Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King

 PC
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Digital Trends
    Nov 25, 2014
    90
    Dark Souls II desperately needed Ivory King's detailed frozen wasteland.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Oct 10, 2014
    90
    Setting aside, enemies are less inventive than the ones found in Old Iron King.
  3. GameTrailers
    Oct 10, 2014
    90
    Crown of the Ivory King is exhausting, but at the end of it all, the predominant emotion swelling inside of us was sadness. We wanted more: one more boss fight, one more tucked-away room – not because the DLC is lacking, but because we didn’t want to leave.
  5. GameSpot
    Oct 8, 2014
    90
    The lethal and regal presence of the king's phantomlike tigers makes for a welcome change of pace.
  6. IncGamers
    Oct 4, 2014
    90
    Crown of the Ivory King’s snow-swept ramparts are an exemplary example of intricate, looping level design. This third and final release wraps up the most consistent set of DLC I’ve played since Fallout: New Vegas.
  7. Digital Chumps
    Oct 4, 2014
    82
    Paired with Crown of the Sunken King and Crown of the Old Iron King, it's enough to wish From Software could extend Dark Souls II's life with interminable rounds of additional content.
  8. SpazioGames
    Oct 18, 2014
    80
    This trilogy ends with a bang and represents an expansion textbook for one of the best games of the year. We are not fans of DLCs, but if the quality is this, they are welcome.
  9. DarkStation
    Oct 8, 2014
    80
    While my challenge seeking heart and likely inexhaustible patience were hoping for our reward to be a secret new area, an Ultimate Boss or heck, a minor change to the ambiguous ending to Dark Souls II’s main story, Crown of the Ivory King was not just a delicious (and at times bitter) cake to go through, but it also provided me with a cherry top that was clear interpretation of what our player character was able to ultimately accomplish.
  10. PC Gamer
    Oct 2, 2014
    80
    It's familiar, but Crown of the Ivory King is still another gorgeous five-hour helping of Dark Souls 2. Cherish it—it’s your last.
  11. USgamer
    Oct 1, 2014
    80
    It features the same focus on new experiences and terrifying boss fights as the past two Crown installments, tucked into a setting that's atypical for a Souls game. Once you tie the bow on Dark Souls 2, the only thing left to do is start counting down the days until Bloodborne.
  12. Hardcore Gamer
    Sep 30, 2014
    80
    With well-conceived bosses, an exciting new snow setting, and a shiny new crown to put on your mantel, Crown of the Ivory King helps expand the Dark Souls II fiction into great territories.
  13. Metro GameCentral
    Oct 3, 2014
    70
    Still not quite essential, but the best of the three downloads and an effective final chapter for the most successfully difficult video game of the modern era.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best PC Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 111 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 111
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 111
  3. Negative: 15 out of 111
  1. Zargham
    Dec 7, 2014
    8
    Now this is what I call a way to spice things up in Dark souls 2

    -Deep Story -Interesting Boss Battles -Maldron The Freakin troll!! -A    Now this is what I call a way to spice things up in Dark souls 2

    -Deep Story
    -Interesting Boss Battles
    -Maldron The Freakin troll!!
    -A great set of armours and weapons

    My only concern with this DLC is the Frigid outskirts, which, simply put has the award of being the worst area in the entire souls series given that your attempting it solo. Seems this area was specifically designed for CO-OP. This is the only con for this DLC otherwise it would have definitely scored a 10.    … Full Review »
  2. derpyyy
    Oct 4, 2014
    5
    Somewhat decent DLC but..
    Ruining the players eyes is not clever gamedesign!
    DS2 uses various ways of psychological warfare like the    Somewhat decent DLC but..
    Ruining the players eyes is not clever gamedesign!

    DS2 uses various ways of psychological warfare like the repeating pewpew sounds by the casters in shrine of Amana. However i feel that they went too far with Frigid outskirts in this DLC which is a pretty large entirely white, semi permanent snowstorm area with a boss at the end and no bonfire near the boss. After spending an hour here (having reduced brightness early) my eyes start hurting and given the fact that you will probably have to replay this area as it's pretty difficult especially on higher NG and if you are mad enough to try and solo it (deisgnated as coop area) and you will spend even more time here if you want to find all the loot..... it's not cool at all to wreck your players health like that.

    Other than that the DLC focuses heavily on the enemies ganging up on you. Even larger groups than in the sunken king DLC.

    Bosses are alright but Ivory King is no challenge whatsoever as long as you collect all the dudes that help you in the fight (not counting summons).

    I would recommend picking up Crown of the old Iron King over this one unless you have already done that.    … Full Review »
  3. StaticSpine
    Oct 6, 2014
    7
    Pros:
    - Good level design, interconnectivity, shortcuts.
    - Beautiful visuals. - Nice final boss showdown. - Cool feature with knights    Pros:
    - Good level design, interconnectivity, shortcuts.
    - Beautiful visuals.
    - Nice final boss showdown.
    - Cool feature with knights searching.
    - Troll phantom.

    Cons:
    - Frigid outskirts is the worst location in Souls games ever.
    - Other "two" bosses.    … Full Review »
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