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The Dark Souls series is not meant to offer you engaging storylines, glorious graphics or an easy way to role-playing glory. The award winning series is designed to challenge, nay, torture the player to the utmost. On the lines of the 2011 predecessor, Dark Souls II doesn't refrain from throwing gargantuan boss fights and ominous environmental traps.
Personally, I didn't expect this to be any easier than the first, and thankfully, developer From Software didn't disappoint. Sure, I died more than a hundred times before I even reached the halfway point but each death helped me master the enemy movements and be a better gamer - in itself is an achievement.
Dark Souls II is set in a beautifully designed world called Drangelic. The vast map has everything one could ask for in an role-playing adventure - shambled castles, haunted docks, monster-infested tunnels and many more. Dark Souls II is an experience in itself and as long as you can manage to evade death, you can feast your eyes on the dangerously beautiful Drangelic. Although, much like the last installment, the lighting of Dark Souls II does seem pretty washed out at places.
In Dark Souls, the fast travel feature was unlocked halfway into the game. In its successor, however, the fast travel is unlocked from the beginning, which eases jumping between one rekindled bonfire to another. Sounds easy, you say? It is Dark Souls II, after all. From Software has punished the players with a new penalty system that decreases your HP (energy pool) with every death. This may refrain the timid-hearted players to not explore dark forests and caves. However, I would advise that exploring secondary maps and levelling up is essential to survive the boss battles.
The combat is pretty much the same. You attack, you dodge and you move on. At the bonfires, the player is given the option to switch his shield with a torch. This makes the game more interesting. The shield offers you better chances of survival, whereas the torch gives you better visibility and some enemies would cower in front of the fire. An entirely new gameplay style depends on your choice.
Put on trial, Dark Souls II seems a little easier than the original. But it is enough to give you sleepless nights and with more than 60 hours of gameplay, this is a step-up call for all the hardcore gamers out there. Go ahead, put your skills to test, earn your bragging rights. I earned mine.
