Nothing is as frustrating or as compelling as a game in the Souls franchise. Its finely-balanced mix of difficulty versus reward makes for an experience like no other. As such, I was a little apprehensive as to how new DLC would integrate with the Dark Souls II world. Would it feel tacked on? Would it be just more of the same? Would it denigrate the core title? Fortunately, “Crown of the Sunken King” not only fits the game perfectly, but provides new experiences that actually enhance the game as a whole.
Upon entering Shulva, the first thing you’ll notice is a gorgeous view ahead. A panoramic vista spreads below you showing off a unique architectural style and scale. As you progress, you’ll realise the differences extend beyond just aesthetics or enemy skins; the way you navigate the levels has changed too. In a style more akin to the first Dark Souls, “Crown of the Sunken King” re-introduces the puzzle element to level navigation. Activating switches changes the layout of an area allowing for access to new sections. Sometimes these contain treasure, other times they allow for progress through the level and, on rare occasions, they provide glorious, glorious bonfires.
This is a very welcome addition and, whilst it encourages a different style of level navigation, it also holds true to the nature of the series: explore, learn, die, perfect. While your goal is obvious the means to get there isn’t always clear. Furthermore, the myriad tight walkways and corridors ensure that not every battle will be in an open arena and forces players to mix up their combat strategy.
This style permeates the second area of the DLC but is noticeably absent for the third. The Cave of the Dead, whilst offering some very interesting enemies, feels more like a re-skin of the Black Gulch. Fortunately the area’s boss fight is the most interesting, pitting you against three bosses simultaneously in a creatively designed area allowing for varying tactics. In fact you really need to take advantage of your environment to have a hope of success which makes for a nice change of pace.
Countering this, the other two boss fights — despite unique moves — felt very familiar. Both were in large arenas and felt very similar to other bosses from the main campaign. The most jarring difference in their case was that you fight one directly after the other and both are incredibly powerful. I know what you’re going to say… this is Dark Souls, it’s meant to be difficult however, in my opinion, these guys felt too over powered. Dark Souls combat is all about learning tells, how to survive and when to attack. In the normal game they provided brief respites during which you could heal however Elena’s hits did enormous sequential damage and Sinh could one hit kill me… so there’s very little margin for error!
Furthermore Elana used summons during the fight which, unless you were lucky, could make things nigh on impossible. The only way I was able to beat them was to recruit some human allies and hope they only used particular moves or summons. This felt like a big change from the way I approached fights in Dark Souls II and I wasn’t something I enjoyed.
Luckily this only applied to those two boss fights and the enemies for the rest of the DLC were varied and fair. From scary flying beetles that degraded your armor to slow moving turtles with petrification statues on their backs, each required a different strategy. With the exception of an area full of giant frogs all enemies felt beatable and, once mastered, provided that gratifying sense of accomplishment all Dark Souls players yearn to achieve.
My advice when tackling this DLC is to bring along a bow and lots of arrows. This is invaluable for activating switches from afar or luring enemies out for a one on one encounter. They’re also about the only way I found of killing the turtle enemies. The ability to view level movements from afar makes a world of difference when learning how to reach your goals. Another tip would be, if you are a pure melee class like myself, to infuse your weapons or learn some magic. I relied on magical attacks and defense considerably more often in “Crown of the Sunken King” than in the original campaign. Luckily there are a few decent items in this DLC including a full set or armor with decent magical resistance so they certainly help if you don’t have the souls to upgrade. None of the equipment is over-powered but compliments the existing sets quite nicely.
“Crown of the Sunken King” is an exemplary piece of DLC. It looks unique, whilst at the same time, matches the rest of the core title’s gameplay perfectly. The puzzles and changed level navigation is a pleasant change but doesn’t feel out of place. Enemies and boss fights are varied and interesting plus the loot is well worth your time. More important than any of this is that From Software have, once again, nailed the Dark Souls formula perfectly. Its risk versus reward is perfectly balanced and, excluding the final boss fight, you’re left with an enormous sense of satisfaction. If you’re at all interested in this DLC you should buy it. It’s the first part of a trilogy but fits the lore perfectly and doesn’t leave you hanging for part two.
