Never played a DS game before, but I'm currently playing DS2. (bc I want to play the DS games in order from worst to best)
It's not a bad game and I'm having fun. Yes, it gets frustrating at times and I hate that I loose max Hp with each death a lot. Yes, some areas are just designed to be as frustrating as possible by breaking simple game design rules. Yes, I'm not even excited by a boss anymore, since there are so many and most of them just require the same old bashing and dodging. And the camera/ enemy locking system is clunky. The game is made harder by not telling you how to play it
But I really like the satisfaction. Many enemies kinda overwhelm the locking system, but that means I can learn to aim without it/ by toggling it. It's nice to find the strats that take into account not only enemies, but also the 'crude' game mechanics. I would even go as far as to say that I've never had the feeling of manual labour conveyed to me this directly by a game.
In a way, it is realistic: parkour is unsafe, aiming is hard and traversing an area can be irritating and confusing. Nothing will go as planned and you might even find a secret if you inevitably stumble off a cliff. Sometimes, I feel, the game endorses failure to progress. It does not give you superpowers like many other games do.
I know this sounds crazy and I do hate the game frequently and passionately, but it is genuinely refreshing. Maybe the other games are much better, idk