Dark Souls II is the sequel to what people deem one of the most intimidating, punishing, emotional, and yet rewarding games of all time. Dark Souls II is actually the third in the Souls series--Dark Souls and Demon's Souls coming before it--and, in my honest opinion, the most accessible of all three games. Dark Souls II is a third-person action RPG with an incredibly in-depth combat system that requires patience and willingness to learn. One cannot expect to button mash their way through this game. One of the greatest points about this combat system, and the game in general, is the number of ways you can build your character to your play style. You could become a sorcerer, a cleric, a knight, an archer, or you could become this amalgam of every class as you thrash your way through the dark world of Drangleic. In the end, what you have yourself is a great and well thought out combat system that is deeply rewarding. However, one of the setbacks of the leveling system is how vague each of the attributes are. This is an issue all of the Souls games have been afflicted with and will most likely present an issue to new players of the series.
Chronologically, Dark Souls II takes place so long after the events of the first game that hardly any of the NPCs can recall what happened back then, which is a great way to tell the complicated narrative that that has been present in the Souls series. The opening cutscene starts out with you stumbling your way through a forest and eventually falling over, with the implication that you died. This is the "curse" taking its toll on you, eventually turning you into an undead. You don't know why you're heading the way you are, or what is causing you to do so, but you keep pushing forward. You are like a moth to a flame. Finally, you are dropped in this limbo world by a whirlpool where you meet three old ladies and begin the character creation process. The old women inform you that their dwelling is a passage between their world and Drangleic, the fallen kingdom. Past their house is a tutorial area. Dark Souls II does not fall into the same trap as the first two games, wherein they thrust you into a tutorial and were forced to fight a boss at the end before you were able to enter the main world. Instead, this game has a completely optional tutorial area where you are taught about the basics of the game. After skipping/completing the tutorial, you enter Majula, which basically serves as a hub area for the game. Immediately after entering, you can tell something isn't quite right about this land. The people are miserable, the buildings are decrepit and falling apart, and the King is said to have left his people suffering. Aside from the dialogue from the Emerald Herald--probably the most important character--you aren't given much in terms of story, which I find to be one of the finer points of the Souls series. The Souls series doesn't rely on cutscene after cutscene to tell its compelling and emotional story. This game is packed with an intense amount of lore scattered all around the world. As you trek throughout the land you will notice that the lore will build upon itself by examining items and the land itself, as well as talking to NPCs. One of the most satisfying feelings in Dark Souls is connecting the dots in terms of the story, due to how ambiguous it is. Learning as to why this kingdom rose and fell is an intense emotional reward.
The process of "Hollowing" is implemented into the game in a much better way story wise and gameplay wise this time around. For those who are unaware of what Hollowing is, it is basically what an undead experiences after they have died multiple times and have given up all hope and motivation to continue their journey. The Hollows are humans who were once sain and normal, but now they feast on the souls of anything that comes near them. The first Dark Souls required you to use humanity, rest at the bonfire, then restore your human form. Of course this is completely optional but with that said, the only downsides to being Hollow is the inability to summon others to assist you in the game and looking like an ugly zombie. In DS1, being Hollow was safer than actually being human due to the fact that others were unable to invade your world, which sort of defeats the purpose of the want to be human, from a lore perspective. However, in DSII, being Hollow actually lowers your maximum health bar each time you die by 10%, which fits the lore of Hollowing much better than it did, since the process is arduous and disconcerting. Recovering your human body is much easier and more convenient this time around. All you have to do is use a "Human Effigy" and your health returns back to its natural point and you become human once more.
Online Play
A lot of the PVP online play is in conjunction with covenants, which mainly allows you to use an item given by the covenant master to invade the world of another person playing right now. During my time with the PS3 version, (about 150 hours) I was never invaded by a real person, but I could invade others fairly frequently. I'm not sure what the cause of this was, but I do hope it is fixed in this version, because one of the most exciting moments in the Souls series is having your world invaded by another person as you are trying to progress. If PVP isn't your thing but you still like to play online, this has something known as a "Summon sign." Placing this sign allows someone from another world to bring you into their world in order to engage in jolly cooperation.
All in All
Dark Souls II is one of the best games of 2014 and is arguably the best in the Souls series itself. The story, gameplay, and everything are enough to keep me playing this game for years. Some are intimidated by the difficulty, but I'd say this game is the perfect introduction to someone is interested in getting involved in the series. From Software has something special here and I can't wait to see what they have in store for the future.