I went at him raw. With 20 pots of Estus and in human form. Took a long while and had some close calls, but I brute tanked the shit out of him like a boss.
Super good final boss though. End credits song is also top notch, as was the final boss music theme. I'm also a bit sad there wasn't an epic dungeon for the area the final boss was since when you first gaze on it it looks so damn awesome and I wasn't even sweating one more dungeon crawl, but alas it wasn't meant to be.
The ending itself though leaves a LOT to be desired. I wasn't expecting anything oscar worthy, but what you get is a joke. It also pains me people are reviewing this game and giving it 8.5's (game trailers) for story. What story? There's some bits of lore, and a few NPCs, and the intro cut scene, but that's it. There is no story really. Which is a shame given how rich the world they created is and how perfect the atmosphere of it all is.
Overall I'd say the game is a solid 8, but I'd rate Demon's Souls a 9. Dark Souls felt like it overstayed its welcome at times, and could have focused more like Demon's did in fewer areas/bosses, but making them extremely polished and shine. Plus this game has plenty of flaws from glitches, to online issues, to an issue myself and others have experience where the controls basically lock up. i.e you are holding your shield, press to attack or press to heal, but nothing happens. At this point you can move, but the second you hit L1 for shield again it will execute that command and it'll be as delayed as long as it took you to hit L1 for shield. This can happen at any given moment, and sometimes might not happen for a while, but rest assured if it happens on a boss, it will lead to your death.
Other issues with the game are camera, horrible bow in first person mode as you'll have 30 feet of clear room, and then it gets caught on air for your arrow, positioning of bonfires, newer players aren't going to be explained jack shit(doesn't effect me, but it makes recommending the game a lot harder), and plenty of other shit.
This game is great, and coming into it I thought it would take the spot of GOTY for me from The Witcher 2, but it didn't come close. Still excited for the next Souls game.