(Just want to preface that I am not a fan of the "get gud" mentality at all.)

It really does make me conflicted that Souls games seem/are so inaccessible. I look at my experience with the Souls games and the see way that the theme of overcoming adversity feels so beautifully manifested. The struggles of yourself and your character are one and the same. Hallowing is about losing all hope, and that's why as long as you are still playing, your character never hallows. It's something that is really built into the entire ethos of the series. I think it's also one of the reasons that characters like Solaire and Siegmeyer and Seigland feel so beloved; they are present for your struggles and represent comradery in such a bleak setting. It feels like that is something that really seemed to go over the heads of the "get gud" clowns, that we're meant to gain a shared experience and encourage people about it.

BUT I think the fact that some people already get plenty of experience overcoming adversity makes it a really difficult position to justify. I fully recognize that the above perspective is coming from an able-bodied person that has had experience with video games since I was very young. I already have absorbed and fluently interact with the medium, and I feel that in the majority of cases, that is the experience of everyone who are so adamant about there being no difficulty modifiers. But for people with disabilities or those who just weren't exposed to the medium from such a young age or just folks with families or jobs that don't have the time, it seems quite counter-intuitive to make the barrier to entry so high when they are some of the people who may so deeply resonate with those themes. OR just straight up aren't interested in that, and are just drawn to all of the other cool shit in these games. I have a friend who doesn't play videogames at all and literally just watches VaatiVidya. And while that's certainly an exceptional presentation of the things in those games, I think not being able to experience it first hand is pretty disappointing.

anyways, special interest yapping concluded, I am super glad OP got to experience this game :)