Dark Souls II cover art

Dark Souls II

The divisive middle Souls game, slower and stat-heavier than its siblings.

On Steam ↗
Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION8 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    8/10

    stamina and adaptability-gated dodge timing

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    1/10

    invasions add rare human mind games

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    1/10

    fixed world, known after one trip

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    7/10

    builds and boss patterns reward study

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

Black Myth: Wukong cover art

Black Myth: Wukong

Practiced Mastery · action RPG

E
R
V
O
Black Myth: Wukong
Blasphemous 2 cover art

Blasphemous 2

Practiced Mastery · soulslike metroidvania

E
R
V
O
Blasphemous 2
Lords of the Fallen (2023) cover art

Lords of the Fallen (2023)

Practiced Mastery · souls-like

E
R
V
O
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Elden Ring cover art

Elden Ring

Practiced Mastery · open-world soulslike

E
R
V
O
Elden Ring
Bloodborne cover art

Bloodborne

Practiced Mastery · action RPG

E
R
V
O
Bloodborne
Nier: Automata cover art

Nier: Automata

Practiced Mastery · action RPG

E
R
V
O
Nier: Automata

Game details

Released
2014
Developer
FromSoftware
Franchise
Dark Souls
Platforms
PS3, PC, X360
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
IGDB critics
90/100
IGDB users
79/100
Role-playing (RPG)AdventureActionFantasy