Recent reviews by Jeremiah

Especially the early and mid game is fantastic, difficulty is mostly dependent on how difficult you make it for yourself. Exploration is key.
Lategame is a mixed bag. The difficulty spike after Lleyndell is very noticeable and at times feels really bad.
Some optional areas are horrendous while others were really fun.

PvP becomes less enjoyable at higher levels and if you don't have the DLC you're at a massive disadvantage by default.
Coming here after years of Ds3 the pvp honestly feels kinda a$$ especially when trying to play solo with invasions.
Might be my imagination but the netcode feels like it has gotten worse as well.

In conclusion I recommend the game but I'd be careful with trying pvp.