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- Bandai Namco Games
- Bandai Namco Games
- Bandai Namco Games
- Bandai Namco Games
Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King
Released On: Sep 29, 2014
82
7.7
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
82
92% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
82
92% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Dark Souls II desperately needed Ivory King's detailed frozen wasteland.
Crown of the Ivory King is exhausting, but at the end of it all, the predominant emotion swelling inside of us was sadness. We wanted more: one more boss fight, one more tucked-away room – not because the DLC is lacking, but because we didn’t want to leave.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 120 User Ratings
7.7
72% Positive
86 Ratings
86 Ratings
15% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
13% Negative
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 120 User Ratings
7.7
72% Positive
86 Ratings
86 Ratings
15% Mixed
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
13% Negative
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
Best DLC of the Crowns Trilogy. Nothing particularly innovative about it... and that's absolutely fine. The immersive level design is there, the challenging combat is there, there are some great new bosses and mini-bosses, etc.
All in all, a super-tight, engaging and polished DLC that extends the enjoyment for us lovers of the Souls series :)
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PC
Crown of the Ivory King’s snow-swept ramparts are an exemplary example of intricate, looping level design. This third and final release wraps up the most consistent set of DLC I’ve played since Fallout: New Vegas.
This trilogy ends with a bang and represents an expansion textbook for one of the best games of the year. We are not fans of DLCs, but if the quality is this, they are welcome.
While my challenge seeking heart and likely inexhaustible patience were hoping for our reward to be a secret new area, an Ultimate Boss or heck, a minor change to the ambiguous ending to Dark Souls II’s main story, Crown of the Ivory King was not just a delicious (and at times bitter) cake to go through, but it also provided me with a cherry top that was clear interpretation of what our player character was able to ultimately accomplish.
It features the same focus on new experiences and terrifying boss fights as the past two Crown installments, tucked into a setting that's atypical for a Souls game. Once you tie the bow on Dark Souls 2, the only thing left to do is start counting down the days until Bloodborne.
Still not quite essential, but the best of the three downloads and an effective final chapter for the most successfully difficult video game of the modern era.
Ivory Crown is definitely my favourite from the DLC trilogy and overall one of the best experiences Dark Souls 2 has to offer. Beautiful dreamy kingdom covered in snow, freezing atmosphere, complex level design, solid challenges, nice boss cats, one particular NPC that made me laugh with his behavior, but the biggest highlight for me are Frigid Outskirts, that place is intense! Getting lost in a massive blizzard, can't see a thing, fighting armies of deadly horses and invaders, broke down 4 different weapons on my journey there.. amazing! It's also worth noting that the game time is almost doubled compared to previous 2 DLC's, so at least 10+ hours if you do everything. This was a very nice closure and goodbye to Dark Souls 2. 9/10
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PC
Crown of the Ivory King takes place in a once great kingdom, frozen in time by the cold winds of an everlasting winter. The player is tasked with traversing the Frozen Eleum Loyce in all its grandeur, and unveil the secrets of the Old Chaos that reside beneath the land. Now out of all the three DLCs, I found this one to be the easiest, since Frozen Eleum Loyce's level design is linear for the most part (optional areas that are blockaded by ice become accessible in the latter half of the DLC.) Enemy variety is limited (excluding NPC invasions and the occasional mini-boss) with a majority performing dual roles as both caster and tanker, while their attack patterns are easily discernible, and their placement within the levels is very forgiving and doesn't promote ambush attacks. This being Dark Souls, though, the game showing a slight easiness doesn't mean that you could just run around and fight to your heart's content; diligence is still needed, or you'll end up in a tight spot.
What's interesting about this DLC is that it's the closest thing that we will ever get to choosing a difficulty setting in a Souls game. The final boss is somewhat hard to fight, since he's surrounded by three portals which constantly pump out resilient knights; the battle becomes a slaughter if you're not good enough. The most skilled of players could defeat him and his band of merry men without even breaking a sweat, but for casual people like me, we go on a treasure hunt. Within the walls of Frozen Eleum Loyce lie three ominous knights, locked behind closed doors of what looks like self-imposed exile. Approaching a knight reveals a cryptic message, and teleports it to an empty seat above the final boss area. Each one you find will help you fight the end boss, and eventually sacrifice himself to close a portal. So basically, it's like easy-medium-hard for each hidden knight that you find. Add to the fact that you could also summon two other NPCs/players and the final fight becomes a battle for the ages.
Lore-wise, it contributes a whole lot to the Dark Souls mythos. The DLC expands on the Children of the Dark, and how they helped shape and influence the great monarchs who once ruled the land. There are also reveals about the Old Chaos, which continued to burn long after the Chosen Undead had defeated the Bed of Chaos.
Overall a good DLC with much to offer, and new challenges to overcome.
And there you have it.
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PC
Pros:
- Good level design, interconnectivity, shortcuts.
- Beautiful visuals.
- Nice final boss showdown.
- Cool feature with knights searching.
- Troll phantom.
Cons:
- Frigid outskirts is the worst location in Souls games ever.
- Other "two" bosses.
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PC
Somewhat decent DLC but..
Ruining the players eyes is not clever gamedesign!
DS2 uses various ways of psychological warfare like the repeating pewpew sounds by the casters in shrine of Amana. However i feel that they went too far with Frigid outskirts in this DLC which is a pretty large entirely white, semi permanent snowstorm area with a boss at the end and no bonfire near the boss. After spending an hour here (having reduced brightness early) my eyes start hurting and given the fact that you will probably have to replay this area as it's pretty difficult especially on higher NG and if you are mad enough to try and solo it (deisgnated as coop area) and you will spend even more time here if you want to find all the loot..... it's not cool at all to wreck your players health like that.
Other than that the DLC focuses heavily on the enemies ganging up on you. Even larger groups than in the sunken king DLC.
Bosses are alright but Ivory King is no challenge whatsoever as long as you collect all the dudes that help you in the fight (not counting summons).
I would recommend picking up Crown of the old Iron King over this one unless you have already done that.
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PC
Summary The 3rd of three large-scale DLC additions to the Dark Souls II game includes new stages, maps, boss characters, weapons and armor. In this third DLC, players find themselves in a world shining bright with the glow of treacherous ice.
Platforms:
- PC
- Xbox 360
- PlayStation 3
Initial Release Date: Sep 29, 2014
Developer:
- Namco Bandai Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Genres:
