It's pretty clunky and very punishing, even for a Dark Souls game. There are plenty of ways to cheese bosses and get past areas easily, however, to make up for the difficulty if needed.

If you are a Souls fan I think it's still worth a playthrough, if you only want to play one Dark Souls this one probably isn't it. It does however have some of the most beautiful scenes and set dressing I have ever seen, Majula is so comfy and pretty.