I just finshed Elden Ring, and decided to go back and play DS2 again. It has been many years since I played DS2 on console, and my first time playing the SOFS edition. Playing through the game again after many years, my feelings have not changed.

Dark Souls 2 is still the greatest souls game to date.

Why? The variety of weapons and builds. Majula. The variety of areas. Fantastic bosses like the Sir Alonne, Burn Ivory King, Looking Glass Knight. Power stancing. Fashion Souls at it's finest. The absolutely insane secrets hidden all over this game. The story with it's focus on the undead curse and how it awful the curse is. How the areas just keeps getting more incredible and epic with late game areas like Frozen Elysium Loyce, Dragon Arie, and the Dragon Shrine.

This is a very misunderstood game. Combat, especially healing, is slowed down, requiring very deliberate choices. There are tons of enemies that have to be teased out and defeated one by one to prevent from being overwhelmed. Bonfires are a good distance from bosses, making the run back to the boss and the level enemies part of the boss fight. This is a game that demands your attention, time, and patience, but the reward is still the best of the three in the Dark Souls trilogy.

I just finshed Elden Ring, and decided to go back and play DS2 again. It has been many years since I played DS2 on console, and my first time playing the SOFS edition. Playing through the game again after many years, my feelings have not changed. Dark Souls 2 is still the greatest souls game to date. Why? The variety of weapons and builds. Majula. The variety of areas. Fantastic bosses like the Sir Alonne, Burn Ivory King, Looking Glass Knight. Power stancing. Fashion Souls at it's finest. The absolutely insane secrets hidden all over this game. The story with it's focus on the undead curse and how it awful the curse is. How the areas just keeps getting more incredible and epic with late game areas like Frozen Elysium Loyce, Dragon Arie, and the Dragon Shrine. This is a very misunderstood game. Combat, especially healing, is slowed down, requiring very deliberate choices. There are tons of enemies that have to be teased out and defeated one by one to prevent from being overwhelmed. Bonfires are a good distance from bosses, making the run back to the boss and the level enemies part of the boss fight. This is a game that demands your attention, time, and patience, but the reward is still the best of the three in the Dark Souls trilogy.