Finished first run in just over 100 hours, level 83. Took my time, saw the sights, worked up my gear, had a lot of fun. For whatever it's worth, I'll post some thoughts.
An immense, incredibly rewarding, deep, ambitious and sophisticated game. Maybe a bit too ambitious at times, which clearly has left some people disappointed. But this is the kind ambition the industry needs. From really tried to innovate, particularly with online play, and I give them huge props for their effort, flawed as it might be.
Seems like some people got a bit spoiled by the scope of some of the early areas and expect all of them to be equally as large and involved. The way I see it, Tomb of Giants is an extension of Catacombs, as is Lost Izalith to Demon Ruins, and Crystal Cave to Duke's Archives. In this regard there is plenty of content and exploration here to rival Undead Burg, Darkroot and so on.
If it weren't for information sharing and guides, I doubt many people would even find Great Hollow and Ash Lake. Think of them as a bonus.
Valley of Drakes is clearly an intermediary area, this is not inherently negative.
The level of care and quality took a dip in Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith, yes, but I think the total negativity towards the end-game areas is kinda overstated.
In any case, there was so much to see, do, find and overcome that every new area, small or large filled me with a mix of excitement, fear, anxiety and wonder. The variety and inventiveness was a joy.
I don't have too many complaints, frame-rate issues don't bother me, as I didn't find the gameplay to be adversely affected. Unbalanced PvP is a problem, but I suck anyway so I don't take it seriously enough to get frustrated. End-game disappointing? Not in my view. Thoroughly rewarding, and epic throughout. This is the kind of game I dreamed about since I was a kid. It's a rare breed of game that we're lucky to have.
Thank you, From Soft!
