It's funny how you say DS2 is the worst in the series, but still better than most other games, and I kind of agree. I still really like Demons Souls, and although Dark Souls was a larger more realised world, I feel like Dark Souls 2 moved too far away from the horror themes of the first 2, although the game is gorgeous on PC, it reminded me of Zelda more than Dark Souls. Majula looks like Hyrule field. Forest of Giants looks and feels like the lost woods and the Forest Temple from Ocarina of Time. Hades Flame Tower looked like the Temple of Time and No Mans Warf reminded me of two areas from Ocarina, the desert and gerudo warriors and the pirate ship resembles the pirate ship at the bottom of the well dungeon in Kakariko village. Actually, Majula has a deep well in it, that I haven't explored yet.
The inconsistency of area connections is a large subject for debate on many forums and blogs, and interesting theories is that this design was intentional because there seems to be a recurring them in the narrative about forgetting your purpose and other NPCs suffer from this as well. Thus, blurring the transition between the areas is becuase your character is forgetting their purpose as you play. This is just speculation, but a popular one is that the disconnected level design was intentional, which I'm agreeing with. But then again I think this is Hyrule? 
I'm playing offline on PC becuase I'm stupid and I just made it to the Bastille, or wherever that ghost ship drops you off. Also a melee class. And yes I will die a lot.
