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Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin
Released On: Apr 7, 2015
87
7.7
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 42 Critic Reviews
87
95% Positive
40 Reviews
40 Reviews
5% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 42 Critic Reviews
87
95% Positive
40 Reviews
40 Reviews
5% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The changes have made this edition slightly more difficult, but the core of the game remains true to the superb game design of the original.
Whether you're new to Dark Souls II or played it on older consoles, Scholar of the First Sin is worth revisiting. This PlayStation 4 collection features the original game, along with the three expansion packs.
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 1,475 User Ratings
7.7
70% Positive
1030 Ratings
1030 Ratings
20% Mixed
288 Ratings
288 Ratings
11% Negative
157 Ratings
157 Ratings
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 1,475 User Ratings
7.7
70% Positive
1030 Ratings
1030 Ratings
20% Mixed
288 Ratings
288 Ratings
11% Negative
157 Ratings
157 Ratings
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PlayStation 4
This is Dark Souls, but bigger and with more features. And arguably harder in the beginning hours of the game. Somewhat different but it's still Dark Souls, unlike Bloodborne'ish DS III. Even if I said DS I is the best, all DS games are 10/10 top quality products and I don't understand the hate towards this game. The devs went experimental instead of stagnant and did a good job. Don't make adventurousness die in the industry, I don't want soulless AAA's made for money with little originality in them.
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PlayStation 4
A deep, dark, extremely challenging and downright wonderful game that will keep you enthralled for weeks or months to come. New enemy placement justifies a purchase for even the most hardcore veterans of the last-gen edition.
Dark Souls II: Scholar Of The First Sin is the definitive version of a masterpiece. Surprising for veterans yet deceptively welcoming to newcomers, this rebalanced remaster proves as deeply impressive as it is brutally compelling.
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is a very good remaster for a great game. Visuals are a bit too old, today, especially if you come from Bloodborne, but gameplay is still unmissable.
Whether or not you enjoy the technical tweaks brought forth by the upgrade, there’s no arguing that Scholar of the First Sin represents the best value prospect for players, with all DLC included, a bump to 1080p, and a solid framerate. Is it the best version of Dark Souls 2? Not necessarily, but it’s a good game.
The “ultimate edition” adjustments could be a part of a larger patch. Dark Souls II changes dynamics and sweeps out some frustrating issues but still remains the weakest part of the series. [Issue#252]
This is one of my top 10 favorite games of all times.
This is one of my top 10 favorite games of all times.
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PlayStation 4
Dark Souls was a great game. Of course it had some problems, but it was definitely a near perfect game. Usually, when companies make games like this, they put a number 2 next to it and continue on their way with easy money without changing the components much except the story. But FromSoft didn't follow such a path. They were very innovative in this game. The teleportation system has changed, the power-stance feature has come, the strengthening of weapons has been different. In other words, changes were made in the game. Obviously they tried to improve the game in a good way. Some of these changes are of course very nice, but some of them I definitely didn't like. For example, the new stats added to the game seemed pointless to me. Agility makes sense to some extent, but it definitely hindered the development of the game because it's not a feature, it's a necessity. It's like playing the game on hard mode if you don't have enough ADP. Stats are there to make characters different from each other and this kind of thing is definitely not **** combo of the game has definitely gone backwards. Whereas the first game's combat and fights felt great, this game felt like a regression in a way that I don't understand. I mean, the combat is actually faster, but it feels like the hits are less precise. It feels like the game's kombat doesn't lend itself to this speed boost. Although I can't properly explain why, the game's combat definitely feels awkward and worse than the first game. The game's variety of weapons, and the addition of a new feature called the power stance, are pluses in this regard. The game has a huge catalog of weapons, and the PS allows you to make very different and powerful attacks. In the magic section, they designed some interesting spells, but I think the low number of uses for these spells, even though they don't do much damage, just because they are interesting, has upset those who want to use these spells in the game. I think it would have been much nicer if the number of uses was based on the damage of the spells, not their coolness. Dark spells are the same as spells, you can play with them, but it is debatable how many different spells you can use, and I turned into a dark mage somewhere in the later parts of the game. It didn't feel much different to be honest. I usually played the game with MGS because my spells weren't very enjoyable, and the weapons that made me bonk definitely still making me bonk, there's no problem with **** game has grown. But I don't know how much. Unlike the first game's constantly connected map, in this game we go to different extremes. That's probably why we gained the ability to teleport to every bonfire. I can say that I liked a small part of the places in the game in terms of design. There are a few places where I was impressed by the beauty, there are a few places where I was impressed by the interior design, but I can say that I couldn't see the great design of the previous game in this game. That's the summary of this game. The game is actually pretty good, but the first game was better. The growth of the game didn't help itself. There are a lot of boss fights in the game, but there weren't many bosses that I remember as good, that I had a hard time with. It was more difficult to run back to bosses after dying, which I didn't think was right. In fact, the reason why I was so successful in boss fights was definitely my motivation to walk that path **** game doesn't look that good compared to the year it came out. There were very few places in the game that really stuck in my mind with their characterization and beauty. The soundtrack didn't seem very characteristic to me for some reason. Maybe the game could have been a bit smaller and more refined, but the DLCs were surprisingly good. Aside from the difficulties, I enjoyed the DLCs immensely. Since I'm writing about the DLC version of the game, I didn't want to pass without mentioning it. Also, the story of the game was overshadowed by the size of the game. The story is definitely more understandable in this game. This clearly shows the absence of Miyazaki. Personally, I liked the story, it wasn't bad.Dark Souls 2 is a very good game. They wanted to try the Souls formula with a little innovation, but it wasn't as good as the first game. I haven't played it yet, but I'm sure I'll see a game closer to the first game in the third game.
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PlayStation 4
Pros
- solid weapon variety
- robust build variety
- most interesting NG+ changes the series ever had
- one of the clearer overall stories within the series
Cons
- clunky if you don´t know about the DEX stat (seriously read up on it if you are about to play this game)
- even knowing about DEX some of the hitboxes are outright bad
- the worst overall boss design within the series (over reliance on ganks)
- map design is less inspired than its predecessor
As hated as Dark Souls II seems to be in the community, the game is a fine example of an underrated entry within a fantastic franchise. Bunch of the design choices are quite polarizing (the DEX stat, every attribute giving health, the healing system) or outright bad (some of the boss design, hitboxes, overall gankiness of the entire game). However, I genuinely feel like I was undersold on the game which delivers an experience worth it´s asking price. Funny how all the horror stories I heard before playing it made me expect a complete mess, but in the end I got an all right experience. Not as good as the first or third entry but decent by my account. Funny how being underhyped can make you enjoy seemingly mediocre games.
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PlayStation 4
Dark Souls 2 is easily the worst release that From Software has made. Everything in this game feels so forced. Other titles have been more about a fun game that happens to be hard as Ds2 is more hard for the sake of being hard. Like every action you do there is always an ambush. Every boss mechanic feels so over the top and ridiculous. The hole game can be cheesed with Life stones and Agility. The combat feels clunky and horrible compared to every other From Software game. For example if you swing your sword you are stuck in place for half a second before you can roll. Why? You can tell this wasn't the made team that created this game because it plays more like a cheap imitation. Also the game is actually harder if you use lock on. Honestly if you go against your brain telling you to always use lock on you'll find the game way easier. Which is funny cos that's the opposite of every other from soft game. I can imagine Ds2 being really bad for less experienced souls players as right at the start your fighting ambushes of 10 + enemies. And this is when you likely have a bottom tear weapon. Scholar of the 1st sin should have been a proper reword not just a couple minor improvements and random enemy placements. Apperantly the enemy placements are worse but I've not played the original.
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PlayStation 4
I have completed this game twice and I still don't like it. For some reason every now and then i crave to play it though, only to remember how bad it is.
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PlayStation 4
Summary Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin includes the 3 previously released DLC packs - Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the ivory King - along with additional features. All versions of the game include the following features (Existing Dark Souls II owners will receive a patch to implement these elements...
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 3
- Xbox One
- PC
- Xbox 360
Initial Release Date: Apr 7, 2015
Developer:
- From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Genres:
