I think the likeness in the movement/feel to Souls is highly overstated. It's more along the lines of Daemon X Machina, or maybe Zone of the Enders which is decades old, for lighter builds. I think med/heavy builds still give you a sense of mass without compromising ease of movement.
They basically kept the myriad of weak but hard-hitting enemies over large maps, though there's a stronger focus on duels, and melee is now viable but optional.
