The amazing Dark Souls 2 path tracing mod is now available to download — I’m shocked at how it makes the ugliest Dark Souls look like a modern game

FromSoftware’s action RPGs have never been known for pushing the envelope in terms of raw graphical quality, but in most cases, their fidelity is good enough that their phenomenal art direction carries them the rest of the way, and makes them look very impressive. One title in which this wasn’t the case, though, is 2014’s Dark Souls 2.

Dark Souls 2 has an attractive if not inconsistent art style, though it’s let down quite a bit by the game’s infamously flat and washed out lighting, along with many repeated textures throughout its levels. As a result, I’ve always felt it to be the ugliest of the Dark Souls games by far, and find the original as well as the third entry to be far easier on the eyes.