Here's why DS2 failed : Besides being a project that was handed over to people who were not Miyazaki, it suffered from a dumbed down combat system in PvE , meaning for instance if you start a new game as a new player and fight the first hollow you only have to worry about dodging the attack, or that Taurus Demon fight which is ridiculous for all the wrong reasons , when compared to Capra Demon in DS1 he's a huge pushover in what you have to pull off mechanically, with dodges and perfectly timed heals.
The way story moves is terrible. The thing i liked about DS1 (still my favorite DS game out of the 3 of them) is that you are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Sure youre the one that in part moves the story forward but the lore is already moving before you even create a character , in a sense. If you go to Blighttown you can see the machinations on Londo's Wall in the horizon , it puts a lot into perspective , something that Bloodborne managed to do very well too. In DS2 everything revolved on your actions as if youre the best thing ever since sliced bread. The world and its character dont move until you go from point A to point B, making DS2 essentially a gauntlet run between the maps. That takes away a lot of the immersion that was present in DS1. If i have to praise anything in DS2 it would be the pvp which was nothing godlike but was decent and fun. Scholars of the first sin DLC is pretty good , but it came too little too late.
TL;DR - You play DS games for the immersion , not really for the gameplay , because honestly if you only play for the gameplay then from a technical standpoint DS games are terrible and there are many other RPG games out there that executed it better, like Bloodborne (even tho Bloodborne's pvp is shit and so is the buddy calling system there)
Long rant. Also , as much as i like dark souls , i still prefer the sincere approach to battle Bloodborne has. Definitely Miyazaki's greatest masterpiece so far.
#TeamBloodborne