Dark Souls 2 (PC) review

Are you ready to die again?

PC tested version.

Dark Souls 2, although not strictly linked to it in terms of plot or storyline, it is the spiritual sequel of the highly acclaimed and highly appreciated Dark Souls, released on October 4, 2011 on PlayStation 3 ed Xbox 360 and subsequently arrived on the platform PC, with a porting to say the least pitiful, on August 24, 2012. "Team that wins does not change", goes a famous saying, and that is why From Software tries again, keeping intact most of the game mechanics of their new title but developing its innate abilities that will put a strain not only on our skills, but also our mind and, above all, our language, promising also, this time , a port worthy of a title intended for a versatile platform such as PC. We have already reviewed the console version and you can find our verdict HERE, if you are curious to know the features of this version, read on, we will analyze in detail everything there is to know about the title.

Please note that Dark Souls 2 is now available on Steam at the cost of € 49,99.

Who am I, and what am I doing here?

An initial presentation video will introduce us to the wasteland in which we will set foot, Drangleic, from the first moments of the game, in which we will have the opportunity to move, explaining its origin and some details relating to its decline; even if at first glance we will not be able to understand our role within the plot, this will be a tangle that will gradually dissolve as the story continues. Catapulted to Drangleic, therefore, we will be immediately introduced to the game mechanics and the objective of our quest within this wasteland will become increasingly clear to us from our first encounter with theHerald of the Emerald and after we learn the role of King Vendrick within the whole story.

The complexity and depth of a well thought out game system

What certainly attracts the most attention within a title of the caliber of Dark Souls 2 it is certainly not the technical part or the plot, but rather the complexity of the game mechanics to which we have been accustomed and which we will no longer be able to do without. Through a clever mix of elements RPG ed action seasoned with something that we like to define a "combat system"Monster Hunter“, After playing Dark Souls 2 we will hardly find any other exponent of the genre satisfying, if only for the high level of challenge that is proposed to us. We will never find ourselves in the situation where we can underestimate the moves of our enemies or decide, imprudently, to face a group of enemies en masse: regardless of their power, a wrong approach could be lethal, even if we must not forget that death, in Dark Souls 2, it is a very normal thing; we will never find ourselves having to load an old save due to a defeat or who knows what else we are used to doing in other titles of the same genre; in Dark Souls 2 it will be enough simply to go to the place of one's death and recover the souls lost due to defeat. Simple isn't it? No, it is not, if we die again, in fact, without having recovered our previous loot, we will lose it, forever.

We are faced with a title that makes its strong point the player's ability to observe, wait and seize the right moment to counterattack, a coordination between eyes and hands that leaves no room for calculation errors, just a few milliseconds are enough to transform a good chance in a bad idea: timing is vital.

Rather than going around the essence of the title, however, let's analyze its main features in depth; starting from the assumption that every choice has its pros and cons, whatever the topic addressed, let's now analyze the foundations on which the growth of the characters is based, the statistics; it is practically obligatory, when addressing the subject, to explain how it is possible to increase statistics; to do this, in fact, it will be essential to kill the enemies and obtain the souls that we will exploit, talking with theHerald of the Emerald, to increase the capabilities of our character; with each increase of any statistic, we will get a level increase; consequently the number of souls necessary for the increase of a statistic, and therefore of the level, will be greater.

Let's now analyze the various statistics on which we can spend our souls and their effects:

- Vitality, increases our HP and resistance to petrification

- Quenching, increases our HP, our stamina, our physical defense and our balance

- Force, increases our HP, equipment load, physical defense and resistance to petrification

- Will, increases our HP, spell slots, spell casting speed and agility

- Force, increases our HP, attack strength and physical defense

- Dexterity, increases our HP, attack strength, poison and bleed bonuses, and physical defense

- Adaptability, increases all stamina, agility, balance, and poison bonus

- Intelligence, increases our HP, magic / fire / darkness bonuses, spell casting speed and resistance to magic / fire / darkness

- Fede, increases our HP, fire / lightning / darkness / bleed bonuses, spell casting speed and resistance to fire / lightning / darkness / petrifaction

From good Game di Role it will be essential to take into account the effects of each statistic and how they will affect the actual abilities of our character; any change will not however be definitive as it will be possible, within the game, to obtain an object that will allow us to restore all the statistics to their initial value, thus giving us back the amount of souls spent and allowing us to re-assign all the points previously spent in the way that suits us best.

THEequipment, then, it will play an equally fundamental role thanks not only to the change in the statistics that we will get, but also and above all because of their weight and the capacity that our character will be able to carry. It will therefore be essential to balance the expenditure of souls on the right amount of vigor to allow us to be able to use the equipment we want without burdening the ability to dodge our character, as a load greater than 70% of the maximum load, will result in a slight modification of the dodge animation that will become slower and more "dirty" thus making dodging risky.

Armature apart, however, the weapons will make up the critical phase of the game: it will in fact be essential to decide, from the beginning, the style to be exploited, whether it involves the use of a two-handed broadsword, a stick for the spells, of a bow or crossbow, sword and shield or a weapon in each hand with both hands; Whatever the choice we make, there will be, once again, bonuses and penalties that will include greater probabilities of loss of balance to the opponents, a more efficient parry or even slightly less powerful but decidedly faster and more agile attacks. The freedom on the choice of our very personal equipment will depend exclusively on our choices, our tastes and our preferences, no situation will force us to use this or that other weapon. Let's not forget also, speaking of equipment, the equipment deterioration bar which, once reached 0, will decree its breakage and it will be necessary to use a blacksmith to put it back in order; a blacksmith who, among other functions, will be able to enhance our equipment thanks to special stones and a small bonus in souls and who, in most cases, will allow us to continue within the game using only one or two weapons, whether it is of habit or of mere brute force.

The destroyed town of Majula will compose theHUB game from which we will be able to access practically all areas and where we will find the NPC that we will have gradually directed there in the course of our adventure and that they will provide to serve us with the goods in their possession or with the skills they possess, be they those of blacksmith, merchant or simply side dish, although they could prove useful for the purpose of completion of the title.

The complexity of the foundations behind the mechanics of Dark Souls 2, far from being within the reach of us humans (it is incomprehensible to us which diabolical mind was able to create a system as frustrating as it is gratifying), it is perhaps also thanks to the good level design that will make up the numerous areas and dungeons that we will face from time to time. Let's not forget the practically infinite longevity of the title, which thanks to the new game + it will put us in front of increasingly difficult and exciting challenges and with increasingly succulent rewards!

Attend or Invade, that's the problem!

If from a gameplay point of view Dark Souls 2 leaves nothing to be desired, even the multiplayer side is well liked, through the exploitation of a system already adopted in the previous chapter; Dark Souls 2 will allow us to be summoned to the rescue of other players or to invade their world and fight in exciting matches in PvP for the conquest of the adversary's souls and a precious object which, if given to the right man and in the right quantity, could guarantee us important rewards. Fortunately, the guys from From Software have well thought of inserting a "guarantee" into the system for new users, guaranteeing their safety from characters of excessively higher levels.

You can't be perfect

We must have liked something, right? Well yes, Dark Souls 2 flaw in the technical part, even if it is not a low quality work, a title intended for PC he could certainly make better use of the possibilities offered by such a large and open machine. Our game configuration used to test the title is far from being comparable to machines of these times, assembling components that have already been a bit dated and specifically:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz

RAM: 4GB DDR2 @ 800Mhz

But by the full GPU acceleration tech: AMD Radeon HD 7770

Yet, with such a mediocre configuration, we were able to play the title at a resolution of 1440 × 900 and graphic settings al maximum possible, not a little from our point of view, considering that the game in these conditions guaranteed us an almost always stable frame rate a 60 FPS. What's wrong, then, you may be wondering? Simple, but perhaps repetitive, is what it could have been instead: we are not talking about a mediocrity or an insufficiency from a technical point of view, but rather what could be called a port that with a little more work, even if it took a good month to do it naked and raw, it could have guaranteed a new generation graphic impact, rather than remain mostly unchanged compared to the console versions.

THEOST he then left us a bit with a bitter taste: from this point of view the predecessor certainly surprised more, perhaps even a little thanks to the novelty effect. Something is missing in Dark Souls 2, you never manage to perceive the sense of immersion within the scenarios as you could perceive in the first episode: even here we are not talking about insufficiencies or mediocrity, but rather about something that could have been better, given that the sound effects are still of the highest level.

Dark Souls 2 for PC it is not surprising but leaves you happy, it could have been more, but we are fine even as it is, very close to perfection, albeit surrounded by imperfections.

Final comment

Dark Souls 2 is the very valid successor of the progenitor of the series: re-using the mechanics and improving them from some point of view, the title is fresh and satisfying. We felt the need for a new title in the series and, albeit short, the options guaranteed by the new game + they will surely offer us additional motivation to complete the title again and again, in what we might call an overabundance of longevity, something that seems to be missing in the newly conceived titles that too often dwell on the excitement of a moment without guaranteeing the user, however, a long-lasting and profound experience.

Reading the almost 14000 lines of this review it is quite easy to understand the final verdict: we can only confirm it further, by recommending Dark Souls 2 to anyone who calls themselves a hardcore gamer or RPG enthusiast. A real challenge awaits you: whether you are prepared or not, death is just around the corner.