Recent reviews by RobioCraft

It was surprising to see how fun this game is despite the immense criticism the community has given it, especially for the SotFS version. (Which I suppose is better due to bug-fixes, updated multiplayer and graphics, to a lesser degree).

To boot I would personally rate Dark Souls 2 much higher than Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1. It just feels more streamlined and modern, from both game-play and graphics standpoint, also much more balanced. Maybe not as polished and complete of an experience compared to former, sure, but the overall variety and amount of content makes up for it. The first two Souls games experimented with what works and what doesn't, Dark Souls 2 took the best of these aspects and continued iterating and expending upon them. Things like certain enemies are similar, many weapons and multiplayer aspects also carried over etc. etc., but there is less of the needlessly hard and pointless mechanics that are in DeS and the gimmicky things found in DS1, but without getting into that now - The in-game locations of DS2 are also much superior and visually appealing, the game just feels much more open and less restricted, perhaps it's a sub-product of coming from Elden Ring, that these things stand out more. Similarly like in Elden Ring, there is a combat mechanics called Powerstancing (Dual wielding) which originally found it's way in DS2.

The bad: Many bosses are just some guys fully covered in armour, or recycled previous game bosses. Some disconnecting textures within game areas or UI elements. Game locations can sometimes feel disconnected and radically different from one another, ex. a lot of tunnel systems used to connect the various places. A number of empty cube shaped rooms can be observed. The emptiness seems to have been "fixed" with filling them with more enemies in SotFS ver. Taking an elevator from ground level high in the sky to access a fortress sinking in a pool of lava Dafuqq?!
Combat could use some refining - it doesn't feel as turn based as in Dark Souls 1, as it's more fluid, yet somehow it feels slower. I've found it's due to Endurance bar filling back too slowly, also each attack/move continues to deplete the END bar, even beyond the visible marking, making you vulnerable for the duration till it fills back above the visible spot. The ADP "mechanic", a stat which without levelling makes it feel like your dodges are not working and Estus flask drinking speed can be a death sentence, in certain situations. Another thing is your character can't change swing directions mid-hit which was a thing probably introduced in later titles. All in all, these things aren't game breaking and can be gotten used to or mitigated while playing, imo.

A word regarding Souls games: The point in these types of games is to actively make the game play easier as you progress, not harder. What I mean by that - use with various strategies, guides, building your skill and remembrance of boss patterns, heck, even cheese tactics, nothing is off limits. But by far the most important thing is levelling up your character focusing on your desired build and play style, which is usually determined by the weapon and items you find along the way, which is another big aspect in these types of games. In the end, it will take some time to discover your build, but it will multiply the fun-factor of these games tremendously.

More enjoyment than initially bargained with, a lot of fast paced gory action and secret unlockable items. Generally recommended.
Good thing about Doom 2016 vs Eternal is that it's made to be generally simpler, it's art direction is also more serious and visually darker, with a a lot of shadowy areas. Also some of its foe model designs were better imo, but this part is completely subjective and can be said vice versa about Eternal as well.