GB Feature: Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King Review

We've just finished publishing a two-page review of Crown of the Sunken King, the first of three planned downloadable expansions for From Software's well-regarded Dark Souls sequel. Here's a bit of what to expect from the article:

Simple puzzles can often solved by hitting some switches in the environment, which can have a variety of effects: raising and lowering platforms, moving rotating doors and activating traps being by far the most common. So far, so standard, but the way these simple environmental interactions are integrated into the actual gameplay and level design is worthy of praise. You could initially raise a platform to get access to an object just to realize it also offers a handy escape route, or that it blocks the line of sight of enemy archers. It's a nice twist over the series' level design that wisely avoids overstaying its welcome and complements the Indiana Jones atmosphere of the ruined environments rather nicely. Puzzles aside, the DLC areas also feel strong in their own right, with multiple paths to reach your objective, relatively large side-areas, nice loops and shortcuts, and a few nasty traps that can be also used to your advantage against the enemies and even invaders.