Dark Souls 2 Mod Adds Ray Tracing for Stunning Visual Upgrade

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Good news for Dark Souls 2 fans! A popular mod called DS2LightingEngine is getting an update that will significantly improve the game’s lighting, making it look better than ever before. This mod is already the most downloaded for Dark Souls 2 on Nexus Mods and adds several new features to the game’s original lighting system.

The DS2LightingEngine is getting a new feature – ray tracing global illumination (RTGI) – which promises to significantly improve how the game looks (according to Dark Side of Gaming). While we don’t have a release date yet, this update could make a big difference to the game’s visuals.

Dark Souls 2 Is Back

How RTGI Changes The Game

As a big fan of Dark Souls 2, I’m seriously blown away by what ray tracing global illumination is doing for the game! I saw some screenshots shared by Ganaboy (Dark Side of Gaming posted them) and the difference between the original graphics and the modded version with RTGI is incredible. It’s a huge visual upgrade!

The first image shows the ruins with a strange, almost unhealthy glow, making them resemble a brightly lit office rather than old, forgotten halls. The second image, however, accurately depicts a dark dungeon, lit only by natural light sources.

This is achieved through global illumination, a technique where the graphics engine calculates how light bounces around and brightens up the scene in a virtual world.

The name of this new feature includes “ray tracing” because it uses a specific technique that’s become increasingly popular in video games for creating realistic visuals. This method has become the industry standard as more graphics cards are now able to handle it.

We still don’t have a timeline for when ray tracing will be added to DS2LightingEngine. However, when it arrives, it will combine with existing features – like volumetric fog, better shadows, ambient occlusion, enhanced materials, new models, temporal super sampling, updated textures, and HDR – to significantly transform the visual experience in Dark Souls 2.

It’s A Sequel That Deserves Another Look

Why You Should Play DS2 Again

Many fans consider Dark Souls 2 the odd one out in the series. Unlike the other games, it wasn’t directed by the original creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki. Its different style of level design, enemy placement, and how challenging it is have caused disagreements among players since it came out in 2014.

While the original Dark Souls received a modern upgrade, Dark Souls 2 has not. Fans of the game often debate which version is better: the initial release on PlayStation 3, or the improved Scholar of the First Sin edition.

Most players agree that one of the best parts of Dark Souls 2 is how beautiful it looks. Nothing else in the series quite compares to seeing Majula for the first time – the warm sunlight and endless sunset over the ocean are truly stunning.

Despite being originally a PS3 game, which might not appeal to players used to more modern graphics, it definitely isn’t perfect. Fortunately, the dedicated Dark Souls 2 community has stepped up to address these issues. They’ve created mods – like those improving the framerate and lighting – to enhance the game’s visuals and help it remain enjoyable for years to come.

If you had trouble getting into Dark Souls 2 before, or just never played it, the recent improvements to how the game looks might be a great reason to try it again. While it feels different from the other Dark Souls games, Dark Souls 2 has its own special qualities that make it worth playing.

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2025-11-24 20:20