Info about DARK SOULS™ II Crown of the Sunken King:

Official game description:
Embark on a journey to reclaim a crown that Drangleic’s King Vendrick once owned. This perilous quest will lead you through an entirely different world within the DARK SOULS™ II universe, where stepped pyramids span a vast underground cavern. It is said that one of the ancient crowns lay buried deep within these dark caverns; but surely such a valued item cannot sit unguarded. Explore in search of a crown that holds the strength of lords from times long past.

Release date: Jul 22, 2014

Categories: Soulslike Combat, Action RPG, Exploration, Multiple Endings, Character Progression, Boss Fights, Dark Fantasy, Atmospheric Horror

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 10; verdict: Good Value; summary: The overall sentiment from user reviews indicates that the DLC provides good value for money and is generally well-received. While there are some complaints about the season pass, many users find the content worthwhile and recommend it to others. The positive recommendations outweigh the negative feedback, suggesting a satisfactory experience for most users.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence shows mixed sentiments about the value of the game. Positive reviews highlight that the game offers great value and is worth the initial price tag. However, negative reviews indicate that some users feel the game is not worth a higher price point, specifically mentioning that $20 is not worth it. This suggests that while the game is valued, it may not be perceived as worth a premium price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 5.0h
  - Story completion: 5.0h
  - Session length: 1.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides specific mentions of playtime. 'It took me 5 hours just to get to the third bonfire' suggests a significant session length and potentially a portion of the story completion time. 'It's incredibly satisfying to spend an hour wandering around lost in the underground complex' indicates a typical session length. 'It's accessed from Black Gulch and you're greeted with three more sinister areas which add another 4 or 5 hours of challenging content' gives an estimate for completing a significant portion of the DLC. 'Crown of the Sunken King is a decent DLC that looks very cool, but in actuality is less than 2 hours long' provides a lower bound for game completion time.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game becomes significantly more enjoyable when played in multiplayer, particularly with friends, despite initial friction from convoluted environments and boring enemies.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Playing with friends
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Convoluted environments; Boring enemies; Boring bosses
  - Unlock drivers: Multiplayer mechanics; Playing with friends
  - Conditions: Playing with friends; Multiplayer mode
- Player Archetypes:
  - Multiplayer Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of multiplayer interactions and challenges.
    - Playstyle: Cooperative and competitive multiplayer.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Soulsborne fan; PvP lover
    - Reference games: Dark Souls series; Demons Souls
  - Critical Solo Player (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Completion of challenges and high-quality content.
    - Playstyle: Solo play with a focus on challenging content.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Souls veteran; Solo player
    - Reference games: Dark Souls series; Demons Souls
  - Explorer and Grinder (sale)
    - Motivation: Exploration and discovery of unique game mechanics and environments.
    - Playstyle: Explorative and methodical, focusing on puzzles and grinding.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Explorer; Grinder
    - Reference games: Tomb Raider; Dark Souls series


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- DLCs are worth it (weight 0.49): Players find the DLCs to be enjoyable and among the better ones available, making them worth the investment.
- Beautiful architecture and artwork (weight 0.23): The game's architecture and artwork are praised for being very nice and beautiful, with well-designed areas and aesthetically pleasing outsides.
- Excellent music (weight 0.16): The game's music is highlighted as excellent and fantastic, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
- Organic map structure (weight 0.15): The map is noted for its organic structure, similar to regions seen in previous games, providing a familiar yet fresh experience.

Common complaints:
- Uninspired boss design (weight 0.97): Many players found the bosses to be disappointing, unoriginal, and not very challenging. Some bosses were reskins or lacked creativity, making the fights feel repetitive and uninteresting.
- Lack of creativity and content (weight 0.8): Players felt that the DLC lacked creativity, combat, and enjoyable aspects. The content was described as monotonous, boring, and not worth the price.
- Poor level design (weight 0.75): The level design was criticized for being aggravating, convoluted, and samey-looking. Some areas were described as mazes with traps, and the environments were often confusing and labyrinthian.
- Frustrating enemy encounters (weight 0.58): Players reported annoying and frustrating enemy encounters, including difficult knights, tanky enemies, and enemies with high resistance to certain attacks.
- Difficulty and balance issues (weight 0.39): The DLC was criticized for balance issues, including high difficulty, overly difficult enemies, and recycled ideas that made the content feel unfair.
- Frustrating mechanics (weight 0.37): Various mechanics were found frustrating, including poison mechanics, unreadable and fast attacks, and invincible enemies until certain conditions were met.
- Co-op and multiplayer issues (weight 0.35): Players reported issues with co-op areas and felt that some content was designed for more than one person, making it difficult to complete solo.
- Visual and auditory monotony (weight 0.26): The visuals and music were criticized for being monotonous and boring. The lack of ambient music in areas and the repetitive color palette contributed to this issue.
- Lack of story and lore (weight 0.2): Players felt that the DLC was disconnected from the rest of the game's world and story, and that the story required reading extra lore to understand.
- Disappointing armor and equipment (weight 0.15): The armor and crown design were disappointing, and there was a lack of useful new equipment with a few exceptions.

Gameplay feedback:
- DLC with mixed environments (weight 0.24): The DLC offers a variety of environments, including a convoluted set of ruins and a beautiful city with a mystical atmosphere, along with unusual enemies and traps.
- Multiplayer and enemy mechanics (weight 0.23): The game has good multiplayer mechanics and fun enemy mechanisms, making it enjoyable to play with others.
- Invincible enemies issue (weight 0.16): Some enemies have invulnerability, which can be frustrating for players.
- New weapons and items (weight 0.16): The game introduces new weapons, spells, and items, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- New and improved enemies (weight 0.16): The game features new enemy types and behaviors, adding variety and challenge.
- Maze-like locations (weight 0.16): Certain areas in the game are designed like mazes, which can be challenging to navigate.
- Increased zone difficulty (weight 0.16): The game features zones with increased difficulty, providing a challenge for players.
- Boss sequence and navigation (weight 0.16): Players need to navigate to the first boss, Elana, and immediately face another boss fight, a dragon, which can be intense and engaging.
- Crown of the Sunken King (weight 0.15): The DLC includes a quest to recover the Crown of the Sunken King, adding to the storyline and exploration.

Performance notes:
- Game is well-optimized (weight 0.1): Players have noted that the game runs smoothly and efficiently on their systems.

Recommendations:
- Positive feedback on gameplay (weight 0.17): Players generally feel that the game has a well-balanced difficulty level and is very enjoyable to play. They recommend the game to others.
- DLC worth purchasing on sale (weight 0.16): Some players believe that the DLC is worth getting, especially if it is available at a discounted price, suggesting that the content is good but may not be worth the full price for everyone.
- Scholar of the First Sin edition suggested (weight 0.09): Players recommend getting the Scholar of the First Sin edition, indicating that this version of the game may offer additional or improved content.
- DLC useful for specific purposes (weight 0.09): For players who have specific needs, such as not wanting to use Bonfire Ascetics, the DLC is considered a must-get, suggesting it offers unique benefits or content.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Players are frustrated by the high difficulty and poor design of bosses, enemies, and levels. Specific issues include confusing layouts, malicious terrain, and tedious sections, as well as problems with PvP invasions and recycled ideas.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Disappointment stems from the perceived low quality and value of the DLC, including flawed bosses and lack of content. Players also criticize mindless combat, lack of precision in layout, and the absence of certain NPCs.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.1): Players feel satisfied with the game mechanics, enjoying the challenge of helping others and overcoming difficult enemies and bosses. They also appreciate the new items, well-designed content, and the feeling of getting their money's worth.
- Admiration (weight 0.09): Admiration comes from the appreciation of the DLC's design, content, and level design. Players enjoy the unique areas, exploration, and puzzle-solving aspects, as well as the boss lineup and atmosphere.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): Excitement is generated by the cool areas, unique style, and combat mechanics. Players are also thrilled by the level design, exploration, and discovery, as well as the quality of the bosses and their fights.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Enjoyment is derived from the fun gameplay, well-developed locations, and good enemy diversity. Players also appreciate the challenging content, engaging puzzles, lore, and the recovery of the essence of the first Dark Souls.
- Happiness (weight 0.08): Happiness is a result of positive experiences with the DLC, including the game levels, bosses, puzzles, aesthetics, areas, and equipment.
- Disappointed (weight 0.06): Players are disappointed by the simplicity of the main DLC boss and the lack of originality in the bosses. Some consider the DLC to be weak or a joke, leading to a lack of interest in trying other DLCs.
- Happy (weight 0.05): Happiness comes from the positive aspects of the DLC, including good puzzles, organic map design, and enjoyable content and items.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Nostalgia is triggered by reminders of classic games and specific elements from previous games like the Denial miracle from Demon's Souls.
- Frustrated (weight 0.03): Frustration arises from the difficulty in passing the first boss and the time-consuming process of reaching certain points in the game, such as taking 5 hours to get to the third bonfire.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are pleasantly surprised by the overall quality and enjoyment of the DLC.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance is caused by specific issues with the last boss, which players find very annoying.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is a result of poor game mechanics and the presence of gank squads with stupid gimmicks, which players find frustrating and unfair.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom stems from the lack of new weapons and the perception of bosses as boring, leading to a lack of engagement and interest.}