Reflections on the problems and origins of Dark Souls 2.
A series of games Dark Souls (Dark Souls) has already managed to become a cult. Players love all three parts and developers are inspired by them. Since the release of Demon’s Soul (Demonic Souls, the predecessor to Dark Souls) and the first part of the Dark Souls trilogy, a separate genre has been born. It was called SoulsLike. However, if we consider the three parts of the series in detail, we can see that the second part is somewhat isolated. It is very different from the first and the third. He even got to the very popular theory that Dark Souls 2 was supposed to be a different game. So what exactly makes DS2 stand out, what game is it associated with, and is it deservedly considered the most hated of all parts of the trilogy?
other souls
Comparing the entire trilogy with each other, you can see some interesting trends. The first and third parts are very similar to each other. Atmosphere, world, idea, etc. If you check the first one first and then go directly to the third one, you just won’t understand that you missed something. Of course, this is partly a feature of the entire Dark Souls series. Each part is completely separate from the others. Other than the common universe, references to each other, and some common story elements (I won’t talk about gameplay, interface, etc., because it’s too obvious), they are not connected in any way.
However, for all the independence, it is the second part that seems superfluous here. See for yourself. In the first and third parts, almost from the beginning, we are told the general details of the lore of this universe. The fading of the age of fire and the need for its extension, the lords of the ashes and all that. There are many direct parallels between the first and third parts of the series. There are common enemies, common NPCs (non-playable characters), and even common locations.
In the second part, this is practically non-existent. Of course, the same theme with the original llama is present in the game. However, it seems somewhat strange. Something that shouldn’t have been in the game. Instead, DS2 focuses on the kingdom of Drangleic and its rulers, King Vendrick and Queen Nashandra. And also about Vendrik’s war against the giants. It even spawned a meme that the vast majority of the bosses in the second darkness are some kind of knights. that is not found elsewhere. The game makes it clear with unmistakable clues that, although it is part of the series, it is located somewhere some distance from it. For example, the great souls of the bosses of the first part leave the local bosses only in NG + (New Game +). Although in theory they should fall out immediately.
Miyazaki is resting
Answering the question why this happened is actually not difficult. After Demon’s Soul suddenly shot up, Hidetaka Miyazaki (series writer) got the chance to create. Since the rights to Demonic Souls remained with Sony, he created them anew, slightly changing the name and greatly altering the lore (the first Dark Souls deserves a separate post). After that, he decided to experiment and started working on Bloodborne, while the second part was handed over to his colleague Naotoshi Jin. All we see in DS2 and the reason for its extreme isolation is the difference in creativity between the creators. Which, in general, is logical, because each creator has his own vision of it.
dark demons
But maybe it’s not just that the second Dark Souls had a different leader. Not too long ago, a YouTube blogger (if you’re into this sort of thing, you probably know who I’m talking about) theorized that DS2 was originally supposed to be a completely different game. That is, the sequel is not Dark, but Demonic Souls. To believe or not, everyone will decide for himself, since the attitude to this is very different. The former agree with this, while the latter strongly condemn the former. The vids with this theory are not so difficult to find. In any case, I cannot fail to point out the logic and validity of these arguments.
I have already said before that the first and third Dark Souls have many parallels with each other, while the second part is very far from them in this regard. Now if we look at the second souls, knowing the aforementioned theory, we can see many parallels with the Demons. First of all, it is a general issue. And here and there kings and kingdoms corrupted by demons. Second, some game mechanics. For example, in Demon’s Souls there was a mechanic where a player lost a certain percentage of their max HP (health stock) after death. In the worst case, your character’s health could be reduced up to 2 times from the maximum. However, there is a ring in the game, thanks to which HP could only be reduced by a quarter, if I’m not mistaken. And guess what other studio game besides Demon Souls had the exact same mechanics and the exact same tone? That’s right, only in Dark Souls 2.
I don’t know, maybe it’s all just a coincidence. Or maybe a second Demon’s Souls was planned. But personally it seems to me that everything is much simpler. It seems to me that after the release of Demon Souls and its success, Hidetaka Miyazaki was really planning a sequel. But either Sony didn’t approve of this, or something similar happened. After that, Miyazaki-san went to work on the first Dark Souls, and Naotoshi Jin simply took and implemented the achievements and ideas of his predecessor, without inventing anything of his own. Well, I connected the developments of the Demons with the Dark ones with a common lore and bonfires. That’s why the theme of lighting a flame in DS2 seems unnatural. There, in the end, even the hero himself just sits on the throne. Perhaps, of course, I am slandering Naotoshi-san to no avail, and the entire DS2 is completely his work, without any comment. And if so, I apologize for my words, but the game design of this part makes you think.
soul sequel
Why are the games in this series so loved by gamers? Because they are too complex? Not really. There are more than enough truly complex games in the world. Take a bunch of games from the NES and SNES era, or turn on the maximum difficulty level in God of War itself. Then you will know the true meaning of the complex game concept. And indeed it is. But can these games be called proper or fair? No. In the same God of War on max difficulty, you’ll remove 5 to 10 percent of the enemy’s HP with one hit, while your hero will die, almost from every sneeze.
In Dark Souls, it’s not like that at all. All the imaginary complexity of these games lies only in interesting game design solutions. Opponent placement and their abilities, level design and pain atmosphere, bosses and their movesets. That’s what makes the games in this series challenging. Otherwise, Dark Souls is the most honest game. Here you are almost always on equal terms with your opponents. Both you and him always need 2-3 hits to finish the other. And the same goes for bosses. And if the boss is much stronger than you, then you can always change tactics and change your class, or pump him up and humiliate him.
And in DS2 this feature is the least tracked. Especially in the reissue. Instead of locations that are interesting and balanced in terms of opponents, very often we just have an area that a large number of enemies thoughtlessly stumbled into. There is nothing interesting in this. It seems as lazy and banal as possible. The bosses here are the most simple and predictable in the series. And to make it even easier for the player to fight them (although it would seem much easier), there are 1-2 ghosts near each one that can be summoned. And sometimes there are even more. Idleness and pret.
The same applies to level design. The world of the first Dark Souls is a true work of art. Huge, interconnected and rewarding to explore. So I decided to play the first DS again and bought it on Switch. Having taken a skeleton key as an initial gift, I almost immediately found myself near the first major boss of the game (gargoyles), practically bypassing the first two locations. In the first game, I spent 2 or 3 days on this. In the third Darkness, the world, although not so well developed, is not bad either. And what do we see in the second DS? Several direct addresses, each ending in a dead end, that return you to the Hub. Although of course, it should be noted that it is almost impossible to overcome the first part, so it’s worth it.
conclusion
But does all this make the second Dark Souls really a bad game? Not really. Many fans of the series dislike it precisely because of the weak game design and spammy locations. Lately, I have become addicted to streaming Darks. And a lot of streamers really hate this particular feature of the DS2. And it’s hard not to agree with that. But I think this is the only serious drawback of the game. Other than that, it works pretty well on its own. The main advantage of the second Dark, I would call it knowing. Personally, I really liked the story of King Vendrik. Comparing the second Dark Souls with the first and third, I can draw an analogy with Star Wars. The first and third are the original trilogy and the second is the prequel trilogy (and most of the SoulsLikes are the sequel trilogy lol). Both are good, but they look too different. And here it is no longer particularly important whether the developments for the second Demons were used or not. In any case, for me personally, the second Dark Souls will always be something special, because it was with them that I began my relationship with the series, although I completely passed them after the others. And now I want to play the original DS2 and I’m waiting for a discount on Steam’e. And who knows, maybe the original will leave a completely different impression.
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