What lured me in was challenge. Linear... It couldn't be farther from it.
You have to explore everything, at least in dark souls. The story is very open to interpretation. If you don't read item descriptions you're missing out.
These games don't hold your hand, there isn't a objective marker, or a set direction to follow. You learn as you go from trial and error. You actually feel a sense of accomplishment from completing things.
Also, I never put this in my PPR,cause I never update it, but I've beaten dark souls