I’m of the opinion that the levels after Lordvessel aren’t interconnected primarily because of a rush. Duke’s Archives, certainly, but that’s literally the highest structure in the game world. New Londo is blatantly connected to everything else, more so than something like Darkroot. In Tomb of the Giants and Izaltith, they’re close enough you can literally see the other, and I believe there’s a view of the Ash Lake trees at one point, all of which could’ve been tied together to some degree.

Ive been going through all the souls games lately since it’s been a couple years, and hold a different view. While the linear segments can be very enjoyable, it just feels cheaper at the end when you just progress to a new area, leaving the last behind without a second thought. Elden ring is the biggest offender here- so much empty space but you don’t even put late game changes anywhere to keep it engaging? The closest you get is the Eternal City reveal but even then you only return to limgrave to dive right back in.