Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King DLC Reviews

While the first of the three pieces of DLC planned for Dark Souls II, Crown of the Sunken King, hasn’t been released just yet (according to this tweet from community manager J. Kartje it should be available later today on Steam, with no current ETA for the console versions besides “once the respective platforms update”), streamers and reviewers have had the chance to try it early, and as a result we’re already seeing the first verdicts surface. We’ll see how it fares in the long run, but the first wave of verdicts is fairly positive (especially considering DLC tends to score lower than full games).

PC Gamer, 85/100.

But I pushed through, and when the final boss was down and the crown of the Sunken King sat upon my head I had played through ten solid, satisfying hours of new Dark Souls. For the devoted, that’s a hell of a deal, and there are still two more chunks of content incoming, with even better-looking environments and a few new lore details. Sunken King won’t do anything to convince you to play Dark Souls 2 if you don’t already love it, but stays consistently challenging for even veteran players.

IGN, 8.0/10.

Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Sunken King is a brutal, but entertaining opening to a coming trilogy of DLC. Though I wasn’t wild about some of the level design, the emphasis on puzzle solving added a welcome new layer to the already-deep Souls gameplay. Within its four hours, I played through a handful of encounters that were as tense, challenging, and rewarding as anything in the entire Souls series, and that’s saying something.

Polygon; 8.5/10.

Even when it’s frustrating, Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Sunken King balances out its rough patches with a sense of unbridled satisfaction. It’s a perfect example of the interplay between tension and relief that the Souls series has become famous for. Crown of the Sunken King may be an optional expansion, but it transcends its own status. It ranks among the best Souls levels I’ve ever played and damn near beaten.

Hardcore Gamer, 4/5.

Don’t expect Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King to match up to Artorias of the Abyss, but it still offers a surprisingly deep and gratifying experience. While the boss selection is somewhat disappointing and context to why we’re in the ancient land of Shulva seems to be missing, the inhabitants and hidden story behind Sinh and Yorgh will keep fans occupied until the rest of the Lost Crowns Trilogy is released.