So if I don't like La Mulana's approach to progression or mechanics then I wouldn't like Dark Souls? I've heard the guys at 8-4 talk about Dark Souls quite a bit and it sounded intriguing. If it's level design and puzzles are anything like La Mulana though, maybe it's not for me.
Probably not. It requires a lot of trial and error. Right off the bat, you're given 3 different directions you can go, one of which is slightly less difficult than the other two, implying that is the path to take. Then after a while, the path splits again, and you have to run head first into each of them and figure out which of the paths is the least difficult, etc etc. So part of the difficulty comes from going on one path that is deliberately made too difficult because you're not supposed to go there yet, so the game kills you as a way of saying it's too soon. However, if you're good enough at the game, you can take those difficult paths right off the bat and be rewarded with really good loot. But if you don't like that style of progression, then you probably wont' like the game, because it punishes you for choosing incorrectly.