#14
Dark Souls II (PS3)
YoY: -1
Although it is admittedly the weakest game in the trilogy, and doesn't feel quite like it's a part of the same continuity the other two games seem to share, Dark Souls II is still an amazing game. It has its issues and quirks, certainly, but even a comparatively weak Dark Souls game is better than the vast majority of other games out there. It has too many bosses, some weird and illogical level design choices, and unfair hitboxes, and yet I still love the game without reservation.
I find the story and lore of the game highly intriguing. I think the decision to focus on various different kingdoms both during the main story and in the DLC (which are still some of the best things in the entire series) was a brilliant one. I love that we learn how the influence of Manus, the Father of the Abyss and his destruction in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC in the first game reached so far, and see the literal manifestations of Manus' different aspects shape, destroy, and even protect the great kingdoms that have come since. It's a perspective in the world of Dark Souls that we don't get to see in the other two games. Basically, if DS1 and DS3 focus on how gods manipulated and directed the course of the world, DS2 is the story of humankind and how they reacted to the events unfolding as a result of the gods' actions.
