Dark Souls 2 deserves more love than it gets, and this version for PC is exactly what you should play to see why.
As a fan of the Dark Souls series I have a soft spot for Dark Souls 2. My all-time favourite is and will always be the first game and when you play them back-to-back the sequel does feel like the lesser title.
However I think it gets a little too much hate, and I think it’s easy to forget that Dark Souls was not a finished game, whereas Dark Souls 2 was, so it at least has that going for it. I also think Dark Souls 2: Scholar Of The First Sin did irreparable damage to the game’s reputation, as it’s really not the upgrade it presents itself as.
Anyway I digress. If you’re one of those players who can’t stand the second game in the Dark Souls trilogy I’d recommend giving it another go on PC if you’ve got one, with this mod installed.
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It’s called Dark Souls 2: Firelink Edition and it adds a bunch of new stuff to the game’s sandbox as well as eliminates some of its more tedious design quirks. For instance your character always has 110 Agility, which gives you invincibility frames similar to any other Dark Souls game without having to spend your precious souls levelling up the stat.
There are “literally hundreds of new changes” apparently, “too many to mention one by one” says the mod’s description. Some highlights were provided though such as “new weapons, shields, armor pieces and 2 whole new miracles” in addition to “less Lifegem items” and more.
The only change on the list I don’t quite vibe with is “less Pursuer fights.” I know it’s quite a challenging open-world encounter but you could always come back to them later if you weren’t strong enough and they yielded some decent rewards.
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As far as overhauls go this is one of the best ones I’ve seen so far, for both Dark Souls 2 and any game for that matter.
If you’re wondering why Dark Souls 2 is considered the black sheep of the trilogy by the way it’s because it wasn’t made by the first game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki.
It tried to make some bold, new changes to the formula but leaned a bit too far away from challenge and little too deep into irritation, which is where most of its faults sit.
That said it doesn’t deserve all of the hate it gets, and it’s worth a replay if you’ve got the time and patience to give it another chance.
Topics: Dark Souls, Fromsoftware, Mods, PC