Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 210 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 139 out of 210
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 210
  3. Negative: 37 out of 210

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  1. derpyyy
    Jul 22, 2014
    4
    Conclusion first: would not recommend unless cheap or fan/supporter

    Finished DLC solo (no coop) in NG4+ in about 4 hours including dieing a few times and finding secrets + killing all mobs on the way. (and admittedly wasting a few lifegems due to sparse and hidden bonfires) . I would say the length was okay if the whole thing was more memorable but it's simply not. Most of the    Conclusion first: would not recommend unless cheap or fan/supporter

    Finished DLC solo (no coop) in NG4+ in about 4 hours including dieing a few times and finding secrets + killing all mobs on the way. (and admittedly wasting a few lifegems due to sparse and hidden bonfires) . I would say the length was okay if the whole thing was more memorable but it's simply not.

    Most of the enemies feel like you killed them before somewhere else in the game.

    Enemy type SPOILERS ahead:

    3 New Bosses:

    1 of which is a nashandra clone with a somewhat different moveset casting typical hexes which you have probably seen at this point

    another one being simply 3 "red phantom NPCs" at the same time (they arent red but have the same behavior)

    and the dragon which i guess is actually the only real new boss and who is a good challenge due to his lack of blind spots and his tendency to fly even when in melee (can you please stop running away dragon? just attack me its fine >_>)

    new weapons are mostly! not gamebreaking good (which is a PLUS!) in fact they are mostly! low average except for their movesets (and a shield which has some potential but there are other options for shield) There is also 1 weapon that stands out but to early to say. 2 new spells are mishmash copies of existing spells and the other one is kinda troll but not really useful outside of that.

    The areas look bland for the most part except for the initial overview (with the DS2 typical you can go everywhere u can see) and the graphics are underwhelming overall in the new areas (a LOT of cement hallways and repeating structures with nothing to them) Come on FROM you guys have shown you can do better! An "sunken" King and you interpret it as Bunker :(

    All of the new trash mobs are uninspired (a new number of dead NPC using various weapons like the undead at the start of the game... and a few guys who look like red phantoms and act like them with the only special thing about them being that they fat roll.. LOL NPCs using fat roll)

    The fight that stood out to me the most was a special red phantom with ridiculous amounts of hp and a never ending stamina bar of pure pyromancy spam.    … Expand
  2. sonarctica
    Aug 26, 2014
    4
    One of the worst DLC's I've ever played... just no please stop

    "must be 150 characters long" fine
    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////
  3. StaticSpine
    Aug 3, 2014
    8
    I really liked the level design and the atmosphere. New enemies were nice too. Not much of a story/lore though. Most of the location is greenish/brownish/grey tombs and caves - that's not very pleasant to watch. The most annoying thing - the all the bosses are pretty much reused copies from DS/DSII, except the "gank squad", which is basically three red phantoms on one arena, it was hell ofI really liked the level design and the atmosphere. New enemies were nice too. Not much of a story/lore though. Most of the location is greenish/brownish/grey tombs and caves - that's not very pleasant to watch. The most annoying thing - the all the bosses are pretty much reused copies from DS/DSII, except the "gank squad", which is basically three red phantoms on one arena, it was hell of a fight, but still the boss design is lazy. Overall, the DLC is decent and fun to play. Waiting for other two.… Expand
  4. SpongyTwinkies
    Aug 10, 2014
    7
    I decided to revise my review of Crown of the Sunken King after playing it through. Dark Souls 2 had really disappointed me. I played it through to completion and one NG+, but too many problems and bad design choices turned me off from a game series that I really enjoy. The DLC is better but still plagued by problems.

    The maps are better layed out, the creatures populating the area    I decided to revise my review of Crown of the Sunken King after playing it through. Dark Souls 2 had really disappointed me. I played it through to completion and one NG+, but too many problems and bad design choices turned me off from a game series that I really enjoy. The DLC is better but still plagued by problems.

    The maps are better layed out, the creatures populating the area better help characterize the world and mood, tying into a background story, and are mostly fun to battle, and there are some secrets and items worth taking some risks for. It's challenging, but not always just for the sake of being difficult.

    But there are still problems with the DLC. Mostly useless bonfires are hidden around the map (but at least they are more difficult to get to instead of appearing too often and too soon). The enemy AI can be - well - weird; it might decide to target someone in a party that could be in the back of the room while more immediate threats are ignored. And the controls don't always behave, especially when you need them to be responsive or respond correctly. Also, the story is a bit lackluster, most likely because the base games story wasn't well developed to begin with.

    What bothers me most is when the story and design lack, the game compensates by sometimes throwing spastic enemies with nearly hyper-aggro, unreasonable attack behaviors, or they gank. The enemies don't always play by the same rules the gamer is held to, either, such as when a Razorback Nightcrawler does no damage to a charging foe but deals plenty out to you. Or an enemy seems to have nearly endless stamina. That's cheap and a cover for poor or lazy high-level design.

    Crown of the Sunken King is better than the base game, Dark Souls II, which the game really needed. But the game still doesn't deliver a solid experience like the previous two titles.    … Expand
  5. ThinkSamich
    Aug 4, 2014
    6
    150 hours Demons Souls
    400 hours Dark Souls (cross platform)
    80 hours Dark Souls 2 I cannot stand behind this DLC, it has too much of the "recycled" feel to it. As many other reviewers have added the majority of the trash mobs are just uninspired. There is a large section much like Lost Izalith that serves no other purpose than "filler" content. 2/3 boss fights are unoriginal to the    150 hours Demons Souls
    400 hours Dark Souls (cross platform)
    80 hours Dark Souls 2

    I cannot stand behind this DLC, it has too much of the "recycled" feel to it. As many other reviewers have added the majority of the trash mobs are just uninspired. There is a large section much like Lost Izalith that serves no other purpose than "filler" content. 2/3 boss fights are unoriginal to the point where they actually reuse major assets from the core game. At one point in the DLC you traverse a hive where the NPCs within all break your armor, I feel like this was a terrible idea. The PC version of Dark Souls 2 already had major issues with decreased weapon durability, so this was kind of a slap in the face for us. I think it was just something nobody was willing to deal with so soon. "Too soon, etc etc"

    The mage boss fight is unremarkable in every way, the AI is lazy and weak, if not for the ability to summon additional things to attack you it would be completely trivial. It's unfortunate From has to fall back on this multiple enemy boss fight strategy so often, because they rarely do it right. Dark Lurker was probably the only great multiple enemy fight in all of Dark Souls 2.

    The NPC red phantom invasion in the DLC appears to have unlimited stamina, attunement slots, and a casting speed that is through the roof. He just has unlimited everything, it's not exactly anything new or remarkable, the AI is not improved, you can still walk it through doorways and use the same exploits to your advantage. Which is fine I guess, I wasn't exactly expecting improved AI, but I feel like this kind of blatant stat padding is a step in the wrong direction for From. This method of increasing difficulty will eventually cross the threshold from hard to "unfair", which is exactly what this game doesn't need.

    The other "red phantom" NPC encounter is a boss fight, where you face three NPCs. Enjoy dodging a dragon tooth wielder whose attack animations skip frames. This fight was cheese through and through, and it really made me wonder where From was going with it. Is this satire for the direction the series is heading? I feel like this type of thing is exactly what these developers do not want.

    The last fight is a dragon, and I refuse to spoil it. It's a well done fight, at times it feels like the hitbox on the tail suffers from the same issues that the Last Giant had, but that just may all be in my head. Otherwise it's a wonderful fight, and easily the only worthwhile boss in the DLC.

    Level architecture is satisfying, often impressive to me. I enjoyed exploring much more than I did fighting anything in the DLC (except the dragon). There are a few neat weapons added with the DLC, I was satisfied with the loot choices, even if a piece or two did feel gimmicky. I want to leave this bit somewhat vague, because nobody likes spoiled loot.

    All in all I just found this DLC mostly unremarkable. There is a little bit of awesome sprinkled over a whole lot of filler/reused material. I was left unsatisfied with the mage fight, mostly from a mechanics standpoint, but also in a little of every other way. I do not like what From did with the NPC phantoms in this DLC, it's a step in the wrong direction. I also do not like how this DLC has been broken into 3 parts, I feel it would stand much stronger as a whole. I probably wouldn't judge these throwaway bosses in the first section so harshly if I still had half a dozen more to fight later on. I am left feeling that the split of the DLC into three parts wasn't the original idea, because this section (part 1) feels more like a teaser or demo with introductory or "warm up" bosses than anything else.

    I don't want to sound melodramatic, but at times I felt like I was watching a good series die. It really seems like the fans are being milked with mostly mediocre content.    … Expand
  6. superexplosive
    Jul 24, 2014
    9
    The Crown of the Sunken King DLC brings a new level of navigation to Dark Souls II.

    Shulva, the Sunken City exudes a sense of atmosphere that I have been waiting for. Being an underground city, the player will find themselves traversing narrow passageways, surrounded by looming enemies and intriguing contraptions. The player will find, through experimentation, the purpose behind the    The Crown of the Sunken King DLC brings a new level of navigation to Dark Souls II.

    Shulva, the Sunken City exudes a sense of atmosphere that I have been waiting for. Being an underground city, the player will find themselves traversing narrow passageways, surrounded by looming enemies and intriguing contraptions. The player will find, through experimentation, the purpose behind the switches placed across the city. The player will also find themselves backtracking through dark corridors, scanning all the nooks and crannies for missed loot. While this may seem like a dreary, tedious mess, I can assure you it is not. As Dark Souls proves time after time, this dungeon-style exploration remains enjoyable for the player- especially if you take a co-op partner with you.

    This DLC brings more to the table in the form of loot and boss encounters. The Crown of the Sunken King allows players to collect new weapons, armor, spells, and consumables during the trek. I will not spoil these items, but I will say that many are unique- some being unlike anything a Souls game has had before. As for boss battles, there are technically three. Two are in the traditional Dark Souls style, while the other is geared to be fought in a co-op dungeon area. This particular event does not feel like much of a boss fight, although I can understand that it was made to be a cooperative battle. The other two bosses are luckily quite fun and present an interesting lore to look in to. As per usual, the souls acquired from these two fights can be crafted into weapons which tie into the aforementioned lore rather nicely. Lastly, the player is given access to a new Memory outside of Shulva, accessed by using the Ashen Mist Heart in the Undead Crypt.

    Overall, The Crown of the Sunken King impressed me with its engaging level design and entertaining challenge. I was able to complete this content in around three to four hours including the time it took me to backtrack for loot. As this is only one of three parts being added to Dark Souls 2, I am very much anticipating the next release in August.    … Expand
  7. xKindred
    Aug 28, 2014
    10
    Much better than the first, so so good! Bosses are relatively easier than the first dlc's, but the items on offer for exploring dlc are excellent. Recommended.
  8. Briosh
    Jul 23, 2014
    9
    This is how DLC should be done. In some ways its even beeter than the rest of the game! Unpredictable enemies with variety of tactics. Interactive environments and brilliant level design where everything is interconnected like the first Dark Souls and also, 4 to 10 hours of gameplay with 2 very challenging bosses. For 9€ it is well worth it and I bet you will be visiting the new areasThis is how DLC should be done. In some ways its even beeter than the rest of the game! Unpredictable enemies with variety of tactics. Interactive environments and brilliant level design where everything is interconnected like the first Dark Souls and also, 4 to 10 hours of gameplay with 2 very challenging bosses. For 9€ it is well worth it and I bet you will be visiting the new areas quite often for farming, adding even further playtime.… Expand
  9. DomiNito
    Jul 23, 2014
    9
    Probably the best DLC I've seen in a while. Being a Dark Souls freak, I've loved the series returning to Dark Souls 1 long ago. Ever Since Dark Souls 2 returned, I've felt like Dark Souls 2 wasn't as good as the first, and lacked something. To be honest, this DLC was what it needed. Walking in, you see a huge temple in the distance, and looking below reveals a swampy area with Toad-DemonProbably the best DLC I've seen in a while. Being a Dark Souls freak, I've loved the series returning to Dark Souls 1 long ago. Ever Since Dark Souls 2 returned, I've felt like Dark Souls 2 wasn't as good as the first, and lacked something. To be honest, this DLC was what it needed. Walking in, you see a huge temple in the distance, and looking below reveals a swampy area with Toad-Demon things. This area also included the type of exploration you expected Dark Souls 2 to have. The single player had a mostly straight path, this DLC doesn't as far as I'm concerned. It let's you explore as much as you want. To be honest, I retraced my steps a bunch of times to find all of the loot, not much of what I did in the Single Player. To twisting mazes, to puzzles, to moving structures, this DLC really shines. This DLC also does something that the Dark Souls 2 Single Player didn't do: Shortcuts. There are a multitude of shortcuts to different areas in the DLC, and it really feels like Dark Souls 1 in this sense. There are some good spells that you get in this DLC, as well as armor and weapons, and the boss fights are tremendously hard. The first one wasn't so bad, but the second one...I'll tell you this, just summon a player, at least 1 player. Otherwise, you might call yourself dead. To be honest, this DLC almost feels like they made it too hard for some reasons. I like how they spaced out bonfires, so it feels refreshing to finally find a checkpoint, but they've hidden them way too much. Even after beating he DLC, I still didn't find the last one in an area, I had to look up a guide to find the other. I also feel that either the Bosses had Too much health, or Too high resistance to damage. This DLC isn't perfect, but it's damn sure a great one, and a great start to From's DLC series. I can't wait for the next one.… Expand
  10. TommyTanker
    Jul 27, 2014
    10
    With the DLC things get even harder, just when you thought they couldn't. Having knocked up 340 hours in Dark Souls 2 on PC. This DLC takes me further into the storyline, which too my surprise is all connected. Great news armour and weapons you pick up too!!
  11. artoriascz
    Jul 23, 2014
    10
    4 hours atmosphere in Dark Souls is far more than 30 hours of kitsch in Divinity:Origin of Sin. 10/10 again. DLC is harder than the original game. Best DLC since Artorias of the Abyss.
  12. kozzy420
    Jul 24, 2014
    0
    Some of the worst DLC ever, go take notes from Obsidian on how to do DLC. New Vegas had epic DLC (especially Old World Blues) and Mask of The Betrayer for NWN2. Now that is how you do DLC or an expansion!

    This right here is 3 hours of lazy crap. Go buy Divinity or Wasteland 2 instead, MUCH better rpg's.
  13. X-fushion
    Aug 18, 2014
    6
    Buy this if you are a Souls hardcore fan, if not you aren't missing much.
    Aesthetically speaking the DLC is good, great environments, enemies design, atmosphere, etc. the level design of Shulva, the new setting is good, it contains switches, and small puzzles.
    ¿What's the downside? Is way to short, at least to me the playthrough only lasted 3 hours, ok I skiped an optional boss but it    Buy this if you are a Souls hardcore fan, if not you aren't missing much.
    Aesthetically speaking the DLC is good, great environments, enemies design, atmosphere, etc. the level design of Shulva, the new setting is good, it contains switches, and small puzzles.
    ¿What's the downside? Is way to short, at least to me the playthrough only lasted 3 hours, ok I skiped an optional boss but it only added 20 minutes to the overall experience.
    I know that a lot of playtime doesn't necesariy means that a DLC is good, the problem with Sunken king is that is short because the general map of the expansion is small itself, there are 4 areas: shulva, the main hub, dragon sanctum, dragon rest and the cave of the dead, unfortunately the last two (rest and cave) aren't even open areas, they are just boss arenas so there's no exploration at all in these locations, and the other two remaining areas (sanctum and shulva) aren't that big to begin with, I think that the lost bastille is bigger than the whole DLC map and that's a letdown. Like I said the areas are well designed but you'll be blasting through them not because they are very easy or linear because they aren't large at all.
    Also the Boss battles are a bit dissapoiting there are only 3 of them and you face the mandatory bosses literally at the end of the DLC when you are done with one you face the next one right away. Sure those bosses are well design but I felt that setting and ending really anti-climatic.
    And the optional Boss just sucks, is no diferent from a NPC battle.
    And lastly I hope the next 2 DLC's of the crown trilogy really step up in terms of content because the first chapter while not bad, it wasn't great or memorable it just was OK.    … Expand
  14. DeusXCom
    Jul 28, 2014
    7
    While the value of 10€ for just about 3 additional hours of DS2 gameplay in one new location might be very questionable (should have been the price for the full trilogy) and some of it's content is kinda lacking (3 lazy bosses, lots of samey grey/green corridors, not much new story here and no new dialog npcs whatsoever.) It's still a very nice addition to the original DS2, that I enjoyedWhile the value of 10€ for just about 3 additional hours of DS2 gameplay in one new location might be very questionable (should have been the price for the full trilogy) and some of it's content is kinda lacking (3 lazy bosses, lots of samey grey/green corridors, not much new story here and no new dialog npcs whatsoever.) It's still a very nice addition to the original DS2, that I enjoyed playing through. Complex level design full of environmental puzzles, few nice surprises (ghost knights) and decent amount of challenge in places. The fight with 3 npcs might have been a lazy boss design, but still pretty challenging, especially in solo. Elana felt weak and boring no matter how many times i tried and the final fight with the dragon was a standard Souls-Dragon battle experience, not much new here, but not bad. On the bright side, the highlight of this DLC for me was the fight with Jester Thomas, which introduced nice addition of gestures for npc invaders, so enjoy his mocking gestures after he fries you to death during his pyro barbecue party. Even friendly npc phantoms are now bowing to you after a good boss fight if they survive. In terms of online play, this place was packed, I have been invaded about 10 times just before reaching the second bonfire, so get ready. Most Souls fans should be happy with this little DLC addition, but don't expect anything like Artorias DLC for the original DS, in terms of story, setting, or epic boss battles, Crown of the Sunken King doesn't come even close, but it's still well worth playing through and raises the anticipation for another two parts of the trilogy. 7/10… Expand
  15. Garfoodle
    Sep 2, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok, lets make this short. The DLC is good. The level design is based around player interation and discovery. Good. The bosses are Ok. Seeing as I put a spoiler tag,the bosses are a Dragon that spits acid. Cool. A Gank Squad. Even better. And a Nashandra that summons Velstad. Meh.
    The scenery is a lot more "Dark Soulsian", as its very gritty and well, ya.
    If you like DkS2, you've owned it since launch. If your waiting for a sale because you think DkS2 is ok...well...get it?    … Expand
  16. mystero
    Aug 1, 2014
    9
    Fantastic DLC!!!
    Probably best DLC that i ever seen!
    But there is something that is very bad, the dlc is better than the game, why they don't do the game like the DLC? It would be thee greatest game ever.
  17. 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 dissapiont us with theyr fraudulent intent.
    Praise the sun!
  18. Makaveli
    Aug 8, 2014
    6
    figured I would review this DLC even though I beat it the first day it came out.
    When Dark Souls 2 came out I gave the game a perfect score, I later changed my mind about that after a few playthroughs realizing that the game is still a good game but noticed how lazy the game was compared to the first game.
    The DLC is an improvement from the main game, the level design is a lot better    figured I would review this DLC even though I beat it the first day it came out.
    When Dark Souls 2 came out I gave the game a perfect score, I later changed my mind about that after a few playthroughs realizing that the game is still a good game but noticed how lazy the game was compared to the first game.
    The DLC is an improvement from the main game, the level design is a lot better than anything we see in the main game. The bosses were not very good in my opinion, we basically got two reskinned bosses and a final boss that a lot of people like but I just thought it was annoying to fight and boring.
    There is new weapons, spells and armors but the DLC as a whole felt lacking to me. They added more lore but also didn't answer any questions from the main game that a lot of people were hoping for..
    The enemies are ok but nothing really innovative.
    I did like that NPC phantoms will now use gestures if you summon them or if you get invaded by this certain invader he will mock you. I really liked that.
    The DLC is not on the same level as AoTA at all, but I'm hoping that when all 3 DLCs release that we will get something on par with that DLC..

    The DLC is ok, but you are not missing much if you decide not to get it. I was on NG+++ and I gimped myself for the play through and beat it in about 2 hours solo. However I went back and explored and got all the items that I missed which added another hour and a half.
    So the dlc took me 3 hours and 1/2 to completely finish, with all the items.. Mind you I was lucky and enemies dropped rare items for me without having to farm for them.    … Expand
  19. Acidworm
    Aug 6, 2014
    6
    Played through the DLC now on 3 different characters. I have never played Demon Souls but I am very familiar with Dark Souls 1 and 2.

    This DLC thankfully is not so linear like the rest of the game is. It is nice to unlock shortcuts, which is something I really missed in the rest of DS2 as it was done so well in DS1. This helps give it more atmosphere. Unfortunately the textures are very    Played through the DLC now on 3 different characters. I have never played Demon Souls but I am very familiar with Dark Souls 1 and 2.

    This DLC thankfully is not so linear like the rest of the game is. It is nice to unlock shortcuts, which is something I really missed in the rest of DS2 as it was done so well in DS1. This helps give it more atmosphere. Unfortunately the textures are very bland and dreary looking, and just repeat. They could have done more here. The map is more complex, with a vertical nature to cover, which is a nice change up. I enjoy all the switches as well giving it a bit of a puzzle nature.

    Only one decent boss to be found here and unfortunately the placement of the bosses is poor but I won't elaborate as I don't want to spoil it. The developers really need to stop designing bosses with adds. Adds can be good when they are tasteful but not when they are just thrown in to make the fight harder and it feels so lazily designed. For one fight in particular the NPCs you can summon just stink and are nothing but a hindrance. That fight as well is a really boring, and annoying fight to do solo, so good luck finding other players to summon.

    The regular enemies are a bit on the lame side, as they are easy to dodge and their difficulty comes from high health, and poise, as well as attacking you in groups rather than having interesting mechanics. There are some interesting enemies here but the most common one is as I described.

    One of my biggest issues with the DLC is all the poison damage that enemies do and there is an area like Black Gulch littered with enemies and statues. I was hoping we'd be done with all the poison shooting statues after Black Gulch. Poison damage is cool to mix in once in a while but they rely on it too heavily here, and it just makes things annoying.

    There are also no NPCs or merchants to interact with in the DLC, just some NPCs to summon for the bosses. Hopefully they will add this into the future DLCs.

    As a whole the DLC is a success as the level design is decent, and a bit different from the rest of the game. One boss is also really good even if the other 2 are a disappointment. For $10 it is worth the money, although I hope they can improve with the other DLCs to be released in the future.    … Expand
  20. Ravvy
    Aug 11, 2014
    8
    The DLC area is way better than the usual areas of the game. The map design is actually good here and the boss fights are better than any fights I had in Dark Souls 2 before. Well its still bad that there isn't a single NPC you can interact with in this DLC and the standard enemies are only strong because they almost never stagger. Not as great as the Artorias of the Abyss DLC but it's close.
  21. pabloe168
    Sep 6, 2014
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had hopes for this DLC but Fromsoftware did not listen to the community in regards of the flaws of Dark Souls 2 Vanilla.

    1) First of all the artificial difficulty makes some of the bosses in this DLC beyond annoying. If you plan to beat this DLC on NG+ then prepare to cheese some of them because that is what the game is pushing you to do.

    If you are a Faith build with melee forget it. You will have to cheese with magic or wait for good players to aid you.

    FS Didn't learn that more enemies on a single battle does not make the game more interesting nor winning mroe rewarding. This is one of the keystones that FS failed to replicate in DS2. Many other bosses in Demon Souls and Dark Souls defeated the player by the means of intimidation caused by the atmosphere and immersion in the plot.
    The game fails to give a feeling of reward by making the fights with the bosses broken and unfair. It's just annoying.

    2) The added value to the plot and lore is minuscule. In DS the DLC gave significant content that was bound to the main plot. It added value, characters and information about other things in the game.
    CoSK barely adds anything worth the hassle if you are interested in the story.

    3) POISE
    That was just not fun. The ridiculous amount of poise most of the enemies in the dlc have, drives one to cheese and use cheap tactics. Face it you will blow a soul vessel if you are the kind that doesn't look at guides before you do an area. If not you will have to be extremely patient since not only parrying is not good now, but also stunning your foes. Every small battle will take its time until you reach frustration if you die several times. That is a cheap way to demand patience from players.    … Expand
  22. Sakkaku
    Sep 8, 2014
    7
    Far from perfect. It's a Souls sequel/clone with more boss battles. Based off of Dark Souls but rather lacking in the atmosphere/story dept, the fixes in the combat system makes up for it's shortfalls.
  23. SolidCenturio
    Jan 28, 2017
    7
    Crown of the Sunken King is set in an underground city far below the Black Gulch, tainted by a toxic mist that killed almost all of its inhabitants except for the Sunken King's loyal warriors, who guard their kingdom's most sacred treasure with an otherworldly resolve. The player is tasked with traversing the Mayan-inspired architecture of Shulva, the Sanctum City, and uncover the secretCrown of the Sunken King is set in an underground city far below the Black Gulch, tainted by a toxic mist that killed almost all of its inhabitants except for the Sunken King's loyal warriors, who guard their kingdom's most sacred treasure with an otherworldly resolve. The player is tasked with traversing the Mayan-inspired architecture of Shulva, the Sanctum City, and uncover the secret that wiped out their civilization.

    Crown of the Iron King is a return to form in some ways, since its level design, enemy placement, and location of items closely resembles that of the first game. The Sanctum City is built like a maze, where platforms could go up and down, and an area could be reached from multiple entrances. Shulva is littered with valuable ores and rare treasures hidden in plain sight, where the only way to reach them is to navigate winding walkways and perilous paths; those familiar with the design of Oolacile Township will see the comparison with the city of Shulva.

    Compared to Brume Tower and Frozen Eleum Loyce, Shulva features more unique enemies who extend their roles beyond the grunt and the occasional caster: the Sanctum Soldiers has very high poise, uses longbows and poison arrows at long range, and could emit poison mist from their bodies; the spirit-like Sanctum Knights cannot be harmed by any form of attack, unless the player finds a statue associated with the knight and destroys it, rendering the invincible enemy vulnerable once again. There are also the Corrosive Egg Insects who could create a cloud of corrosive acid, and prefers to fight in a group - a common trait shared by all of the enemies in this DLC.

    Lore-wise, this DLC is my favorite of the Lost Crowns trilogy. Shulva, the Sanctum City is an interesting place, because the ancient people who resided there built the city around their sacred treasure. It shows us a glimpse of life before the kingdom of Drangleic, when people used to have all of these crazy ideas, and worship anything that is bigger than them.

    Overall, a good DLC that features a lot of content.

    And there you have it.    … Expand
  24. ManHoof
    Jul 29, 2023
    6
    Not a bad DLC. Interesting locations to explore. Also good, surprisingly for this part, bosses.

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Best PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 25, 2014
    90
    Satisfying add-on to a great game, with interesting bosses. [Oct 2014]
  2. CD-Action
    Oct 22, 2014
    60
    It looks like Crown of the Sunken Kings was developed by interns, as it misses many elements that made Dark Souls II an exceptional game. [10/2014, p.66]
  3. Hyper Magazine
    Sep 14, 2014
    80
    Manages to capture the rewarding highs and terrifying lows that define the souls series. [Issue#253, p.68]
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