By "tabled Paarl" I of course mean killed him.  I finally wised up and stayed in close instead of running away and screaming like a cheerleader.  Rom continues to shoot me dead though.  I decided to try the Nightmare Frontier (offline b/c I have zero desire to partake in Bloodborne PvP).  Not bad so far.  Gave a pair of hunters the old what for.

Does anyone else consider the various NPC summons pretty much worthless?  I took some help along for Paarl a few times but just soloed him in the end.

I also opened up my first Chalice Dungeon and killed an Undead Giant.  Super creepy place that was.

I'm exploring Cainhurst.  Man I really dig this place.  So atmospheric.  For me it's essentially the Painted World of Bloodborne.  Those bloated spider hags do not mess around either.

 I drifted from Bloodborne at just before the point you're at, Botch. I defeated Paarl and finished (I think) that horrible, horrible Unseen Village, and from there I wasn't sure where to go. Physically I mean. The invitation in Iosefka's Clinic implies a ride to Cainhurst Castle, if I recall correctly. I assume that's the next stop.

Bloodborne does do well in atmosphere and the underpinnings of combat. It feels like they accomplished what they set out to do, or at least they provided something demonstrably different from the sword-and-board of Dark Souls. And I love the setting.

My experience with Bloodborne has been that I accidentally missed almost everything, just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You and xtal both describe characters and events that never turned up for me. The result was a game that felt a little emptier than I'd wanted it to. When I played Dark Souls, by some happy accident I triggered practically everything. I could have had the same experience there but, through sheer luck, I had the opposite. It's not like I'd have hated Dark Souls if I never knew about Logan's storyline, but accessing them all certainly improved the experience further.

I'm running into this problem in Dark Souls 3 as well. For whatever reason, I tend to not be there when something important triggers, and it feels like I'm missing something crucial even though technically I'm not.

Martyr Logarius and that Hunter in the Grand Cathedral, both dead.  Two very tough fights that, judging by my first encounter with each, seemed almost insurmountable.  But you know how it goes: correct your tactics and it makes a huge difference.

I got several visceral attacks against Logarius, which are his obvious weakness.  No doubt it's possible without them, but it would make for a very hard fight.  For the Hunter I got a tip to lure him to the stairs so that the advantage of his movement buff would be minimized.  That turned out to be a good tip as I got him the first time I used it.  I was also able to avoid his Numbing Mist which was absolutely key.

I explored the upper floor of the Lecture Hall and confronted our old friend.  Eww, I must say I liked you better the other way dude.

As usual, I'm late to the party.  I wish I had stuck with the game when everyone else was playing but I'm weird that way.

No I have not.  Like you, I ignored it since I put Bloodborne aside for so long.  The flood of Souls content was too much for me I suppose.  However, I'm definitely interested now.  It's still $15, which is mildly disappointing.  I have completely ignored reviews of it so I have no idea if it's anywhere near as good as AotA.

I'm exploring Mensis now.  I've killed Micolash so far.  One negative comment: I absolutely hate Frenzy.

I started a second playthru using the Kirkhammer, which is super fun.  I've been exploring the Chalice Dungeons which I completely ignored the first time.  I avoid co-op in the main game, but have been doing it quite a bit in the Chalice Dungeons.  I had no idea until recently that's what the Makeshift Altar was for.

I also got the DLC but have only explored a little.  It's pretty challenging.

Hitting L1 with the cane is a pleasing experience.

Indeed.  The trick weapons, along with the overall feel of the mechanics, are what have kept me coming back to Bloodborne (yeah, over a year later.  I'm always late to the party...).  Having gotten over the hump of actually finishing the game and not being so overwhelmed by the dire tone has made it easier to just start experimenting.

I've been spending a great deal of time co-oping in the Chalice Dungeons, which seem well-suited to it since they're quick and perilous.  You can pretty much break the main game by getting completely over-powered by Chalice Dungeon loot and echos.

The Old Hunters DLC is no joke.  It definitely ups the challenge factor.  I beat my first boss, who's name I won't spoil.  But I feel kinda cheap since after several failed attempts I beckoned an NPC (just to see how it would go honest!) and we completely wrecked it.

Also, while I like the Blades of Mercy on my Skill/Arcane character, I think I prefer the Cane.  Blades, while very cool, have some limitations I'm not crazy about.  Maybe it just doesn't go well with my preferred playstyle.