This has finally clicked with me. I had put a couple of hours into it since it came on Plus but never really committed to actually giving it a proper fair look in. Very glad I went back to it.
Armor Spider had been kicking my ass so I decided to try somewhere else. I beat it with ease after going to 4-1, grinding out souls and getting much better equipment. Dat health regen ring.
I've got an ever increasing amount of souls amassing in the 4-1 boss area, who I have't even come close to beating yet. We'll see how long I can keep going back and trying before giving up and losig them.
Soul Arrow has also been pretty crucial in my successes, I'll definitely be putting more points into magic.
The game has a wonderful atmosphere. It does a lot with very little. Music is fantastic too.