Now that the server issues are mostly solved, I figured I should take the time to make a real review for this game.
I'll try to keep this short, so I'll just address a few key points:
- Graphics
- Controls
- Gameplay
Graphics: 8/10 The graphics in this game aren't ground breaking. They serve their purpose, but are also quite lacking in many places. This is not a game where you are meant to view a lot of things from close up, but some of the short cutscenes also force objects close to the camera, revealing the lazy texture work.
From Software had to cut back the graphics a lot before release in order to get a steady frame rate, and it shows. However, the game isn't ugly, either, so it is not a chore to play. And because of the graphical cutbacks they did, the game does run at a mostly steady frame rate, with only a handful of small areas or effects causing the game to stutter.
Controls: 9/10 The controls right now, as of version 1.03, are not as responsive or tight as they were in Dark Souls 1. If you try doing some things too rapidly, such as dropping your shield and then attacking, you may do a specific shield-raised attack if your weapon supports it. On top of that, the forward-R1 move, which is now a shield break as opposed to a kick in Dark Souls 1, can be extremely difficult to trigger sometimes.
Another issue is menu lag. Right now, it can take upwards of 5 seconds for the menu to appear when hitting Start, or for the Bonfire menu to appear, as well as some menus after talking to NPCs. This is a very annoying bug, which should be fixed with a patch as soon as possible, as many have noticed and complained about this.
These issues are likely to be fixed in patches, however, by fixing the input frame windows. On the positive side, other minor changes have been made to the controls, such as allowing you to change the jump from the old “tap O while sprinting” method to clicking L3 while sprinting. This makes the game far easier to play from a control point of view.
Gameplay: 9.5/10 A large portion of the game has stayed similar to Dark Souls 1. The combat is more slow paced compared to other action games. Tactical play is rewarded while blind rushing will probably get you killed.
The durability system for equipment has had a major overhaul, and weapons are now far more brittle, but now also have their durability restored at bonfires (if broken, you must repair them at the blacksmith). This forces you to be more mindful of your weapons, change your gear more often so your equipment doesn't break, and experiment more often. You also have six weapon slots instead of four, to help with this.
Covenants also had a major overhaul, bringing in some interesting new ones that rely on attacking people who enter certain locations, or helping people fight off invaders, as well as others. However, most of the PvP interaction happens in NG+, due to the limitations From Soft have put on players are paired together, to help combat ‘Twinking’ (where a low level player invades other low level players with end-game gear and ruins their day), which almost nullifies the point of one of the covenants (Way of the Blue).
Death is also punished in a way similar to Demon's Souls, but not as severely. Every time you die, you lose 5% of your maximum health, until you eventually reach the minimum 50% HP. Apparently, this also lowers your connection to other players, making it harder to be invaded. You also cannot summon other players to help you with bosses or areas, but you can still be summoned yourself. You can be revived by using a Human Effigy (similar to Humanity), or rarely/randomly by killing a boss when summoned by another player (this has been called a bug and will probably be patched, however).
Also, right from the start, you will be able to warp to any bonfire you have lit, unlike in Dark Souls 1, where you had to wait until at LEAST 2/3 of the way through the story. This helps to cut down on wasted time simply running aimlessly through the world, and while some people were sceptical about this change, many are glad it was made after they played the game.
You also now have the option to reallocate your stats through the use of an item found in game. This allows players to create a new PvP or PvE build without having to start over a completely new character, a great addition to the game for the PvP community, because it allows people to make a new build without having to play through the entire game with a new character.
Overall: 9/10 Right now, the game is in need of a patch to fix some of the more glaring issues, like the menu lag, and the control input windows. The game itself is great in my opinion, and the gameplay itself deserves a 10/10, but until the outlined issues are fixed, I have to give this game a rating of 9 out of 10.