basically a perfect game. this game borrows extremely heavily from souls but does it in the right way, and makes some of those borrowed elements better by giving them their own unique twist. it's as hard as it needs to be and the parry window is as wide as it needs to be. nice backstory and great characters, not mindblowing but good enough for this game. originally i thought that the themes here (pinocchio steampunk type stuff) were a bit corny but they grew on me eventually as i explored krat.

the combat simply makes you feel like you are Him especially after you get the dragon katana. the weapon system is super creative and a lot of weapons are really fun, and all the enemies keep the game interesting. and the bosses are just great and i would say at the same level as fromsoft.

i take off half a point in the rating because while the game is great, it simply lacks that bit of that souls magic that makes them so special. the environments, while beautifully crafted an detailed, feel same-y after a few hours (compare krat and yharnam and notice how yharnam feels a lot more varied in its design). same with the enemies, a lot of them are just humanoid guys with different movesets. and the level design is a bit too linear and there's not a lot of places to get lost in. these are small complaints and very subjective, but when you borrow so heavily from another series you have to be judged against it.

overall a fantastic game.