is a smart, massive, and incredibly rewarding sequel. It's crammed with deep systems, tense encounters, and enough clever multiplayer and New Game Plus elements to make me want to restart the second I saw the end credits.

Rewarding challenge; Tough but fair combat; Great enemy design; Smart multiplayer

Annoying death penalties

Updated 4/24/14 - scroll to bottom for full PC impressions. During my 54 hours with Dark Souls 2, I died 226 times. I know this courtesy of a worldwide death counter. But every time I took an axe to the face, or got murdered by somersaulting zombies, or mistakenly cartwheeled off a cliff, I learned...

Overcoming difficulty provides a fantastic sense of achievement; Fascinating world that feels like a character all its own; New gameplay elements make the Dark Souls experience more convenient; but not easier

Some bosses lack scale and eccentric design

" Crown of the Sunken King " is the first piece of Dark Souls II DLC, and as such it has a lot to prove in showcasing what developer From Software are aiming to deliver with their trilogy of expansions.

There are few games that challenge a gamer's sanity, patience and skills more than the critically acclaimed Souls series by developer From Software. I learned this firsthand with the release of the original Dark Souls a few years ago, so when I heard they were making a sequel to an already...

Positives Solid brutal combat and real sense of accomplishment; Easier to get into for newcomers while retaining difficulty; Better graphics and sounds

Negatives Still not for the easily frustrated; Wrong decisions can ruin and adversely affect a play-through

Dark Souls II is the third entry in From Software's influential ‘Souls' series that combines traditional action RPG elements with innovative multiplayer features. This is the first game in the franchise that isn't directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, although he did perform the role of supervisor on the...

It was just over a year ago that Dark Souls II emerged and we were tasked with "preparing to die" all over again. Despite repeated claims to the contrary it seems as if developer From Software finally caved to peer pressure and has rustled up a brand spanking new version for the latest generation of...

We flail wildly at the action button as our character reaches out to the fog gate, a barrier separating one area from another. Behind us, the platoon of 15-foot-tall knights we just ran past clanks after us. As their halberds fall, we step through the gate, unscathed.

Once more into the dark my friends!

A few great boss fights; engaging level design; wide variety of enemies; really interesting lore to be found

Non-linear progression seems to hurt enemy balancing; a number of incredibly bland boss fights; multiplayer changes mostly hurt the game

As a longtime follower of From Software's work in the gothic-survival-adventure genre that one might say King's Field and the Souls games fall into, it's always been an irritation that Dark Souls garnered so much praise and attention (it became an industry-wide descriptor!

Conquering the Gargoyles on my own after countless defeats

Accidentally killing an NPC after 50 hours of trying to not kill NPCs

Avoid the icy grip of death. A lot of early Dark Souls II discussions centered on comparisons to the previous two entries in the series (including Demon's Souls ), but FromSoftware managed to regain some control of the post-release narrative with its DLC trilogy.