You carry these souls around on your person at all times, and if you die, which happens a lot, you lose them where you bit the big one. And, just as before, the more you level up, the higher the number of souls needed to progress. These souls are used as both currency to buy weapons and items, as well as the resource for levelling up your character. This curse can be lifted, but not before venturing into the new kingdom of Dranglaec, a dangerous place filled with all sorts of deadly creatures, massive beasts and plenty of juicy souls for heroes to harvest.Īs with previous games, death is the theme around which the game turns, and by slaying foes you gain souls. The main thrust of Dark Souls II revolves around an ancient curse, turning warriors into undead ‘Hollows’ if they die. If you’re looking for more of the same, you’ll find it here, it just has a more forgiving opener, and for once, it doesn’t actually kill you during a tutorial (well, not unless you make a mistake). Those who have played the previous games may find that it’s a little easier to get into, I know I did, but this isn’t simply the result of a toned down level of difficulty, but more of familiarity. To lay any fears series veterans may have to rest from the off, I’ll quickly say that Dark Souls II is every bit the brutal action RPG it’s always been, so there’s no real need to worry too much about the high challenge being curtailed. Has this focus on accessibility robbed Dark Souls of its teeth, though? Death is just the beginning In order to grow the series’ fan base, From Software decided to make a few changes with this, the second Dark Souls, and what we have here is the result – a game that’s still hard as nails, but far more accessible to the masses. The balance was great, but the high difficulty and a notoriously punishing opening put many off. It was hard, but never unfair, and the frustration was kept to a minimum due to the sheer quality of the game, and the fact you could always get further, or defeat that seemingly unstoppable boss with careful planning and tactics.

The level of difficulty was nigh-on perfect. It was a superbly difficult action role player that pulled no punches, crushing the unwary or careless, and daring defeated players to try again, just one more time.

The original Demon’s Souls laid the foundations of From Software’s devilish series, and Dark Souls went on to build on this to create a torture house of an RPG that players looking for a challenge lapped up.

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