Is Dark Souls II actually fun?

[deathjester]

If you use mouse & keyboard your'e gonna have a bad time.

 

Stick with the controller.

 

Mouse/keyboard is fine, BUT you need to use something like this. Let's you change hot keys in a usb mouse and bind any keyboard key to them. You can set up a profile for each game, so this isn't global changes.  I use it for especially bad ports as far as controls, and boy are you right about the default settings for Dark Souls 2 lol. Literally one of the most awkward keyboard control systems I have ever seen.  

 

http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm

[MEC-777]

Ah yes... Dark Souls. Such fond memories from DS1...

 

 

DS2 is more of the same; awesome combat, very challenging and yet pull-your-hair-out frustrating at the same time. I love it! Still working my way through DS2 right now.

 

It depends on what kind of games you like as to which you would consider "more fun". To some, DS is too hard and thus, not fun at all. To others (like me) who live for the challenge, DS is a ton of fun. I'd say watch some in-game footage of both and see which suits your preferences. 

[Tacitus]

Ah yes... Dark Souls. Such fond memories from DS1...

 

 

DS2 is more of the same; awesome combat, very challenging and yet pull-your-hair-out frustrating at the same time. I love it! Still working my way through DS2 right now.

 

It depends on what kind of games you like as to which you would consider "more fun". To some, DS is too hard and thus, not fun at all. To others (like me) who live for the challenge, DS is a ton of fun. I'd say watch some in-game footage of both and see which suits your preferences. 

 

On your suggestion of watching ingame footage, is there any decent-length videos that you could recommend that are not too spoilery?

 

I'd like to see the nitty-gritty, not just some magnificent boss battle done by a pro

 

Nice GIF, by the way

[MEC-777]

On your suggestion of watching ingame footage, is there any decent-length videos that you could recommend that are not too spoilery?

 

I'd like to see the nitty-gritty, not just some magnificent boss battle done by a pro

 

Nice GIF, by the way

 

Hehe, that gif is pretty much exactly what I felt like the first time I took on the Capra Demon (the guy on the right).

 

I would check out Total Biscuit's youtube channel and see what videos he has on Dark Souls 2 (not sure if he covered that game...). You could also check out Angry Joe's channel as well, I know he's played DS2. It's kind of hard to watch footage without spoilers, but you could maybe watch gameplay progression from the start to the first boss or so. That doesn't give away much. Total Biscuit's PC port report on DAI is pretty good as he does a little combat which gives you a taste of what it's like. I'm purposely watching as little footage of DAI as I can before I play it, but TB's vid doesn't spoil anything.

[totjup5]

Yes, but ds1 had cooler bosses IMO.

[Tacitus]

Hehe, that gif is pretty much exactly what I felt like the first time I took on the Capra Demon (the guy on the right).

 

I would check out Total Biscuit's youtube channel and see what videos he has on Dark Souls 2 (not sure if he covered that game...). You could also check out Angry Joe's channel as well, I know he's played DS2. It's kind of hard to watch footage without spoilers, but you could maybe watch gameplay progression from the start to the first boss or so. That doesn't give away much. Total Biscuit's PC port report on DAI is pretty good as he does a little combat which gives you a taste of what it's like. I'm purposely watching as little footage of DAI as I can before I play it, but TB's vid doesn't spoil anything.

 

That's true, I don't want to watch too much for sake of spoilers, but at the same time I want to get a feel for what it's like. Maybe I'll watch a gameplay progression as you suggested, it may well help ease me in a bit too for what I expect to be a rough journey haha! Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check out AJ and TB - though I had always thought his "port reports" were more on the quality of the PC version rather than gameplay/content itself.

 

 

Yes, but ds1 had cooler bosses IMO.

 

Thanks for your input too

[MEC-777]

That's true, I don't want to watch too much for sake of spoilers, but at the same time I want to get a feel for what it's like. Maybe I'll watch a gameplay progression as you suggested, it may well help ease me in a bit too for what I expect to be a rough journey haha! Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check out AJ and TB - though I had always thought his "port reports" were more on the quality of the PC version rather than gameplay/content itself.

 

 

TB's port reports are more about the quality of the game - how good it looks and how well it runs on PC, but he also shows some gameplay footage which will give you a bit of a taste. 

 

The Dark Souls games are very different from the norm. They don't hold your hand and they don't tell you where to go. The path is not clear and obvious, you have to use your head and proceed with caution. You will die - over and over. It will make you frustrated many times, but you have to keep going. Make sure you read what the items are in your inventory and what they do. You can summon other players into your game and others can summon you into theirs. You can also be invaded by other players, in which case you better be ready or near a bonfire. There's nothing like being down to half-health trying to get through a tough area when someone invades and comes after you - it's the least thing you need in a moment like that, but it gives a sense of urgency and struggle that you don't get from a lot of other games. I think a lot of games these days are far too easy and hold your hand way too much. You may as well have giant signs everywhere saying; "go here and do this!". A lot of newer games also have regenerating health and or some kind of shield system that can usually 'take some abuse' giving you the mentality that you can run in guns blazing, not worry about taking shots/hits and move on. But where is the strategy in that? Where is the challenge? That's why I like the Dark Souls series so much. You can't just run into a fight and take hits. Your health is not going to regen in a matter of seconds. You can't just keep swinging your sword and blocking indefinitely because you'll run out of stamina fast and then you're helpless. 

 

That's not to say other games aren't as enjoyable - they have other aspects and merits that carry them forward and keep you interested. But yeah, DS is a different breed of game, so if you haven't played that type of game before, just understand it's not a cake-walk.

[deathjester]

As I said I loved the game and it is my game of the year so far.

 

This is hilarious though lol.

 

[Ornstein]

Well my avatar (and user name) is one-half of one of the hardest Dark Souls 1 boss encounters (in context of the time you come to it) and in gaming in general.  I'm a Souls fan and I absolutely love DS2 (it's my favorite of the series).  Between all three entries (DS1 DS2 and Demon's Souls) I have logged probably close to 700 hours of playtime.  I would suggest starting with Dark Souls 1 then going to Dark Souls 2 and then to Demon's Souls (which is PS3 only).  There is a steep learning curve, but get your basics from the red glowing lines on the floor.  Once you get over the learning curve, and learn to take your time with each encounter, you'll be hooked.  I won't lie -- you'll lose your souls, over and over again.  But you'll keep coming back for more.

[JB780]

I spent 104 hours in Skyrim and 95 in Dark Souls and can vouch for the authenticity of this:

[MF Patrick]

It's fun and imho it's not hard. Well, it wasn't hard for me. I played a little bit of DS1 but when it came out the mouse+keyboard support was terrible.

In DS2 it's a little bit better but I went with autohotkey anyway ( this way I can use all the buttons on my mouse, there's no delay with mouse commands etc etc ).

The first run is a lot of fun and you'll die a few times ( this depends on your "skillz!!1!" ).

IMHO the best part about DS2 is the PVP.

I played DS 2 for 300 hours in the first 3 months ( I was at home with a broken knee ) and I loved to invade people.

I usually don't make montages for my Youtube channel but DS2 was so much fun that I had to do some Cosplay PVP Montages ( I used texture mods to make them look even better. I made a cosplay of the Predator. It was a lot of fun and people from r/darksouls2 liked it a lot ).

 

IMHO you should get DS 2. The combat is a lot more fun and it has a lot more depth to it compared to DAI.