Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King Critic Reviews

Crown of the Old Iron King is another accomplished and well-constructed addition to Dark Souls 2, with a pair of bosses who rank alongside the best the series has to offer.

The content addition felt solid, although I would have appreciated either of the two challenge paths to have been made a bit longer, since they are basically two rooms full of enemies leading into a boss, unless you decide to explore to pick up a few non-essential items; they didn’t feel as rewarding as the main path in my opinion.

Outside of the repetitious boss, there’s very little to complain about with Crown of the Old Iron King. As you descend deeper in Brume Tower, there’s much to uncover and you’re often given multiple paths to explore. Regardless of how you progress, that familiar sense of dread will plague every step. Crown of the Old Iron King only gets more insidious as it goes on and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

FromSoftware continue their experiments, this time with the vertical and returning to the original formula with levels that twist on themselves.

Landscapes inside a tower look the same, and so do the bosses, all armored humanoids with big sword.

If you're on board for another round of Dark Souls DLC, you know what you're in for: A few interesting twists here and there, and a revival of certain elements from the last game, but nothing revolutionary. If you simply want more Dark Souls 2, Old Iron King delivers just that, and with all the thoughtfulness you'd expect from its developers.

Crown of the Old Iron King is a showcase of Dark Souls II's aggressive enemy encounter design. It folds a few other cards in favor of its ace, but such is the endearing nature and defining risk of inspired post-game content. Applied to Dark Souls II, Iron King stands as a thoughtful one-off that fits neatly alongside Sunken King.

A fun throwback to the feel of Dark Souls, but easier than we’d hoped.

An extreme DLC, meant to be played only if you are not afraid to die an embarrassing amount of times.

This DLC for Dark Souls 2 confirms the genius of From Software in the structuring of the maps, and once again offers a new setting full of charm, brutal enemies and many things to discover.

Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Old Iron King gets the formula right, but only if you’ve invested the time required to match its level of difficulty with your own and you’re willing to listen to what it’s trying to tell you.

A very decent effort that still feels slightly less engaging and powerful than it ought to be, Crown of the Old Iron King never feels condescending or diluted, but it lacks freshness, interest and brilliance.

Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King is a solid expansion to an already captivating game, but there are some questionable choices that have been made.

The actual run time of the DLC is short, too. Too short. Perhaps because the puzzles and level structure of Sunken King provided more trial and error and time spent experimenting with the layout, it took me longer to work through that one. So, while this expansion is still fun, it's the least worthwhile addition to the Souls experience to date.

Another uninspired expansion that features some enjoyable new enemies and encounters but fails to excite in the same way as the parent game.