Dark Souls is a minimalistic style game; much of the story is told through item descriptions and little snippets from the various members of the supporting cast. Dark Souls 2 is a lot more straight forward story wise but there are still mysteries that can only be pieced together through connecting the dots. Nearly every character you'll encounter in Drangleic has little memory of why they're there, hooking you into their various narratives as the mystery is slowly but surely revealed. Nearly all of them end in tragedy too; there are very few happy endings in Dark Souls. The fact we can grow so attached to these characters just by a handful of appearances and little dialogue is impressive though. Other games pretty much force you to converse and interact with characters in order to build their story; you could complete Dark Souls 2 without talking to a single character (although avoiding the Emerald Herald would be an awful idea). Spending so much of your journey in isolation also makes us welcome any NPCs we come across; they're a friendly face in a sea of adversity. Dark Souls 2 can teach games a lot about creating story and interesting characters without overusing cutscenes or forcing us to converse with them; make your characters intriguing and mysterious and we'll keep coming back for more. If you were a game designer, how would you be inspired by Dark Souls 2? Do you want to see more challenging (but rewarding!) games or do you like being able to stroll through the latest blockbuster in the space of a few hours? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
I have an addiction to achievements, a craving for new bands and a dream to become Captain America. I once finished second in a Mario Kart 7 tournament so I'm kind of a big deal.
