When Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First was announcedWithout many thought that it was the umpteenth remaster to 1080p to move a game of the past generation to the new consoles. It is not about blaming From Software, it is the trend and it is surely
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow comes Today
giving returns to all the companies that do it. But if something proved this developer during the last generation of consoles is precisely that they are not to
follow the current to others. And no wonder: the formula they started with Demon’s Souls went perfectly and they have followed their path with a challenging and attractive proposal in equal parts.
For Scholar of the First Sin is that: a different way of doing a review. A full-fledged Director’s Cut with dozens of changes. Some more important than others, but that give, in general, a different touch to Dark Souls 2.
For users who do not know what Dark Souls 2 is, what it offers and where it comes from, it is best to go first to the original analysis of the game that appeared last year on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and that it did soon after on PC. Sequel to the first
Dark Souls, this third installment of the saga had several elements that differentiated it from its predecessor, including a somewhat more accessible start (especially until the first boss) and a much more understandable development and in several sections, less labyrinthine.
It kept the essence of the saga of dying hundreds of times, of finding roads that were not yet adequate even if we could access them soon, etc. Features like a somewhat more polished combat system were also improved in general terms.
Well, several of these things are left in a wrench in Scholar of the First Sin, a title that is much harderthan its original version and that is something that is noticed from the start. The developers already warned that although the world would be more or less the same but that the redistribution of elements would make us not know what happens to each corner.
To give two examples that we can find in the first hour of play and so do not gut what comes next: in the path of the forbidden forest we will find a lot of hollow soldiers more, something that complicates our advance much more because there are some lethal monsters roaming the area.
The agglomeration of these enemies in the first bars, without souls to exchange, already raises the level of that area and the first tower to reach the last giant.
If we decide to visit the Tower of the Flame of Heide , we will see that the great knights armed to the teeth are added the white knights who rest on the walls.
As those who have played Dark Souls 2 will know, big gentlemen need to be alert because although they are slow, a couple of swords finish with us, and we need to constantly surround them. If in those movements -the space is something small- we wake up the other, we will have a problem.
They are two small examples that are repeated in more advanced areas where things get complicated, as in certain battles with final bosses. They have also changed the location of some enemies that left some equipment more than interesting.
It’s not gold …
The increase of difficulty and demand in the first hours is something that can be done very uphill for those who start again, especially because there is a decision or bug that makes in this new version (for PC and new generation consoles) the
Weapons wear out at an inhuman speed. With rings and advance the game can be palliated more or less this effect, but the truth is that during the first stage (including advances to level 40 or similar) this will be a headache. Weapons wear out very
quickly, and as there are more enemies in many areas, we will not always be in time to return to a bonfire. Once broken, it’s time to repair it. It can be exasperating to see how some swords or double weapons are split in a jiffy and with few enemies.
