Completed and platinum'ed on PS, first playthrough on Steam (Steamdeck specifically) and 4th playthrough overall across all owned consoles, now updated after completing the dlc one time (on PS5) and with a replay (on Steam) underway.
At this point, there's no more to be said about this game. An enchanting open world, top tier level design, extremely fun boss roster and a deep dark fantasy world with really interesting lore. The dlc added even more to an amazing boss roster, extremely fun new weapons, imaginative locations and exceptional level design (on macro and micro level). I would like to stay on the cons/nitpicks more than the pros however, as the game isn't perfect:
1) Enemy repetition/reuse/reskins (even thought there are probably more unique enemies here than many other AAA games put together), which is amplified by the huge map and big amount of explorable caves. Sadly, this is still an issue even in the dlc area - even if a significant amount of new and fun enemies were introduced.
2) A competent but underutilized crafting system - that was improved with the dlc additions and unique interactions with the environment
3) Absence of a quest book of sorts, to track side quest's progress
4) Dlc adressed some lore gaps and gave us more context, yet important figures like Melina (probably Messmer's Sister) and Gloam Eyed Queen were left a mystery.
5) Half-baked PVP mechanics and absence of a covenant-like grouping
6) New nitpicks, specific to the dlc area, that were introduced like a not consistently satisfying rewarding system, a new leveling system dependant on scadutree fragments that are spread through the dlc map making the exploration feel less natural than in the base game. Still, a clever balancing system overall.
9-9.5/10, S tier, an all-time great.
WHERE IS MY BOSS RUSH MODE, MIYAZAKI?