Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is out

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It should be a happy day for Dark Souls 2 fans—that is, if any enthusiastic explorer of a bleak, punishing world can understand a concept like "happy". Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is out, bringing DirectX 11 support, new enemy placements, tougher enemies, and new items and armour.

Cool, right? Except all of that costs £20/$30 to upgrade to. (£12/$20 if you own all the DLC as well.)

Here's the launch trailer:

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin - A New Darkness - YouTube

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If you're yet to buy DS2, the new version is a great package. For those looking to upgrade, it's a steep price. Not only that, but saves and other features won't transfer across to the new version.

"Online play, saves and achievements between these two versions are incompatible," explains a note on the Steam page for the original version. "Purchasing one version will not get you access to the other version."

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin comes bundled with all three DLC packs. It costs £30/$40 for those not looking to upgrade.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.