I use to never care for needlessly hard games - but Dark Souls is so rewarding. Once you get the combat down, no other melee combat system comes close to “being right there in the moment feeling ever near-hit and dodge and swing”

Playing something like Skyrim as a melee class, after Dark Souls, just feels so lifeless and bland.

Id say Bloodborne and ER are more “overrated” but honestly, since getting to grips with DS1, I’m a sucker for the whole franchise. I do think ER often feels like the Devs are gaming the players… putting in deliberate mechanics to just mess with what fans would expect, that is mildly more inward facing than the Souls games. But only a bit.

I’m someone who usually likes a fair challenge and a good story.

But DS… I dont feel any annoyance playing it anymore. Frustration was beaten out of me. When I due, I just grin like a maniac. “Yeah - ya got me… haha…”

So upvoting you - because its underrated imo. Its not just about the difficulty, its about the incredible immersion. And the combat.