tl;dr this game does a ton well, and if you like other FromSoft souls entries, you owe it to yourself to try this one out, understanding that you need to play it differently than the others, especially compared to the far faster-paced Bloodborne and DS3.
It bugs me when folks tank this entry's review scores because it's not as strong as DS1 or DS3. On paper, sure, fine, this is weakest entry into the Dark Souls series, but I posit that it's still a phenomenal game, one of the best in its generation. It's like saying it's the slowest runner in an Olympic race. Sure, it's not as good as what it's being compared against, but it doesn't change the fact that it's still a nearly-best-in-class experience.
If you played Elden Ring, DS3, or Bloodborne first, and then you go back and attempt to play this game the exact same way you played those games, you're going to have a bad time. Much like the bad time that many folks (myself included) likely had when jumping from DS2 to Bloodborne back in 2015!
This game requires slower, more methodical playing than DS3 or BB. It is not too much different than DS1 in that regard, though it does feel weightier unless you really deliberately spec into light weapons. Not a good or bad thing, just an observation. You cannot pull a dozen enemies and expect to be able to handle them all at once. This game places a lot more enemies in deliberate chokepoints, and punishes you for rushing. Combine that with the generally slower gameplay, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by faster-moving, harder-hitting enemies because you can't be bothered to take your time. Take it slow, play intelligently, and you'll be fine.
Healing in this game is very different than any other Souls game, but it is the very best form of healing that we got out of any souls game in my opinion. Taking a drink of Estus takes ages, but if you have the time to pull it off, it's the fastest way to heal (and it's "free" in that it recharges at bonfires). On the flipside, lifegems activate a lot more quickly, but take longer to kick in, BUT you can carry far more of them, and continue to pick them up / refill them between bonfires. It's the best of both worlds - the grass/vial approach from BB and Demon's Souls in the lifegem, and the flask approach from the other DS entries and Elden Ring. You get both, but you have to use them intelligently.
Inevitably, you'll hear people complain about the disconnected levels in this game, like the famous "elevator up a windmill into a volcano." No doubt, DS1, ER and Bloodborne spoil us in these regards (DS3 to a lesser extent - it's a lot more linear and I'm not sure why folks laud it as some great feat in level design). I won't argue that these other entries do it better; my response is instead to ask "why does that matter?" It certainly should be considered a point of praise for the other entries, but it shouldn't be used to condemn this game. Very few games of this scope do anything like what was pulled off in DS1's level design. It should be considered the exception, not the rule. I'm not defending DS2's level design - the interconnectivity is demonstrably worse than the other entries - but I'm instead saying that it missing this aspect shouldn't be a slight against it, but rather a feather in the cap of the other entries.
Folks also love to hate on the health bar dropping as you die, without realizing it's the exact same mechanic as the other souls games, it just looks different. In DS1 and DS3, your hollowed/un-embered form has less HP, and when you use a humanity or an ember, your HP increases. The exact same thing happens in DS2, the devs just chose to keep your "human" HP bar visible and grayed out. If your embered/human HP bar was visible in DS1 and DS3, and simply grayed out when you were hollow/unembered, there would be no difference at all. I understand that it feels like less HP because of that, but the game is balanced around a hollow HP bar, while the human health bar is a nice boost, just like DS1 and 3. Plus, unlike DS1 & 3, the bar actually drops slowly instead of all at once, so it's more forgiving than either of those entries.
The weapon variety is unmatched in DS2, though the weapon leveling is more tedious for sure (Bloodborne nailed this IMO, not sure why they don't just stick with that formula).
The bosses that land, land really well, but there are several that don't, just like every entry into the series. There are more weak bosses in this entry, but there are also more bosses in general, so it's kind of a moot point.
The entire DS series is about the endless, inevitably cyclical nature of dark vs. light, and this game's storyline is an encapsulation of that. For the folks saying the story has no meaningful beats and that it feels tedious or pointless, congratulations! You effectively analyzed the point of the story.
It bugs me when folks tank this entry's review scores because it's not as strong as DS1 or DS3. On paper, sure, fine, this is weakest entry into the Dark Souls series, but I posit that it's still a phenomenal game, one of the best in its generation. It's like saying it's the slowest runner in an Olympic race. Sure, it's not as good as what it's being compared against, but it doesn't change the fact that it's still a nearly-best-in-class experience.
If you played Elden Ring, DS3, or Bloodborne first, and then you go back and attempt to play this game the exact same way you played those games, you're going to have a bad time. Much like the bad time that many folks (myself included) likely had when jumping from DS2 to Bloodborne back in 2015!
This game requires slower, more methodical playing than DS3 or BB. It is not too much different than DS1 in that regard, though it does feel weightier unless you really deliberately spec into light weapons. Not a good or bad thing, just an observation. You cannot pull a dozen enemies and expect to be able to handle them all at once. This game places a lot more enemies in deliberate chokepoints, and punishes you for rushing. Combine that with the generally slower gameplay, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by faster-moving, harder-hitting enemies because you can't be bothered to take your time. Take it slow, play intelligently, and you'll be fine.
Healing in this game is very different than any other Souls game, but it is the very best form of healing that we got out of any souls game in my opinion. Taking a drink of Estus takes ages, but if you have the time to pull it off, it's the fastest way to heal (and it's "free" in that it recharges at bonfires). On the flipside, lifegems activate a lot more quickly, but take longer to kick in, BUT you can carry far more of them, and continue to pick them up / refill them between bonfires. It's the best of both worlds - the grass/vial approach from BB and Demon's Souls in the lifegem, and the flask approach from the other DS entries and Elden Ring. You get both, but you have to use them intelligently.
Inevitably, you'll hear people complain about the disconnected levels in this game, like the famous "elevator up a windmill into a volcano." No doubt, DS1, ER and Bloodborne spoil us in these regards (DS3 to a lesser extent - it's a lot more linear and I'm not sure why folks laud it as some great feat in level design). I won't argue that these other entries do it better; my response is instead to ask "why does that matter?" It certainly should be considered a point of praise for the other entries, but it shouldn't be used to condemn this game. Very few games of this scope do anything like what was pulled off in DS1's level design. It should be considered the exception, not the rule. I'm not defending DS2's level design - the interconnectivity is demonstrably worse than the other entries - but I'm instead saying that it missing this aspect shouldn't be a slight against it, but rather a feather in the cap of the other entries.
Folks also love to hate on the health bar dropping as you die, without realizing it's the exact same mechanic as the other souls games, it just looks different. In DS1 and DS3, your hollowed/un-embered form has less HP, and when you use a humanity or an ember, your HP increases. The exact same thing happens in DS2, the devs just chose to keep your "human" HP bar visible and grayed out. If your embered/human HP bar was visible in DS1 and DS3, and simply grayed out when you were hollow/unembered, there would be no difference at all. I understand that it feels like less HP because of that, but the game is balanced around a hollow HP bar, while the human health bar is a nice boost, just like DS1 and 3. Plus, unlike DS1 & 3, the bar actually drops slowly instead of all at once, so it's more forgiving than either of those entries.
The weapon variety is unmatched in DS2, though the weapon leveling is more tedious for sure (Bloodborne nailed this IMO, not sure why they don't just stick with that formula).
The bosses that land, land really well, but there are several that don't, just like every entry into the series. There are more weak bosses in this entry, but there are also more bosses in general, so it's kind of a moot point.
The entire DS series is about the endless, inevitably cyclical nature of dark vs. light, and this game's storyline is an encapsulation of that. For the folks saying the story has no meaningful beats and that it feels tedious or pointless, congratulations! You effectively analyzed the point of the story.