Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King Review
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In other words, environmental hazards and traps play a huge role in combat in the DLC, and using them to your advantage is key to success, as some of the enemy placement is downright devious. Enemies are always ready to attack you from blind spots either by jumping into the fray or shooting at you from range, and it's really easy to end up overwhelmed, so, as with all of the series really, it's always best to take time to carefully assess the situation and consider all of the available options. After all, there are no imposed time limits in any of the DLC sections, and it's very rare to find an encounter where the designers didn't also place some environmental hazards that can be exploited by clever players. A couple of areas and their associated encounters felt subpar, in particular I was unimpressed with two zones in the DLC that are packed with enemies and are enveloped in a dark curse aura, but they feel like the exceptions that prove the rule, and only stick out to me because the DLC did a really good job otherwise.
I mentioned NPC invaders earlier, and the same complaint I had for Crown of the Sunken King stands here: their blatant disregard of the limits players are actually subjected to is annoying. Granted, at least in this DLC they are used to more comedic effect, and come across as a mockery of some of the most annoying player habits online, but I still wish From Software would just give us one single NPC fight that was difficult because of its really excellent AI, and not because of some gimmick. If nothing else, the AI and placement for these fights is a significant step up from the vanilla game, where NPC invaders where mostly a distraction.
Another element of the wider category of enemy design that closely mirrors the previous DLC is boss design. Just like in Crown of the Sunken King, this DLC too includes three bosses, though this time only one is needed to complete the critical path, as it's placed just before the titular crown. I suspect one of these three bosses was inserted just because the developers felt obligated to match the number of bosses in the previous DLC, as it's a slightly edited version of one of the vanilla boss fights. This isn't an exaggeration on my part, and the development team never even made an attempt to hide this: the boss has the same name and the same soul, and its appearance and moveset have been tweaked just slightly. Luckily, given it's an optional fight that guards one piece of headwear and nothing more, it can be safely skipped, but I'd rather it hadn't been implemented at all given how shoddy it is.
The other two DLC bosses sit firmly on the other side of the spectrum. They can certainly be accused of not offering something particularly original and fresh in terms of aesthetic or mechanics, they are, after all, two armored humanoid enemies. Focusing on the template they fill would be unfair, though, because they do everything else right. Their movesets are varied and well-polished, and it's clear that a great amount of work went into giving them strong personalities. While I don't want to spoil anything, it was amusing to learn that using a certain armor would enrage one of them so much that he'd jump to his phase two moveset at the beginning of the fight, and fairly useful too, as it meant I could calibrate my dodge timings and strategy around that.
Items, Gear and Spells
In terms of consumables, Crown of the Old Iron King offers exactly the same items that debuted in its predecessor, and I can't say I have changed my mind on them: they are, by and large, an unneeded addition. It fares better, however, when it comes to gear and spells. While I think Crown of the Sunken King had more interesting gear, Crown of the Old Iron King still offers an assortment of weapons, armors and rings with unique movesets and effects, though one that occasionally leans too heavily on fanservice. The new spells offered in the DLC are solid, if not particularly impressive. There are three new pyromancies that are objectively useful but feel like variations on spell types that have been explored over and over again since the vanilla release of the original Dark Souls. There is also a new hex, Recollection, which at least offers an interesting visual twist, but I can't imagine many practical uses for it.
Lore, Art and Soundtrack
The name of this DLC should be telling for anyone that played the main game. Crown of the Old Iron King clearly attempts to flesh out the history of the reign of the Old Iron King, one of the four old ones that have to be slain to advance the main quest in Dark Souls II. I personally felt the tale of Shulva's downfall was more interesting simply by virtue of being tighter and self-contained while still offering enough room for interpretation, but that's not to say there are no fascinating tidbits to be found in this DLC, as long as you're prepared to accept that the new information raises as many questions as it answers. Perhaps this is also due to the absence of friendly NPCs in the area, as From Software yet again opted to let the environment speak for itself, despite their success with the new NPCs in Dark Souls' DLC Artorias of the Abyss.
One element I found to be unequivocally better in Crown of the Old Iron King compared to its predecessor and much of the vanilla game is art. While occasionally marred by tiled textures and sparse interior design (and unfortunately it's difficult not to compare every area to the rich environments shown in Bloodborne's gameplay videos), the DLC is visually impressive, with striking use of lighting, well-composed vistas and a unique visual theme that complements the Iron Keep location in the vanilla game nicely without feeling like a rehash. I would say the soundtrack is similarly good, but to be honest there is not a lot of material to judge. There are two new tracks, one of which instantly became one of my favorite pieces of music from the entire series, while the recycled boss also gets the same track that was used in the main game, almost as if to further accentuate the disappointment.
Concluding Thoughts
Crown of the Old Iron King matched but did not exceed the expectations set by its predecessor. While the presence of yet again subpar level design in the challenge routes and some obviously rehashed content was disappointing, this DLC still confidently builds on the foundations of the main game, and provides more expansive, complex and visually striking areas with better designed challenges to go along, not to mention a couple of bosses that quickly ranked among my favorites.
