![]() Whereas the Sunken King and Old Iron King DLC employed new mechanics to primarily up the difficulty, the Ivory King DLC feels like a fully-fleshed location thanks to the frozen kingdom of Eleum Loyce.įrom the moment you step foot into Eleum Loyce, every challenge keeping you from progressing is tied to the tragic story of Alsanna and the Burnt Ivory King. The final DLC in the Dark Souls 2 DLC trilogy stands apart from the previous two in terms of both what it adds to the Dark Souls story and having an amazing final boss fight. Credit: FromSoftware, Namco Bandai 4) Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Ivory King The idea that the inhabitants of the Dark Souls world knows that progressing through the game means only certain doom for both the world and its residents appears to be the main theme of both Dark Souls 3 DLC, and a wonderful bit of meta storytelling.Ĭrown of the Ivory King. One note, when players finally face Sir Vilhelm, he delivers a blistering meta critique at the player accusing the player of needing to “unearth every secret” even if it ends up destroying the world. The only other area is a PvP arena behind a very cool boss fight, set in an area that almost feels like an homage to the final fight in Metal Gear Solid 3. FromSoftware seems to make up for the DLC’s lack of enemy variety by putting an exciting, three-phase boss battle within the chapel walls. The real heart of the DLC doesn’t appear until you meet Sir Vilhelm and Sister Friede at the Cathedral. The Snowfield area is simply a large open field populated by tough warrior enemies, and while it’s gorgeous, feels largely optional, Though does feature a great twist on a fan-favorite boss fight from Dark Souls 1. While The Ringed City sets the stage for the final act of the Dark Souls trilogy, the initial DLC takes place in a relatively small and sparse world. The first of two Dark Souls 3 DLC, Ashes of Ariandel revisits the concept of painted worlds first introduced in Dark Souls 1. Credit: FromSoftware, Namco Bandai 5) Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel While I personally preferred the darker aesthetics of Sunken King, which takes place in a series of Mesoamerican-inspired pyramids in a sprawling underground kingdom, both DLC seem to take the most joy in seeing just how aggravating a Souls area can be.Īlong with the Crown of the Ivory King, Crown of the Sunken King and Crown of the Old Iron King make up the Lost Crown Trilogy for Dark Souls 2, and the first two DLC are placed at the bottom of the rankings for the same reason as why Dark Souls 2 is often remembered less fondly than the other two games in the trilogy.Īshes of Ariandel. To Brume Tower, a beautiful fortress guarded by several gameplay-modifying enemies called Ashen Idols. Whether it’s Shulva, an underground city built to worship a poisonous dragon, but also features incredibly annoying platforming and hidden switches. ![]() The DLC for Dark Souls 2 suffers from the same problem, and in fact adds some of the most frustrating areas in the entire Dark Souls series, that are as tedious as they are narratively fascinating. While Dark Souls 2 would end up pioneering some of the open-world elements of the game that we’ll see later on in Elden Ring (Dark Souls 2 co-director Yui Tanimura will go on to co-direct Elden Ring alongside Hidetaka Miyazaki), Dark Souls 2 also felt bewilderingly difficult in a way that was neither fun nor particularly rewarding. Credit: FromSoftware, Namco Bandai 7-6) Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Old Iron King and Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Sunken KingĪs a Dark Souls 2 apologist, my main criticism with the Dark Souls sequel comes down to balance issues. Spoilers for Dark Souls and Bloodborne DLC below.Ĭrown of the Sunken King. Check below for our ranked list of FromSoftware DLC. With this in mind, we ranked all the past FromSoftware DLC for Dark Souls and Bloodborne and revisited the expansions from a studio that has arguably done DLC better than anyone else. They are often essentially mini sequels to the base game that usually finish the game’s story and hide the true ending. While we only know that the new expansion is officially being developed, FromSoftware has a history of releasing substantial expansions that are rich with both new areas and bosses as well as new story content.
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