Dark Souls II

A genuine but disappointing follow-up that still plays better than most games, yet badly misunderstands what made the series special. It chases difficulty over interesting design, padding boss fights and areas with extra enemies that clash with the one-on-one combat, while the incoherent world geography, overabundant bonfires, lifeless NPCs, convoluted plot, and clunky agility-tied rolling all feel like steps backward from Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

A harshly negative take on the PC version, condemning the keyboard-and-mouse controls as broken despite the developer's promises of a properly adapted scheme. The character movement, locked camera, and clumsy lock-on make combat frustrating and sluggish, and the graphics look merely average even maxed out on high-end hardware. PC players are warned to stay away entirely, though it may fare better on consoles with a controller.