Finally got around to playing the new game and I’m really enjoying it so far. It leans into its Dark Souls influences even harder than the first one but I think that’s probably a good thing. The world and the lore also seem a lot more fleshed out this time around. You’re basically caught in the middle of a war between a bunch of evil demon gods and a fanatical, puritanical theocracy. The combat is pretty great, with the power attacks and combos being a big highlight. The only thing that annoys me (much like in Lies of P and other souls likes) is how it’s easy for your sword to hit a wall and mess up your attack.
The dual world exploration is especially cool and adds a different element to the game. It takes some getting used to and adds to the stress of the situation because the longer you remain in Umbral (the netherworld), the stronger enemies become. On the other hand though, there is a multiplier applied to your XP when you’re in that world so it helps you level up faster.
One word of advice if you decide to give it a shot… MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST UPDATE DOWNLOADED. I made the mistake of installing the game when my Xbox was offline and so after creating my character, playing through the tutorial and beating the first boss, I realized I needed to update. Once I did, my initial save was incompatible with the current version so I had to start all over. While that’s some bull**** and I hope it’s not indicative of things that could happen with future patches, the patched version of the game is much, much better. The intro boss was a joke in the initial version, but when I fought him again he was much more challenging (still beat him on my first try though).
So yeah, I recommend it. It’s definitely an easier game than something like Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls (at least so far), but it’s by no means easy. So if you like that style but you don’t feel like beating your head against the wall every time you come across a boss, you’ll probably enjoy this game. It’s been polarizing in the Soulslike community so you might hate it but I would just say, play it for yourself and decide.