There's a stat in every Soulsborne game which is actually just the most important one. Yes, you have to put points in this new stat, but you also level up faster than other Souls games and end the game at a higher level, so you aren't really "giving up" anything.

There are some really obscure NPC interactions with various people in town which is always good and Soulsy.

Your first boss was the Old Dragonrider, eh. That is not the typical first boss and you're gonna find a very easy zone as a result.