Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King

 PC
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. DarkStation
    Sep 8, 2014
    90
    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.
  2. IncGamers
    Sep 1, 2014
    90
    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.
  3. GameTrailers
    Sep 3, 2014
    88
    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.
  5. 3DJuegos
    Sep 4, 2014
    85
    FromSoftware continue their experiments, this time with the vertical and returning to the original formula with levels that twist on themselves.
  6. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 25, 2014
    84
    Landscapes inside a tower look the same, and so do the bosses, all armored humanoids with big sword. [Oct 2014]
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  7. Polygon
    Sep 26, 2014
    80
    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.
  8. SpazioGames
    Sep 16, 2014
    80
    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.
  9. Everyeye.it
    Sep 4, 2014
    80
    An extreme DLC, meant to be played only if you are not afraid to die an embarrassing amount of times.
  10. PC Gamer
    Sep 4, 2014
    80
    A fun throwback to the feel of Dark Souls, but easier than we’d hoped.
  11. Digital Chumps
    Aug 28, 2014
    80
    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.
  12. USgamer
    Aug 27, 2014
    80
    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.
  13. LevelUp
    Sep 10, 2014
    79
    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.
  14. Digitally Downloaded
    Sep 8, 2014
    70
    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.
  15. Hardcore Gamer
    Aug 26, 2014
    70
    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.
  16. Metro GameCentral
    Aug 27, 2014
    60
    Another uninspired expansion that features some enjoyable new enemies and encounters but fails to excite in the same way as the parent game.

Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Best PC Game of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 123 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 123
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 123
  3. Negative: 22 out of 123
  1. derpyyy
    Aug 27, 2014
    8
    I would have rated this 9/10 BUT.. (CON first - then PRO)

    CON: The one huge issue i have with this one is they just straight up reused the    I would have rated this 9/10 BUT.. (CON first - then PRO)

    CON:
    The one huge issue i have with this one is they just straight up reused the smelter demon boss fight!

    Out of the 3 Bosses that came with this DLC they just copy pasted the Smelter Demon and recoloured him in blue other than that it's the EXACT same thing.. WUT??? It's literally the exact same fight and reusing assets is just lazy as hell! Did they run out of time? Seriously wtf is he doing there again?? I have played the main game so often i just dont want to see the exact same thing in PAID DLC!!!!! Honestly i would have rated the whole thing higher if they had just left it at 2 Bosses!

    PRO:
    The new bosses are fun and come with a nasty variety of attack patterns and in 1 case even 2 phases! Doing what Dark Souls 2 Bosses do best. If you enjoyed the Pursuer fight you will most likely enjoy these bad boys as well.

    The level design in this DLC is OUTSTANDING! and by that i mean everything about it. Starting with the many traps, the enemy placement (brilliant!) and the ways the player can interact with the environment. You won't see any of the lame shoot-the-switch "puzzles" from the first DLC here! Extremely well done! Probably even better than vanilla Dark souls 2.

    At least 70% of the non-boss enemy types are completely new designs and extremely cool bastards at that. The ones that arent entirely new are wielding different weapons that you arent used to seeing and only the Alonne Knights (and 1 other type that is kind of not encountered in vanilla even though it's in there) make a real reappearance (which makes a lot of sense given the context).

    Quite a few of the new weapons seem to have some interesting twists and at least one or two are just straight out beasts but again without being imbalanced which is very good imo! Some other interesting items and spells complete the picture of new stuff.

    The atmosphere is dense with graphics and audio. Although you shouldnt expect the game to look as perfect as some high end games out right now, leaving your footsteps in the ash next to burnt corpses just has it's own flair. I did encounter a framerate drop in 1 Area transition (i.e. door...) in particular but it seems to be related to loading in the objects in a big open and "moving" area for the first time and the draw distance of that particular area definitely makes it worthwhile.

    Last but not least the difficulty is somewhere between cruel and brutal. Finishing this DLC solo on NG4+ took me a lot longer than i am willing to admit (compared to the about 4 hours it took me to get through sunken king on the same difficulty) and i dare anyone who thinks the game is too easy to try this DLC melee only without running through once you know where everything is. (and even when running to boss areas after knowing the way i got a good pwnch in the face more often than i wanted to)

    This beast is well worth the money (albeit the terrible idea of copy-pasteing the smelter demon .. why? i dont even -.- the bloody thing can even be skipped! No real reason to kill him in the first place) Not much other places i can think of where i can spend 10 bucks and have that much fun for it in return.

    If you have to decide between the Sunken King DLC and this one i recommend the latter.    … Full Review »
  2. Tommapar
    Aug 27, 2014
    9
    Crown of the Old Iron King manages to achieve original combat scenarios, all new to the series, while refraining from the muddy atmosphere ofCrown of the Old Iron King manages to achieve original combat scenarios, all new to the series, while refraining from the muddy atmosphere of previous settings (like Crown of the Sunken King) and bringing a welcome high fantasy atmosphere to the setting.
    If you liked the previous DLC, this is going to be even better for you, since it improves upon the bar set by the Crown of the Sunken King in classic Dark Souls fashion. These improvements come in the form of powerful and more varied enemies; the inclusion of "effigies" that you can destroy that produce certain buffs on enemies, or summon firestorms that hurt you if you get to close; and the intricate and complex level design we saw (and personally loved) from the last DLC gets to be the center of attention this time around, with the central area being a huge hollow tower, with an almost labyrinthical structure, full of shortcuts, enemies and gorgeous views.
    As the previous DLC, this one comes packed with 3 bosses, with a clear emphasis in 1v1 encounters like we saw in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC for Dark Souls 1 (Artorias like boss fights) instead of the barrage of enemies thrown at you in previous bosses that made deaths feel cheap or unfair.
    These type of fights offer a much less frustrating game experience, while retaining the challenge we love from the series.    … Full Review »
  3. superexplosive
    Aug 28, 2014
    9
    The Crown of the Old Iron King fits nicely into the world of Dark Souls II.

    For the second of a three part expansion, the player gains    The Crown of the Old Iron King fits nicely into the world of Dark Souls II.

    For the second of a three part expansion, the player gains access to the Brume Tower. This tower is an abandoned iron foundry surrounded by an ashen exterior and containing intricate passages within it. These halls are not empty, however, as they are home to the long-forgotten iron soldiers of the King's past. Alongside them are twisted, flaming effigies which hold soul fragments of Nadalia, Bride of Ash. Destroying these angry statues will cease their attack and give the player a piece of Her soul. The many dim corridors that stretch throughout the iron towers allow for freedom of exploration. From the start there are several possible routes for the player to venture towards, packed with enemies and loot along the way.

    At the end of each route there is a real fight to be had. Both of the main bosses in this DLC are noticeably challenging. They will test your skill and maybe even have you rearranging your specs just to stand a chance. And as it goes with Souls games, the feeling of gratification will come after a hard-earned success. The bosses also connect into the lore of the Iron King and his rule, for those interested. The third (optional) boss fight is at the end of a co-op dungeon area as seen in the previous expansion. Disappointingly, the boss here is a re-skin of a boss already in the game but, because this is analogous to the 'gank squad' from the Sunken King DLC, it is forgivable. This is also not the say that the player won't be challenged by this bonus area.

    Overall, the Crown of the Old Iron King challenged me with its labyrinthian level design and brutal enemies. On NG++, one boss fight took me several hours to complete. Factoring in the time for exploration, this DLC seemed longer than the previous expansion- and certainly harder. FromSoftware yet again adds an exciting realm to explore and difficult obstacles to overcome. I can hardly wait for the final part next month.    … Full Review »
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