I played ER then DS1, DS2 and DS2. I was kind of reluctant to play DS2 also but I'm glad I did because I had a blast.

DS2 gets a bad rap, but it really is a great game in its own right. Sure it's kinda chunky to play, but you get used to its rough edges pretty quickly. It also (in my opinion, at least) far and away has the best vibes of the series. All of these games are known for being lonely and melancholy, but DS2 really cracks that up to 11. More than the others, this one really feels like you're picking through the ruins of something that used to be great — which is sort of appropriate, I suppose, since many consider the first game to be superior...

It also has the most content of the 3 (if you include all of the DLC that you can easily get bundled), and also the most build variety when it comes to customizing your character.

Anyway, DS2 may still be the weakest Dark Souls and my least favorite in a lot of ways, but it's also the one that I personally can't stop thinking about. At least give it a go and see if it clicks with you, because the few things it does well, it does REALLY well.

I love it, personally. But to each their own!

My second favorite dark souls

Ds2 is worth playing if you like the franchise/genre. It tries some stuff different from the previous game, and some of it works.

It think it's also easier than ds1, and maybe DS3. I almost cleared it without dying, just using a normal build. Because of the weird "lose max health on death" mechanic, if you die a lot it can snowball, but if you stay alive your max health is pretty generous.