This might just be because of the SotFS changes, but this game feels like they decided to focus on the maso-core aspect of DS1's reputation, which is the wrong lesson to take away from that game's success. I understand that you can make interesting builds in this game, but you have to get hours into the game before you start to unlock new weapons/spells to experiment with.

Edit:
Oops, looks like I forgot to update this after beating the game. And immediately re-beating it. And constantly thinking about replaying it. I stand by what I said above, but once you get past the first two levels, the levels get much better and you get much more interesting weapons and spells.