A Decade of Dark Souls 2 | Video Essay

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None of the other games have 'dual wielding broken kitchen ladles' as a viable build option.

Agility is also affected by attunement so practically a dedicated caster got 1-2 iframes without investing in a non build stat

I want to become a writer, Dark Souls has been really influential in my life and right now I'm working in a story about a character who, originally, was born as a Dark Souls 2 character. It just so happens that I sent a tale about her to a contest and I won, right now I'm around the 200 pages mark and I have never been so passionate, so in love with an idea of a character, and it all began with a Dark souls 2 run. I'm telling you this because I see you appreciate the game and it has given you so many good things, you're not alone, this game gave me my best character who will, one day, become the protagonist of a novel.

5:44 Fun fact: he's getting back handed here. Literally, because there's a hitbox attached to Fume's off hand when he swings it back during this stab

I do have two (imo, quite important) counterpoints to your point on Adaptability being similar to other Dark Souls games' poorly-explained mechanics. The first being those other mechanics weren't as immediately impactful and player-facing as rolling i-frames are. Nobody will really bat an eye when Gravelords fail to happen in NG worlds, and they'll eventually learn to tune out the weird white circles on the ground in DS1 because they really didn't do much of import to the average player. However, every single player of DS2 will roll, and will notice some weirdness with it without knowledge of ADP. Those other mechanics are esoteric not only in form, but in function. Adaptability, on the other hand, is extremely important in function, and therefore should NOT be esoteric in form as it currently is. Had the ADP stat been explained better in the menus, then it likely would have raised less eyebrows overall. The other counterpoint is that other Souls games' poorly-explained mechanics are equally valid areas of critique for just that reason, and shouldn't excuse ADP's poor communication, nor the poor communication of all the games' esoteric mechanics. Nonetheless, I do still love DS2, since I feel like it had the most experimentation out of all of the Souls series titles. Just figured I'd add to the conversation a bit, since I believe it's important to still be critical of even games that you love.

A fellow Dark Souls 2 defender 🫡 Respect

I love dark souls 2 for the armors and Fashion souls

I have my gripes with DS2 (mostly how I cannot evade grab attacks properly and keep falling off the bridge on a way to Chariot) but it is still the only game out of three I replayed more than 3 times (2 in original and 3 in Scholar) like no other in Souls series. Bloodborne might come close second and Elden Ring is its own Elden Beast entirely but DS2 is still the best in mood, tone, colours, even people. DS2 gave us GAVLAN! No other game has Gavlan.

Based, DS2 was not my first game, Demons souls was, I played them in order and really loved them about equally back then. Coming back to them I realized DS2 is the best aged from just how much of a really good ass video game package it is overall. Demons Souls second, then Dark Souls 1 are all so amazing to replay. From just what all is super viable to the classic Iron Keep bridge dragon fight nights especially on the weekends this game just has so damn much. Its very mechanically rich, like one of those 2000's games that you discover stuff decades after still.

dark souls 2 has always had a special place in my heart it was the first dark souls game i played and probably the second game i ever took seriously , it was also the only game from 2014 that could work on my super low end laptop at the time and i used to take it with me everywhere even on family trips since i wasnt the kind of person who liked social interactions or going outside too much , the world of dark souls 2 might have been very depressing but to me at that time it was a shining beacon of hope , no matter how many time i died , no matter how many time i got bum rushed by 8 enemies , i could always prevail . even now whenever i feel down or get the feeling of "thats it" i would remember the time beat dark souls 2 on a family trip screaming out the balcony of a hotel room with joy knowing that if i beat that game then i could beat whatever im up against now.

Epic video, I really really love Ds2. Not just my favorite souls game, but my favorite game of all time.

Maybe you are the only YouTuber who explains why and how Dark Souls 2, even YouTubers in my own country (Indonesia) really don't like this game because he can't explain it himself like you, you get new subscribers✌️

Found this through your short talking about the movement and how it compares to DS1. Really glad I clicked on the full vid. The intro was way sick! I absolutely loved the camera work! Really nice to see more videos talking about DS2 positively instead of all the rampant negativity. Hopefully the algorithm catches this video and spreads it like wildfire

I only play sotfs so the revelation that frigid outskirts and the like were meant to be co-op blew my fucking mind, I mean in hindsight it makes a lot of sense

Those why-ds2-sucks videos actually inspired me to play ds2 again! It's funny how people don't know how to approach areas methodically and blame the game for something those people failed to learn. These people don't shoot long range enemies. They just run in with their broadsword, triggering every gank point, and rush to the fog wall and get hit... it's quite hilarious. Though I tried doing that in Elden Ring, and the game became a whole lot easier, which made me respect ds2 a bit more. I'm happy to learn that pvp etiquette is a ds2 thing. I'm proud of our community!

I have been trying to complete DS2 several times but have gone back to DS3 each time. Now I see it's because I really just have missed these mechanics and have not been understanding the peculiarities of the game. Thanx a lot for this eye-openning video. Hope this time Flume Knight won't be my last boss in the run.

DS2 made me want to know more about the game world. DS1 was dark spectacle and DS3 met expectations, but DS2 was the only one out of the three that made me curious.

Ngl I love this game more than ds1

DS2 is my favourite of the series. Has so much more character and personality than ER. I love how you've tackled the problems it has, as well as tried to recontextualise them. Hitbox section is breath of fresh air, but the shopping cart analogy is spot on. DS2 has a quirky sense of humour that does not connect with most people. Those of us who love it know each other.