Even if I would make a detour to pick items which would make this part of the game easier, I just think it's terrible design. It's a pitch black zone full of strong enemies and bottomless chasm. It's a recipe for frustation and was the straw which broke the camel's back.

I deeply enjoyed Demon's Souls but Dark Souls just doesn't do the same for me. There are stuff like being cursed and needing to farm souls to be uncursed which just leech all fun of playing. Some deaths are cheap, which I never feel in the first one.

I could finish Dark Souls, but only if I wanted to prove myself I could do it, and not because I'm having fun with it.