Dark Souls 2 Beta review

[chopemon]

Some quick thoughts:

They just ran the first EU server stress test for Dark Souls 2. It was a slightly rocky start as it took 15 minutes to log in and multiplayer was disabled due to server load but it otherwise ran smoothly.

The beta area contains a walled off section of the game with two bosses;

->Open Spoiler<-

Skeleton Lord and Executioner Chariot

. It has a number of normal enemies and some equipment to discover.

The world is visually a lot richer than Dark Souls and there is a clear graphical improvement. It also has stronger art design with really unique looking enemies and NPCs. The merchant at the start is particularly great. The level design is more open and the main area is a large wooded field that branches off to caves and boss areas. From are still the masters of level design and there is constantly a landmark in the distance to aim towards. As you progress you keep seeing your target from different angles as you wind towards it and the environment opens out on to big entrances to the bosses. The world feels more alive an inhabited and once I'd beaten everything in the beta I just went running around it to take in the sights. Really enjoyable place to discover.

The enemies on show weren't particularly surprising if you've played the Souls games but they were still challenging. The rogues are quick and jump away as you attack and will lie in ambush for you. There was a cave with skeletons and necromancers in but the necromancers respawned when you rest at bonfires so they don't work as they did down in the 'Combs. This beta also had some black phantoms in which weren't too bad except for the one that guards the

->Open Spoiler<-

Chariot boss

.

I found the beta to be easier than DS but maybe it's because I've done Demon's and Dark and know what to expect. The amount of life gems you pick up (regen health over time and dropped from enemies) is somewhat worrying. As long as you survive a tussle, you can quickly heal up and carry on. No more limping to the bonfire without an estus.

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring and picking my way through it. Some good moments of panic and nearly falling to my death. Cannot wait for March.

EDIT - adding pic!

[fuse]

Yesterday I got to play the network beta (Euro PS+) and the TGS demo vers (MCM Expo). Just incase you were mega-spoiler-sensitive I've marked it all, but if you've loaded this topic in the first place you're probably safe.

->Open Spoiler<-

It still feels very much like Dark Souls, which is great news, and my biggest concern laid to rest. My new biggest issue right now is the whole torch mechanic - having to light it is fine, but then keeping it lit is a little cumbersome. The level design still seems great, and there's still plenty of surprises to keep you on edge. Not much variety in enemy designs just yet, but I'm hoping this is just a symptom of it being a small slice of the game.

Stamina drain and replenishment seems a lot harsher this time too, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I found myself having to drop block after soaking up a couple of hits and then circling some enemies, as otherwise when they came in a second time I wasn't able to hold them back for more than a single hit. This is widely covered too, but backstabs are no longer invulnerable either. They are still very satisfying, however.

Annoyingly in the network beta I missed one path completely, and therefore only got to see one of the two bosses. Chopes kindly filled me in about the other but this was only around 5 mins before I got booted, therefore I sadly did not make it to Chariot in time. The area I did explore though, lead to the Skeleton Lord boss. That whole area reminded me very much of the Tomb of the Giants - one path had a dark area with resurrecting skeletons and big holes to fall into (nigh on impossible without a torch), and eventually it lead to a narrow, winding path next to another big drop, and with red phantoms blocking the path. The boss was very much about crowd control, and he reminded me heavily of Gravelord Nito too - his lair certainly helped.

This demo had much more in the way of character-building and customisation, and I'm planning on tinkering around a lot more with magic and so on next time it's available.

The TGS build is a different area entirely, but as it was a much stricter time limit I tried to strictly follow the path to the boss I'd seen others taking. First time I got pinned down and killed by some red phantoms in one area just before the warp, and then the second time I blew it entirely and got lost, taking a huge drop as I tried to shake off some mobs. Next time it was straight through to the Mirror Knight, where I took him first time. Great fight and very satisfying, but also not that surprising I managed it given I'd been in the queue for 45 minutes watching a whole row of people fighting him on 5 setups. I know when he was first demoed, people were getting battered left right and centre, but he's really not that bad. Some people were getting routinely caned over and over, but I saw one guy play it very smart, who I stole a couple of ideas off which made it much easier. Recognising when he's about to spawn adds is particularly important: many did but were using that time to get safe hits in on him, whereas for me, switching the bigger sword into two-handed mode and lining up an R2 attack meant insta-death for the add and maintaining some hope of keeping the encounter under control.

I got one of these as a prize!



(I also got another one and some other goodies inc. a poster and then another poster of an excerpt from the upcoming comic, signed by the guys working on it).

Roll on March.