DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is a strange case. On paper, it should be the definitive version of the game. It includes all DLC content, improves some aspects, and adds additional changes. In practice, however, some of those changes feel questionable and even make certain problems from the original version worse. When I played it around release, the updated visuals were a nice improvement, but on my PC at that time the game actually ran worse than the original version. The biggest difference comes from enemy placements and gameplay adjustments. Some changes work well, but others feel like they were made simply to increase frustration rather than improve the experience. Situations that were already annoying in the original version can become genuinely frustrating in Scholar of the First Sin. Some examples include increased enemy density in certain areas, new enemy placements that can feel artificial, and changes that sometimes make encounters more chaotic rather than more interesting. It feels like some decisions were made with the idea of making the game harder, but not necessarily better. That said, nowadays the situation is different. The game runs very well on modern computers, probably even better than the original release, and the extra content makes it a complete package. There are also interesting community projects available, including a Path Tracing mod that allows you to experience the game with modern lighting effects. For me SOTFS didin't improved the original experience. For some players it will be the definitive edition, while others like me, may prefer the original release. Pros: + Includes all DLC content + Improved visuals compared to the original release Cons: - Some changes make the game more frustrating - Enemy placement changes are not always improvements - Some areas feel designed around increasing difficulty rather than improving gameplay - Launch performance issues on some hardware