1) Now, oddly enough, despite the fact that I've never played the Souls games, and for that matter never even played Hard difficulty in most games, I've actually relatively little trouble with playing this game. By which I mean, after the first couple of hours, during which I was a nervous wreck because I was expecting to BE wrecked, I actually found myself tearing through most mobs and enemies with little difficulty, and have actually tackled most of the half dozen or so bosses I've defeated thus far in one or two tries. (Except the Blood Starved Beast, that sonnuvagun took me five sodding tries.) I initially thought that maybe the game wasn't really punishing after all, but after listening to other accounts, I decided to go over some recordings I had made of my play (used the PS4's record function, mostly to show my roommate what he'd missed when he wasn't watching me play,) and noticed something that hadn't really clicked in the 'heat of battle.'
Because even though I didn't DIE super often, a couple of exceptions aside, I NEARLY died all the bloody time when things got hairy. By which I mean just a sliver of health, and the enemy closing in to deal the killing blow, and a last second evasion getting me out of the way JUST in the nick of time, and then a second evasion getting me clear of a SECOND killing blow, until I finally had enough distance to pop some blood vials. A split second of hesitation, the slightest bit of panic, even the tiniest bit of distraction, and I would have probably wracked up another ten to fifteen deaths, bare minimum, on my playthrough thus far. Instead, I had more close calls than I have probably had in any other videogame, ever. =P
So that's what I really enjoy about this game. If you're quick, and (this sounds egotistical, but meh,) 'gud enuff' to haul your bacon out of the fire before your health depletes, (keeping in mind, proper point allocation is also important; vitality is key to not getting one-hit KOed by later enemies, as they WILL get stronger the further in you get, meaning a bigger health bar is a must,) then even when you're punished for GETTING hit, you're given a small thread of hope that all won't be lost.
2) I get the impression that there are less weapons than the Souls games, but I have to say, based on what I have heard, but I enjoy the various trick weapons I've encountered. There's stuff like a spear that turns into a rifle, a wrist-mounted piledriver of sorts, a smaller sword that slides into its scabbard to make a BIGGER sword, another sword whose scabbard is a BIG hammer, cane that turns into a whip, a sort of electric mace, a larger-than-usual saw cleaver that snaps out into a longish spear... there might be more, god knows. The weapons, for the most part, have felt distinctive when I've used them. Even the most similar ones, like the Greatsword and Big Hammer, or Saw Cleaver and Saw Spear, have differing speeds and ranges that can give them a different 'fit' overall, rather than just having bigger numbers.
Myself, though, it's the Greatsword, (called Ludwic's Holy Blade or some such) all the way. :3 That weapon is awesome. Quick, agile sword for smaller foes, and then a big, staggering greatsword for bigger enemies, easy-to-access.
And there IS actually magic, soooort of. Later in the game, you find items that consume Quicksilver Bullets for some form of effect, (you can use the item as often as you want, as long as you have the bullets.) That being said, you need an Arcane skill of 15, which I haven't bothered to get thus far, but so far of the items I have, which go unused...
-One apparently lets me release a 'beastly roar' that blows away enemies and objects.
-One boosts my dodging and mobility.
-And the other sheathes my weapon in 'arcane energy,' which presumably would look different than either Bolt Paper (electricity) or Fire Paper, which are one-off consumable items that can add those properties to your weapons for a brief period.
3) Obviously, can't offer a comparison.
4) Cloaked in mystery. ^^ I saw an interesting Lore video on one of the bosses a Youtuber made, creating some connections I hadn't even noticed. Quite enjoying poking at the bits I can find, though, and things just get so deliciously surreal.
5) Again, can't say if it's better or worse than Dark Souls, but I am personally quite satisfied, as the monsters are both varied and, in many cases, so macabre. You will see some old standbys pop up here and there, (after escalating things that get creepier and creepier, I've noticed that at my mid-ish-gamepoint they've gone back to villagers, albeit with a twist that increases their challenge quite a bit,) but as your Insight (sort of like a resource that you accumulate slowly through a variety of actions) increases, existing enemies will gain new abilities and appearance tweaks. Random villagers suddenly began to throw molotoves, creepy lantern graveyard dude and Cthulu-esque hooded person gain the ability to cast magic spells, etc, etc.
One thing I REALLY enjoyed was how the game would take things I was accustomed to- for example, what appeared to be a villager with a lantern- and then... well, let's just say I was REALLY surprised to the twist, reacting with a "BWAGH WTF?!?" Basically, it screwed with my comfort zone. A LOT.
Oh, and apparently Chalice Dungeons- which are procedurally generated 'loot dungeons' for all intents and purposes- have even more enemies, along with previously seen ones.