From Software The Dark Souls II Megathread™

[Somberlain]

DS2 is my least favorite in the series but I still like it

 

[Blaine]

DS2 is my least favorite in the series but I still like it

While it's good that you don't dislike it, this implies that you like DS3 more, which unfortunately means that you're irredeemable garbage.

 

[Silva]

Both are equally shit, but with different flavors of shittiness.

 

[Lhynn]

Triggered a buncha slack-jawed snowflakes with shit taste i see. Demons souls set the standard, everything isnt quite up there. Dark souls 2 tho, man, what a fucking rip off, people loving this game should really rethink their life choices.


Its the game in the franchise that turned it into gamey shit because some people cheesed the previous entries, or because they just couldnt be bothered with coherent design, the decline hit it like a fucking train and you retards are in denial.

 

[Black Angel]

- Locations are definitely a plus over DaS1. Most locations are more memorable imo. That's not to say DaS1's are forgettable, but there was more of a unified art direction to the setting/locations of this game in comparison.

DLCs? Because I can't see how the base game's locations have any plus compared to DaS1's, let alone unified art direction. There's just no way.

 

[Deflowerer]

I prefer base DS2 locations over DS1 as well, if you discount the level design.

But yeah, DS2's DLC puts it above DS1 for me as well, which itself had a DLC that was only good in retrospect because of the bosses, not the levels itself.

Lhynn, care to divulge a bit more what's wrong with DS2 specifically?

 

[Adon]

- Locations are definitely a plus over DaS1. Most locations are more memorable imo. That's not to say DaS1's are forgettable, but there was more of a unified art direction to the setting/locations of this game in comparison.

DLCs? Because I can't see how the base game's locations have any plus compared to DaS1's, let alone unified art direction. There's just no way.

Including, but not limited to. So you don't think Harvest Valley, and Earthen Peak are more thematically, and visually consistent with each other than Blighttown, Demon Ruins, and Great Hollow that are all next to each other? I'm not saying that they all completely fit together as you have places that stick out from the rest of the game like Iron Keep. But Heide's Tower, Forest of Fallen Giants, Shaded Woods, Harvest Valley, Huntman's Copse, Dragon Aerie, Majula, I would say these places complement each other very well.

And a lot of these places are more distinct and striking to look at than most of DS1's locations. Shaded Woods is probably on par with Darkroot Garden same as Drangleic Castle with Anor Londo. But Iron Keep easily beats both Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith. Same with The Gutter and Blighttown and I easily put Majula over Firelink Shrine.

Of course with the DLC, it's not even a contest.

 

[Arnust]

I can see some visual sameyness in 1, mind, not in sheer content, but the places where you actually spend time on. 75% of the time you're gonna be surrounded by gloomy, damp brickwork. From the Asylum, to the Burg, to Sen's, to New Londo, to the Depths, to Darkroot, etc. It's one of the reasons why Anor Londo is so surprising, it's the first place that would probably not smell like corpses and feces you get to visit.

 

[cvv]

I prefer base DS2 locations over DS1 as well, if you discount the level design.

When talking about DS2 people always muddle up level design and world design.

The world design of DS2 is hilariously bad and the game was rightfully shat on for its linearity and nonsensical architecture. But the levels themselves are by and large great. Many of them like Shaded Ruins, Tower of Flame, Black Gulch or Dragon Aerie are not exactly sophisticated in terms of structure but they compensate with amazing vibe and feelz. Plus there are no downright terrible ones like Demon Ruins or Izalith, the worst you can say about the weakest levels like the Grave of the Saints or Doors of Pharros is they're meh.

 

[Deflowerer]

I prefer base DS2 locations over DS1 as well, if you discount the level design.

When talking about DS2 people always muddle up level design and world design.

The world design of DS2 is hilariously bad and the game was rightfully shat on for its linearity and nonsensical architecture. But the levels themselves are by and large great. Many of them like Shaded Ruins, Tower of Flame, Black Gulch or Dragon Aerie are not exactly sophisticated in terms of structure but they compensate with amazing vibe and feelz. Plus there are no downright terrible ones like Demon Ruins or Izalith, the worst you can say about the weakest levels like the Grave of the Saints or Doors of Pharros is they're meh.

Yes, you're correct, the linearity. I don't think the nonsensical architecture really matters to me, given the prevailing theme of losing memories in the game, the disjointed dream-like connection fits pretty well. The interconnectedness was cool in Dark Souls 1 (like seeing Demon Ruins from those caves), but it's not like the world design of Dark Souls 1 made any sense either in terms of the transition from bioms.

 

[Arnust]

Places like Doors of Pharros just kinda feel unfinished and almost like cut content, which is a pity seeing how awesome they often look. Obviously it's no Izalith situation, but that's where most of their flaw comes from. Still, they do contribute to the overall biome variety, which doesn't really hurt when that's one of the main traits of the game.

When talking about DS2 people always muddle up level design and world design.

I will say that, at least, the world design does summon a feeling of scale the best. In 1 and 3 you kind of just gravitate around one single vertical axis, in 1 spiraling up and in 3 spiraling down, and it kinda makes it feel more gamey in a way to me. Even moreso in 3 where you've literally seen all of the gameworld in the first hour (you can even spot Anor Londo with binoculars), 1 at least would have as a mystery what was up there behind the giant fuckoff wall, or deeper underground.

 

[Strange Fellow]

In 1 and 3 you kind of just gravitate around one single vertical axis, in 1 spiraling up and in 3 spiraling down,

That's exactly what makes it great. The first one, anyway.

 

[Arnust]

In 1 and 3 you kind of just gravitate around one single vertical axis, in 1 spiraling up and in 3 spiraling down,

That's exactly what makes it great. The first one, anyway.

A... pretty small and tight vertical axis. You're going up or down, and that's mostly it for the bigger part of the game. It's neat and fine design wise, it's just kind of offputting to me in retrospect because this glorious, ancient civilization feels smaller than my dick isn't the one I'm actually on, and the whole "blah blah space and time converge" was only really actually done in 3, and even there it only made sense in the Dreg Heap area. It's petty but it feels kinda jarring to me, I'm not trying to pass it as an objective point.

I haven't mentioned DeS but it just doesn't really have much in the way of world design, really. It does feel like 2 took on from it, and in a lot more things than just the attempt at creating a sense of scale.

 

[Blaine]

Usually when I've seen people try to describe why they think the first Dark Souls had better world and/or level design, they say it's because you could see where you were going next and eventually visit that castle you'd seen off in the distance, and/or that the world in DS1 flowed and fit better thematically, rather than areas having sometimes starkly different themes after stepping over a threshold.

These may both be true (although their importance varies from individual to individual), but rarely do I see the actual level design discussed, nor any insight into why it was superior. Well, I'll tell you: The level design was better in DS1, especially early on, because you didn't receive instant bonfire fast travel right away. The levels had to be designed in such a way that the player hiked, climbed, and jumped everywhere without the use of fast travel, there were shortcuts to uncover (not just some wall to knock down to find a bonfire) and routes to memorize, and this made for a profoundly improved feeling of exploration and discovery. This is a great example of why ubiquitous fast travel is cancer in any RPG or action RPG.

In DS3 on the other hand, you receive fast travel almost immediately, and furthermore bonfires are so close together that you can see one while standing at the other in some cases, or sprint to the next in 10-20 seconds. Beyond this, the progression through the game's various levels feels incredibly linear, which is due not only to the ubiquitous fast travel bonfires themselves but also to the resultant level design, which suffers from being created with those bonfires in mind.

DS3 has many more problems than just the bonfires and level design, but that's a big one.

 

[cvv]

In 1 and 3 you kind of just gravitate around one single vertical axis, in 1 spiraling up and in 3 spiraling down

True for 1 altho you barely notice since the world design keeps you constantly mesmerized, at least on the 1st walkthrough.

The worst part of DS3 design is that most of the levels are just as structurally drab as the Tower of Flame or Dragon Aerie but unlike those they also LOOK drab. Beige and grey make about 90% of all colours in DS3.

Plus the drabness is even more pronounced because the VAST majority of rooms and corridors resembles Wolfenstein 3D - blocky, full of right angles. I could swear all the corridors even have the same width ffs. They sure as shit haven't wasted any creativity in that respect. Or any other for that matter.

 

[Deflowerer]

Well, then Dark Souls 1 was already a decline from Demon's Souls in terms of the importance of unlocking shortcuts to begin with.

 

[Black Angel]

Including, but not limited to. So you don't think Harvest Valley, and Earthen Peak are more thematically, and visually consistent with each other than Blighttown, Demon Ruins, and Great Hollow that are all next to each other?

Not really, especially since the top of Earthen Peak ending with an elevator up to a castle in a volcano. Okay, okay, could've been an overlook in developers part, but what's stopping them from fixing THAT when they re-release the game as SotFS?

Meanwhile, Blighttown, Demon Ruins, and Great Hollow were visually connected by the swamp acting as a 'border' between the three of them. Looking at the bigger picture, Demon Ruins and Blighttown might not seem thematically and visually consistent, but the connection between the ruins and the swamp were concealed seamlessly by Quelaag's lair acting as an 'entrance', and that you can also find Quelana right outside of it, in the swamp. Meanwhile, the Great Hollow itself were concealed as this big ass tree that, by itself, visually consistent with the rest of the swamp, and I think they don't conflict with one another thematically. Also, bear in mind that the Demon Ruins, and especially Izalith, were essentially another version of Oolacile, except it wasn't the Dark Soul that 'went mad' down there, but the Witch of Izalith's own Lord Soul, so the Blighttown and its swamp could be assumed as being affected by everything going to shit down there.

I'm not saying that they all completely fit together as you have places that stick out from the rest of the game like Iron Keep. But Heide's Tower, Forest of Fallen Giants, Shaded Woods, Harvest Valley, Huntman's Copse, Dragon Aerie, Majula, I would say these places complement each other very well.

But you said this yourself:

But obviously the reason this ends happening is because you're able to teleport from the get-go. DaS1 having no teleportation until the second half means From had to be more creative and overlap levels much more strongly and as a result I think that's why DaS1 has better level design and is less linear than DaS2.

Forest of Fallent Giants, Heide's Tower, Shaded Woods, and Huntsman's Copse-Harvest Valley doesn't have any connection whatsoever, except for the fact that they were all connected to a hub that is Majula. Because of that, if you go to one of the places all the way to its' end, like going to Huntsman's Copse-Harvest Valley-Earthen Peak-Iron Keep, you're going to teleport back to the hub and pick the other option to progress.
Meanwhile, in Dark Souls 1's first half of a playthrough, you can go through a loop of, for example, going from Firelink-Undead Burg-Undead Parish-Darkroot Garden-Undead Burg-Undead Parish-Firelink-New Londo-Valley of Drakes-Darkroot Garden-Undead Parish-and back to Firelink again, without seeing a single loading screen or using teleportation if you're good enough. This, of course, requires the Master Key, which makes it THE best and most optimal option for starting gift and, in turn, renders most of the other options useless (like the Pendant for example ) but that's an entirely different problem.

And a lot of these places are more distinct and striking to look at than most of DS1's locations. Shaded Woods is probably on par with Darkroot Garden same as Drangleic Castle with Anor Londo. But Iron Keep easily beats both Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith. Same with The Gutter and Blighttown and I easily put Majula over Firelink Shrine.

I think all the locations you mentioned, both from DaS1 and DaS2, are all have its own distinction, while being 'striking to look at' is rather subjective. But I'd say, in terms of both world design and level design alone Das1's beat all of the DaS2's base game. Shaded Woods is definitely linearly designed compared to Darkroot Garden, and thus doesn't felt as rewarding to be explored, and I personally think Darkroot Garden felt much more distinct compared to Shaded Woods. I can't remember much of Drangleic Castle since it's been a long time since my last playthrough, but I vaguely recall it being not as 'grand' as Anor Londo. Not to mention that Drangleic Castle doesn't have some platforming moments like you do in Anor Londo's Painted World Church (and against those damn Silver Snipers ). And also one striking and distinct Anor Londo moment for me is discovering that there are 2 kinds of elevator designed for Ornstein and Smough respectively, leading to Gwynevere, while in Drangleic I can't remember anything like that, especially considering Vendrick is a human that's more or less taller than even un-buffed Ornstein. As for Iron Keep, despite nonsensically located 'above' Earthen Peak I can agree that it definitely beats Demon Ruins-Lost Izalith. The Gutter and Blighttown I would put on par with one another, simply because of bad optimization and stutters and low framerate in Blighttown's part that held it from being truly enjoyable.

Of course with the DLC, it's not even a contest.

I disagree. The first half of Dark Souls 1 levels, by virtue of its interconnection and the world that makes sense design-wise is definitely the highest point of Fromsoft's achievement, and nothing after it beats it so far. Bear in mind that, while in terms of biome's transition it seemed as if the world of Dark Souls 1 doesn't make sense, a lot happened before the Chosen Undead arrived in Lordran. For example, the Abyss first appeared in Oolacile, turning everything to dogshit and what we saw in the 'current' timeline is Darkroot, and the other time like I mentioned before, the Chaos appeared in Izalith, hence why everything is different in the 'current' timeline, even if we'll never truly know what Izalith were before.

The DLCs world design and level design are solid, but they're not even on par with DaS1's first half. If they're interconnected with the base game, however, it has a chance to beat DaS1. For example,

• I feel like Brume Tower could easily replace the Iron Keep, or perhaps it could be placed somewhere in-between the Earthen Peak and Iron Keep. That way, the elevator going 'up' from Earthen Peak could make sense, since when you first started Brume Tower, you started from all the way at the top of the tower, making your way down, and so once you're done with Brume Tower you can then emerge upon a castle in a volcano.
• The Gulch is easily the shittiest level of all time, it's so short and linear you can easily scrap it and have the Rotten as the final boss of The Gutter, and nothing of value will be lost. That would be boring, however, so I'm proposing that the Gulch is replaced by the Sanctum City, with Elana the Squalid Queen guarding the Rotten instead of Sinh, since I also vaguely remembering there's a theory that the Rotten is the Sunken King, or that he's a part of it. Sinh can then be placed somewhere else in the Sanctum City, acting as an optional boss like Kalameet.
• Eleum Loyce is definitely the most tricky one, because I can see it clearly that this place is meant as a DLC placed on an entirely separate worldspace of its own, with nothing like it in the base game. It's also connected to the Shrine of Winter, which is THE worst level moment of having to grind souls/gather 4 Lord Souls to progress, simply because a pile of rubble is blocking what's supposed to be the main path.

Or, they could also apply the memory sequence for the DLCs, so designing parts of the base game like Iron Keep into Brume Tower instead, and the Gulch as actually the ruins of Sanctum City, though once again I'm not sure how Eleum Loyce could fit in memory scenario, maybe Drangleic Castle's history could be altered to that of formerly Eleum Loyce, and the Ivory King is distant ancestor of Vendrick? Since the Shrine of Winter is literally placed as an entrance towards the outskirt of Drangleic Castle, so might as well. And it won't have time limit like the regular memory visit. I'm saying this because I personally think arriving and exploring Oolacile (that's essentially a retro Darkroot) is a kind of 'coming home' moment as you explore the version of Darkroot that is yet to go down the gutter. It's not as good as the 'coming home' moment like visiting Valley of Mines in Gothic 2, but it's something. Basically, make the DLCs connected to the base game in a way that players would be visiting familiar places at different point in time. Visiting the DLCs like you would the memories in DaS2 will also thematically fit with the moment when Vendrick gives you the final crown, since he's giving it to you inside HIS memory.

Usually when I've seen people try to describe why they think the first Dark Souls had better world and/or level design, they say it's because you could see where you were going next and eventually visit that castle you'd seen off in the distance, and/or that the world in DS1 flowed and fit better thematically, rather than areas having sometimes starkly different themes after stepping over a threshold.

While I agree with your post, the problem of the bolded part is that it's seen as a negative part of the game like Adon said before about Blighttown, Demon Ruins, and Great Hollow being next to each other when they're not thematically and visually consistent according to him/her/it.

And so let me elaborate in case of Dark Souls 1's world design. I think that 1 managed to keep a consistent thematic and atmospheric feeling in terms of its world design despite of seemingly inconsistent thematically and visually by playing with visual; as in, they show you exactly the place you're going to, as Blaine mentioned. However, they only do this when appropriate and on different degree, like when you're in Undead Burg you can see Undead Parish and Sen's Fortress in the distance quite clearly, and if you're paying attention you can even see Duke's Archive high up above, while on different places they show you a small glimpse that you won't really see it until you're there like trees below visible from Undead Parish and when you go down from there you ended up in Darkroot Garden, and when climbing to Undead Burg from Firelink Shrine you can see that there's a valley below that turns out to be Valley of Drakes. And then the other times, they'll conceal a huge different levels seamlessly and subtly, like Firelink Shrine's ruins exactly similar to that of New Londo's aesthetics so it makes sense for the latter being located below the former but they're starkly different in themes, and the Great Hollow being it is because it was concealed inside a big ass tree in the middle of a swamp.

Only Demon Ruins being hidden by a spider-witch's lair in the middle of a swamp that's difficult to explain, but I guess the same could be said if Oolacile exists in the base game and is concealed by Darkroot.

Well, then Dark Souls 1 was already a decline from Demon's Souls in terms of the importance of unlocking shortcuts to begin with.

I'm playing Gothic series right now, and the first thing that pops into my mind upon discovering that there's a ledge-climbing mechanic that adds shit ton to exploration in the games, is how there was a ledge-climbing mechanic in Demon's Souls, and even that is not present in Dark Souls, so... based on that, and judging from many people's experience (even though I haven't played Demon's Souls, sadly) I'd say Dark Souls 1 was already a decline from Demon's Souls in terms of nearly everything.

 

[Adon]

Not really, especially since the top of Earthen Peak ending with an elevator up to a castle in a volcano. Okay, okay, could've been an overlook in developers part, but what's stopping them from fixing THAT when they re-release the game as SotFS?

And I agree, but that's at the very end of Earthen Peak and irrelevant to that level itself.

Meanwhile, Blighttown, Demon Ruins, and Great Hollow were visually connected by the swamp acting as a 'border' between the three of them. Looking at the bigger picture, Demon Ruins and Blighttown might not seem thematically and visually consistent, but the connection between the ruins and the swamp were concealed seamlessly by Quelaag's lair acting as an 'entrance', and that you can also find Quelana right outside of it, in the swamp. Meanwhile, the Great Hollow itself were concealed as this big ass tree that, by itself, visually consistent with the rest of the swamp, and I think they don't conflict with one another thematically. Also, bear in mind that the Demon Ruins, and especially Izalith, were essentially another version of Oolacile, except it wasn't the Dark Soul that 'went mad' down there, but the Witch of Izalith's own Lord Soul, so the Blighttown and its swamp could be assumed as being affected by everything going to shit down there.

Fair enough. But by the same point, any (well, most) dissonance in DS2 can be explained by how different kingdoms have risen and fallen in the same spot and that Drangleic is only the latest name for that land. I could buy Great Hollow, but the reason I mainly mentioned it is because it connects to Ash Lake which is a stark contrast from the swamp.

Forest of Fallent Giants, Heide's Tower, Shaded Woods, and Huntsman's Copse-Harvest Valley doesn't have any connection whatsoever, except for the fact that they were all connected to a hub that is Majula. Because of that, if you go to one of the places all the way to its' end, like going to Huntsman's Copse-Harvest Valley-Earthen Peak-Iron Keep, you're going to teleport back to the hub and pick the other option to progress.
Meanwhile, in Dark Souls 1's first half of a playthrough, you can go through a loop of, for example, going from Firelink-Undead Burg-Undead Parish-Darkroot Garden-Undead Burg-Undead Parish-Firelink-New Londo-Valley of Drakes-Darkroot Garden-Undead Parish-and back to Firelink again, without seeing a single loading screen or using teleportation if you're good enough. This, of course, requires the Master Key, which makes it THE best and most optimal option for starting gift and, in turn, renders most of the other options useless (like the Pendant for example ) but that's an entirely different problem.

I'd say the majority of locations visually fit with where you start out which is Majula. But I think you're misunderstanding because I'm talking purely in terms of artistry and visuals. I'll be the first to admit that DS1 is superior in terms of interconnectivity and level design for the same reasons Blaine mentioned.

I think all the locations you mentioned, both from DaS1 and DaS2, are all have its own distinction, while being 'striking to look at' is rather subjective. But I'd say, in terms of both world design and level design alone Das1's beat all of the DaS2's base game. Shaded Woods is definitely linearly designed compared to Darkroot Garden, and thus doesn't felt as rewarding to be explored, and I personally think Darkroot Garden felt much more distinct compared to Shaded Woods. I can't remember much of Drangleic Castle since it's been a long time since my last playthrough, but I vaguely recall it being not as 'grand' as Anor Londo. Not to mention that Drangleic Castle doesn't have some platforming moments like you do in Anor Londo's Painted World Church (and against those damn Silver Snipers ). And also one striking and distinct Anor Londo moment for me is discovering that there are 2 kinds of elevator designed for Ornstein and Smough respectively, leading to Gwynevere, while in Drangleic I can't remember anything like that, especially considering Vendrick is a human that's more or less taller than even un-buffed Ornstein. As for Iron Keep, despite nonsensically located 'above' Earthen Peak I can agree that it definitely beats Demon Ruins-Lost Izalith. The Gutter and Blighttown I would put on par with one another, simply because of bad optimization and stutters and low framerate in Blighttown's part that held it from being truly enjoyable.

Again, I'm not talking about the way the levels themselves are structured. Two of the locations I mentioned for DS1 were locations that I think are pretty good, but those are stand-outs among a good chunk of the game that's drab and uninteresting to look at. Blighttown is distinct for sure, for many reasons, but the way it looks isn't really one of them.

But I do think this brings up an interesting point as to what we refer to when it comes to level design, locales, and world design because clearly we're not talking about the same thing.

Well, then Dark Souls 1 was already a decline from Demon's Souls in terms of the importance of unlocking shortcuts to begin with.

A friend of mine once made an apt comparison of how Demon's Souls is basically like a modern day 3D NES Castlevania. I can see that. Because each level is self-contained level design-wise and the only teleportation that exists is for going back to the hub or for the starting points of each individual level that means shortcuts were much more meaningful to begin with.

 

[Silva]

Adon , there's a storyfag angle you're forgetting: Dark Souls is a mythic journey.

Places don't need to make sense in DS1 from an human arquitecture POV because Lordran is not a fucking human kingdom - it's the mythic plane from which founding myths that define the human kingdoms around originated. When you're in that Firelink Shrine spot near the graveyard that allow you to see the lands rolling over to the horizon, what you're looking at is the land of mortals that you left behind. And the game taps on this notion beautifully, when it sends you down down down to reach the land of the dead (Nitos catacombs) and up up up to reach heaven (Anor Londo). The symbolism is all over the place.

Drangleic on the other hand, is just a human kingdom. And the game doesn't make any effort to give mythic resonance to it. Instead, everything is the way it is because Dark Souls 1: a dark catacombs down below, a shiny castles up above, 4 great souls to conquer, etc. In this context, geographic coherence should matter. But it doesn't, and the game keep sending you a bazillion different lore pieces and maps and architectures etc in a confusing and awkward way, with the "Seek Souls, Seek bigger Souls" mantra to numb the player intelligence.

For all DS3 shittiness, at least it tried to paint a more coherent picture of how a post-post-post-apocalyptic world that's a continuation of Lordran would be like, mythic-resonance and all (see the ritual reenactment of carrying the lords to their thrones).

And for all its narrow scope, Bloodborne has a much more coherent geography too.

 

[Silva]

The first half of Dark Souls 1 levels, by virtue of its interconnection and the world that makes sense design-wise is definitely the highest point of Fromsoft's achievement, and nothing after it beats it so far.

True. What would you say is the second best sequence, though?

I'm particularly fond of Bloodborne Yharnam-half myself (Central Yharnam>Church Ward>Old Yharnam>Grand Cathedral).

Oh and I love Majula. Best hub for me.

 

[Deflowerer]

I think Boletaria is the best sequence in the series, and it just encapsulates the classic medieval fantasy knights, dragons & kings theme so fucking perfectly.

And the classic "a hero standing in front of the castle door" in the beginning. Sublime.

 

[Silva]

I think Boletaria is the best sequence in the series, and it just encapsulates the classic medieval fantasy knights, dragons & kings theme so fucking perfectly.

And the classic "a hero standing in front of the castle door" in the beginning. Sublime.

Oh man, how I wanted to play DeS.

 

[sullynathan]

Oh man, how I wanted to play DeS.

No you don't

 

[Wunderbar]

Places don't need to make sense in DS1 from an human arquitecture POV because Lordran is not a fucking human kingdom - it's the mythic plane from which founding myths that define the human kingdoms around originated.

Drangleic on the other hand, is just a human kingdom.

For all DS3 shittiness, at least it tried to paint a more coherent picture of how a post-post-post-apocalyptic world that's a continuation of Lordran would be like, mythic-resonance and all (see the ritual reenactment of carrying the lords to their thrones).

Drangleic was supposed to be the same place as Lordran (Throne of Want is Kiln many years later).
DaS3 retconned this in order to shoehorn Anor Londo.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

True. What would you say is the second best sequence, though?

Demon's Souls, Tower of Latria: a twisted prison that becomes even more blighted and demonic.

Tower of Latria:
Latria, land of the Queen's ivory tower.
An old man took revenge on the Queen by locking her family in a prison with inhuman guards. All that escapes the place are the prisoners' cries.

Fool's Idol Archstone:
Archstone of the Demon Fools's Idol
The church devoted to an idol mimicking the queen gave hope to the prisoners, but the malice behind it will crush their faint solace…

Maneater Archstone:
Archstone of the Demon Maneater
Masses of flesh litter these hanging prisons. Latria's current master, an old man who is no longer human, has been creating his own demons…

Old Monk Archstone:
Archstone of the Demon Old Monk
His revenge complete, the old man withered away, possessed by golden robes of insanity. Too weak to be a demon's vessel, his soul was eaten.