Sacred Haven of Debauchery

I reject all hardcore mods for Sky.

But Sky is an easy game...

In reality, the game is more gloomy than scary.

It's creepy. Some locations are unsettling, although this is partly due to the risk of red phantoms appearing. However, I'm one of those people who finds the "hotel" quest in VtMB quite creepy. And the questline with the sewers/Andrei's films, although to a lesser extent.

Added 4 minutes later

But I didn't know that so many players express themselves incorrectly; it's all a matter of perspective.

Most of the hardcore aspect of Dark Souls lies in the chances of encountering a real player during your travels and the inconvenient game design. Died? Run back to the boss from the nearest bonfire, through the respawned enemies. It's not so much difficult as it is exhausting. You can also recall one of the first bosses, which beginners sometimes find difficult to defeat not because of a lack of skill, but because the staircase is easy to miss the first time.