10 Video Game Sequels That Fixed NOTHING
5. Dark Souls 2
A controversial choice, Dark Souls 2 - following on from its sublime predecessor - always had a mountain to climb.
When it came to measuring up to gargantuan expectations from the fanbase, From Software had a mammoth challenge on their hands. What could they do to expand the world? Enhance the already enticing gameplay? Improve the game's top-tier online capabilities?
Sadly the sequel would do little of this, settling into a fairly predictable rhythm. On launch, DS2 was criticised for looking less than the trailers had promised, while the online mode suffered from hackneyed, imbalanced matchmaking on day one.
Placed as the weakest of the Souls line-up, Dark Souls 2's shortcomings may not have doomed it to dismal failure, but fans were still very displeased with how it turned out at first. The weaker level designs, scaled back difficulty and downgraded graphics all standing out in a franchise that is normally excellent from top to bottom.
The overall experience was very close to the first title, and while that game had a winning formula, the directions it could have taken for the follow-up weren't followed through on. Luckily, from this point, FromSoftware would grow more ambitious with later titles.