Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King Review | Like a Moth Drawn to a Flame

Like moths drawn to a flame, Crown of the Old Iron King, the second of three add-on scenarios for From Software‘s Dark Souls II, brings players to the ashen stronghold of the eponymous monarch. The scenario tries to keep the momentum going from the Crown of the Sunken King add-on, while shifting away from the previous DLC’s focus on puzzles. There’s no question Crown of the Old Iron King will burn you, but does it burn with the masochistic flame Dark Souls fans crave or merely the dull embers of disappointment?

Scalding: Exploration is a requirement.

Each add-on scenario will have its own theme. Crown of the Sunken King had a heavy emphasis on puzzles. This time around the name of the game is exploration. Immediately upon entering the new areas brought by Crown of the Old Iron King, players are introduced to the most unique “boss fight” in the entire series. Instead of your standard fare of facing off against powerful enemies in a closed arena, you are tasked with hunting down and destroying the Ashen Idols that contain fragments of the Bride of Ash’s soul.

 

The establishing shot tells you everything: Heights, fire, and machinery.
Dark Souls fans: Excited to explore ruins that are slightly less inviting than Chernobyl.

Exploration is more than simply rewarding, it’s now essential. Every player must comb the Brume Tower for remnants of the Bride of Ash. At times it can feel frustrating, but not in the way that makes a game bad. It’s frustrating in the sense that you wish you could fight this boss in the standard way, but she’s actually made things inconvenient for you. By fighting in a manner unique to this encounter, she forces the player into danger by making them seek her out in hostile territory, as opposed to a relatively safe designated battlefield. It’s a great decision that was implemented amazingly.

Scorching: The best boss encounters in Dark Souls II.

There are four boss encounters in Crown of the Old Iron King, three required and one optional. I only mentioned the Bride of Ash because she is literally the first thing you encounter in the Brume Tower, so it’s not a particularly big spoiler to outline the fact she’s a unique boss in her own right. I refuse to truly spoil the other bosses for you, but I will say this: The required bosses are all cream of the crop for Dark Souls II.

The hands down coolest boss fight in the entire game.
The scene is set for the coolest boss fight in the entire game.

The little touches to the other two required bosses, that won’t be named in this review, really make them shine. There are nice call backs to the original Dark Souls, hidden traits for those that follow the lore, and a rewarding bonus for players that show exemplary skill. These bosses also show off very different fighting styles, so you don’t feel like there was a copy and paste from a previous encounter. To further add to the greatness, the surroundings for each battle are complete opposites and could not fit their respective bosses more perfectly than they do now.

En Fuego: Strategic level design and enemy placement.

The Brume Tower, where a majority of the action takes place, feels very vertical and revolves around clock-like machinery that’s powered by flame. Enemies are placed in such a manner that they can easily overwhelm a solo adventurer that doesn’t think before acting. While exploring, players need to keep an eye out and plan their next course of action instead of cheesing their way through every encounter, because there are now less viable sniping positions and means of baiting enemies. That’s when the environment, loaded with fire spewing statues, black powder, and sheer drops, becomes a great ally.

 

Mobile force multipliers, just add fire.
Mobile force multipliers, just add fire.

At several points, situations that once seemed cruelly difficult can be made much more manageable through enemy manipulation, and it’s damn fun to do. For example, enemies carrying casks of black power will flee when approached. By scaring a few onto a lower level, where you fight several Ashen Warriors and a molten Iron Warrior, you can level the playing field. The playing field and anything on it. Encounters like this remind me of the fun to be had in the original Dark Souls area Sen’s Fortress, where you could lure foes into their own traps, but on a much grander scale. This is the most fun I’ve had in all of Dark Souls II.

Freezer Burn: Re-skinned optional boss.

With everything this add-on scenario does right, From Software really phoned it in on the optional boss. I know it’s optional and they didn’t have to add it in, but couldn’t they have at least tried? They took a previous optional boss, put him in the Iron Passage, slapped some blue on him, and called it a day. It was the most disappointing thing I’ve ever seen in the series, especially after playing through an expansion that had me fall in love with the series all over again.

 

Dark Souls II? More like Dark Souls Too Lazy.
Dark Souls II? More like Dark Souls Too Lazy.

Share this article:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on email
Email
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp

Recent Posts

Three fortnite character overlooking the map Features

How Fortnite Hurt The Gaming Industry

When Fortnite was initially released in 2017, it was a PVE defense game that didn’t seem like it would be around for long. With the growing popularity of games in …

Master Chief holding his helmet. Halo Infinite Features

What Halo Infinite Should Have Been

https://youtu.be/Cagxj2RchQI?si=_fFf3fs_fsh7d0Fq Many people have a gaming franchise that changed their life in some way. I have life-long friendships that have been formed while playing games like Mario Kart and Golden …

Gaming News

Should You Buy A Meta Quest 3S?

https://youtu.be/EVSbA2Yxx2k?si=G2KXmPguAB_45u5n Meta recencetly heald their Meta Connect conference and announced some excited things if you’re into VR and AR. The Meta Quest 2 was once the hottest item in their …

Halo Project Foundry Gaming News

What Is The Future of Halo?

https://youtu.be/a2CCRgycbLI?si=3juhSUwirUTpKWoJ There have been rumors for years about what is next for Halo. Today during the Halo World Championships, we got our answers. 343 Industries will now be known as …

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind Gaming News

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind | Developer Interview

It may surprise many, but there has never been a Power Rangers arcade beat ’em up game. (I know right!?!?!) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a passion project …

Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch Gaming News

Jay and Silent Bob: The Chronic Blunt Punch | PAX West 2024

Going into PAX West 2024, I knew that I was going to enjoy ‘Jay and Silent Bob: The Chronic Blunt Punch’, but I did not know it was going to be …