souls game but I would rather play it than almost anything else that's come out recently.

[@dankhank6147]

yeah i swear to god every modern game is so fkn mediocre, they just publish unfinished games

[@gabe9925]

I kinda like the blurriness of the Network Test

[@captaindonut5240]

I think it would have been hard on the eyes after a while though

[@gabe9925]

@@captaindonut5240 absolutely, probably it's why they removed

[@ChubbyJimRaisinBran]

Do you plan on making similar videos like this for any of the other games? Edit: I saw you had a Bloodborne video too.

[@bilateriannewt4222]

its fun how Scholar looks worse than Vanilla.

[@alleythetoaster8401]

That Network Test version is real blurry.

[@nomercy8989]

You need to make the transitions a lot more instant. The blending makes it hard to see what changed

[@vilwinde]

Dude not softs but sotfs- Scholar Of The First Sin - SOTFS also great video it's interesting that they changed the graphics like that :D i like souls series and also bloodborne but sekiro idk :(

[@hoesmad8626]

the transition effect was mad annoying

[@josem.8386]

Don cangrejo!!! Falta la puerta de enfrente. JPG

[@RooneySparks]

I'll say it until I can form an opinion on Elden Ring, but Dark Souls 2 is my favorite Blood Soul game hands down

[@MK-vi2cm]

Just say souls wtf

[@saninpain]

@@MK-vi2cm Also who the hell likes DS2 over Bloodborne?

[@MK-vi2cm]

@@saninpain I got love for DS2 but liking it over Bloodborne is just crazy

[@vinniegret4841]

Lol later versions went for more resolution and brighter game, loosing a chunk of cinematic qualities and atmosphere.

[@vinniegret4841]

Also shadows are nonexistent in later versions wtf.

[@legobatmanthevideogame3194]

@@vinniegret4841 bro?

[@setsunaes]

Imagine how will look Elden Ring: Scholar of the Ring Thing

[@Akira-hr1dd]

I finished the vanilla on pc like 20 times

[@pieoverlord]

Huh... y'know, I always thought while watching people play 2 on KZbin that the game always looked a bit more noticeably scruffy. I assumed it was because I wasn't playing and so could properly appreciate those repeating wall textures, but if the lighting is really that different between Vanilla (what I have) and SotfS, that might explain it.

[@AdamMerlin]

Interesting how the network test had such low resolution compared to vanilla

[@barbosa40]

Network test had better graphics for sure.

[@TheMaulam12345]

the lightning in the demo is very real, others are wierd as hell

[@AZa4sh1r0]

Textures in 1024x1024

[@ryanl3500]

SOTFS is way too saturated, the textures look almost cartoonish at points.

[@crestfallenwarrior5719]

Crispy.

[@glumtito9085]

There were shadows in ds2 network test but not in Elden rings network test. From torches

[@hisholiness4537]

This. It's is one of the most bizarre things in this game. Maybe they are planning on fixing it with ray tracing?

[@_-78-_]

Теперь понятно - Школяр самый яркий/засвеченный. Отчего немного менее атмосферный. Да и эффект красного сужения при представлении каждого босса отсутствовал - лично мне он всегда казался лишним.

[@stupidlizard4764]

Вот была бы чернота на всю игру, как показывали на презентациях, вообще была бы атмосфера прекрасная. Там даже с факелом в руках было темно.

[@thewhiteknight9923]

Network test looks the best😂😂😂

[@yelpot]

Faraam armour is still the king of the box art armours imho

[@kamilsroka4363]

Should ask Stayed3D to inclued his graphic mod in this comparison 🤔

[@nikola6020]

1:00 Scholar of First the Sin

[@no1normal750]

so network test makes everything look better but in SOTFS fashion looks best thanks to metal shine

[@anonymousstout4759]

Scholar of the First Sin version make the game look like painting

[@nayeonranghae]

it, it actually looks good lol

[@yorshka2344]

Atleast ds 2 had unique riposte animations lmao

[@allmasterofficial]

Something even DS3 doesn't have XD

[@ChubbyJimRaisinBran]

👌

[@Kaiwala]

Why did you pick the darkest part of the map and use the most distracting screen wipe for these transitions? I'd like to pay attention but the annoying editing is just making me click off.

[@NEGATIC]

The network test is blurry compared to the retail version, but gives me a more memorable and nostalgic texture than the retail version.

[@Lock2142]

ds1 ptde vibes

[@dantejimenezcortes3839]

This game deserves a remasterization

[@allmasterofficial]

It's Elden Ring:)

[@duncanmacleod7287]

It deserves a definitive edition with all that was promised in pre release.

[@dantejimenezcortes3839]

@@duncanmacleod7287 agreed

[@juancamilogarzonbernal5501]

I THE BEST GAME EVER I

[@04SlhS]

how did you get nt to work?

[@AGlalopig]

Ahhhh yes, Elden Ring alpha aka Dark Souls 2

[@hydradominatus7824]

I think I just realized something as I watched this video. Among all soulsborne games I'd really like to see the remake of DS II the most. Being objective, we must admit that DS II is the worst part... or just different. Anyway, if not the shitty phisics, combats, impact and all that sort of thing and easy bosses then the game would've been awesome. And that's somerhing they could really fix in remake. The game has real good atmosphere, very unique.

[@Battleguild]

DS3 is my least favorite of the trilogy, with DS2 as number one. Had the best pvp in the series, playability, and build diversity. I couldn't stand DS3 due to how watered down and oversimplified the mechanics are in DS3. The bosses and music are great, but the combat is lackluster and build diversity is slim pickings. DS3 was only somewhat redeemable to me due to the Ringed City DLC.

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

DS2 had the best PVP and I miss the chicken leg

[@saninpain]

@@Battleguild "Build Diversity" is horrible in DS2. Every weapon operates the exact same way, that is, poorly, because of the horrible hit detection, horrible movement, and honestly pointless inclusion of ADP making all builds completely non-viable without dumping levels into a stat that didn't need to exist, but sure keep praising DS2, if FROM actually felt the way you all did DS3 would've been a fucking mess lol.

[@Battleguild]

@@saninpain I've personally have had more issues with Hit Detection with DS3 than DS2. It's rather annoying watching your weapons phase through enemies and dealing no damage, especially with thrusting weapons. After 3000+ hours on DS2, I can't personally recall such an issue, but can annoyingly recall plenty in DS3 (especially with projectiles). I admit that 8-point movement is less convenient than DS1's (free-cam only) and DS3's omni-movement controls. It was at least an improvement on DS1's 4-point lock-on movement controls at the time before Bloodborne's release. As for just movement in general, I still prefer DS2's pacing than DS3's frantic movement for both combat and exploration. I enjoyed the methodical and tactical approach to combat that DS2 employed over what DS3 borrowed from Bloodborne. When has adaptability been a required stat? Sure it can make things more convenient by making certain movements faster and increases i-frames, but I personally don't level it up unless I'm going for rogue-type builds. (My adaptability level usually is 10 or less on most builds.) I got used to working with 5 i-frames, so I just don't level up the stat all that much. I mean, if you're used to DS3's very generous and lax 13 i-frames, I can see why you would think it's necessary. The reason I said that DS3's build diversity is slim pickings, is because nearly every build in DS3 devolves into a quality (str/dex) build except with a few extra steps if you're a caster build. Almost every decent weapon/equipment in DS3 has an unhealthy dependence on those two stats, and it even drags caster builds into the muck as well by making Dexterity the spell cast speed stat.

[@saninpain]

@@Battleguild Yeah I would think the build variety in DS3 sucks too if I didn't know about the rings that just massively boost your damage, are you sure you're playing properly? No offense but there are a hell of a lot of builds that don't use quality stats whatsoever, you can think that DS2 is better without actively lying about DS3 to make it look good. Shits weird yo.

[@aharon6035]

E3 version vs scholar

[@oozypilot8467]

so it somehow managed to look progressively worse

[@nerijus1197]

I love this game...

[@nerijus1197]

@Gerga Fafa.🍼 Wtf

[@SkaerKrow]

At least the music’s good.

[@Official-zm2ou]

I love this game 😍

[@Thomas.c4647]

Is it just me or does scholar look too green?

[@crust5909]

its not just you. Scholar ruined the original color scheme and atmosphere of Dark Souls 2. I don't even play that version anymore

[@OmideFardaa]

In dark souls 2 ; the graphic is not matter , the main matter is animations !

[@Paramurasaki]

You choose the most depressing location to show comparison :D I'm glad it is not poison area at least

[@bitbat9]

I don't care for Dark Souls 2 gameplay wise but the soundtrack is incredible

[@johnadams9514]

I think people complain about the graphics in this game is because it looked worse than ds1 and the bad lighting really hindered the atmosphere. Like I think the original Demon's Souls still holds up but Ds2 was a noticeable downgrade. Anyway. Onward to Elden Ring! ⚔

[@jairocolombo4410]

Sofs more sharpness and brighter, basicaly

[@darksun7263]

The player model from the Network test looks like the Dark Souls 1 player model...In the final version the player looks fatter

[@JKSmith-qs2ii]

Colour grading way better on vanilla and network test? What the fuck? Unironically the network test looks excellent especially in the dark real shame it got worse with every iteration.

[@rutela3668]

I love vanilla a LOT more than sotfs in almost every category :( I wish I could play it again Edit: It's interesting network test version has the same weird blur effect that ds1 has, which gives its charm tbh

[@heavy_hate5346]

I guess you can get the same visuals just with contrast / color intensity. Because honestly, there was a countless times “i can’t see anything” in games.

[@GlebofRussia]

Vanilla.

[@notstarboard9792]

Gosh SOTFS looks hideous. The lighting effects occasionally look nice, but mostly make everything look overexposed and yellow-tinted. I'm right back to not knowing which version to play. Edit: Does SOTFS look more like vanilla if you disable all of the fancy lighting effects?

[@rossato2109]

Still my favorite Dark Souls game.

[@kenziiko5080]

I hate DS2 but i also love it 🥺

[@rudlterranigma5386]

Which platform? PS, Pc?

[@BlackSunOfNile]

Scholar of the First Sin looks the best , unless you are a cringy edglord who cannot see the difference bewteen "i like it , because it brings up good memories" vs objective facts

[@NocturnalNick]

Miyazaki in his infinite wisdom and love for poison swamps, decided the way to fix DS2 in Scholar was to make the game look like a swamp

[@iLogicaIMatter]

Can I make a request?

[@tabithadickerson2525]

SOFTS? Scholar of First the Sin?

[@patfenis675]

Yes

[@bdover1278]

OG vanilla + DLC = sin before the scholar first

[@cadunkus]

I don't see why people think the network test looks better. It's just darker so it doesn't look as immediately bland. In both Vanilla and SotFS the textures, models, particles, basically everything improves significantly except for the lighting.

[@TheCrewExpendable]

Agree about it just mostly being darker. There are more shadows from certain light sources in the environment, but overall it’s mostly just darker. It also does have ambient occlusion on environment and around the character which the Vanilla release did not have, but SotFS adds that back in.