Dark Souls 2 ruined video games for me :(

[DrunkOnEstus]

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Wow, you and I are almost in the same exact boat. Demon's Souls actually ruined games for me, but for a different reason. It raised the bar so ridiculously fucking high in so many regards that 95% of my backlog had an appeared lessening of quality that made them boring to go through. The only real cure at that point was the release of Dark. I'm as disappointed with Dark 2 as you are (I haven't beaten it, and it's on my PC and my new TV doesn't have any FUCKING VGA or DVI ports...) but I probably would beat it if I had access.

It sounds like you're going through a combo of or one of these: burnout, heightened expectations for "fun" caused by the Souls series, or something going on that's bothering you outside of games. When I look at my games, my eyes always dart towards Demon's/Dark and I have to tell myself that there's so many games that I actually haven't beaten yet that need my attention. I even tried Arkham City and got bored quickly like you.

My wife and kid are visiting her mom for 2 weeks, which sounded like free time video game paradise...but after awhile you'll drive your mind crazy with that shit. It's a creature of habit, but craves variety too, the *****. When everything seemed boring, even the sure stuff (Arkham, Bioshock, Dead Space, Soul Sacrifice, Shadow of the Colossus), I knew I needed to set it down for a bit. So I picked up my guitar again and ended up getting lost in it. After that I decided to step outside my gaming comfort zone and really enjoyed Xcom despite not being a tactical battle guy. After I type this out I'm looking forward to the couple hours that Journey has to offer.

The last part I was addressing...there's a definite mild depression in that I haven't seen my family in over a week now. I'm out of "father" rhythm and it makes video games feel like idle hands a bit. If it isn't any of this shit I've been blabbering about, a more satisfying job may make you feel better overall and cherish your free time more, adding value to any gameplay time.

So yeah, that's what I got. It's a good thing I can't afford a PS4, because I can't justify $400 on what would become the Bloodborne player right now. Anyway, if even the amazing Artorias isn't doing it for you (and for the first time at that), I'd consider a lot of the advice in this thread.

Side note: That magic (and lore, and sensible covenants, and, and...) is missing from DS2 because Miyazaki and his finest got contracted by Sony to work on Bloodborne right after they finished the Artorias DLC. From Software believes in working up talent though, and a lot of the so called "B team" really did have some improvements to offer from an animation and netcode standpoint. That or Namco was eager to milk our addiction. But I'm blabbering now.

 

[Skin]

I get the impression that DS1 PvP was even worse, but I had a legit way to opt-out by always being hollow and never having phantom advantages for any bossfights. I went human a few times on my second playthrough and it was just an endless parade of over-leveled gankers, so at least I can't say DS1 was better then.

DS1 PvP is leagues ahead of DS2. DS2 is alot more streamlined and accessible than DS1 PvP, but in terms of sheer depth and skill ceiling, it's not even comparable to DS1.

The biggest problem I found with DS2 pvp, apart from the awkward feeling movement, the weapon movesets all being too similar, soul memory and the plethora of balance problems, was that I never felt I was getting any better at it. Infact, it felt like I did just as well by just stacking armor and spamming my attack over compared to taking my time and trying my hardest.

A testament to DkS1 PvP is that even to this day, it is evolving. There are new techniques and strategies being thought of, different concepts of what is top tier and just really a progression of the game at the top tier level. And if you don't carry about top tier play, then you can just run to Anor Londo and have some PvP fun invading level 50's, or head to the forest and test your mettle against gank squads, or turn hollow and become a ganker yourself. It is just alot more enjoyable.

If you are a console gamer, you can hop on and see for yourself. You will get absolutely crushed, but that is to be expected until you get better. For PC, I don't think there is much of a community left, I am not sure. But there are collections of youtube videos you can watch, MartyrsBrigade, Peeve Peeverson, Yami Tamashi and if you want to see higher tier play (it will probably be boring if you dont understand what is going on) you can check out Shy Cass, Fisto the Defiler, Cheque251.

 

[cleric of the order]

RA 3.
Turned out horrible, preordered the premier edition, waited in ebs games my drunk father to pick my ass up. I was there for an hour, got kicked out of the story for closing time and it was pretty late in the year, fall or so.
it sucked
however i think it's odd that it ruined games for you, it never stopped my love for RA2, I still have yuri's revenge, I still play it when the mood strikes me and i love the game.
It had no power to strip my love of gaming, it has no power over me what so ever. I love my video games and I think that clinging to a response like this holds no long term benefit for you or anyone.
That being said I understand, i preordered it, and was hyped every step of the way.
and I was disappoint son. However I can say it was not a souls game, yes I know but as long as the great mizaiki is not on the case it is not a souls game. Bloodborne will be a souls game and I await it with open arms and a good ear.
please surrender this notion of external interference, the most likely diagnostic is it is an internal one.
You could very will be repeating this notion through a form of a self fable/self fulfilling prophecy, they things are not by any means uncommon.
Simply I think the most likely causes is the idea wormed it's way up to your head, a notion that reduces video games in such a manner and infected everything you enjoyed.
Take a break and see this as an established metal frame work.
I've burnt out on lots of things but you need to remove what feeds there endlessly self recycling thoughts, the target.
enjoy another medium coming back and play some pc games, not that tricky.
or just strangle the thoughts.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

Don't know where this"burnout" theory is from? What you're experiencing with Dark Souls 2 sounds very much like what I experienced with Dragon Age 2. For me that's just playing a game you don't actually like in the hope things get better, but they never do. I also felt a bit like that with Mass Effect 2.

There will be key elements which have changed or are different which you may not realize yet.

 

[default]

Dark Souls 2 sucks.

Moving on:

Try a Soul Level 1 run.

I'm serious dude, it's like playing the game for the first time all over again. It's the most fun I've had in a video game for a long, long time. All of the things that fucked you up the first time through that you can breeze through now without a second thought come back to bite you again, and even things you never thought would be an issue jump up out of nowhere and fuck up your day in ways you never thought possible. But it's ALWAYS possible and ALWAYS (sort of) fair.

You have to be creative and fast and knowledgable, your resources are so limited and pitiful but by the end of the game if you know what you're doing, are patient and persistent you can become a nimble, fragile little demon with fire as your friend and some damn respectable damage.

It's a very rough but infinitely rewarding path. Just don't go hollow. Don't you dare go hollow.


This was my SL1. I put about 90 hours into him and he is now by far my favourite character.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I also didn't like Dark Souls 2, yet I still got all the dlc for it, and of the 3 Sunken King was by far better than all the rest for me. Ivory King was pretty terrible, and Iron King was even worse. I enjoyed it for the challenge, but it wasn't much fun.

I can make a nicer looking character, and avoid hollowing completely, but that is pretty much it for improvements to the previous games.

I get burnt out with some games too, but not games as a whole.

I play a variety of games, so if I get tired of playing one I have others, if I tire of mmos I play 3ds or ps3 etc.

Currently I play Path of Exile, though its getting incredibly boring. I play PWI which is rolling out an expansion tonight.

But recently I've been getting heavily back into Skyrim, and might even pick up Dawnguard if I end up getting any $ for the holiday. Yes, I am one of those subhumans that enjoys vanilla Skyrim on PS3 3 years later without any DLC.

There is something about wandering around Whiterun blasting the crap out of everything with magic or perfecting your archery, and when you tire of that whipping out the ole battleaxe and switching the bandit populace to decap..

 

[barbzilla]

I have honestly found that my enjoyment of games is strictly dependant on my surrounding life. When I am working regularly in a job I love, and have ample social time outside of games, I absolutely adore my time in game and feel like I can't get enough. On the flip side, when I lost my job (and the money that came with it that allowed me to go out with friends and do stuff), I had all the time in the world to play those games that I couldn't get enough of a week prior, but I just didn't enjoy them as much. Now that I am working again, I find myself slipping into the same "I can't get enough time to play my wonderful games" feeling.

 

[happyninja42]

I think most gamers experience a burn-out like that atleast once. I've had two. The first one solved itself when I just did something else for a couple of months. Instead of playing games I went through like two novels a week. I got sick of that after a while and started gaming again.

Yeah pretty much same thing here. I started playing a lot of online roleplaying of World of Darkness. There are various sites, and you can make up a character and play with other people, basically online tabletop RP. That was fun, and different enough to keep me entertained for a long time. Then that got old, and I realized "hey, it's about time for a Steam sale, let me fork over 50 bucks or so, get enough games to last me for like a year, and play them." It's a cycle. When I get tired of playing, I binge on netflix for a week or so.

If games aren't fun for you, take a break. Just step back entirely and go do something else entirely. If gaming is as deeply rooted in your soul as it is mine, you will always go back to it. But nothing wrong with having a vacation from the pixels now and then.