While others punish mistakes with a wagged finger, the Souls games punch you in the ribs, rob you of your clothes and scamper cackling into the darkness. Making progress only to have it snatched from you, dying over and over, and a world teeming with despair and hopelessness - these are the things that define From Software's action-RPGs. While they combine into a fine form of sadomasochism, it's far from a simple one. There's more to Demon's and Dark Souls than tough enemies and a bleak landscape, and it's these subtle but sturdy foundations that make overcoming the games so satisfying.

Dark Souls 2 underlines this, but not for all the right reasons. It tries harder than any Souls game before it to be inviting to new players while still appealing to veterans, and the end result is an adventure that's demanding, thrilling, and all-consuming, but always a shade short of special. The disappointment in Dark Souls 2 is relative, though, and there's enough here to satisfy players returning to die, if not truly satiate them.