Thanks to the tireless work of modder ‘Yui,’ we’ve seen seamless co-op added to Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, Nightreign, and even FromSoftware’s oft-forgotten mecha series, Armored Core (in this instance, Fires of Rubicon specifically). After a year and a half of work, Yui’s adding Dark Souls 2 to that list, with the newest addition to the seamless co-op collection lurking just around the corner.
If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of seamless co-op, it effectively does what it says on the tin. You can spawn into the game with a friend and complete the entire thing together – from the start, all the way through to the final bosses, with NPC dialogue all being synced together, and all area restrictions being removed. Allowing six people to play together, Yui’s Dark Souls 2 mod also introduces proximity chat in PvP which, let’s be honest, is easily the best addition so far.
Dying also won’t end the session, with major boss fights also being available to all players. If you fell a foe in a co-op session, that’ll then be carried across to your own version of the game. All obtainable items transfer across, too.
This, of course, does make the game a bit easier, which one could argue takes away a core element Dark Souls. Yui clarifies that the balance has been adjusted with multiplayer scaling in mind, and that it’s fully customizable. There’s also “an optional, punishing world tenancy-adjacent mechanic for more experienced players.”
It’s worth noting that Yui’s mod only works with Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. “The original Dark Souls 2 is a 32-bit game, and Scholar of the First Sin is 64-bit,” they write, meaning that, much like with their original Dark Souls mod, you’ll need the more modern edition.
Yui began working on Dark Souls 2 seamless co-op in April of last year, and now we’re finally here. I’m excited to revisit another FromSoft favorite with my pals – although, I’ll admit that they do all of the heavy lifting. I just… vibe, and sometimes don’t die.
The Dark Souls 2 seamless co-op mod releases on Tuesday, September 22. You’ll be able to download it via NexusMods, but you can also toss Yui some cash over on Patreon if you like their work.
