I love the Dark Souls series (except Sekiro). I’m not a hardcore player and don’t like spending hours on optional bosses. Last week, I played the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring. It’s very hard, but I used all game mechanics to make it easier. This worked until the last boss.
The best part of the DLC is the world and level design. They combined Elden Ring’s wide spaces with the vertical design of Dark Souls 1. The map is a maze with many layers. What looks like a short walk can turn into a long journey around the map. Without guides, it’s hard to find all the paths quickly.
I hope modders will make the map available for everyone. It’s a great learning tool for world designers!