Dark Souls II was my first experience into the Soulsborne franchise back in 2014, I'd sunk countless hundreds of hours into it on the PS3. When Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First sin released in 2015 on the PS4 I went and sunk countless of thousands of more hours into it before I moved to PC in 2018 where I've sunk another few thousand hours into this game, needless to say it's one of my favourite games of all time.

The hub area known as Majula has got to be one of the best and most atmospheric hubs in the whole of the Soulsborne Franchise. It has a warm and welcoming feel, with the music in the background being slow, calm and relaxing, really reinforcing how much of a safe space the area truly is in comparison to the other hostile areas throughout the game. The Hub is also home to our favourite Waifu: The Emerald Herald, Shanalotte.

The levelling system while introducing a new mechanic called Adaptability was not all that bad, unlike Resistance in Dark Souls I, Adaptability has an actual use. That being that it increases the speed that you use consumables like your Estus Flasks but it also increases your IMMUNITY FRAMES, a thing that most new players tend to not know and complain that the game is too hard because the dodges feel impossible to do which in the early game is rough, but spending a few points into Adaptability fixes the dodging issue entirely.

Another controversial mechanic introduced is Soul Memory, matchmaking based on how many souls you've collected along your journey, I assume this was intended to stop twinking (The act of making a low level character intended for competitive PVP or COOP.) but this is also counteracted by the Agape ring, a ring that prevents souls from being earned by any means, unfortunately twinking is still common, at the cost of a ring slot.

The story is much like the other Soulsborne titles, where you can follow it at a baseline and if you're truly invested in it you can talk to NPC's, explore areas or even look into the item's descriptions that you collect for a deeper understanding of areas, enemies and bosses. You do not need to be an expert to understand and enjoy these games by any means.

Fashion Souls is an important part of any Soulsborne title and this one certainly delivers on that front, a lot of armors working well together, colours of fabrics, tints of metals, weapons complimenting said outfits, a personal favourite combination of mine being:

• Black Witch Hat / Black Witch Veil
  
• Black Witch Robe
  
• Ruin Gauntlets
  
• Ruin Leggings
  
• Moonlight Greatsword
  
• Golden Wing Shield
  
• Staff of Wisdom

And

• Desert Sorceress Hood
  
• Alva Armor
  
• Alva Gauntlets
  
• Desert Sorceress Skirt
  
• Black Knight Greataxe
  
• Blossom Kite Shield
  
• Pyromancy Flame / Dark Pyromancy Flame

PVP is honestly some of the best in the entire franchise in my opinion, with plenty of variety in weapons that you can choose to powerstance, armor combinations to pick from and mechanics to compliment your playstyle; ranging from simply backstepping through attacks to animation cancelling and animation recovery through certain actions. There are also plenty of ways to parry from shields to weapons to tools like shields and the sound from achieving a parry being like music to your ears. A personal favourite parry to achieve is the great sword parry.

In conclusion, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin holds a special place in my heart and I cannot recommend it enough, I'd rate it a 10/10 and advocate that any fan of the genre who hasn't tried it yet to give it a chance.