Controversy! I recently replayed 1, 2, and 3, and I have to say I really wish 3 felt more like the first two games and less like Bloodborne

From the level asthetic, to enemy design, to the speedy combat, it was just not the dark souls sequel I wanted. I do not hate Bloodborne. It is my favorite From Software game. I don’t think I had a complaint about the combat style when I first played the game, but going directly from 2 to 3 made enemy and character movement look ludicrous in my eyes until somewhere along the halfway point where it finally started feeling natural again. Combat from 1 to 2 felt like a natural progression (Enemy placement is another matter altogether). But 2 to 3 was jarring. 3 to Elden Ring felt fine.

Combat aside, it was the enemy design in 3 that really bugged me. People complain about 2 being just dudes in armor, but it fit the rest of the game and the enemies were diverse and varied for the most part and I respect it for that. DS3 went all in on the Bloodborne asthetic. It seemed impossible to go more than 5 minutes in without some monstrosity screeching at you or some eldritch abomination rushing you.

I feel like 3 was a game built upon 2 things: The criticisms of DS2 and the praise of Bloodborne, and I wish they just sifted a little bit more through the ashes of the complaints to build upon and improve the really good stuff that 2 had to offer.