GameSided Game of the Year 2014 | Daniel’s Picks
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3 – Dark Souls II
DLC Review: Sunken King / Old Iron King / Ivory King
The problem with Dark Souls II is that it’s not as great as the original Dark Souls. If it were, it would be way and above the others as Game of the Year. Instead, From Software’s second go with the “Dark” series seemed to take too much homage with its predecessor, focusing too much on trying to be hard than building a completely traversable hub world that happened to be brutally difficult.
I should note that it’s because I revere Dark Souls so much that I criticise its design so harshly. The lore, the grueling action-RPG combat tactics, the gothic medieval tone and its punishing antics make Dark Souls II inherently greater than so many games that came out this year. With options for solo, co-op, competitive dueling and speedrunning play, Dark Souls II is what you make of it. For me, it means submerging myself into 100+ hours of fantastic, bone-chilling play across several characters, learning more and more about the mythical and mysterious lore of the game and its history with each new character explored.
Next: #2 For An Amazing Second Game In The Series