IMO, DS2 wasn't a BAD game, it was just not as good as DS1 (by quite a large margin).
The sprawling world felt a lot bigger than that in DS1 but also more confusing and a lot of tedious backtracking between bonfires.
Bosses were boring and uninspired and probably the worst aspect of the game for me was the confusing parry mechanics and no i-frames when riposting or backstabbing. Made mob fights WAY harder.
These hitboxes were a crime.
Good hitboxes are absolutely integral to this series. Good enemy placement as and good bonfire design are incredibly important as well. Not to mention absolutely baffling design decisions like adaptability. Your character drinks estus like a person perpetually stuck in slow motion unless you invest in ADP.
Those are the game glitching out. I've been hit by all of those tons of times and avoided them even more times and never seen anything like these.
On the other hand, I've been hit by more hitbox glitches than I can remember in DS1.
Ornstein in particular has an unusually generous AOE range on his dash and swipe attack that I've hit by numerous times despite being behind him nowhere near his spear.