Dark Souls II: The Lost Crowns Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by FromSoftware
Even before they released Dark Souls 2, Bandai Namco producer Takeshi Miyazoe stated the possibility of additional chapters to the Dark Souls adventure if the fan reception was pleasant enough to warrant such work. Even though I found the game to be a middling “MEDIOCRE” in my review of the base game, the initial reception was quite positive and thus the early design work they conducted prior to the base game's launch didn't go to waste. Within the same year, FromSoftware introduced the world to Dark Souls 2 and announced and released a trilogy of DLC for the game; all targeted to have varying thematic concepts and containing more experimental level design.
The main narrative of each DLC is that an abyssal entity named Manus shattered fragments of power that began to seek control in the form of hierarchal strength. While the base game explores the main shattered fragments, the DLCs go out and interact with the other pieces that landed in very different parts of the world. A small warning for the DLCs though, if you're expecting deep caverns of lore to explore and uncover, then seek elsewhere because these DLCs definitely do not cover that particular niche of FromSoftware games.
Crown of the Sunken King
Released 26th August 2014
With the first instalment in the trilogy of additional content, the player will be able to seek out a shattered fragment in an Aztec-inspired kingdom in possibly the worst piece of a medium that the Dark Souls progenitors have given to the gaming community. The primary setting here is that you were sent to reclaim a crown that King Vendrick once owned but has been submerged down below, in these artistically impressive caverns. While this expansion does many things wrong, I do commend its art direction as it was amazing to look from the very top, down below onto these green-hued pyramids. It set my expectations high as I was ready to be blown away at the redemption of Dark Souls 2's questionable legacy. Oh, how I was wrong. Instead, I received some of the most agonizing 3 hours of my life and I've watched the Emoji Movie twice.
In terms of the redesigning of the base gameplay, the level design is toxic in every single meaning of the word. You'll be bombarded by more enemies than there are K-Pop stans on Twitter, you'll be knocked around like a flimsy wrecking ball, and there will be at least one enemy in every area that throws a poisonous projectile that feels hard to dodge due to the game's terrible invincibility frame issue and the unending afflictions of poison made the "kill 12 to despawn" process a headache-inducing one. By the time I beat the final boss of the DLC, I wasn't happy that I beat it, I was happy because I could move on with my life and not have to touch this extra DS2 chapter ever again. The level design is also quite poor, though this is more a preference nitpick rather than a flawed criticism. While the vertical yet linear level design with quite a few puzzle moments was conceptually a good idea, the execution really didn't help boost the quality of my experience, and in fact, made it particularly worse.
In terms of the additional content they've added - it's meh. The new weaponry they introduced wasn't groundbreaking, instead, it was quite dull and I don't have much to comment on the spells or magic seeing as my build was limited in that department. The enemies felt a little more like noxious reskins than newly designed foes, however, it wasn't anything terrible whenever I wasn't getting ganked upon. Now, for the main attraction of every Souls-like/Soulsbourne project - the bosses - they weren't that good. Of the 2 primary bosses that I fought, Sinh, The Slumbering Dragon, was the best boss and that was mostly due to the fact that A)it's a dragon and B)there wasn't any fierce competition. The first boss, Elana, Squalid Queen, didn't stand out that much as a threat and felt like any magic-slinging sorcerer NPC invader that I've encountered in the series - magic shots, homing magic shots and, in this case, a summoning of a base game boss. Thankfully, I was able to first try her because I could already tell that the run back was dreadful. The second and final boss of the DLC, Sinh, was pretty enjoyable. Other than the outrageous hitboxes; his diving attacks, poison breath (yep, his fire breath does poison damage) and regular claw swipe felt fair enough to the point that I wouldn't be too mad if I were to die to him.
As a whole, the DLC is awful. It has two things going for it and that's design and the final boss, both of which aren't enough to redeem the expansion for being a permanent stain on what would be an otherwise delightful DLC run by FromSoftware.
—AWFUL—
Crown of the Old Iron King
Released 26th August 2014
With the second instalment in the DLC series, it shows that the trilogy gets progressively better with each launch. The Crown of the Old Iron King this time takes place high up above in an ash-dusted tower with a throne at the top of it and many creatures covered in cinders down below. Like before, you've been tasked with retrieving yet another lost crown in yet another vertically designed expansion, however, this time around, the verticality is impressive and commendable, while the visual design is lacklustre, grey and dull. While I did say it's better than the Sunken King, that doesn't mean it's good, it's closer to being sub-par.
The whole structure of the tower and your metroidvania-esque backtracking is actually quite good. I enjoyed exploring every level of this structural behemoth and encountering the additional corridors and rooms it had scattered around. I probably would've enjoyed it even more if there was more visual clarity and differentiation between locations but in its current state, I wouldn't argue too much against it. Does that mean it fixed its flawed enemy situation? Fuck no. It's genuinely up to a coin flip which of the two DLCs thus far has more cancerous enemy placements because while the Sunken King has been strategically designed to annoy you, Old Iron King spewed out the CTRL + V so many times with so many of these poor-hitbox enemies that the DLC throws me into a state where I don't know if I adore it or despise with every millimetre of my gut.
The reason I say adore, is because of its newest introductions, more specifically, the bosses. But before I go on to the highlight of this expansion, the additional weaponry, enemies and magic: they're decent. Just like Sunken King, I didn't pay much attention to the new spells and the enemies are mostly reskins that worsen with quantity. As for the weapons though, they were pretty great. There isn't much I can say about them other than that they're badass and that I would've loved to use them more if only my build wasn't designed specifically for pure Strength. The two main bosses, Sir Alonne and Fume Knight are not only the best in their own respective DLCs but also in the whole entirety of the Dark Souls 2 game, possibly being ranked with some of the better bosses (but not the very best) in other Soulsborne games like Sif from Dark Souls 1 or Morgott from Elden Ring. Fume Knight's slow, wide hitboxes are incredibly challenging and frustrating to deal with but there's this tempo to his fight that feels incredible once you nail his moveset down on the 15th attempt. Sir Alonne is similar to this case as well, being aggressive and powerful from any distance, being able to cross long gaps in an instant, but the rhythm that comes with his fight feels unmatched and is possibly my favourite out of the whole game. The only problem that comes with this boss, however, is the runback. WHO, ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH, DESIGNED THE MOST EGREGIOUSLY AWFUL RUNBACK EVER, AND WHY AREN'T THEY SUFFERING IN HELL FOR IT? When I say it's bad, it's dreadful, it's abominable, it's abysmal, it's diabolical, it's defective, it's careless, it's third-rate, it's pitiful and it's godawful.
Crown of the Old Iron King definitely is an improvement over the Sunken King but it carries much of the flawed DNA of its base game and decides to transcend those qualities more than actually improve itself. If it didn't house the best bosses in the game, it quite simply would be close to the top of FromSoftware's biggest mistakes.
—SUBPAR—
Crown of the Ivory King
Released 30th September 2014
The trilogy's final instalment, Crown of the Ivory King, is pretty fantastic. While it could be because the other DLCs' poorer quality inflicted me with Stockholm Syndrome, it is mostly attributed to how much more impressive this expansion is. Abandoning a vertical layout, the DLC is linear yet traditional in its design and the fact that the bossfights incentivize exploration in order to ease their challenge works quite effectively in this 2-hour journey.
Taking place in the sprawling frozen city, Eleum Loyce, Ivory King stands out to me as my favourite DLC that is stuck in Dark Souls 2's spoiled shadow. For the aspects in which it reinvents the base formula, the level design is pretty great. It's deep, interconnected and functions on the basis of trying to improve your chances against the next boss. For example, for the final boss of the DLC, you can go try to fight it by yourself, or you can explore the map and discover knights that will fight by your side and defend you against an unending gank possibility. There are plentiful moments in which I felt the classic suffering I have experienced for the past 28 hours with the rest of the game, such as annoying enemy movesets and placements and low visibility for the sake of 'atmosphere', however, it wasn't as major as the other 2 DLCs which speaks volumes for its higher quality.
For the more unique aspects of the DLC, I don't have much of an opinion of the weapons or magic as I have barely used them for the sake of my own build, however, the enemies were pretty bad, being either a reskin or a more infuriating variant. Yet, the bossfights were great. Once you explore the area and unlock the necessary item to uncloak the invisible foe, Aava, the King's Pet, is a fun fight that has moves that are predictable yet in need of learning, visually cool attacks like her Homing Ice Crystals, and has a fitting soundtrack to contribute to the fight. The Burnt Ivory King (the final boss) oddly feels like a conclusive fight to the whole DS2 experience despite not featuring groundbreaking lore, music, combat or visuals. It quite simply is a good fight, with good music, arena design, and good lore in which you recruit the 4 loyal knights to defend you against their now-corrupted king. After the mental toll, the other DLCs put me through, a simple yet impressive duo of bosses is what I needed.
The Crown of the Ivory King is both my favourite and best DLC that directors Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura brought to their spin on the Dark Souls formula. It by no means is perfect or anywhere near on par with other FromSoftware DLCs, however, if this area was a part of the main game, it would've improved the quality by a considerable amount.
