It's 3am but I'm wide awake, my pulse pounding and my heart hammering.
I'm facing off against the terrible Ruin Sentinels, three giant axe-wielding armoured maniacs found deep in The Lost Bastille, for about the squillionth time.
Perched precariously on a stone ledge I dodge roll as I try to chip away at the first sentinel's health bar. I need to bring it down quickly, before the other two show up. I end him with a combination of my electrified longsword and soul magic.
I quickly heal and get my shield up. The second sentinel's here. The fight goes alright for a minute or two, and I allow myself some hope: could this be it? Will I finally vanquish them?
Disaster strikes.
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The fiend knocks me from the ledge, and the fall takes me perilously close to death. I try to heal but suddenly it's on top of me, swinging away. I dodge, try to run, but the third one has arrived.
YOU DIED, the screen screams at me.
Welcome back to the wicked world of Dark Souls, where you're only ever one wrong move from certain death and where every inch of progress has to be earned through skill and perseverance.
Japanese developers From Software began punishing us in 2009, with the excellent Demon's Souls. It's devilish difficulty and haunting, horrific world quickly earned it a cult following.
Spiritual successor Dark Souls arrived in 2011. It was every bit as hard, but also boasted an amazing open world. It was, in this reviewer's humble opinion, the greatest video game ever created.
A few years later and From have followed up with this more direct sequel, although the action takes place in the damned kingdom of Drangleic rather than the first game's land of Lordran.
Once again the story is vague and opaque, but dig deeper and you'll find it's also incredibly intricate.
And Drangleic is a massive and awe-inspiring world, full of beauty and unspeakable horror.
You'll battle giants in the ruins of a seaside kingdom; take on huge poison rats in the underworld; fend off invisible enemies in a fog-soaked forest; explore a vast castle built on lava; and die many, many times at the feet of all manner of awful enemies.
While the start of the game is comparatively easy - it actually bothers to explain its systems in an effort to make it more accessible to newcomers - hardcore fans shouldn't be too worried. Within a few hours, you'll be locked in a desperate struggle for survival.
A few of the mechanics have been tinkered with - and purists may decry some design changes that make the game a little less relentless - but really, it's the same great gameplay on offer here.
It's punishing, yes, but oh so rewarding. There's no better feeling in gaming than when you finally vanquish a boss you've been struggling for hours - or days, or weeks - to beat.
There's at least 60 hours worth of gameplay here, but plenty of reason to return over and over.
OVERALL: Dark Souls II doesn't do much the first game didn't do but it's a magnificent creation nonetheless.
Available now on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Coming soon to PC.
