Recent reviews by Sweat Money

Awesome game, and the strongest entry in the franchise overall for me. Be aware, however, of the not-so-occasional game design faux pas—nonsensical level design, bizarre and and oftentimes infuriating enemy placement, mixed bag of bosses.

Those are some pretty glaring issues, reading over that now.

But if you're patient enough, you'll find that the game's rife with great characters that serve as poignant deconstructions of a lot of the themes the first game put down, particularly the titular Scholar of the First Sin. The DLC zones, which have now been turned into important aspects of this game's story, also pick up a lot of the original game's slack.

Also the best PvP content, bar none. If you have the time, go through the game's various PvP "story arcs." All of the awful builds—helixacodon, bino-boosting, climax—and the niche, strange balance patches that resulted from them, are like a tornado blowing through a trailer park and leaving behind a McLaren. The other games won't ever be able to replicate this game's potential for build creativity.