>>725215672
How to make a sequel that tries to stand on its own, be it narratively or mechanically. It succeeded where DaSIII utterly failed at. I genuinely, unironically, wholeheartedly love Dark Souls II, warts and all; I love the more personal presentation of the story, with the BotC being a random undead that gets to Drangelic to try and keep his sanity. I love the return of the hub waifu with the Emerald Herald, and how she's relevant to the plot and you end up learning more about her existence, up to her real name and everything. I love learning about Vendrick and Aldia, their war with the giants, and Nashandra's role in it all. I love the way the curse is treated in a more personal, "grounded" manner with characters like Lucatiel where it's less about "you go zombie" and more about losing your mind, slowly forgetting what's most important to you. I love exploring the downfall of the neighboring kingdoms, each giving you a piece of the final puzzle where you escape the cycle. I love how it feels the most "King's Field"-ish of all Souls due to its dev team having people that worked on them. I love the weird, obtuse, hidden mechanics like the giant ant underground that heals poison but breaks your equipment, the invisible armor set you can only obtain by spending money on the Majula merchant until he's rich then returning to him with 0 souls, Artorias' sword having a unique moveset only if you wield it with your left hand, or Santier's Spear's true potential only being unlocked if you make use of item durability to break the statue stuck on its handle; all details which scream "schoolyard videogame rumor".

It's an ufinished mess of a game that's nevertheless better than anything that came after it sans BB. An unironic cult classic.
https://youtu.be/NgRfdFxdTCU

>>716450774
Based