My journey and love-hate relationship with the DARK SOULS series began exactly with this game when my cousin told me to give it a try at his home. So, I played to pass the time while my cousin was minding his own business and we couldn't go out together. Well, I admit, at first, I gave up quite quickly because of how difficult and vague this game is, however, sometime later when I paid my cousin another visit I gave it another chance, but this time with my cousin’s assistance. With his helpful little tips, I was able to beat the tutorial area and even progress through the early stages of the game. Unfortunately, soon I had to go back to my town, which is far away. At home, I was restless that I couldn’t finish the game before I left, so I decided to get my own physical copy of DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin and set up an account on Steam. Since then, I’ve finished the game several times, once or twice even without dying. I also got all achievements and mastered the game to the point of knowing it by heart. Yeah, I died countless times before learning how to play and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s all about perseverance, so don’t give up, and eventually, you’ll git gud. Oh, and just level up ADP bros!

Well, I guess DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin most likely won’t get a remastered version, but who knows? Anyway, the SotFS version includes all DLCs known as The Lost Crowns trilogy, namely: Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King. Besides, there are new NPCs and a new boss with an alternate ending. Furthermore, SotFS features DirectX 11 support, changes the placement of some items and enemies as well as adds completely new ones, implements in-game lore changes, and improves the multiplayer experience. Generally, the game is now even bigger, even more difficult, even more interesting, and looks slightly better. So, while I’m not sure if SotFS is the definite edition, it’s certainly a better option compared to the vanilla version.

Despite all those negative reviews and the criticism from fellow DARK SOULS community members, both the vanilla and SotFS versions aren’t that terrible. Sure, the game is far from perfect, and I also don’t like how the Soul Memory mechanic affects multiplayer features, but it doesn’t mean the game is bad as a whole, especially now when the servers are off. At the time of writing this review (September 21, 2022) I’m not even sure if multiplayer will be back at all since the servers were taken down in January 2022. Anyway, another unique feature and kind of a meme related to DARK SOULS II is Adaptability, which is an attribute that affects a few things including the speed of using healing items or the number of invincibility frames while rolling. Honestly, I beat the game a few times completely without levelling up ADP and still was doing fine. Nevertheless, I do agree it’s overall an unnecessary attribute in comparison with other DARK SOULS games, but again, its existence doesn’t make this game bad. Oh, and don’t forget about the Power Stance, it’s great!

Alright, time for some complaints. Well, I didn’t like only two things: my loot falling through textures to inaccessible areas and the Target Lock function going crazy whenever I face more than one enemy. Also, hitboxes weren’t always perfect, but I got used to it.

Nonetheless, DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin has many positive aspects, such as an awesome story and lore, an atmospheric musical score, a wide array of weapons and armour along with rings, great magic system with many spells, unique NPCs and locations, challenging bosses, and excellent multiplayer mechanics (well, at least when the servers are online).

After replaying it for God knows how many times I can officially declare that DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin is a solid game that still holds up really damn well even in 2022. Although objectively not the best in the series, it’s definitely my favourite one. Maybe it’s because of nostalgia, maybe not. I can’t really say. The point is that to me the game as a whole felt the most atmospheric out of the three. I like Majula and its theme more than both Firelink Shrines and I love the fact that Crestfallen Saulden doesn’t try to kill you, but instead, he actually helps. Speaking of NPCs, I’d say they’re all more than unique, especially Vengarl of Forossa. Moreover, DSII: SotFS has, in my opinion, the best fashion souls, and offers more weapons, armour sets, rings, and spells than the other two games in the franchise. The more things, the greater choice, and I like variety. Besides, I believe each DARK SOULS game is special in its own way, and although SotFS isn’t perfect, it’s definitely worth playing, especially for veterans and fans of the series. So, in the end, 9/10 would die again. And, lastly, thanks for reading my review.

Oh, and for the record… Praise the Sun! \[T]/