
JM:
"So I went to my local Gamestop at midnight on Tuesday to pick up my copy of Dark Souls II. With the previous Dark Souls, knowing how difficult Demon’s Souls was, I decided to count my death toll, and I had about 173 deaths by the time I completed the game. I say about because I may have missed a few or added a few in counting off of memory through longer playthroughs. I decided to take it a step further in Dark Souls II, and actually write down how I died every single death I die through my first run of the game. As of typing this, I already have died 15 times, and I’m going to tell you about them."

Bandai Namco has released its latest financial report, revealing that the Dark Souls series has reached around 40 million units combined.

As difficult and frustrating as it is, people should consider reliving the Dark Souls 2 experience, especially because of what's coming to the game.
Many of those who hate Dark Souls II hate it because it's not Dark Souls. The same people love Dark Souls III because it isn't Dark Souls II.
And so many of the issues at the centre of common complaints about DS2 are present in DS3 and sometimes even DS1. The hatred and bile spewed over this perfectly decent game is ludicrous.
You can also play it in VR flawlessly on PC & controller with the LukeRoss mod so… another reason to jump back in with extra immersion.
The controls felt very clunky to me, I tried playing it after beating Darksouls 3 and it didn’t feel fluid, obviously the hit detection is less superior for been an older game.

The Smelter Demon is a bombastic boss design that bolsters Dark Souls 2's roster with an experience that updates an older fight's form to function.
Man, I dunno about that. In fact, most boss fights in Dark Souls 2 were forgettable.