Dark souls gives no chance to new players and ask for veteran to stay sharp.
Character creation :
If the lack of directions and informations is the only downfall of dark souls then everything else is gold, the character customization is pretty basic and your character still look emotionless even after creation however, you can gain armors and weapons to give life to your character and make him/her reflects your playing style. Ennemies are numerous and fit well with their environment and ennemy player invading will keep you on your toes.
Exploration and story:
The story of dark souls is pretty hard to uncover, your only informations come from the NPCs. items descriptions and narration over the cinematics. It's not going to affect anything since everything told is said to have happen already .You never seems to run out of place to go in dark souls as defeating bosses often unlock new areas to explore and your not bound to do these areas in a specific order. Those who have a keen eye can easily stop shortcut or illusion doors to unlock new places or discovers treasures and even if you don't find all hidden secrets, you're still going to be able to beat the game as no key items are hidden from your sight.
Overall:
Dark souls start has a hard and punishing game, but the more you progress the more you learn how the game works and become more careful in new areas or when you meet a new ennemy. Accessing new areas and defeating bosses will give you a great sense of satisfaction has you overcome these obstacles.
So if you have the time and the patience to challenge a world of undead creatures and monsters, Dark souls is the game you need.