Vampires And Incest Are Horny, Simple!

i won't pretend i don't think it's like, a good game traped inside of a bad game, but it's still a great game and honestly it tried to do SO MUCH differently that i wish had stayed in DS3 even. bonfire ascetics were such a great idea in particular

YES YES YES YES!!!

I am DS2’s number 1 defender, she is forever my babygirl :D

In terms of gameplay, definitely has its frustrations. For examples, while I don’t think the adaptability mechanic outright ruins anything, it’s certainly a questionable design choice. Also the hollowing system, while initially a fun novelty, can really become tedious especially when the Darklurker questline needs so many human effigies and they can be a somewhat rare resource, on top of it affecting your overall health maximum etc. To be fair though, I’ve got my little nitpicks with all three games (and the other Fromsofts too), the pros more than outweigh the cons for me.

Story wise though, DS2’s the most interesting to me, by far. The themes it plays with are so delicious! The framing of fire and dark as the same thing, that it’s merely the illusion of choice and doesn’t matter either way because it ultimately amount to the same result, is so damn good. Especially with the backdrop of everything else. Whereas in DS1, you’re literally the chosen one inheriting from god-king himself, to DS2 where the Bearer of the Curse is just the next sacrificial log on an endless bonfire. Countless before you, countless after. You’re not special. A world where kingdoms rise and fall on top of each other, where souls are reincarnated and reborn into new forms with new names only to suffer and perish yet again. The concept of identity lost in a sea of cyclical meaninglessness. When life itself is hollow, what is there to even want? And it adds a lot to Aldia’s whole thing of choosing a different path- even if one doesn’t actually exist- rather than simply perpetuating in a rigged system that helps no one.