6. Dark Souls II
Dark Souls II will be finding itself in an strange position when it releases in March 2014 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Taking into account that a significant percentage of you who are reading this article may already own a PS4 and/or Xbox One by the time Dark Souls II releases, the idea of going back a generation may be jarring. But unless you're planning on playing Dark Souls II on PC, do not pack away those PS3's and 360's! Doing so would be a major mistake, as there is a very good chance that Dark Souls II could end up being one of the absolute best, if not THE best, games of 2014. Beginning with the PS3 exclusive Demon's Souls in 2009 and its multi-platform spiritual successor Dark Souls in 2011, the Souls series has infiltrated the psyches of gamers worldwide and generated a ravenous following whose passion is unmatched by any other new IP to release this generation. Combining pitch-perfect game mechanics with a serious challenge, and tossed with a heady dose of esotericism, Demon's Souls and Dark Souls have fostered a strong sense of community among gamers, who gather online to exchange tips for overcoming bosses, creating character builds, and decoding the mysteries of the games. The games' difficulty, which is almost always misrepresented by the gaming media, is easily overcome with patience and attention to detail. Death is the fault of the player and hardly ever seems unfair, which plays into the addictive nature of these games and the immense amount of love they've gotten from players and critics alike. It's rare to find a modern video game that strikes that perfect balance of challenging the gamer while, at the same time, always treating them with respect. Shortly after Dark Souls II's announcement at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, word came from the developers, From Software, that Dark Souls II was going to be more "accessible", which sent fans into a frenzy. From Software later clarified that this did not have anything to do with the gameplay itself, but rather with the more esoteric nature of the game's world. Many elements from the previous games, such as the World Tendency from Demon's Souls and the Covenants from Dark Souls, were incredibly difficult to decode without referring to a wiki or seeking help from other players online. And while this may have played a part in helping foster the aforementioned strong community surrounding the Souls games, it left many other players out in the cold. It is in the opinion of this author that refining this part of the series, while still keeping the fantastic gameplay and challenge intact, is a very good move by From Software, and could make Dark Souls II the best game in the series yet. In addition to these changes, Dark Souls II is said to have much smarter enemy AI (which is scary to think about, as the AI in the previous games was absolutely top notch), a new graphics engine, and a world that is twice (!!) as big as the world of Dark Souls. 2014 is going to be a pivotal year for the world of gaming, but in the end, it could be Dark Souls II, and the ancient hardware it runs on, that makes the most noise in the loud world of RPG's.