Looks dope. Very nice motif for this type of style.
kaosof
Dark Souls 2 was made by a different team than the other souls games, so it's kind of like somebody else's take on the formula, in a way.
It introduced a bunch of stuff that wasn't (and in some cases still aren't) in the others.
I played it when it first came out and loved it. Played the DLCs, loved them, and then again when the Scholar of the First Sin edition came out.
The latter is definitely what you should play if you liked the others.
It's really not the same thing as the original release, oddly. It also includes the three absolutely phenomenal DLCs as well.
I agree with the sentiment as to the futility of the doomer/nihilist mindset, being a reformed (or rather, being in the process of reforming) doomer nihilist myself, I know the call of the void all to well. However...
It's not just the USA declining - it's really everywhere. Call it whatever you want, late-stage capitalism, the rise of the techbroligarchy and fascism-adjacent currents, etc...
But there's stuff going on. It's harder to get a job, harder to get an education, harder to earn a living wage, harder to get ahead in general. And it's everywhere.
Did not know this was a thing, thanks for the heads up!