Was Dark Souls 2 the greatest game that From Software ever made?

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

I would say DS2 is the least polished of the trilogy.

Factually incorrect. Bloodborne has the most sketchy framerate and the longest loading times to this very day. Also screen tearing. DkS2 is technically solid on all fronts.

Wonky controls

Factually incorrect. It has the smoothest and most complex combat of the entire franchise. The PvP was actually worth it.

lot's of content but the content varies in extremes of quality.

Subjective.

The graphics downgrades were disappointing as well. DS2 looks very strangely dated to me

Nobody cares because FromSoft has never made a good looking game from a technological standpoint. They all look dated including Elden Ring. The Demon's Souls remake is pretty much the pinnacle of modern day graphics but FromSoft had nothing to do with it.

 

[Morenatsu.]

Yeah the game with half-deleted graphics is more polished because muh framerate. LOL!

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Yeah the game with half-deleted graphics is more polished because muh framerate. LOL!

Artistically they all look great. I'm just saying they all look like crap tech wise, and Bloodborne carries the extra burden of running like shit. It deserves better. The rest are fine.

 

[Damned Registrations]

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Wonky controls

Factually incorrect. It has the smoothest and most complex combat of the entire franchise. The PvP was actually worth it.

That's pushing it, DS2 is "factually" the stiffest DS game.

 

[Max Damage]

DS2 definitely has the worst lock-on logic out of any game I played, period. It's abysmal for late PS3 release and ruins the flow of combat way more than butchered armor or any other questionable changes they made.

 

[Socrates]

lot's of content but the content varies in extremes of quality.

Subjective.

Subjectivity is implied.

 

[Ezekiel]

DS2 definitely has the worst lock-on logic out of any game I played, period. It's abysmal for late PS3 release and ruins the flow of combat way more than butchered armor or any other questionable changes they made.

What's the lock-on logic again?

 

[Multidirectional]

I just remember that lock-on range in DSII was noticeably higher than in first game and I liked that, made the ranged stuff more useable. I don't recall it being worse than in DS.

 

[Socrates]

The lock-on isn't so much the problem but the movement snapping. It's very problematic when precise movement is required.

 

[Max Damage]

Not only lock-on has mind of its own when you need to pick a specific target at times, it doesn't actually lock you onto the target you choose. Try to strafe and attack while locked on, you'll just attack or throw an item/spell in direction your character is moving instead of your target. Calling it lock-on is generous in first place, you essentially have to rely on manual camera to hit/block/dodge anything consistently.

Edit: was thinking about UGS when writing above, for other weapons lock-on works somewhat better when you don't need to attack too high or low. Also, UGS use same shitty aiming logic in DS3, yay.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

I'm thinking back to the PvP and I don't remember having any issues with the lock-on. That is of course when you need it working best and Dark Souls 2 was the only entry whose PvP I actually cared for. I don't remember having major issues with lock-on in any of them tbh. I'm sure there were minor ones but you're going to experience that with just about any lock-on system in any game that involves fighting multiple enemies at once.

 

[Max Damage]

I played many games with lock on, none of them have the issue of being as half-assed as in DS2. You technically don't need 100% precision for most of the game since it's forgiving enough, it just feels janky regardless.

 

[Dadd]

I played without the lock-on most of the time and I almost always stayed alive in fight clubs until the timer ran out
I would've died a lot more had I relied on lock-on, it felt limiting

 

[d1r]

It was a phenomenal let down compared to Dark Souls 1. Soul Memory killed any form of enjoyment in PVP for me. The graphics were terrible, and the PVE was just meh. SOFTS changed things quite a bit, made the PVP at least possible with the SM ring, but you still had to use souls from time to time to get items for PVP, so Soul Memory was still a problem. Still a nice solo experience with a great weapon and spell variety and the best Souls DLC out there. I still prefer it over DS3. Fuck that average ass roll spam game that completely fucked poise.

 

[Max Damage]

PvP in DS games is quite different from PvE, closest thing that compares are certain NPC phantoms and enemies in 2/3 where it's more about parry fishing and punishing attacks with backstabs and angling. Slow weapons like zweihander are mostly stab sticks because swinging it is too risky etc.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

It was a phenomenal let down compared to Dark Souls 1.

This is its cardinal sin for sure.

 

[Ezekiel]

I would be completely fine with multiplayer (PvP and PPvE) and messages removed. Have no respect for players who just idle in the same place forever because they don't care about the adventure and behave far sillier and more like dude-bros than the NPCs. Being invaded was once exciting, an element of the survival. Now it's just an annoyance, something you've done a few hundred times. 99.9 percent of the messages people place are irreverent, many are intentionally placed in front of NPCs so that you can't immediately speak with them. Do something new, From.

 

[Ezekiel]

Also, I think I've only been notified a couple of times in Demon's Souls that my messages were found helpful, can't remember any in Dark Souls, so screw you ungrateful pigs.

 

[Multidirectional]

Message littering is cancer for sure. And I've been annoyed by that ever since DS, when I switched from pirated to legal version.

 

[Morenatsu.]

Messages were the best part of DS2.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

Messages are just there for the lulz at this point. If you're even moderately familiar with how these games work the messages are irrelevant. They only mattered in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Now they exist purely for tit jokes, butthole jokes, and tricking noobs into walking off cliffs, which I'm completely fine with.

 

[Silverfish]

Also, I think I've only been notified a couple of times in Demon's Souls that my messages were found helpful, can't remember any in Dark Souls, so screw you ungrateful pigs.

Guess you should have tried harder.

 

[Max Damage]

I keep getting free estus for my messages in DaS, skill issue

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Messages are cool, it's multiplayer without having to interact with people