The first half of this game is godlike. The world design is effortlessly amazing, and more interconnected than any game I have ever played. The sense of a game world being one cohesive whole has never been more palpable than it is here. The bosses are tough but fair. The enemy placement is tough but fair. The challenge is appropriate and satisfying to overcome. Everything through and including Anor Londo is a masterpiece.

The latter half of the game, though, left something to be desired. Unlike the first half of the game, the last half ranges from bafflingly easy (many bosses went down after one or two tries) to frustratingly awful (cough cough Bed of Chaos). Gwyn, who ranks consistently among the hardest Souls bosses, was a total pushover to me. I suppose after beating Malenia for the umpteenth time in Elden Ring, anything is comparatively easy. Still, though, I felt like earlier bosses had a satisfying balance of difficulty and fairness (O&S, Quelaag, Taurus Demon, and countless others come to mind) and many of the later bosses were really lacking that difficulty. The only boss that really fit the bill was the Four Kings.

Also, I think it's pretty stupid that I can't just boot up the DLC after finishing the base game, since it immediately knocks you into NG+. I would have included AooA in my review, had it not been for this really pervasive annoyance. It's a shame because I hear that Artorias is one of the better fights in the game, and I don't feel like blasting through again just to get there.