Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is an enhanced edition of Dark Souls II, released in April 2015 by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment. This version includes updated graphics, improved…

87 2 April 2015

Adventure Role-playing (RPG) Action Fantasy

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is an adventure developed by FromSoftware, released 2 April 2015 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The main story takes about 50 hrs to finish.

Verified 16 Oct 2026 Sources: IGDB , Steam , Wikipedia

What Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is an adventure game developed by FromSoftware and released in 2015. It was published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC (Microsoft Windows).

The premise, in the publisher's words

Dark Souls II is set in Drangleic, a ruined kingdom worn down by an undead curse that slowly erodes memory and identity. The player takes the role of the Bearer of the Curse, an undead traveler who comes to the kingdom searching for a way to be cured. In the quiet settlement of Majula, a figure called the Emerald Herald points the Bearer toward gathering powerful souls and seeking out King Vendrick, the land's former ruler. The journey leads across crumbling castles, forgotten crypts, and hostile wilds, where much of the kingdom's history is pieced together indirectly through the people, places, and relics the Bearer encounters. Standing between the traveler and the throne at the kingdom's…

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a third person perspective. Its themes are action and fantasy. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component. Available modes: Co-operative, Multiplayer and Single player. There are 38 achievements to unlock.

Where it sits in the Dark Souls series

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is the 13th of 25 entries we hold in the Dark Souls series. It arrived 6 months after Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King. The next entry was Dark Souls III in 2016. Its critic score of 87 is 2 points above the series average of 85. The highest-rated entry is Dark Souls at 91.

See all 25 Dark Souls games in release order →

How it was received

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin holds a critic score of 87 out of 100. That places it above 88% of the 7,527 rated adventure games in our database, which average 72. Games released in 2015 averaged 69, so it scored 18 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 85, across 446 votes.

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 50 hrs. Completing everything takes closer to 71.5 hrs, roughly 1.4 times the length of the critical path.

What you need to run it

The minimum specification calls for AMD® A8 3870 3,6 Ghz or Intel® Core ™ i3 2100 3.1Ghz, 4 GB RAM and NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 465 / ATI Radeon TM HD 6870. At 4GB of RAM, it will run on essentially any working PC — that is below what a budget laptop ships with today. Install size is roughly 23GB. Both tiers are compared side by side on the requirements page, and you can check your own parts against them without installing anything.

Full requirements and PC checker →

What it launched against

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin launched on 2 April 2015, within three weeks of Bloodborne, Mortal Kombat X, Yakuza 0 and Pillars of Eternity. It reviewed better than 3 of the 4. It arrived 2 years into the PlayStation 4's life, so it was built for hardware developers already knew well.

Released around the same time: Bloodborne, Mortal Kombat X, Yakuza 0, Pillars of Eternity.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

Know one? Send it in and we will test it →

Official trailer

Sourced from the publisher’s YouTube channel. See all 2 videos →

Screenshots

All media

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin gameplay screenshot

Characters

All 3

Alsanna

King Vendrick

Lord Aldia

Parents

Dark Souls II

11 March 2014

Quick answers

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin — frequently asked questions

When did Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin come out?

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin was released on 2 April 2015 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC (Microsoft Windows).

What are the minimum PC requirements for Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin?

At minimum, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin needs AMD® A8 3870 3,6 Ghz or Intel® Core ™ i3 2100 3.1Ghz, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 465 / ATI Radeon TM HD 6870 graphics, 23 GB available space of storage.

How long does it take to beat Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin?

The main story of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin takes around 50 hrs, or 71.5 hrs for 100% completion.

How many GB is Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin?

The PC version needs about 23 GB of storage, going by the storage line in the system requirements ("23 GB available space"). Updates can add to that, and console versions have their own sizes, which are not listed here.

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