you aren’t wrong, but also I think games like simon’s quest/faxanadu/zelda II/what-have-you are reaching for the same kind of realism and coherence. that’s part of what makes them compelling, there’s this almost shocking disjoint between their aesthetic ambitions and the constraints of their chosen format. anodyne 2 gets to tag along only out of a playful sense of anachronism, but I actually prefer anodyne 1 in terms of this specific thing, even if it’s a worse game by other measures. it’s a rare game that circles around this kind of vibe without ham-fisting it (like, idk, axiom verge or something). it’s likely helped by the fact that anodyne is made in an engine derived from flash at a time when flash was basically already dead.
anyway yes I love dark souls II I recommend it but only with the caveat that it’s probably the most frustrating souls game especially in the early game. I honestly recommend googling ways to break it if you just want to take a tour of its various liminal oddities.