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Dark Souls 2 is a strange game, though its weirdness emanates from just how conventional it is - especially given it's part of a series known for forging new boundaries. Over a year ago I wrote about revisiting Demon's Souls and being delighted to find it the freshest, riskiest and most experimental title in From's recent action-RPG line-up. Dark Souls, despite technically being set in a different universe, superficially does the whole sequel thing - it adds more levels, more monsters, more spells, and more varied environments to an already winning template, but joined the dots in one glorious interconnected world.It's hard to pinpoint what Dark Souls 2 added. The first "Souls" game not helmed by series director Hidetaka Miyazaki, Dark Souls 2 is a disappointingly conservative game. A majority of its environments feel like rehashes of prior "Souls" settings, so it's the third time we've seen From Software concoct a castle, a prison, and a dimly lit mire in this loosely defined series. This recycling of ideas is even truer of its bosses, which largely feel like remixes or modest adaptations of fiends we've fought before. More knights, more dragons, more cursed kings, etc. The rule of diminishing returns is in full effect.
Dark Souls 2 tries a little too hard to be accessible to newcomers. Where Demon's Souls and Dark Souls were content to make you struggle to figure out how to even cast a spell, Dark Souls 2 makes sure you learn the basics in its opening hours. It also lets you wear more stat-enhancing rings (you can equip four at a time rather than two), you can wear a higher percentage of gear without it slowing your roll, and bosses are noticeably easier. This greater transparency is certainly more welcoming, but it loses that same sense of wonder and intimidation Miyazaki's titles had in spades.
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