What i love the most about Dark Souls is that it simply lets you play. I mean, the ambient is excellent, the world design with interconnected zones is fantastic and the combat is very rewarding. But the fact that during your adventure you are not bombarded with tutorials, unskippable cutscenes or obligatory dialogues makes it so that playing Dark Souls really feel like your own adventure.
Altough some zones and bosses are infuriating. The difficulty in general can be adjusted by very organic means like improving your weapon, magic or summons. It's really genius how this game gives you the tools to decide by yourself how difficult the content is.
I'm happy this was my first souls.