Dark Souls II: Design Works

Dark Souls special edition boxes have always been a disappointment. Skyrim came with a cheap plastic dragon statue, and a large thick art book that was every bit as exhaustive as any Disney art-of book. Impressive. Dark souls 2 came with a large but unimpressive plastic statue of a knight, and a very small, thin art book that only includes a handful of pages with key art of a few characters and monsters. Dark Souls 1 included even less. This is the art book you'll want. A great book with plenty of nice, creative imagery that went into designing the character, creatures and areas of the game. My only complaint would be that is only reaches the same level as that Skyrim book... A book that came included in the special edition of the game. This book is fantastic, but at a high additional cost. Still, at least we have a full fledged art book rather than just the novelty gimmick that comes with the game. Include books like this with the game and I will start buying the special editions again in a heartbeat. Love this book. It's twice as thick as the Dark Souls 1 version... Which is also a must have for fans. Lets hope they put one out for Dark Souls 3 without delay.

This book is a fantastic addition to my collection of Dark Souls books and artwork. It’s fascinating seeing how the designs for scenery and characters evolved from early in the design process to what we see in the game today. The art is stunning and the designer notes are very interesting, making any fan of the game feel excited to learn some new detail about what might have been. The book arrived in perfect condition and is nice and sturdy without being obtuse. I highly recommend it for any fan of the game or those interested in cool dark fantasy designs!

I am a 100% easy mark for Souls related stuff, so view this review through a super fan's eyes. I've thoroughly beaten all Souls and Souls related games, so I've recently been on a kick trying to track down more 'lore' related works. I bought the Dark Souls 1 Design Works book earlier this year and loved it, so I figured I should give this one a try too. To my surprise, the book itself is MUCH better, and has tons more content. I realize that the legacy of Dark Souls 2 isn't as well regarded as the original Dark Souls, but I have always appreciated each work independently and I believe the Design Works help the appreciation of both. A must-have for any Souls fan or any fan who appreciates design works and pre-production stuff like myself.

Finished killing the spider boss in the game, and ironcly saw a spider, and smooshed with this book. The hard cover demolished that little twerp. Oh, and the art is really nice. :)

My favorite Dark Souls by a fair bit. The spiritual predecessor to Elden Ring, IMO. I got a Warehouse deal for mine. These hardcover books are prone to damage during shipping, so I figured I ought as well just pocket the savings out the gate. Otherwise, if the corners get dinged you can mask them a little bit with a permanent marker, etc.

I am a sucker for a good art book and this is just that. The art work is beautiful and the artist notes on some of the designs are great to read. Dark Souls 2 is my favorite one in the series (heresy I know) so this book was a must buy for me.

My nephew loved this when I got it as a gift for him. It arrived in plastic so I could see the cover for myself. I haven't played this game, but it was very tempting to rip the plastic off and crack it open! I haven't personally seen the inside, but he praised it twice, which means a lot coming from him!

I've been a Souls fan since Demon's Souls surprised us in 2009. With every Souls game From Software has created worlds that are beautiful and horrifying. I loved Dark Souls Design Works and when I saw one for Dark Souls 2 it was an instant pre-order. The book is twice the size of the first one, with a gorgeous dust jacket and cover. The pages are quality paper. And the artwork...wow. It's an impressive book. I'm eagerly awaiting the inevitable Design Works for Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. I won't even hesitate to buy.

Espectacular edición. El arte es magnífico. Pieza fundamental para los fan de los juegos de fromsoftware.

For me personally, the art in this book tops the art from the first one. The game featured an expanded roster of armor, enemy npc, friendly npc and boss designs, as well as threefeature complete dlcs and as far as i can tell nearly everything is showcased here. As such the book is quite a bit longer than the first one, bur still justas high quality. The same problem i had with the first designworks book is present here, though, in that there is a lack of showing the progressipn of a design rather than just the final approved one. Again this is somewhat made yp for by the fact that the designs themselves are so top notch that i can let it slide. The interview section is back once more and this time its also longer than the first. It offers some interesting insight into the development cycle of the game, and clarifies a lot of the issues they had when making it on the relatively tight timeline they had. Highly recommended!

PROS: - Tapa dura con sobrecubierta y 240 páginas (120 más que el primer Design Works) a todo color. Todo de gran calidad. - Capítulo I: Arte Conceptual Dark Souls II + Capítulo II: Arte Conceptual DLCs The Lost Crowns: unas 200 páginas de artbook del videojuego y los tres DLCs, con ilustraciones de gran tamaño para poder ver cada detalle y algunos comentarios breves de los diseñadores. Una pena que algunos conceps no se incluyesen en el videojuego final. - Capítulo III: 10 páginas de entrevista al equipo de diseño principal con información muy interesante de cómo se diseñó Drangleic, sus habitantes, escenarios y armas. Mi capítulo favorito. CONTRAS: - Textos en inglés y no parece haber intención por parte de Udon Entertainment de traducir la guía al español (como ya pasó con el Dark Souls: Design Works). No es una tara para todos pero es un dato a tener en cuenta. - Precio algo elevado. Recomiendo comprarlo en los vendedores de Amazon que lo tengan por unos 30-35€. COMPRA RECOMENDADA

Livre offert à un étudiant (22 ans) en design féru de jeu de rôle en ligne. Il l'apprécie beaucoup. De nombreux personnages, armes, détails, quelques paysages et architectures, plus un entretien avec les designers. Les dessins sont magnifiques (incroyablement détaillés) et assez grands pour être vraiment bien appréciés, avec quelques doubles pages et plusieurs pages entières. C'est si bien fait qu'on a parfois l'impression que les personnages sont "en mouvement". Bien qu'il y ait une unité de style, les personnages et objets sont bien diversifiés. Un superbe (et énorme) travail des auteurs ! Dark Souls II = 239 pages - Dark Souls I = 123 pages. The book was given to a design student (age : 22) keen of online RPG. He loves it. There are many characters, arms, details, some landscapes and architectures + an interview with designers. The drawings are beautiful (incredibly detailed) and large enough to be really appreciated with some (a few) double pages and several full pages. This is done so well that sometimes has the impression that the characters are "moving" Although there is a unity of style, characters and objects are well diversified. A beautiful (and huge) work of the authors! Dark Souls II = 239 pages - Dark Souls I = 123 pages.

Dark Souls 2 is the favorite game of mine from the series. The book is full of high-quality illustrations, and explanations of the concepts.