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

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.

In Drangleic, a land where souls are used both as currency and consumed for power, you're told to seek misery. Misery will lead you to larger, more powerful souls. You've found your way here, as all cursed folk do, because these souls can cure you of your undeath and the madness of going Hollow --...

Prepare To Die…Again and Again and Again.

I never played Demon Souls and nearly missed Dark Souls 1 thanks to Skyrim overshadowing it greatly, but thankfully I got it and enjoyed many hours of grim and foreboding exploration, death and elation with a 180+ level character, buying the prepare to die edition too.

it's a game how i use it is self explanatory. it's well balanced for online and offline gameplay, requires immense skill and timing, others online are mostly helpful and polite, no apparent bugs. only problem i've seen is the normal server issues that plague all game on release.

Challenging; Fun To Play; Multiplayer

When Dark Souls landed on my doorstep some two and half years ago, initially I wasn't crazy about it. I distinctly recall those first few hours into Dark Souls and how it tested my every last nerve. I never played Demon Souls, so I had no clue what Dark Souls was all about.

Much like when you meet someone you haven't seen for ten years, there's a familiar yet oddly different feel for Dark Souls II . You know it's the same person, but time has changed them and it's up to you to figure out if their new quirks are worth your time and energy.

An expansive and varied world to explore; Slicker controls improve combat and traversal; Changes to core mechanics make for a better & more interesting game

… but said changes will throw (and possibly frustrate) Souls' veterans initially; Hit detection is still as buggy as ever; Graphical concessions are disappointing; despite other improvements

"As I was passing through the dark and creepy forests in Things Betwixt, the prologue map in Dark Souls, I was expecting a lot more action, remembering how I escaped the dungeon a year ago, [...]

This game is truly amazing. It's so refreshing to find a gameplay experience that is well suited to an adult gamer. It has nothing to do with the vulgarity of the content but everything to do with the challenge and design of the game systems.