Dark Souls II PC Previews and Gameplay Footage

Those who have been patiently waiting for the release of the PC version of Dark Souls II will be happy to know that a few previews and video overviews have been published for it. The good news is that the PC version seems to easily run at 60 fps, looks better than the console version and has dramatically better loading times. The bad news, for at least some people, will be that it doesn’t look like the initial pre-release videos of the title did, and still has more or less the same lighting conditions and assets of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Destructoid:

Dark Souls II looks great on a PC but there’s signs of the game’s origins on the outgoing consoles that do weigh it down. Textures can look simplistic and your character will look a little blocky and rough round the edges, though some of the landscapes are beautiful. That’s down to the art style, which some players will understandably find offputting in its bleakness but there is a beauty there too. If you’ve played the first Dark Souls on PC then you’ll know a controller is the best way to play the game; whilst a keyboard/mouse setup is feasible, the automatic lock-on function that’s set to the right stick on a controller means you’re not going to lose any accuracy with ranged weapons.

Dark Souls II, even at the earliest part of the game, feels epic in scope and like a real journey. The game has been in no way watered down to broaden its appeal — what’s happened is that there’s been some some tweaking to the classes to make them easier to understand. The opening tutorial level is welcome (what’s more pleasing is that you can just run past all of that stuff if you’re starting over) even though it can be pretty hard on a new player. Still, the changes are minor and if you’re looking for the classic Dark Souls experience, you’ll find it here in the sequel.

GameInformer:

The load times are much better than the console version. Gone are the long waits with bonfire porting, invasions, and all those trips back to Majula to repair your death-cheating ring. It makes a huge difference.

Keyboard and mouse controls are available. All keys can be rebound, so players have the option to try playing Dark Souls II with standard PC controls.

Gameplay is a consistent 60 FPS and runs smoothly. The controls and input, especially with menus, seem extremely responsive.

Moving on, Polygon, Giant Bomb and IGN all have gameplay footage of it, almost all coming from the beginning of the game.