Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

Like its predecessor, Dark Souls II employs minimalist storytelling to convey its plot and lore. Historical events in the world and their significance are often implicit or left to player interpretation rather than fully shown or explained. Most of the story is given to the player through dialogue from non-player characters, flavor text from items, and world design; how players progress through the story can vary heavily depending on their actions.

Plot

The story of Dark Souls II begins with a human who is cursed to become a Hollow, a zombie-like being, after dying. To break this curse, the undead travels to the fallen kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by a mysterious figure known as the Emerald Herald with obtaining four Great Souls from other powerful undead. Once obtained, the Emerald Herald directs the undead to "Seek the King" in the capital. After fighting through the remains of the royal guards, the player encounters the Queen Nashandra, who says that King Vendrick failed in his duty and fled his kingdom long ago. She asks the protagonist to slay the king.
Near the end of the Queen's quest, the player learns that the ruin of the kingdom was in fact caused by Nashandra. She came to the king and deceived him into launching an ill-fated invasion across the sea into the lands of the giants. She coveted their souls and sought to steal their power. Though the raid succeeded in stealing the giants' unspecified power, the giants retaliated. Invading Drangleic, they eventually destroyed the kingdom. With his kingdom in ruins, the king discovered Nashandra's true purpose and locked himself inside the Undead Crypt, to protect the kingdom's power and secrets from her, using different methods to ensure the Throne of Want, her desired object and linked to the source of his kingdom's power, lay beyond her grasp.
The player meets the Emerald Herald one final time, who states that Nashandra is a fragment of Manus, who was the final boss in the Artorias of the Abyss expansion in Dark Souls. She then asks the protagonist to put Nashandra to rest and to link the fire. The protagonist kills Nashandra and then sits on the Throne of Want, with the decision of either linking the fire or letting it die out ultimately being left ambiguous.
In Scholar of the First Sin, the base story changes slightly, notably with the addition of Aldia, King Vendrick's brother, to the final area, provided the optional boss, a hollow King Vendrick, has been defeated. Aldia appears several times throughout the game, offering the player cryptic hints about the cyclical nature of the world. Aldia, with the memory of King Vendrick, attempts to help the protagonist understand that there might be another way, a way out of the cycle of light and dark. The player is given two options: claim the Throne of Want, as in the first game; or the player can abscond the throne, and follow their own path beyond light or dark, seemingly with Aldia now accompanying the protagonist.

Expansions

The three The Lost Crowns DLCs add side-stories each featuring three other daughters of Manus and a quest to obtain the crown of three other kings whose rule has long ended. Once completed, the player can return to the place where Vendrick hid his power from Nashandra and obtain a fourth crown that combines the other three and cures the player of undeath.