Systems: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: February 5, 2015
I wrote an original First Impressions article for Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin back in 2017. Most of that article was about how I was having trouble getting DSII: SotFS (just Dark Souls II and DSII from here on out) to play nice with my laptop and let me play for more than an hour without crashing. Now that I am playing it on the Steam Deck, I have had a much more enjoyable experience over the last 63+ hours. As far as how the Steam Deck has played, I have had zero issues either with compatibility (DSII is rated "Verified" being the highest playability ranking from Steam), and I am running the game on the highest graphics settings.
During the first month or so though, the DSII servers had been down so I was playing without any writings on the ground from other players or threat of PvP outside of scripted NPC invasions such as The Forlorn and Armorer Dennis. Then sometime during the week of October 23rd, the PC servers came back online and everything was back. I did continue playing online during two playthroughs, I was invaded twice, killed one of the invaders, then from that point on I have played in Offline Mode. Yes, I know I can burn effigies for 30 minutes of PvP-free exploring, but I would rather save my effigies for when I want to use the Silver Catfall Ring (for that extra bit of life when surviving a fall), or before going into a boss fight and want to summon an NPC helper.
I cannot say though that I have been playing a 100% spoiler-free playthrough though. First, as I did with the first Dark Souls game, I am watching Dan Floyd's playthrough from their
PlayFrame channel on YouTube but I am only watching until he starts exploring an area I have not been to. With the level design of
Dark Souls II, being significantly less linear than the first
Dark Souls, this has made watching episodes a lot more sporadic. I read in one article about where to go after the Forest of Fallen Giants that by the end of the game, there are upwards of 17 paths in close proximity to the hub of Majula. By the end of episode 22 of 68, he is going up against The Executioner's Chariot, but he has not explored into The Wooded Grove past releasing Rosabeth of Melfia. Conveniently, Dr. Potts is/was also playing
DSII, shortly after beating the first Dark Souls and has been posting
the occasional picture up on the Twitter, but those pictures are not so much spoilers until after I reach those areas, and even then I probably would not classify them as true spoilers. More like, pictures of places that look really cool that I have yet to get to (
photo credit to Dr. Potts).
Another reason why I am seemingly lagging behind is that I am taking the easy route when it comes to Dark Souls II. An interesting mechanic that I initially hated was that enemies in this game stop spawning once you have killed them about 12 times. This means that without a couple avenues, there is a limited number of souls/experience points that the entire game generates meaning there is essentially a level cap. This can be augmented of course by having specific items equipped (souls ring), by either summoning or not summoning NPCs to help with boss fights (more summons, fewer souls as a reward), joining the Company of Champions Covenant which makes enemies slightly more difficult, but also causes all enemies to respawn again, or by using a Bonfire Aesthetic to reset only a particular area. What I mean by easy mode, is that I will typically enter a new area and explore that area extensively, killing as many enemies before I either run out of Estus Flasks or my gear needs repairing (at bonfires), so I go back to use a bonfire and the enemies respawn until they stop respawning. This means that all of the souls I have gotten are primarily used to level up and also makes the trek from the nearest bonfire to the next boss free of enemies and just that much easier to fight the boss. It also means that I will not be in the position of going up against a boss with a pocket full of souls that I might lose if I die against the boss and die while trying to get back to the boss. I am currently at level 126, which according to people who are seemingly better at Souls games than I am, is 20-40 levels too high for exploring Huntsman Copse, and only defeated one of the four Old Ones. But again, easy mode.
When I started my character, aptly named Jaconian, I created a sorcerer because I like having ranged options for fighting and since spells regenerate at bonfires, I do not have to use up souls as currency to buy arrows. This made engaging the Ogres early on in the Forest of Fallen Giants a lot easier and was a primary source of souls when I was leveling up early in the game. I initially planned on creating a combination Int and Dex build, but as I found that I was not as quick on the rolls and taking more damage (despite putting a lot of points into Adaptability), I ended up creating an Int/Str build, which has now turned into what the kids refer to as a (mostly) quality build, having most of my stats at 20+, with the exception of Vitality and Faith. My primary weapon has been both the Sorcerer's Staff and the Craftsman's Hammer with the Staff at a +6 and the Hammer at +2 (damn Twinkling Titanite), although I just found the Black Knight's Halberd, which was my main weapon in my first mostly-complete run-through of Dark Souls, but since it and apparently, every piece of gear I have requires Twinkling Titanite to upgrade, I may just stick with the Hammer. For now at least.
One thing I am not a fan of is how much of the game feels like it leaned hard into the online multiplayer aspect. Most of the covenants are all based around PvP, and there are even areas (Undead Purgatory, Belfry Luna, Cathedral of Blue, Grave of Saints) that are constructed specifically around invading others and being invaded by other players. I mentioned that early in this run of DSII that the PC servers were down so all PvP had been disabled and I got used to playing the game solo with only fear of running into invading NPCs. Once the servers came back online, I played two rounds online and was invaded twice. I recognize that being invaded at potentially inconvenient times is part of the dread that is Dark Souls II experience, but that is not something that I look forward to when I play this game. So after that second game that included online play, I put the Steam Deck into Offline Mode. Sure, I end up missing a side of the game that it was designed for, but I happen to be enjoying the game this way. My way. I want it that way, and I'm lovin' it. Thanks, Burger King, Justin Timberlake, and McDonalds.
So that really has been my experience playing Dark Souls II. I am enjoying the game a lot more than I thought I was going to, knowing about the enemies despawning, and hearing/reading from various sources that Dark Souls II is one of the harder souls games and is hard for the sake of being hard compared to the first Dark Souls and apparently Dark Souls III. That being said, I am still dying a lot, sometimes it is stupid mistakes like rolling away into a wall and getting caught by a combo attack, other times because I lose track of my health and get hit hard, and others because I find myself outmatched. I also found that I am enjoying the level design more than I thought, seeing as how so much of the game is built around fast traveling to bonfires further along, but when combined with enemies no longer spawning, it is a great mechanic that would have made traversing to areas long and boring.
~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
Lost in a Dead World
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