Summary
Among fans of FromSoftware and Soulslikes as a whole,Bloodborneis often considered to be one of the best in the genre and a shining example for other Soulslike games to follow in the footsteps of. The popularity ofBloodbornehas had the online community buzzing with discussions of a potential remake, remaster, or even aBloodbornePC portas the game approaches its 10th anniversary. However, while aBloodborneremake would be welcome, there is one other FromSoftware title that is in far more desperate need of a remake.
Often considered the black sheep of FromSoftware’s Soulslike catalog,Dark Souls 2is arguably the most divisive entry in theDark Soulsfranchise. As the follow-up to FromSoftware’s hit action RPG that popularized the Soulslike genre,Dark Souls 2was somewhat of a departure from its predecessor which many fans felt didn’t live up to the expectations placed upon it. Conversely,Bloodborneis widely heralded as one of FromSoftware’s best titles, so it would make more sense to giveDark Souls 2another shot at winning audiences over with a remake.
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Dark Souls 2 Needs a Remake More than Bloodborne Does
DespiteBloodbornebeing the more popular title among Soulslike fans,Dark Souls 2has a lot of potential that was wasted on half-baked mechanics and could be improved upon in a full-blown remake. A lot of theelements that players took issue with inDark Souls 2are surface-level and could be tweaked in a remake to make the user experience better and closer to the quality of FromSoftware’s other titles. Issues like weapons degrading too fast, half-hearted enemy placement, and overly long backstab and parry animations are all issues that could be simple fixes in aDark Souls 2remake.
There are also some deeper issues at the core ofDark Souls 2’s design that would need a greater overhaul in aDark Souls 2remake. One major complaint fans of the genre had was the introduction of Adaptability as a central attribute for the player character, locking invincibility frames for dodge rolls behind a stat that had to be upgraded and dragging down the game’s combat. The game’s map design was another point of criticism for many fans, withDark Souls 2featuring a heavy focus on backtracking with limited shortcuts, ill-placedbonfires inDark Souls 2, and annoying areas like the Gutter to traverse.
By comparison,Bloodborneis much more refined in its mechanics and level design, leading to an overall more enjoyable user experience. While aBloodborneremake or remasterhas been highly requested by many fans, others believeBloodbornedoesn’t need an enhanced version since the original 2015 release still holds up incredibly well even today. Since many fans still find the originalBloodborneenjoyable, FromSoftware should invest in a remake of a game that is much more controversial among fans.
BloodborneandDark Souls 2’sdevelopment ran parallel to one another, with Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura serving as directors forDark Souls 2while Hidetaka Miyazaki directedBloodborne. Some fans consider many ofDark Souls 2’s faults to be the result of this divided development cycle.
AlthoughDark Souls 2did receive an enhanced port after the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One in the form ofDark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, the core of the game remained largely unchanged in this version. Instead, FromSoftware should take asimilar route asDemon’s SoulswithDark Souls 2and utilize a studio like Bluepoint Games to help aid in a complete remake of the game. TheDemon’s Soulsremake showed that refreshing a game with outdated mechanics could lead to a successful modern title, andDark Souls 2should be ahead ofBloodbornein line for this treatment.
