Ah, Dark Souls II: The perfect cocktail of excruciatingly difficult gameplay and mood-changing rewards. It’s a carrot and stick gameplay loop that is kept us up into the early hours, cursing the Drangleic monstrosities and praising the sun in equal measure.
But now, thanks to a YouTube user known as Benzoin-Gum, that learning curve has been taken to a whole new dimension (or, rather, perspective), after the hacker added a mod that allows budding adventurers to explore the world of Dark Souls II from a first-person perspective.
Here’s a brief rundown of how to activate the mod, courtesy of Benzoin’s YouTube description:
“Simply freeze the camera zoom value, equip a bow/binoculars and zoom in. The camera will stay zoomed, allowing you to roam Drangleic in first person.
“Triggering a load screen (and possibly cutscene) will reset the camera, simply perform the above steps again.” The modder added that it “may not work for Windows 8 users or those with an outdated copy of the game.”
Of course, as with most mods of this nature, there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out. Using a bow or a set of binoculars, for instance, will effectively throw a spanner in the works and cause the game to jitter. Overall, it resembles an unusual hybrid between Minecraft and Skyrim.
Still, all things considered, it’s still a nice alternative for PC players to experience From Software’s sadistic sequel from another angle. In fact, a similar option was added to the first game in the series a few months after release.
If you fancy assailing From Software’s Dark Souls II in first-person, you’ll need access to an open-source software known as Cheat Engine and a considerable amount of courage — luckily, we can supply you with one.