Summary
It’s telling thatDark Souls 2is just now starting to come around and get the love it arguably deserves more than 10 years after its initial release. Long considered the “black sheep” of theDark Soulsfranchise (partly because of no direct involvement from series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki, among several other factors),Dark Souls 2is an outlier in one of the most important trilogies of games of the last 15 years. It lacks the interconnected map of the originalDark Soulsor the all-star boss roster ofDark Souls 3. However, DarkSouls 2is still a game worth fans' time, especially when considering theScholar of the First Sinedition.
Released roughly a year after the game’s initial launch,Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sinis more than just a “complete” edition of the game that collects the core experience and all the DLC. Instead, FromSoftware went back and improvedDark Souls 2’s visuals and performance, all while rearranging the game’s enemy and item placements and figuring out a way to organically integrate the three DLC expansions. Essentially,Scholar of the First Sinis akin to aZelda-style Master Quest edition ofDark Souls 2, a concept that bears repeating in future FromSoftware re-releases.
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin Makes Good on the Series' Zelda Inspirations
It’s no secret thatThe Legend of Zeldahas influenced countless games arriving in its wake, but Nintendo’s iconic franchise’s connections with theDark Soulsseries go a bit deeper. Series creator (as well as current FromSoftware president and director of bothDark SoulsandDark Souls 3) Hidetaka Miyazaki has gone on record citing bothZelda 2: The Adventure of LinkandThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeas being two of the games that inspired him to design his own titles. It follows, then, that there are so many throughlines connectingThe Legend of ZeldatoDark Souls, butScholar of the First Sinis perhaps the first title to directly pull fromtheZeldaseries.
Since the originalZelda, the incorporation of a second, harder quest after clearing the main quest for the first time has been a longstanding tradition in the series. These Master Quests allow players who have mastered every aspect of the core experience to come back and return to the world of Hyrule with new puzzles, greater challenges, and completely different item and equipment placements. And whileScholar of the First Sincould be argued as being slightly more forgiving thanthe originalDark Souls 2experience, it still provides returning players with a “remixed” Master Quest-style campaign that’s worth playing through regardless of how many hours one has put into the base game.
Modders Have Already Started What FromSoftware Could Finish in Future Re-Releases
The idea of a remixed version of a classicDark Soulsexperience extends well beyondScholar of the First Sin, but those Master Quest-style reimaginings of the FromSoftware catalog are exclusive to PC players thanks to mods (for now, at least).Sekiro, the originalDark Souls, andDark Souls 3all have fairly impressive mods that players can install that transform those games into reimagined experiences reminiscent of whatScholar of the First Sindid forDark Souls 2. With the idea of aDark Soulscollectionsomething that has been bouncing around many fans' minds, FromSoft could finish what the modding community has started by developing its own altered versions of the core trilogy’s main quest.
ADark Soulstrilogy that collects the three originals, all of their respective DLC expansions, and offers an alternate take on their campaigns that switches up enemy and item placements would be a great way to draw in both new and returning players. Further, it could serve as the impetus for FromSoftware to do something similar withElden Ring. Most players already can’t seem to get enough ofFromSoftware’s library, but remixing those experiences akin toScholar of the First Sinwould be a way to extend their value even further.
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
WHERE TO PLAY
Gamers are in for a big surprise in DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin. An unforgettable journey awaits you in a breathtaking world where each dark corner and unexpected encounter will test your resolve. Go beyond what you thought was possible and discover incredible challenge and intense emotional reward. Whether you’ve previously played DARK SOULS™ II, or are new to the award-winning franchise, you are in for an entirely different experience with this exclusive, “Director’s Cut” version of the game.The definitive edition of DARK SOULS™ II. DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin includes all the DARK SOULS™ II content released to-date in one package and much more!A brand new experience and challenge. Enemy placement has been overhauled, resulting in a completely different play dynamic than experienced before. The safe zones that some players remembered are no longer safe! A new NPC invader called Forlorn will also play a key role in changing the gameplay experience. Hardened players will have to forget everything they thought they knew about DARK SOULS™ II.Online play has been enhanced with the addition of a special item to regulate souls acquired in battle - it’s now possible to match up more consistently online. The number of players who can participate in an online session has also been increased, from 4 to 6 people, completely changing the online play dynamic.DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin brings the franchise’s renowned obscurity & gripping gameplay to a new level. Join the dark journey and experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical hazards, and unrelenting challenge.
