Joseph_Joestar wrote on Yesterday, 17:49:

Currently playing Dark Souls 2. I got the "DX9 bundle" on Steam, which (I think) includes the original version of the game and a […]
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Currently playing Dark Souls 2. I got the "DX9 bundle" on Steam, which (I think) includes the original version of the game and all of its DLC. I'm only a few of hours in, so here are some first impressions.

The controls feel "floaty" for lack of a better word, and don't seem to be as precise as in DS1. I also had to turn off all the "helpful" lock on assists. For some reason, those were enabled by default, which made me nauseous due to the way this "assist" jerks the camera around. I never used lock on in DS1, but this game seems to really want me to. No thanks.

There are more bonfires around, but you only get one healing flask at the start, and need to use other, non-replenishable consumables when that runs out. Feels kinda weird. On the plus side, fast travel between bonfires is unlocked right from the get go, which is nice. Oddly, weapons seem to degrade much faster in this game, and their overall durability seems to have been lowered. I hope this doesn't turn into a micro management thing, where you need to constantly swap weapons, because I really disliked that in Doom Eternal.

Anyway, I just beat the first boss, that stone giant thing. Movement still feels weird with these new controls, but I managed somehow. Got a bunch of souls as a reward, so I upgraded my weapon a bit, and put some points into that adaptability stat, which supposedly improves dodging. I hope this works out, because it still feels kinda clunky, and I'm not sure if it's due to the altered controls or something else. Lastly, despite all of the little differences, Dark Souls 2 still mostly plays like its predecessor, which is good. Maybe I just need more time to get used to the changes.

The controls are indeed clunky for the PC version, but they can be easily fixed to feel just like Dark Souls:
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Dark_Souls_ … roller_deadzone
(I really recommend this, as I consider the clunky controls a result of a poor PC port... the console versions did not play like this.)

Durability is definitely much more of an issue in this one. Hitting walls and other objects also drains durability, so you want to be careful swinging your weapon around. There are also certain objects that emit a corrosive cloud that quickly drains durability, though you might not have run into those yet (you'll know when it happens and figure out what to look for). Most importantly, striking corpses with your weapon drains durability, even more so than hitting living enemies!

Having said that, durability is honestly never much of a problem, since resting at bonfires restores it and there are so many bonfires all throughout the game. The game warns before something breaks, so you have plenty of time to use a repair powder and restore some durability. Still, it's a good idea to carry a couple of weapons just in case.