Dark Souls II Critic Reviews

Dark Souls 2 is a refined, slicker version of what I consider to be the greatest video game ever made, and it is a title we’ll be finding more and more about post-release as its genius is fully uncovered.

Dark Souls II is a true hardcore challenge, and the weak of will and spine have no place in its cruel and unusual world.

It's a hardcore, heart-pounding adventure that's more accessible to newcomers, without sacrificing the series' sense of mystery, awe and wonder.

Dark Souls 2 still offers the emotions of a pure adventure, that sense of wonder and discovery that only videogames can provide, closing From Software's trilogy in a brilliant and perfect way.

FromSoftware has warned you again and again: "You will die". And in this game you will love even these frustrating moments.

In some ways, Dark Souls II is an altered formula of the original game. Not all of its retouches will be to your liking at first, but you will find out eventually there is a reason they are there, and it's all clear consecutively. Dark Souls II is a die-hard fun title holding up for tens of hours. It will let your hands vibrated by adrenaline. It will torment you, but still being righteous. It's just an extremely difficult game.

I had huge expectations and was nearly certain that the game would fail to live up to them. Fortunately I was wrong – From Software miraculously managed to improve on nearly perfect Dark Souls.

The first game was close to what a gaming nirvana would be like, the second one inches even closer.

At the end of the day, Dark Souls II uses more subtle changes to find its own flavor and place in the series as a whole, rather than reinventing the wheel.

Dark Souls II respects you enough to assume you can figure things out, despite having perhaps lost some of these sensibilities by playing other titles that walk you through on tether from start to finish. As a result, the rewards and achievements are that much more satisfying. It’s only March, but Dark Souls II stands tall as a potential game of the year.

Offering at least 35 hours of play, Dark Souls II is a challenging experience and a satisfyingly in depth game that rewards perseverance and intelligent tactics.

Astounding in its scale, Dark Souls II is a landmark slice of gaming brilliance to savour.

Even more amazing, and difficult, than Dark Souls.

Dark Souls II is a great follow up to Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, maybe the best possible sequel. It's more accessible, but still hard, mysterious, always engaging and incredibly rewarding. A masterpiece.

Loyal to its roots and perfectly executed, Dark Souls II is not only a worthy sequel: it is the worthiest homage to the mettle and spirit of hardcore gamers.

Dark Souls II is a tough, bleak, and frightening action-RPG that is every bit as harrowing yet satisfying as its predecessors.

One of the deepest, most challenging, and most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have in this modern era of video games.

Dark Souls II carries on the Souls series' trend of being one of the most unique, well made, and difficult Action RPGs on the market. Its a strong sequel that shows Dark Souls wasn't just a fluke, and that this series is here to stay.

From Sofware certainly knows how to create a better sequel. Dark Souls 2 is a deep, immersive experience which sticks firmly to the roots that make Souls games so precious but it also tries new things, new things that work well with the original feeling.

Dark Souls is back, with an epic adventure that delivers what fans expect from it. Maybe it's not as shocking as the previous one, but it's more solid, and still is a great game that proves the current generation of consoles is very alive.