Why you should definitely play Dark Souls 2

Dark Souls 2 is both brutal and epic, but it certainly isn’t a game for everyone. Unlike many popular titles we see released, Dark Souls 2 doesn’t pander to the player in any sense whatsoever. If you’re new to the Souls franchise (and even if you’re not), you will be bad at this game to start with and you will die a lot. This is perfectly normal and is nothing to be ashamed of, though it can also quite understandably be an early sticking point for many first-time players. No matter how good you are at this game, you will die, and that’s simply something you have to come to terms with before you even pick up the controller. Speaking of the controller: you can’t even pause the game, so forget about casually wandering off mid-session to answer the phone or cook some food.


Sound daunting? Probably. Once you look past the notorious difficulty, however, Dark Souls 2 is in fact an enchanting game that will have you hooked for hours upon hours. This is why…

In Dark Souls 2, you are not strong or powerful; you are fragile and easily destroyed, and you should be scared. Your greatest assets in this game are your own mind and your ability to figure out situations and outsmart your enemies. In this way, Dark Souls 2 places you at the heart of the gameplay, and not your character. Levelling up only helps you to become marginally stronger and no amount of armour or weaponry can save you completely from the inevitability of death. All of the qualities needed to do well in this game are ones that only you can possess: courage, perseverance, patience and humility.

One of the purest satisfactions gained through playing Dark Souls 2 is that you can actually see yourself improve in skill the more you play. Additionally, there’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush you get from the boss battles, or the feeling of relief after fighting your way through seemingly endless undead soldiers, monsters, and demons to eventually find a bonfire to rest at and save your progress.


This game is more difficult than previous installations in some ways: for example, you start with only a single Estus Flask (akin to a health pack) instead of five as in previous games. Furthermore, every time you die, you lose a chunk of your health bar, meaning that you can permanently end up at half health until you use a Human Effigy, which are rare and should be used very sparingly. Although this seems somewhat extreme, when playing through the game it instantly becomes obvious why FROM Software decided to implement it. The constant threat of death is made even more sinister by the knowledge that dying will actually make the game slightly harder. As a result, each life becomes precious and valuable, and not something to be thrown away lightly. It is another instance of Dark Souls 2 punishing players for their mistakes, and forcing them to be better with an iron hand.


The unforgiving nature of the game is what makes it so satisfying. Every victory in Dark Souls 2 feels like a personal victory, and therein lies the beauty of it. It draws you in so deeply because you know that no matter how stuck you are, victory is possible. It makes you think, and analyse your own mistakes, and constantly challenges you to do better, and that's refreshing.

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