Do you think MH: Rise would be worth playing solo? I don't typically lean into multiplayer with randos too much.

Gracias a ti

FromSoft sure loves their kick-you-in-the-dick duo bosses, don't they?

*shudders in memories of Ornstein and Smough, even if I actually really like that boss despite the number of times they killed me*

WOW, now that was one hell of an analysis! It is wonderful to see that you, despite the glaring shortcomings, still enjoyed the game!

Just to quickly adress a few things you mentioned in the negatives, not to say that you are wrong, but to give my own take on a few things, I do agree with 95% of your points, especially ADP, while we are on the subject of ADP, that stat also raises how fast you drink estus, even if you max ADP, you will NEVER heal as fast as normal healing animation from the first game, which is a very unfun fact lol. Then again, I do like how you need to run on the other side of the map to heal, it feels real, if you were attacked in real life you would need to try and hide in order to get a breather, idk it just felt real to me and made the combat tenser, but I would lie if I said that estus in ds2 didn't get me killed few times haha. As for the game being rushed, most Fromsoft games are like that, at least all three that I finished are all rushed, mostly Demon Souls, that game can be finished in 35 hours even when you take your sweet time exploring and doing optional NPC quests, the second part of Ds1 is very rushed, the best example is Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith, copy-pasted bosses turned basic enemies and of course, Ds2 being a product of the B team that had million new ideas that they didn't have time to realize properly, I do not know if Bloodborne is going to be like that, but I saw that the game doesn't have that many bosses, in fact, 17, just like Demon Souls, and also the base game has only 34 trophies, so the game is either shorter than most games because of the time constraints or hopefully because it is a more short, but solid experience.

Now for good, I am so happy to find somebody who appreciates the lore of this game! I love the lore of Ds2, it is not so in your face compared to Ds1 which opened with a grand narration about the world, gods, and their war against the dragons, instead being more personal, but also having amazing characters like Vendric and Lucatiel! Whenever I feel low, I just remember Vendrics words: "Seek adversity, seek strength, the rest will follow.", such a simple but effective line that can be used for self-motivation, love how he is a better version of Gwyn, regardless of what the internet would like me to believe.

I am very happy that you ended up liking the game, if you read my comment on the Ds2, I had a similar journey where I started by hating the game, just to love it in the end!