Recent reviews by Xela

This review is mostly going to be a comparison between this game and the original Dark Souls (which probably isn't that much of a surprise to anyone). I had heard of much disdain for this entry prior to picking it up, but having played it for over eighty hours now I think that much of the hate is a collective misunderstanding. There are some legitimate steps back that have been taken with respect to the original, but these are either minor or debatable. Some adjustment is required when approaching this game, but with some patience I believe that a fan of Dark Souls can also enjoy this game, and will appreciate the numerous quality of life improvements made.

THE GOOD / IMPROVEMENTS:
+ Warping can now be done between any two bonfires

+ Inventory management is much cleaner

+ Fun new mechanics such as Hexes and Power Stance (both of which I have yet to try, but sound intriguing)

+ Runs smoothly at 60 FPS, and looks great (no DSFix or texture packs required)

+ The Endurance/Vitality split (makes one think about the two stats separately)

+ Infusion (the equivalent of ascension) is much simpler, with no requirement for differently-colored Titanite or different blacksmiths

+ Weapon/Ring/Armor Durability is more noticeable, and the fact that it's restored at each bonfire makes the inclusion of corrosive environments and enemies viable

+ More Weapon/Ring/Item slots

NEUTRAL:
~ Enemies stop respawning at some point: This could either be seen as a way to discourage grinding, or as a way to cut down on unnecessary combat between bonfires if the player has already traversed an area many times before. Often times this leads to me grinding until enemies stop respawning in an area, such as in Heide’s Tower of Flame.

~ Adaptability: I’m glad that the equivalent of Dark Souls’ Resistance has been made more useful, but at the same time it’s kind of annoying just how necessary this stat is, since it increases invincibility frames while rolling (you start with less than in the original) and reduces the time it takes to use healing items.

~ Estus Flask changes: Thinking on it now, acquiring extra uses for your Estus Flask was incredibly easy in the original game, but I’m not sure if a “collectathon” was the approach to use in getting more uses in this game. Lifegems are an interesting resource that can supplement your lack of Estus though

~ Inaccessibility: There are so many secrets in this game that I wouldn’t have found if it weren’t for my having the Darks Souls Wiki up whenever I played. This may appeal to some, but it never has to me. There are also some basic mechanics like Power Stance (if I remember correctly) and invincibility frames that are never explained, but this isn't really different from the original.

THE BAD / RETROGRESSIONS:
- Losing max health upon death: after being on the fence about this for a while, I’ve decided that this isn’t really necessary at all. One’s reprimand for death has always been the loss of whatever souls were previously acquired, and stacking this on top of that singlehandedly spoiled this game for many. As a suggestion to those wanting to play this game, find the Ring of Binding[darksouls.wikia.com] in Heide’s Tower of Flame as soon as you can, as it makes this consequence of death much more bearable, reducing the amount of health you can lose to 20% as opposed to a ridiculous 50%.

- Comparing two weapons is quite finicky, especially considering the fact that the way of doing this in the original was fine the way that it was

- Shrine of Amana (potentially a personal gripe with the area)

- The equivalent of Frampt’s feeding of unnecessary items for souls, Gavlan, is much harder to find, requiring one to travel first to No-man’s Wharf, then Harvest Valley, and finally Doors of Pharros for him to stay put

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P.S.: I have yet to complete the Doors of Pharros area, or the areas provided by the DLC, though I intend to. I also don’t engage much in covenants or PvP, so I don’t have much to say about those things.