>>718047773
I think the actual game is alright, not as bad as some made it out to be. A lot of locations are breathtaking even if the map doesn't make a lot of sense. At the same time, it's also not the amazing game its diehard fans would have you believe, having plenty of jank between the gameplay, enemy placement and certain bosses.

Now for me, the most damning thing about it is the story and its themes, especially the later addition of Aldia. Everything about it feels like some smartass trying to think outside the box while simultaneously rejecting the very premise of Dark Souls. Imagine being presented with the premise of DS1 and going "what if I don't WANT to be cursed? what if I tell the curse to shove it and I'll just go my OWN way". Because that's basically the underlying themes of DS2, a game that actively rejects the very premise of Dark Souls when it's the very premise that helps to frame its themes. The most retarded part is how it completely ignores the fact that DS1 already presented its own counterargument to the world's status quo in lieu of ushering the Dark Age but somehow DS2 thought it was genuinely being clever by rejecting either side altogether, acting as if Aldia's the smartest guy in the room for figuring this all out (read: he's not). For me, anyone who genuinely says they love the story/themes of DS2 just tells me that they never actually liked Dark Souls in the first place, they just liked the vibe of its dark fantasy setting.

Aside from that, DLC bosses were genuinely great, even if the locations leading up to them were kinda ass.