DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin vs Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin is an action-RPG RPG game from FromSoftware, Inc. (2015) while Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition is an open-world RPG game from FromSoftware, Inc. (2019).
What each one is
Steam files DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin under Action-RPG and RPG. In contrast, it files Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition under Open-World and RPG.
DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin brings the franchise’s renowned obscurity & gripping gameplay to a new level. Join the dark journey and experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical hazards, and unrelenting challenge.
Game of the Year - The Game Awards 2019 Best Action Game of 2019 - IGN Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the award winning adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.
At a glance
| DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.8/10 | 8.7/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (84%, 131,673) | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%, 354,898) |
| Critic aggregate | 79/100 | 88/100 |
| Price | $39.99 | $59.99 |
| Install size | 23 GB | 25 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | verified |
| Released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Developer | FromSoftware, Inc. | FromSoftware, Inc. |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin vs Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First SinAction-RPG RPG gameSekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY EditionOpen-world RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First SinSouls-like, Dark Fantasy, RPGSekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY EditionSouls-like, Difficult, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First SinScore 7.8 · 84% on Steam · 79 criticSekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition ✓Score 8.7 · 95% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin131,673 reviews · 23 GBSekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition354,898 reviews · 25 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin ✓$39.99Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition$59.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First SinVerifiedSekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY EditionVerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition (GamingPickz Score 8.7)
- The cheaper right now: DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin ($39.99)
- Lighter on storage: DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin (23 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition (354,898 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Souls-likeDark FantasyRPGDifficultActionThird PersonAtmosphericAdventure
Where they differ
Action RPGCharacter CustomizationCo-opMultiplayerFantasyMedieval
NinjaStealthOpen WorldViolentAssassinHack and Slash
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 465 / ATI Radeon TM HD 6870 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 |
| Minimum CPU | AMD® A8 3870 3,6 Ghz | Intel Core i3-2100 |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 23 GB | 25 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin · Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin and 1 for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition in scope?
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin has drawn 131,673 Steam reviews and installs in 23 GB. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition has drawn 354,898 Steam reviews and installs in 25 GB.
Is DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition rates higher (8.7 to 7.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition?
DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin is cheaper right now at $39.99, against $59.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.