Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King

 PC
Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King Image
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79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 123 Ratings

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  • Summary: Crown of the Old Iron King features an entirely different world within the Dark Souls II universe where players will venture into a massive tower swamped by black mist where flames, smoke and sorcery sadistically lurk.

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Dark Souls II - TGS 2013 Trailer

Critic Reviews

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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. PC Gamer
    Sep 4, 2014
    80
    A fun throwback to the feel of Dark Souls, but easier than we’d hoped.
  7. 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.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 3 out of 11
  1. nurfedx
    Oct 30, 2021
    10
    One of the best Games known to mankind.
    From Software is a safe heaven for the Gaming community.
    Especially in times where big Developers    One of the best Games known to mankind.
    From Software is a safe heaven for the Gaming community.
    Especially in times where big Developers dissapiont us with theyr fraudulent intent.
    Praise the sun!    … Expand
  2. javaleno
    Oct 29, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This DLC is freaking amazing. The reason why I think it is amazing is because of 2/3 bosses. One boss is a magic based smelter demon, instead of the regular fire smelter demon. I am spoiling this boss because I don't want you to be pissed off when you go through this insanely difficult area just to reach a boss you fought already. ANYWAY, the second boss is freaking amazing!! He is part of the main lore and is related to one of the other bosses in the main story, which I thought was badass. And the final boss is my favorite boss of all time. Reason being, the setting, music, and boss design is just so beautiful. It isn't the best boss fight in terms of like, the actual fight, but I love the lore and setting the most. Ornstein and Smough is still my fav boss fight ever. I definitely recommend this DLC. Oh yeah, the areas are pretty cool as well, I did it on NG7, and it was pretty hard, but fun of course. Iron king>Ivory king>sunken king.… Expand
  4. 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.    … Expand
  5. Garfoodle
    Sep 2, 2014
    8
    Its just as good as the first DLC, but its still pretty good. The bosses are not too good, as all 3 are reused from the base gameIts just as good as the first DLC, but its still pretty good. The bosses are not too good, as all 3 are reused from the base game
    (Alonne=Pursuer, Fume Knight=Lost Sinner, and smelter demon=smelter demon)
    The level design isn't as good as the first one, either. But that being said, all the base enemies are a lot better overall, and so are the new weapons and armor, which all look amazing. And there are some callbacks to DkS1/Demons Souls.
    Anyway, its still a good, solid DLC, worthy of a buy.    … Expand
  6. StaticSpine
    Sep 5, 2014
    7
    Good DLC, bun not as good as the first one locations design-wise and atmosphere-wise. There are some cool shortcuts though. New enemy typesGood DLC, bun not as good as the first one locations design-wise and atmosphere-wise. There are some cool shortcuts though. New enemy types are nice and the new bosses are good too (except Blue Smelter Demon... he's just a re-used boss from the original). Overall, the DLC is worth money/time.… Expand
  7. DeusXCom
    Aug 29, 2014
    5
    Disappointment. Definitely worse than The Sunken King. Theoretically about the same value, so 10 bucks for 5 hours of gameplay including someDisappointment. Definitely worse than The Sunken King. Theoretically about the same value, so 10 bucks for 5 hours of gameplay including some co-op and pvp, so still questionable, but compared to the previous DLC, the quality is even weaker here. It's still hard, especially if you're playing on NG+ and more, so at least you'll get a good amount of combat challenge, but Souls series is not just about the difficulty, the main reason why I love original Dark/Demon Souls is the atmosphere, story and the level design, and all of that is lacking here. Level design looked promising at first, but in the end it's mostly a vertical mess filled with elevators, atmosphere is ruined by constant annoying sounds of those elevators or lava flow and the lore behind all that is quite minimal. (No new NPC's whatsoever again). Another big let-down were the bosses, even less inspired than the ones in the main game and even though this was my criticism with previous DLC, here it's even worse - a big knight with a big sword, an overgrown Shiva and the blue Smelter Demon? Is this really the best you can do? I still liked some parts, the whole ash theme and the ashen idol mechanic for example, but for the first time in the Souls series I found that I wasn't really enjoying myself, I was just plaything through. It's a pity, because The Sunken King was pretty decent DLC with many interesting ideas and I was hoping for an increasing quality level and eventually an impressive trilogy, but the Crown of the Old Iron King feels more like a Dark Souls 2 outtake/b-side/leftover. 5/10… Expand
  8. Squerol
    Sep 4, 2014
    0
    As like in first Sunken bla bla bla DLC, no DLC will change godly-bad core of the game, especially that announced 3 DLCs in a row, some daysAs like in first Sunken bla bla bla DLC, no DLC will change godly-bad core of the game, especially that announced 3 DLCs in a row, some days after game release, is just jump on cash... Commercial, commercial, commercial.... 0/10… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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#82 Best PC Game of 2014

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