The best atmosphere of any game I've ever played, period. Suffocating and gorgeous. Still feels completely singular even after all the other games it wrought. Never have beauty and horror been so perfectly wedded in a game. Tower of Latria remains the scariest level of any game I've ever played. Every idea here is unforgettable--world tendency, halved HP, the maiden in black, the weird fat demon that inevitably kills you, the dragon bone smasher, Yurt the Silent Chief, the gargoyles... A masterpiece that deserves the reverence paid to Dark Souls and Bloodborne, even if it is imperfect in certain mechanical/game aspects. The profound inspiration here, the unity of all aesthetic elements yields something that transcends any particular weakness you can point to. Blew my mind when I first played it and still does even after all these years.