Created by the apparently evil individuals at FromSoftware. Dark Souls starts with the character being imprisoned for being branded a hollow, or more precisely undead. Once freed from the asylum confines, a large journey to reclaim humanity and be liberated of the brand of a hollow begins. This may seem like a vague story and that's because it is. The story of Dark Souls is vague and deliberately so. The game pulls very few punches and wants to give the player a truly unique experience of discovery and wonderment. By depriving the player of a large quantity of knowledge it leaves them feeling rather alone in a large world that they know nothing about, which ultimately makes the exploration all the more compelling. This is not exclusive to just the story either, because beyond teaching the player how to hold a shield and swing a sword, Dark Souls doesn't offer much else about the inner workings of the game. This leaves a desire to learn about how the game operates, particularly how the bonfires work and how individual stats effect the character. Bonfires act as sort of a "safe zone" that will recover damage and certain items or abilities will be restored at bonfires, however resting at a bonfire allows all the defeated enemies to respawn.
Not only is just the character's stats important but their equipment is a vital key to success. Though finding loot may seem sparse and difficult, it makes finding it all the more exciting. The various types of armor will have weight which effects the movement of your character as well as defense and it is up to the player to choose which is more important. To a similar tune, weapons are very important. There are a plethora of weapon types such as swords, spears, maces, bows, and even magic spells that can be added to the arsenal. Different weapons may offer different attack styles allowing the player to, again, create a character that fits their play style best.
As previously mentioned, Dark Souls doesn't like pulling punches and wants the player to grow more in their own personal experiences more than growing their character and pummeling everything in site. Part of the game is to explore a new area, encounter something never seen before, more than likely dying in the process, then respawn knock the dust off, wipe the tears away and figure it out. The game is repetitive trial and error that could drive someone to the edge of madness until that glorious moment when experience pays off and victory is attained. It may sound bleak but there is something very rewarding and satisfying from finally seizing victory from a creature that has been halting any and all progress. Now this brings up another interesting point. Figuring out how to "game" the system that is Dark Souls seems (to me anyway) to be part of the fun. Finding some ledge or odd angle to attack an enemy and exploit them can be challenging and oddly funny. Now this may seem like cheating the game to some, but with how the game is constructed and how brutal it can be, it just seems that taking advantage of the game when the opportunity presents itself is only fair.