Definitely doesn't deserve all the hate, but is probably the weakest in the series. Some repetitive and boring bosses alongside with it being arguably the easiest in the series make the core gameplay feel less rewarding. However, it also has some absolutely BS difficulty spikes with massive ganks and nonsensical hitboxes and attacks. It is still Dark Souls, but it feels like a lot of wasted potential compared to the rest. Also ADP sucks.