Drangleic, the kingdom people always rank a notch below the rest.

The profile of Dark Souls II is almost a textbook case of a divisive game. Fun is spectacular: ahead of 94% of titles, this is the one you fire up for a session and put down at sunrise. The soundtrack follows high, ahead of 85% of games, though that rests on few votes and remains to be confirmed. And then everything drops. Connection puts it ahead of only 20% of titles, rediscovery ahead of 21%. That is low. Really low. There is the fracture: the community has a blast with Dark Souls II, but does not bond with it, and does not dream of experiencing it fresh again. The rest, desert island, controller feel, art style, hovers around the middle without ever committing.

In a series where every entry drags a reputation behind it, this one gets cast as the competent outcast. The moment to moment play holds up, the mechanics work, but the aura that clings to the other FromSoftware games does not settle here.

So, who is it for? For you if you want difficulty, bosses, hours vanishing without you noticing, and if the legend around the series does not matter to you. Much less so if you are looking for the Souls that marks you for life, the one you will still be talking about ten years later.