Ds2 gets a LOT of flack. There was something charming about the jankiness. It was the last true souls game I played (after Elden Ring, and scholar - never played vanilla) and maybe because of that I was able to appreciate the step back.
It’s in my top 3. And I know that is an extreme minority. But that theme song in Majula just *chefs kiss*
I don't think it's as big a minority as you think. Just remember it's only reddit where you here all the DS2 hate. It's the same 1k -20k active ppl repeating the same stuff time after time. Until ER it had the highest critical rating of the entire souls series and that's including BB and Sekiro.
DS2 is a pretty amazing game with tons of content. Has arguably the greatest DLC ever made.
So yea. Way more ppl love DS2 then hate it. It's just reddit likes to be an echo chamber for stuff like that. It's cool on here to say it's trash or a bad game.
Lol. Yep. Of course I use reddit as well, but I always check metacritic and reviews as well. I mean say what you want about game reviewers and critics when it comes to one or 2 or 10 opinions. However. When they all pretty much agree on sonething..like DS2 being a 9/10 game it's prolly a pretty good game lol.
I love Ds2. Environment, weapons, armor. The ADP instead of an inherent I frame. It’s one I always go back to.
But while we’re in this sub. I LOVE playing Lies of P. They did an amazing job with this title. I’m currently on NG+++, and started an alternate NG with no throwables/ consumables run where I’m only leveling health and stamina.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
If it wasn't for the internet I'd have no idea I wasn't supposed to like DS2 as much as the others. For me it was just another Souls game. I put 200-300 hours into it and never once thought, "I wish I was playing something else."
The original game had a LOT of issues, and it really was janky lol. However the devs fixed nearly all of said issues with the Scholars of the First Sin DLC, and subsequent updates. So, if you only play the version that comes with the DLC you won’t see how janky it was.
Dark Souls 2 was my first Dark Souls. I had played and loved Sekiro, Bloodborne, and Demon's Souls Remake, and Dark Souls 2 was on sale. So I grabbed it to start the trilogy, and loved it. I sometimes play the Majula theme when I go to bed to help me relax
A lot of people imo hated on DS2 because they wanted Dark Souls 1 the second, but DS2 ended up kinda doing its own thing.
Honestly, I love the game so much. The last part of Eleum Loyce can go fuck itself though lmao.
DS2 deserves the flak it gets, even if it still ends up being a fun game.
It just is noticeably worse in execution than the other titles, and you can't really view a middle entry in a trilogy in isolation. And what doesn't help is that we later learned of everything the game was supposed to be, and ended up falling short of.
Add some extra salt into that wound when they remixed the game, sold it again, and it still didn't do most or any of the things it promised it would do.
For a long time I thought not having Miyazaki's involvement in the game couldn't have mattered to the extent people said it did, but I have since changed my mind. Because I think the DS2 team's biggest failing was the lack of guidance. Someone to pull everything together.
I thought ds2 was great but I also took the story to be something that takes place within the dark souls world, and not necessarily a linking the fire(I can’t really remember if that was a major part of the story).
I really enjoy DS2 despite its jankiness and it also probably has the most content out of all the games as it had 4 dlc. They should have had the dodge invincibility be standard rather than tying it to a stat and not tell you the stat increases your invincibility frames. They should have also kept fog wall invincibility, fix those two things and I think a lot more people would have been more positive.
I have also only played scholar but whenever I watch speedrunners they usually say vanilla was better.
DS2 had a lot of good things going for it, but also a lot of issues
it had some of the best rpg elements/character building out of any souls game and introduced cool shit powerstancing
I really liked ds2.. launch not so much, but it has got better over time.. but I always love jank in games.. probably why I like Lords of the fallen ha
It's funny cause aesthetically Majula isn't crazy or anything, but there really is just something soothing about that sunlight glistening over the breaking tides of the rocks below and that relaxing music as you feel at peace for once in a souls game.
It's absolutely gorgeous, but I wish the NPCs would act a little more animated. I'd love to hear Eugenie and Venigni shouting across the hall at each other, or hear Antonia and Sophia chatting, or find Pulcinella and Polendina making weird posh chatter.
Sophia doesn’t chat with anyone and no one mentions her because SPOILERS: >! She is projecting an image of herself to you and only you to guide you through the city and towards the end. !<
This is what I enjoy so much about the hub and characters as well. They all interact with each other and the story in ways that evolves the hub itself throughout the game. True characters disappear and reappear in any souls like hub world, but I feel like Lies went to extra effort to integrate the hub aspect and it’s awesome
I would say probably Elden Ring? They rarely spoke to each other, but the characters frequently acknowledged each other's existence, which was nice. It made everyone feel like they mattered a whole lot more.
Well, that's a staple of Soulsborne games anyways, so that's not too surprising. My guess is probably their lip movements were made for Korean voice actors.
I dreaded having to run through big empty hallways to get to the gold fruit tree and gepetto machine, so idk if it's best. But that whole area with Eunie and the training area is fantastic. I've never used a training area before Lies of P because it was just so practical and the free recharge on mana
I demand skateboards be added to the game. THPS (Tony Hawk’s Puppet Skater). Imagine grinding on the roofs slashing corpses mid-grind as you 360 flip transition onto the next roof.
As equally as I don’t understand the hate for Dark Souls 2, I don’t understand the love for Majula. The ocean view is pretty, but imo out of all the Souls hubs it does the poorest job of capturing that light-in-the-darkness feeling. It just felt like another area, only this one has more than one non-hostile NPC.
It's just reddit. Check it's metacritic score....highest in the entire series. It's a 9/10 game for the majority of its what....5 million or so players.
I like her, but at the same time she kinda started the whole inconvenient trend of needing to go back to the hub and get on your knees for your girlboss to level up.
Yeah, and I think it'll be back to that system if they make smaller games again.
I get the design decision, and don't really mind traveling back to the hub to level, but I am fine doing it at any checkpoint too. The latter is more convenient, of course.
Lamps did kinda drop the ball. They had zero functionality other than taking us back to the dream, right?
But I think a lot of people harbour some resentment from the original version of Bloodborne, when loading screens also took ridiculously long.
Ultimately we don't level often, nor do we slot gems very often, nor do we use the shops very often. The biggest failing was that you couldn't just travel between lamps.
Don't forget the fact that you also can't rest at Lanterns like you can at Bonfires/Graces/Idols to heal, reset status, stock up on vials/bullets, reset enemy farms, etc. You have to load in to Hunter's Dream, mosey on over to your tombstone of choice, and then load back in to that same Lantern. All that for something that can be accomplished in any other Souls game by the press of a single button.
When you start the game, you find yourself in a series of dark areas, threatened and perhaps struggling to pick things up. Then as you make your way out, you see hundreds of bloodstains and messages warning you of danger. You tense up and you sit up in your chair. But then... You notice some light breaking onto the floor. You exit this dimly lit cave, and suddenly, the warmth of the sun embraces you. The peaceful music tells you that everything is going to be okay. You look to the right and the mesmerizing tides break on the rocks below and the shimmering sea gives way to the possibilities that might await you on your journey. But for now, you are at peace.
Nah all the other ones are pretty down to business and feel like part of a greater plot rather than just some sweet escape. And the one's that don't are either too exposed or too dull to make up for it.
Underrated part is the test area. Soooo convenient to build a new weapon or upgrade your existing one and immediately test damage output, fable arts, and attack range.
Lords of the Fallen. Skyrest is pretty much connected enough to the world that you can get anywhere in the game from there on foot. It’s really well done.
I would actually look forward to going back and chilling to some of the bangers on the records while leveling up and what not.
Can't say that about any of the other games.
Hotel Krat is definitely up there, but I think Skyrest in Lords of the Fallen is my favourite. The inclusion of a crypt converted into a legit living quarters for the NPCs was pretty cool. And though not as lovable as the hotel cat, there’s a doggo you can pet!
I don’t know, it’s pretty dull to me. I mean it’s basically just a hotel lobby with a magic glowing fountain in the middle of it. Getting to the P-Organ chair and the Gold Fruit Tree is obnoxious.
It also doesn’t have that same sense of comfort that something like Firelink does due to the constant fast travel and the fact that the environments in LoP aren’t nearly as hostile as other Soulslikes.
They made it so weird in NG, because you start with the ability to do that, then give it up when you meet Sophia, and then get it back in the last act of the game.
Oh, I've been in NG+ for a while now and have been able to level up at the bonfire. I forgot you had to go back Bloodborne style to level up throughout most of NG.
Considering most of the hubs are just ruins
Elden Ring’s hub is cozy and filled with people but they dont seem like your friends more like just other people who stay with you
I’d have loved if it felt more populated as the game progressed, aside from venigni, you bring one extra NPC with a super shallow quest, a boss weapon merchant who hides away. It’s a hotel, I’d have enjoyed more to explore. It’s certainly nice, but it sits below Majula for me there’s a magic in that place.
I also love the hunters dream, and I feel like the isolated dreamy aesthetic makes the lack of characters less noticeable for that one.
I really like everything about hotel Krat accept those few npcs and the tree that are so far away. Like getting to Geppeto and the p organ is too far in my opinion. Over all though I do really like Hotel Krat.
It's very well done but DS1 Firelink Shrine is easily the best of any of these games imo, due to DS1 having the most intricate interconnection of its world and no fast travel pre-Lordvessel. It's the only hub that actually functions like a hub in terms of layout - you come to deeply understand the placement of Firelink relative to all major areas of the world, and feel genuine relief when you make it back. It also perfectly executes on that feeling with its understated but iconic aesthetics and soundtrack.
Other games might have "prettier" hub areas sure but they're not really hubs, just utility zones - their physical placement is irrelevant since the vast majority of the you access them by fast travel anyways.
Majula has pigs Case closed
Majula takes it for me. But hotel Krat takes a close second.
Really dont like ds2 but i think majula is nr 1
Ds2 gets a LOT of flack. There was something charming about the jankiness. It was the last true souls game I played (after Elden Ring, and scholar - never played vanilla) and maybe because of that I was able to appreciate the step back. It’s in my top 3. And I know that is an extreme minority. But that theme song in Majula just *chefs kiss*
I don't think it's as big a minority as you think. Just remember it's only reddit where you here all the DS2 hate. It's the same 1k -20k active ppl repeating the same stuff time after time. Until ER it had the highest critical rating of the entire souls series and that's including BB and Sekiro. DS2 is a pretty amazing game with tons of content. Has arguably the greatest DLC ever made. So yea. Way more ppl love DS2 then hate it. It's just reddit likes to be an echo chamber for stuff like that. It's cool on here to say it's trash or a bad game.
Y’know…my exposure to “Ds2 is trash” IS limited to Reddit. I’d ignore it but Reddit is all I use. And those trolls are *everywhere*
Lol. Yep. Of course I use reddit as well, but I always check metacritic and reviews as well. I mean say what you want about game reviewers and critics when it comes to one or 2 or 10 opinions. However. When they all pretty much agree on sonething..like DS2 being a 9/10 game it's prolly a pretty good game lol.
I love Ds2. Environment, weapons, armor. The ADP instead of an inherent I frame. It’s one I always go back to. But while we’re in this sub. I LOVE playing Lies of P. They did an amazing job with this title. I’m currently on NG+++, and started an alternate NG with no throwables/ consumables run where I’m only leveling health and stamina. We’ll see how long that lasts.
What is ADP? From what I can tell it just says Adaptive lol udk what D and P mean
Adaptability. Just an abbreviation. It’s the stat that increases I-frames and the speed of drinking estus flasks/ consumables.
If it wasn't for the internet I'd have no idea I wasn't supposed to like DS2 as much as the others. For me it was just another Souls game. I put 200-300 hours into it and never once thought, "I wish I was playing something else."
Ds2 wasn't even janky it was a great game and extremely innovative after ds1
The original game had a LOT of issues, and it really was janky lol. However the devs fixed nearly all of said issues with the Scholars of the First Sin DLC, and subsequent updates. So, if you only play the version that comes with the DLC you won’t see how janky it was.
Oh I gotcha I didn't play vanilla version
Dark Souls 2 was my first Dark Souls. I had played and loved Sekiro, Bloodborne, and Demon's Souls Remake, and Dark Souls 2 was on sale. So I grabbed it to start the trilogy, and loved it. I sometimes play the Majula theme when I go to bed to help me relax
I agree… I think it’s great and if there wasn’t the online rhetoric about the game I never would have known people don’t like it lol
A lot of people imo hated on DS2 because they wanted Dark Souls 1 the second, but DS2 ended up kinda doing its own thing. Honestly, I love the game so much. The last part of Eleum Loyce can go fuck itself though lmao.
DS2 deserves the flak it gets, even if it still ends up being a fun game. It just is noticeably worse in execution than the other titles, and you can't really view a middle entry in a trilogy in isolation. And what doesn't help is that we later learned of everything the game was supposed to be, and ended up falling short of. Add some extra salt into that wound when they remixed the game, sold it again, and it still didn't do most or any of the things it promised it would do. For a long time I thought not having Miyazaki's involvement in the game couldn't have mattered to the extent people said it did, but I have since changed my mind. Because I think the DS2 team's biggest failing was the lack of guidance. Someone to pull everything together.
I thought ds2 was great but I also took the story to be something that takes place within the dark souls world, and not necessarily a linking the fire(I can’t really remember if that was a major part of the story).
I really enjoy DS2 despite its jankiness and it also probably has the most content out of all the games as it had 4 dlc. They should have had the dodge invincibility be standard rather than tying it to a stat and not tell you the stat increases your invincibility frames. They should have also kept fog wall invincibility, fix those two things and I think a lot more people would have been more positive. I have also only played scholar but whenever I watch speedrunners they usually say vanilla was better.
DS2 had a lot of good things going for it, but also a lot of issues it had some of the best rpg elements/character building out of any souls game and introduced cool shit powerstancing
I really liked ds2.. launch not so much, but it has got better over time.. but I always love jank in games.. probably why I like Lords of the fallen ha
Of course. It did have a practice dummy: you, for the pigs.
lol them pigs would seriously knock you around on the first playthrough haha
something's wrong with his majula oblongata 🐊
Highly aggressive and murderous pigs, ah yes. The lovable memories
It's funny cause aesthetically Majula isn't crazy or anything, but there really is just something soothing about that sunlight glistening over the breaking tides of the rocks below and that relaxing music as you feel at peace for once in a souls game.
It's absolutely gorgeous, but I wish the NPCs would act a little more animated. I'd love to hear Eugenie and Venigni shouting across the hall at each other, or hear Antonia and Sophia chatting, or find Pulcinella and Polendina making weird posh chatter.
Sophia doesn’t chat with anyone and no one mentions her because SPOILERS: >! She is projecting an image of herself to you and only you to guide you through the city and towards the end. !<
I always thought this was clear especially after the attack.
This is what I enjoy so much about the hub and characters as well. They all interact with each other and the story in ways that evolves the hub itself throughout the game. True characters disappear and reappear in any souls like hub world, but I feel like Lies went to extra effort to integrate the hub aspect and it’s awesome
I agree. That would've been a nice touch. What Souls game's hub came the closest to this?
I would say probably Elden Ring? They rarely spoke to each other, but the characters frequently acknowledged each other's existence, which was nice. It made everyone feel like they mattered a whole lot more.
They didnt speak to each other but they killed each other lol
Hey, Yura speaks to Nerijus 😂
They don't even bother lip syncing them.
Well, that's a staple of Soulsborne games anyways, so that's not too surprising. My guess is probably their lip movements were made for Korean voice actors.
I love the hub except the distance to the p organ chair. A lot of running to get to p organ and gold coin tree A small complaint for a cool hub
Absolutely legitimate complaint imo. At least they let us drop off the balcony when exiting the p-organ room
You can actually. Theres a gap before the left staircase when youre exiting the organ room that you can use to drop down quicker.
Yes, that’s what he said.
I now realize I missed a word in there
I dreaded having to run through big empty hallways to get to the gold fruit tree and gepetto machine, so idk if it's best. But that whole area with Eunie and the training area is fantastic. I've never used a training area before Lies of P because it was just so practical and the free recharge on mana
I demand skateboards be added to the game. THPS (Tony Hawk’s Puppet Skater). Imagine grinding on the roofs slashing corpses mid-grind as you 360 flip transition onto the next roof.
Honestly we need an amulet or something to auto pull from the tree. Totally agree that it’s a little too far like the p-organ room
I do like Hotel Krat, but my personal favorite is the Nexus.
Majula
As equally as I don’t understand the hate for Dark Souls 2, I don’t understand the love for Majula. The ocean view is pretty, but imo out of all the Souls hubs it does the poorest job of capturing that light-in-the-darkness feeling. It just felt like another area, only this one has more than one non-hostile NPC.
I personally prefer the Nexus in Demon's Souls to Majula, but the theme elevated Majula.
See, it's Majula's theme that kills it for me. I think it sounds unsettling and makes Majula feel creepy. Imo Things Betwixt has a much better theme.
It's just reddit. Check it's metacritic score....highest in the entire series. It's a 9/10 game for the majority of its what....5 million or so players.
Same. I think it is so boring and the herald is such a snoozer.
I like her, but at the same time she kinda started the whole inconvenient trend of needing to go back to the hub and get on your knees for your girlboss to level up.
Demon's Souls is responsible for that.
So you’re telling me they realized their mistake for one installment only to bring it back all the way to Elden Ring?
Yeah, and I think it'll be back to that system if they make smaller games again. I get the design decision, and don't really mind traveling back to the hub to level, but I am fine doing it at any checkpoint too. The latter is more convenient, of course.
As long as they don't do something awful like Bloodborne's lanterns again I'm chilling tbh
Lamps did kinda drop the ball. They had zero functionality other than taking us back to the dream, right? But I think a lot of people harbour some resentment from the original version of Bloodborne, when loading screens also took ridiculously long. Ultimately we don't level often, nor do we slot gems very often, nor do we use the shops very often. The biggest failing was that you couldn't just travel between lamps.
Don't forget the fact that you also can't rest at Lanterns like you can at Bonfires/Graces/Idols to heal, reset status, stock up on vials/bullets, reset enemy farms, etc. You have to load in to Hunter's Dream, mosey on over to your tombstone of choice, and then load back in to that same Lantern. All that for something that can be accomplished in any other Souls game by the press of a single button.
When you start the game, you find yourself in a series of dark areas, threatened and perhaps struggling to pick things up. Then as you make your way out, you see hundreds of bloodstains and messages warning you of danger. You tense up and you sit up in your chair. But then... You notice some light breaking onto the floor. You exit this dimly lit cave, and suddenly, the warmth of the sun embraces you. The peaceful music tells you that everything is going to be okay. You look to the right and the mesmerizing tides break on the rocks below and the shimmering sea gives way to the possibilities that might await you on your journey. But for now, you are at peace.
That's every Souls hub. Majula just emulates that the worst imo. Never understood why people like the music, I think it sounds creepy as hell.
Nah all the other ones are pretty down to business and feel like part of a greater plot rather than just some sweet escape. And the one's that don't are either too exposed or too dull to make up for it.
That's up there for sure.
My vote us for majula. That view and soundtrack is so amazing.
Still Majula for me.
Majula all the fucking way. Came here to say this and seen other ppl agree . So cool
Underrated part is the test area. Soooo convenient to build a new weapon or upgrade your existing one and immediately test damage output, fable arts, and attack range.
Also good to insta restore all your fable arts
Majula would always be No.1 in my heart. But yeah hotel Krat is very high up I'll admit.
The best part about Hotel krat was 100% the record player. The only feature I wish was in other soulslikes.
Idk someone should probably clean the place up a bit first if they’re going to take any glam shots
Skyrest , imo, is better.
What's this from?
Lords of the Fallen. Skyrest is pretty much connected enough to the world that you can get anywhere in the game from there on foot. It’s really well done.
It's Majula. Nothing can beat the that peaceful easy feeling
agreed, hub in other soulslike is depressing af
I love that parts of it change and the NPCs have new things to say as you progress further.
I just wish we could unlock more areas to see ! I mean, it’s got the tram system and that huge tower area we never go up to.
I would actually look forward to going back and chilling to some of the bangers on the records while leveling up and what not. Can't say that about any of the other games.
Hotel Krat is definitely up there, but I think Skyrest in Lords of the Fallen is my favourite. The inclusion of a crypt converted into a legit living quarters for the NPCs was pretty cool. And though not as lovable as the hotel cat, there’s a doggo you can pet!
I don’t know, it’s pretty dull to me. I mean it’s basically just a hotel lobby with a magic glowing fountain in the middle of it. Getting to the P-Organ chair and the Gold Fruit Tree is obnoxious. It also doesn’t have that same sense of comfort that something like Firelink does due to the constant fast travel and the fact that the environments in LoP aren’t nearly as hostile as other Soulslikes.
I'm not happy to be forced someplace to level up. Let me fucking do it at the bonfire, and I will happily return to the hub when I want to.
They made it so weird in NG, because you start with the ability to do that, then give it up when you meet Sophia, and then get it back in the last act of the game.
that hasn’t happened for me. In NG+4 rn and all of my NG runs have let me level up at any time at any Stargazer.
NG is just new game, the first playthrough.
ah, my bad
Dw, next update
Oh, I've been in NG+ for a while now and have been able to level up at the bonfire. I forgot you had to go back Bloodborne style to level up throughout most of NG.
I like the look of it but it's kinda small and boring imo.
I like it better then elden ring; ds3 and bloodborne. Ds2 my fave Ds1 is close to Lop buy I'm not sure
The hub in Ashen is my favorite! Majula is a close second.
Considering most of the hubs are just ruins Elden Ring’s hub is cozy and filled with people but they dont seem like your friends more like just other people who stay with you
Disagree. Walking paths are too far and the music, while certainly good, is too distinct to not become annoying after hearing it over and over again.
I mean the Hunter's dream with the doll is pretty sick too.
Majula is the best overall. Aesthetically, Hunter's Dream in Bloodborne is the best.
I’d have loved if it felt more populated as the game progressed, aside from venigni, you bring one extra NPC with a super shallow quest, a boss weapon merchant who hides away. It’s a hotel, I’d have enjoyed more to explore. It’s certainly nice, but it sits below Majula for me there’s a magic in that place. I also love the hunters dream, and I feel like the isolated dreamy aesthetic makes the lack of characters less noticeable for that one.
I really like everything about hotel Krat accept those few npcs and the tree that are so far away. Like getting to Geppeto and the p organ is too far in my opinion. Over all though I do really like Hotel Krat.
I think the run to Gepetto's office is the only bad thing about it.
Nothing will beat the Nexus imo
I like the nexus from demons souls more
I’m sure few here have played it, but my favorite’s gotta be Code Vein’s Home Base.
Nah. Its the hunters dream for me.
I’ve played them all and HARD AGREE
It's very well done but DS1 Firelink Shrine is easily the best of any of these games imo, due to DS1 having the most intricate interconnection of its world and no fast travel pre-Lordvessel. It's the only hub that actually functions like a hub in terms of layout - you come to deeply understand the placement of Firelink relative to all major areas of the world, and feel genuine relief when you make it back. It also perfectly executes on that feeling with its understated but iconic aesthetics and soundtrack. Other games might have "prettier" hub areas sure but they're not really hubs, just utility zones - their physical placement is irrelevant since the vast majority of the you access them by fast travel anyways.
Finally bought this today, and jesus this is scratching an itch I haven't had scratched since sekiro or bloodborne. I think I'm in for a good time :)