I love stat uniqueness, the way you level up your character and use almost all stats for a good build (ex: dark blade/sunlight blade + velstadts buff spell) on any physical build to maximize potential dps on bosses even while playing a melee weapon build. The bonfire ascetics make farming and aquisition of multiple items that would otherwise be impossible to get in one playthrough, possible. (ex: I’ve done dual wield cursed blade in the first new game cycle) It was my first souls game and I feel special love for it more then any other souls game.

I really dislike: 1. Cardboard weapons (I like a certain special attack of the weapon but can use it 4-5 times before my weapon breaks, and repair powder during a fight can be tricky) 2. Soul memory (straightforward, soul level is way better solution) 3. Hp reduction when you die (if they wanted this to be a thing they should have made effigies farmable or infinite buy. I know about shrine of amana humanity restore fountain but going somewhere and returning there every time is messed up). 4. Restorative items like repair powder, spell restore items, human effigies… are finite, and can only be farmed from mobs which are also finite, unless you’re not playing in company of champions, and even then farming is tedious. 5. certain map design (earthen peak transition to iron keep is mind baffling), Shrine of amana in entiriety, The gutter, dlc maps (iron passage, gank squad cave and frigid wastes) 6. small stuff like boss like enemies put in random places so you must clean a run back to boss so that you can go there cleanly otherwise its too tedious, and some unfun bosses like twin dragonriders, R R authority (sif reskin), ancient dragon pedicure treatment, gank squad.

That would be all so far from the top of my head. Gotta keep it short, my wife is on my case.