The network test beta for Dark Souls II showcased a relatively small area to explore. At the onset of the test players were given the opportunity to choose from six character classes, including Soldier, Warrior, Sorcerer, Temple Knight, Dual Swordsman, and Hunter. For this test I tried out three classes, and really found myself gravitating towards the Temple Knight as my go-to character of the evening. After selecting a character and naming him, I was dumped into the server with no issues to speak of and a pretty short loading sequence, and then my adventure began.
Once those initial souls were spent it was time to venture out into the world, and my initial reaction was that of trepidation and fear, an appropriate reaction to any first step into a Souls game. I was immediately greeted with a large, very dark cave to step into, and as I entered the mouth of said cave the first of many enemies came charging forth. The initial introduction to combat was easy enough, with a simple hollow soldier wielding a single blade, basically the Goomba of Dark Souls if you will.
One of the newer elements introduced via this cave is the need to carry a lit torch. From the opening bonfire you?re given the option of lighting a torch, which replaces your left hand equipment, so in the case of my Temple Knight I wielded this torch instead of my shield. Obviously this puts you at some risk, but that initial cave is so dark that the torch is essentially a must have item for your initial journey. I quickly came to realize that the path through the cave was a straight shot, so I was in no danger as long as I didn?t venture off to the sides which featured bottomless pits to fall into. So on subsequent runs (of which there were plenty) I didn?t see the need to carry the torch through to the next area. There were other dark interior areas that benefited from torchlight as well though, including one ruin that gave me a place to light kindling on a post, which remained illuminated even if I died and respawned back at the bonfire.
Or course being a network test it seemed like a good idea to try out some of the connectivity features. While not too far removed from Demon?s Souls and Dark Souls, I did find it pretty easy to jump into other people?s games and have them join mine. I was invaded a fair number of times with different results (mostly me dying), and was able to successfully invade a number of others. Summoning partners to help was a painless process, and despite this being a beta, I encountered few errors. I was only dumped from the server once over the three hours that I played, and when being summoned I encounter an error twice that put me back into my own game after a few seconds with no progress lost. But considering the number of games I was able to join successfully, the couple occasions where things went bad were pretty minor.
Overall, this was a pretty solid showing for both a network test and a glimpse into the beta. I?d love to have more hands on time with the game, and trust me when I say that this is just as addictive as its predecessors. It?s hard to have to step away from the game from now until the next test on October 27th, and I?ll certainly be marking off the days on my calendar until the next run.
There's a few dozen titles set to take advantage of the pricey new PS5 hardware…
Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Cadash, Rastan Saga, Champion Wrestler, Dead Connection and more are coming…
Virballs promises Ratchet and Clank meets Kirby. But can it deliver that?
Learn the sad tale of the second generation Grimm’s Nikke in the game’s 2nd anniversary…
Atari takes on Mattel's Intellivision in the next drop of content heading to this unique…
This website uses cookies.