the community tanking this game's reputation by suggesting that everyone play a version that makes the level and encounter design infinitely worse makes me so upset. surpasses the original in every way for me personally, whether that's in the world, bosses, or even characters you meet along your journey. please don't fucking play scholar though that shit made me hate this game for the longest time. and also just because miyazaki wasn't the director doesn't mean the game is automatically bad lol, souls doesnt start and end with him in the director's chair as the end all be all, and dark souls 2 is proof of that.

Extremely good game as long as you're willing to let go of your expectations and enjoy the game on its own merits.

I'm really impressed how dense the game feels: each area seems to have its own gimmick that is never doubled up on, pretty much every weapon category & build idea feel viable, you're constantly getting killed by a completely new kind of trap or encounter idea. Combat is very deliberate (aka 'the animations are slow', but there is a lot of snap-decisionmaking involved in each fight, so I found the pace perfect) and the game encourages swapping between multiple weapons depending on the fight, which I really enjoyed.

The game puts a lot of trust in the player, and if you can meet that trust, it's a very rewarding experience throughout the entire thing.