What Games Can Learn From Dark Souls' Difficulty

When I first heard that Dark Souls III was confirmed back in June, the trailer and the hype that came along with it completely overwhelmed me, so much so that I gave into the temptation of buying the revised version of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (and yes, it is most definitely worth it for those needing some sort of confirmation to get it). While doing what I did best in the game, sprinting headstrong into an area thinking no foe could possibly harm me only to instantaneously die, It sprang to mind that this, among few other games, actually gave me fulfilment in completing a task or defeating an enemy. Since no one was telling me how to do it or when it should be done, it was only me and my trusty fingers that gave me a sense of accomplishment. What the Souls series does so well is the sense of independence the player gets when exploring a new area, facing a new enemy or even trying out that fancy new weapon you just made. There are barely any tutorials or guidelines for the player to read and then execute which many games in recent memory tend to do (like Assassins Creed: Unity, Far Cry 4 and Arkham Knight). These games are by no means doing anything wrong, as hints or helpful upgrades do let the player feel empowered and complete their mission in a fantastic spectacle of stylish moves, but this is what these kinds of games expect you to do, not that you had much freedom to do it any other way. In the end, you may feel that your character is absolutely kick-ass, but comparing that to the feeling of overcoming a tremendous enemy from the Souls series, you know who feels kick-ass? You do, because it was you who figured out that learning a pyromancy spell would destroy your enemy, not a guide saying "have you tried...". It isn't just the gameplay either. It's also the way Souls games don't deliver their stories on a plate and serve it to you, in fact they barely serve it to you at all, however, it is all right there if you wanted it. This makes the story quite a personal experience, as it's up to you to figure out what happened to this land you're put in and what exactly is your end goal. There are still too many games where it's too clear what's happening, so much as to already know what's going to happen at the end, I'm looking at you Arkham Knight. These are just a few things that certain games can learn from the Souls series.