Let's talk: Dark Souls 2

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is a fantastic game. Vanilla Dark Souls 2, is ALSO a fantastic game. Now, I personally enjoyed the original Dark Souls 2, but Scholar is also excellent. Which do I prefer though? Personally, the original. While the item and enemy mix ups were nice, a common issue I noticed was the- for lack of better words, over abundance of enemies in some places. Now, this doesn't mean the game is bad, it just has an occasional feeling of unbalance (also known as total bullshit.) This is to be expected with a game like Dark Souls, as finding the perfect balance is tough. Hell, Dark Souls 1 couldn't do it, 3 didn't, Demon's Souls didn't do it and neither did Bloodborne. No game ever will. However, it sticks out a lot more in Scholar of the First Sin (Referred to as SOTFS or Scholar from now on because screw typing all that again and again.)

The argument I would like to make, however, is not about which is better, Scholar or Dark Souls 2. That is completely subjective, I would however, like to argue that Dark Souls 2, whether it be vanilla or SOTFS, is a great game.

To do that, we must compare it to Dark Souls 1, the original of the DARK Souls series. Now, Dark Souls 1 is an excellent game, it could easily be my favourite, minus one tiny issue. Everything after you find the Lord Vessel, is pretty bad. The four Great Souls you have to find are usually too easy (Nito) too boring (Seath) or just awful. (Bed of Chaos) And the Four Kings are nothing more than a glorified DPS test.

Gwyn, the final boss, is extremely easy to parry and anything relating to the Demon Ruins is just awful.

Now, let's contrast that to Dark Souls 2. Hunting the four lord souls, fantastic. Everything after that? Yeah, no so much. Again, the game starts of strong, but struggles to really keep that "Holy Shit!" Momentum with me. Now, this is not me hating the Souls games at all, I love the Souls series more than any other franchise, hands down.

Next comparison, lacklustre bosses. Dark Souls 2 has plenty, Covetous Demon, the little group in the chapel (God knows what their name is) Royal Rat (Both of 'em) and a fair few more. Though, the same can be said about Dark Souls. Let's see, we have the Asylum Demon (Wanna complain because it's a tutorial boss? Fine, let's just say all 3 versions suck.) Taurus Demon, the Gaping Dragon may be epic, but good God is it boring and easy after a few tries. Ceaseless Discharge (Story of my life) The Bed of Chaos (My life part 2) and that Centipede Thing. Yeah, we're only just getting started. We have the Capri Sun, the Iron Golem. Must I go on?

Another complaint is the use of "Life Gems" in Dark Souls 2. I, would like to counter that statement. Human Effigies don't restore health like Humanity does and you have much less Estus Flasks at first, and they do not heal as much health.

Speaking of, wasn't it fun how needlessly complicated it was to become human? No it wasn't. Isn't it nice to be able to just become human instantly wherever, because I think it's pretty handy and much more fun.

And what about those 3 incredible DLCs huh? Or all the different armour, the huge variety of weapons. Sure, they break easily, but that's countered by repair powder, and the ability to repair them at Bonfires, which there are now more of.

Was Dark Souls better for an interconnected world and fantastic level design? Sure, sometimes it was. However, was the treck in and out of Blightown twice in the game annoying as fuck? Double yes. Sure, Dark Souls 2 was made up of paths, but each path taught you something new, plus It was progressively harder, but it was all open for you, minus 2 paths until you get some Souls. Heck, you can skip the first half of the game and not even kill the four great souls. It doesn't matter. Another point for Dark Souls 2. The teleporting just made all the traveling easier. It made upgrading gear easier, you don't have to back track all the way across a God Damn kingdom just to turn your sword into a +3 instead of a +2. It made it more fun and accessible.

At the end of the day, Dark Souls 2 is not a bad game. It's not a let down, or the "Bad Souls game" not at all. They're all fantastic, and I wouldn't be able to pick out a weaker link. They all have strengths and flaws. So, if anyone else agrees with me about Dark Souls 2, feel free to share some love for it in the comments.