10 Video Games With The Biggest Downgrade From Reveal To Launch
4. Dark Souls II
Dark Souls II is, without doubt, the red-headed step-child of the Souls series. It lacked the punch any sequel should have, both in a lack of innovation and a graphical downgrade that was impossible not to notice.
The first trailers for Dark Souls II showed a game that looked next-gen with its evocative lighting, both in the open world and in the castle environments. However, what were atmospheric locales with shadows and dynamic fire lighting in trailers, were dull ones with jagged edges, poor textures, and virtually lifeless lighting effects in the released game.
Dark Souls II went from looking like a next-gen game to a very average PS3/360 one. Even the enhanced version of Dark Souls II on PS4 and Xbox One, released a year later, didn't feature anywhere near the visuals of the original trailer. Something clearly happened during development that forced FromSoftware's hand to rush the product. All of this is compounded when compared to the still-gorgeous Bloodborne that came out just two years later.
FromSoftware got something of a pass with this hiccup, but some companies wouldn't be so lucky. Everyone knows the Dark Souls series is renowned for being painstaking in its difficulty, but this instalment was also pretty painful to look at.