This game took me a year and a half over 5 different attempts to finally click, and my god, did it click. One of the most satisfying experiences in all of gaming for me was learning how to fight, what prosthetics to use and when, how enemies react to certain attacks and how to deflect their counters, it is so meticulously crafted to the point where despite getting all achievements and going all the way up to NG+4, I still feel like I'm just starting to understand it all. From Software has never accomplished as balanced a feeling of reward and punishment in their games as they have here, which is insanely high praise coming from me. A few rough edges here and there prevent me from giving it a 5, the biggest being how short the game is, but the craftsmanship and true understanding of the art of combat make this one of FS's finest titles to date. I really hope it gets more love from the company over time, though I understand not wanting to work this hard again, haha. There's a lot more I have to say on this game, but I really don't know how to, so I'll just leave it here. I'm really glad that this clicked for me, and I highly recommend everyone who doesn't think they can handle this game to keep persevering. The satisfaction of it clicking will stay with you for a long time.