That's funny, because Dark Souls 2 make the same mistake. Much more focus on enforcing difficulty, and none of the connectedness of Dark Souls 1, though the nonsensical world also makes thematical sense to some degree (the game is essentially about universal dementia). The Dreg Heap in Dark Souls 3 does deliver on this concept much better though.

If you need any indicator the team behind Dark Souls 2 misunderstood Miyazaki's vision, the global death counter in Majula is all you need.