I used to play this game quite a bit and I enjoyed it. But that was back when Dark Souls: PTDE was the only alternative which at the time still had major performance issues and was still using GFWL for online play.
Dark Souls 2 offered a stable experience and working online.

Something that Dark Souls 2 also had was better build variety. I remember playing Dark Souls 1 and trying to use the dragon bone fists and having a miserable time. But in Dark Souls 2 you could use whatever and still make it through the game without issues.

I did a lot of PVP in this game, probably more that I did in the other titles. I've heard people say that it has the BEST pvp, but to me it is not because the PVP is good but rather Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring did a worse job with it. Even back in it's prime invasions outside of the main pvp areas were really rare, probably because people had to farm eye orbs, and those who didn't want to do that just stuck to the arena and bell towers.

I stopped playing after Dark Souls 3 came out and never came back until many years later to play with a few friends who had never played it before.
Having stepped away from the game for a while and then coming back made me realize that I had ignored a lot of the flaws of the game just because the game offered a few things that Dark Souls 1 did not. But now that Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 are around they also offer the same things, so now it's now longer unique to Dark Souls 2.

What unique things Dark Souls 2 had left are mostly negative.
Lets start:
-Level design isn't great. A lot of the areas are a pain to explore and a slog to get through. I've heard people praise the game for being non-linear but that really isn't true. It's true that you have some paths to choose in the first half of the game, but the paths themselves are pretty linear and the second half of the game is entirely linear.
- The bosses aren't so great. There quite a few bosses in this game and the average one is pretty mediocre with less than a handful being actually good. Even some of the major bosses are forgettable.
- Weapons are made of glass. Your weapons break very frequently.
- Armor isn't worth it. Armor provides very little protection against physical damage.
- Adaptability was a bad idea. No point in wearing lighter armor for more I-frames because you still need to level ADP anyway.
- General hitbox and reaction issues.

There's probably more that I can't think of right now.

There really isn't anything this game has to offer that makes the slog worth it. And it's a long slog.
I also feel like a lot of praise I hear for this game is either reaching really hard, being disingenuous, or outright false. I don't believe that this game is good let alone "the best" anything.

Updated my review from being just "This game bad."

I used to play this game quite a bit and I enjoyed it. But that was back when Dark Souls: PTDE was the only alternative which at the time still had major performance issues and was still using GFWL for online play. Dark Souls 2 offered a stable experience and working online. Something that Dark Souls 2 also had was better build variety. I remember playing Dark Souls 1 and trying to use the dragon bone fists and having a miserable time. But in Dark Souls 2 you could use whatever and still make it through the game without issues. I did a lot of PVP in this game, probably more that I did in the other titles. I've heard people say that it has the BEST pvp, but to me it is not because the PVP is good but rather Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring did a worse job with it. Even back in it's prime invasions outside of the main pvp areas were really rare, probably because people had to farm eye orbs, and those who didn't want to do that just stuck to the arena and bell towers. I stopped playing after Dark Souls 3 came out and never came back until many years later to play with a few friends who had never played it before. Having stepped away from the game for a while and then coming back made me realize that I had ignored a lot of the flaws of the game just because the game offered a few things that Dark Souls 1 did not. But now that Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 are around they also offer the same things, so now it's now longer unique to Dark Souls 2. What unique things Dark Souls 2 had left are mostly negative. Lets start: -Level design isn't great. A lot of the areas are a pain to explore and a slog to get through. I've heard people praise the game for being non-linear but that really isn't true. It's true that you have some paths to choose in the first half of the game, but the paths themselves are pretty linear and the second half of the game is entirely linear. - The bosses aren't so great. There quite a few bosses in this game and the average one is pretty mediocre with less than a handful being actually good. Even some of the major bosses are forgettable. - Weapons are made of glass. Your weapons break very frequently. - Armor isn't worth it. Armor provides very little protection against physical damage. - Adaptability was a bad idea. No point in wearing lighter armor for more I-frames because you still need to level ADP anyway. - General hitbox and reaction issues. There's probably more that I can't think of right now. There really isn't anything this game has to offer that makes the slog worth it. And it's a long slog. I also feel like a lot of praise I hear for this game is either reaching really hard, being disingenuous, or outright false. I don't believe that this game is good let alone "the best" anything. Updated my review from being just "This game bad."