Very fun and intense action game. It's pushed me harder than any action game I've played before, mostly in a good way. Killing is very satisfying and the parry mechanic is cool. Really feels like it recaptures some of that feeling of playing Demon's Souls for the first time with how rewarding it is to explore and beat areas while being clearly distinct from the souls series which was getting pretty tired out. The game has lots of great moments despite the story itself not being spectacular. Nearly every boss fight is good but a fair bit of them can get unnecessarily frustrating at times. Highlights include Owl, Genichiro, Lady Butterfly, the Divine Dragon, and Isshin being one of the best final bosses of all time. While the mechanics are mostly solid, hitboxes (particularly grabs) can get too wonky which is a big problem in a game where you often die in a few hits to most bosses. Other faults would be the generally lackluster soundtrack, nearly every prosthetic besides firecrackers being useless outside of 1 or 2 specific situations, dragonrot not actually mattering, and enemies that require rare consumable items to defeat. It's certainly not a perfect game, but the ambition and step away from the souls formula combined with the style and intensity of the combat make it great.