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Still the GOAT. The confidence to lock you out of any method of fast travel until half way through the game is such a bold choice, and it forces you to learn the structure of the world in a way that no other game has ever done for me.
And it wouldn't work at all if the world wasn't absolutely fascinating and the gameplay wasn't incredibly engaging, but luckily it is.
The climb, both literally and figuratively, in this game is unparalleled. Nothing in any of these games has ever topped the experience of fighting through dark, dank dungeons and decrepit towers full of rats and undead with shitty, rusted swords to the heavenly heights of Anor Londo.
And of course the vertical structure of the world plays into that in an incredible way. How many other open-world-ish game can you say has areas stacked on top of each other in this way? Turns out the ability to forego any sort of in-game map gives you a lot of freedom to structure your game in interesting new ways.
I've always loved Lord of the Rings because it's not shy to show what a fantasy adventure would really look like, which is to say: It's fucking miserable most of the time. You decided to trek through this poisonous swamp, and there's no way to go back without crossing it again, so you might as well keep going forward. Your armor is about to break? Too bad, better hope you can find another blacksmith soon! You're out of antidotes? Hope you can find some on a corpse or something!
Are there incredible sights to be seen along the way? Absolutely! But you'd better know there ain't gonna be a nice hotel (or a bonfire to teleport back from) to stop at along the way.
So yes, your big fantasy journey is miserable most of the time. But it's worth it.
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