My initial reaction to this game was it was clunky and harder and not as enjoyable as dark souls 1 or 3
but honestly, after several playthroughs, this game is one of the easier and fun dark souls
the things you find hard were only hard because you didnt know their weakness
if you actually learn from your mistakes in this game, and have the right prep you can kick some ass
this game also has unique mechanics that makes it stand out from the other soul games
Power stancing is a fun one, Elemental infusions are spell buff-able, which means
you can have a lightning +10 greatsword, buffed with sunlight blade
no other soul game allows for that, and it is a very satisfying way to accumulate damage
It can be frustrating, it can be intentionally unfair, but thats from software in a nutshell
and dark souls 2 allows you to experience complete and udder unfairness, and then dish it out right back to the enemies
If you enjoy overcoming a challenge, then you will enjoy dark souls 2
if you wanted to enjoy something like dark souls 1 but newer, and value improvement over the fundamentals of the game, rather then a variation of it
go to dark souls 3, as 3 feels very simliar to 1, just more polished and fast paced
dark souls 2 is definitely in its own league of game feel

Another thing, Dark souls 1 has some of the best map design ive seen in a soulslike, everything intertwines very well and I can almost remember every path because it works so well
that being said, Dark souls 2 is not as impressive(and a little tricky to remember), but it is good, and allows for different paths to be taken, and still progress steadily in the game, its not that bad considering you start with a teleport mechanic. Majula has several access points right of the bat, some of which, lead to even more paths.

TLDR; Dark souls 2 is very different from 1 and 3, thats why its so amazing and terrible at the same time

My initial reaction to this game was it was clunky and harder and not as enjoyable as dark souls 1 or 3 but honestly, after several playthroughs, this game is one of the easier and fun dark souls the things you find hard were only hard because you didnt know their weakness if you actually learn from your mistakes in this game, and have the right prep you can kick some ass this game also has unique mechanics that makes it stand out from the other soul games Power stancing is a fun one, Elemental infusions are spell buff-able, which means you can have a lightning +10 greatsword, buffed with sunlight blade no other soul game allows for that, and it is a very satisfying way to accumulate damage It can be frustrating, it can be intentionally unfair, but thats from software in a nutshell and dark souls 2 allows you to experience complete and udder unfairness, and then dish it out right back to the enemies If you enjoy overcoming a challenge, then you will enjoy dark souls 2 if you wanted to enjoy something like dark souls 1 but newer, and value improvement over the fundamentals of the game, rather then a variation of it go to dark souls 3, as 3 feels very simliar to 1, just more polished and fast paced dark souls 2 is definitely in its own league of game feel Another thing, Dark souls 1 has some of the best map design ive seen in a soulslike, everything intertwines very well and I can almost remember every path because it works so well that being said, Dark souls 2 is not as impressive(and a little tricky to remember), but it is good, and allows for different paths to be taken, and still progress steadily in the game, its not that bad considering you start with a teleport mechanic. Majula has several access points right of the bat, some of which, lead to even more paths. TLDR; Dark souls 2 is very different from 1 and 3, thats why its so amazing and terrible at the same time