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Round 2 of DLC, let’s go die some more!
“Haunting” is a perfect word for the realms of the Souls games. No matter how you look at any given landscape, you can always scrape away the remaining rays of hope and damn near breathe in the tragedies that aerate from the world around you. From the initial moment you step in to the domain of the Old Iron King, you hear the ghosts of the past crying for help as you walk through the ashen covered landscapes that are filled with dusty remains of those who never made it to see another day. There is no light to be seen, and the despair can be enough to madden to most stoic of heroes.
Take the best parts of Dark Souls II, add in some clarity, mix with a smidge of higher difficulty, and voila!
Dark Souls 2 was a great game despite the overlapping positive/negative feelings from its fans. When the three-piece DLC pack was initially announced, I pondered if it was truly a great idea since expanding on closed cases can sometimes fray loose ends. Sure, Dark Souls 2 wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t as bad as some insisted either. With the scent of the Sunken Crown lingering in the air, I was poised to see how it would tie in to the original DS2 storyline, even while I feared that over-expansion could ruin what made it so great. Thankfully I was happy with what I was given.
Come see the preview trailer for the upcoming DLC packs releasing on July 22, August 26, and September 24.
The curse is real; now prepare to die over and over
Masochistic is a word often associated with the Souls games. Though they’re known to be incredibly difficult for anyone who may be new to the series, they’ve become only mildly challenging for veterans. However, Dark Souls II is no pushover, proving to be difficult as soon as the journey begins. Even in the most basic tutorial area, players will find death waiting for them. Whether you fall into a hole you overlooked or walk past an enemy who is able to catch up to you for an easy backstab, Dark Souls II isn’t afraid to kill you mercilessly. Although the game never feels cheap, it always finds a way to lure me into a well sprung trap in which I am ill-prepared for. Difficulty isn’t the only thing in which the Souls franchise is known for though, and Dark Souls II gives us another beautifully crafted world that’s perfectly ripe for exploration with rippling lore waiting to be uncovered and dissected.
Spoilers to be expected (he does run the whole critical path), but a great treat seeing the game conquered in under 2 hours if you've already made it through.
Well jeez, I wasn't prepared to die this much.
Like many other small gaming outlets, PixlBit didn't receive their copy of Dark Souls II until the Friday before the game's March 11 release. This didn't afford much time to play the game to meet embargo; however, that's no big deal, because it's affording other opportunities, like this article! Until resident Souls master Chris Yarger has time to crank out his review, I figured that I'd provide some initial impressions for those waiting with bated breath for PixlBit's review of From Software's latest masterpiece.
Let's try not to die (too often).
If you plan to venture through the lands of Dark Souls II, you’d best be prepared with the reflexes of a tiger and the survival skills of a Cub Scout troop leader. The adventure won’t be easy, but it can be made bearable with a few tips and tricks from the grandmaster himself (which is me, if you didn’t know). Throughout this gratuitously grandiose guide, I’ll be giving a few tips based on the environment and exploration, combat, items and item management, and online portions of the game, so grab a nice blanket and get comfortable, because this is going to be one hell of a ride!
Winners in our hearts.
Voting is a funny thing. It’s hard to argue with addition, but there are plenty of instances where some of the staff thought a title or two got overlooked. Even though our GOTY 2013 article used some inarguable mathematics to come to the PixlBit staff’s consensus opinion, some of us thought there were games that should have gotten a few more votes. To highlight some of the games that each of us took a particular shine to in 2013, we present our staff’s personal picks that didn’t make the cut.
