Dark Souls is mechanically easy (just learn patterns and dodge) but it has high number difficulty because you can die in 1 hit and it takes more than 1 hit to kill enemies
I see it as the opposite.
Dark Souls is mechanically difficult because you need to get good at the mechanics to succeed in the game, gaining levels really won’t help.
There are still plenty of mechanically difficult games, such as:
Titan Souls - you and bosses have 1HP
Cuphead
Celeste
There are plenty more, but each of those is mechanically difficult and there’s no way to grind to make up for lack of skill. Dark Souls is an honorable mention here because you can make up for some lack of skill by finding better gear, but it’s still more on the end of “mechanically difficult” than “numbers difficult.”
You want low mechanical difficulty because it’s easy for the player to pick up and start learning
Titan Souls - you and bosses have 1HP
If that’s what makes it hard then it’s a number difficulty - a clue is that you used a number. If you gave the player god mode then would it still be as hard? If so then it’s mechanically difficult
I see it as the opposite.
Dark Souls is mechanically difficult because you need to get good at the mechanics to succeed in the game, gaining levels really won’t help.
In short:
Maybe players view it differently because we’ve moved away from making games mechanically difficult
There are still plenty of mechanically difficult games, such as:
There are plenty more, but each of those is mechanically difficult and there’s no way to grind to make up for lack of skill. Dark Souls is an honorable mention here because you can make up for some lack of skill by finding better gear, but it’s still more on the end of “mechanically difficult” than “numbers difficult.”
Finding better gear isn’t number difficulty
Mechanical difficulty is your entry barrier
You want low mechanical difficulty because it’s easy for the player to pick up and start learning
If that’s what makes it hard then it’s a number difficulty - a clue is that you used a number. If you gave the player god mode then would it still be as hard? If so then it’s mechanically difficult