8 Reasons Dark Souls Is BETTER Than Sekiro

5. More Focused Level Design

For this entry, I'm specifically talking about the actual layout of the levels and how the player navigates through them. Sekiro's are pretty impressive, more wide open than series veterans are used to and taking full advantage of the newfound freedom of movement. They're still enjoyable, but the need to always have stealth options, as you're encouraged to spread out and use the space available to sneak up on enemies, alongside the grapple hook ability, means there isn't always a focused route through each area.

There are, of course, some inspired layouts, for instance scaling the rooftops to reach Kuro's quarters or exploring underwater in the later game, but for the most part you'll be dealing with the same kind of vertical, spacious levels time after time.

Dark Souls, on the other hand, is labyrinthian and purposeful, with every nook and cranny being specifically built around the player's limited movement (bar a couple of clearly unfinished areas in the final third). Sekiro's levels are fun, but none come close to the meticulously paced challenge of Sen's Fortress, the terrifying descent into Blighttown or even getting a handle on Anor Londo's architecture.

Then, of course, there's the fact that Dark Souls' environment loops back into itself, creating one geographically-cohesive world. It might not be fair to mark From's new game down for not having this, but a lot of Sekiro's levels feel like, well, levels. Ones you go through once then never think about again.