My statement is pretty clear. I don't see how a game explaining how its own systems work "dumbs down" the experience.
This kind of contradicts what I said earlier, but now that I think about it, this is a fair point. There is a middle ground between retaining a mysterious air and explaining how systems work. For example, with the covenants -- maybe have the NPC talk a little bit
about their covenant, maybe not completely fleshing out what you get at every stage of the covenant or what all the little bonuses are, but at least so we have a general idea of what they do. It could even be a way to get into a little bit of vague lore, which would draw the player in even more. Instead, you have the
covenants where you get zero dialogue and "JOIN COVENANT? YES/NO".
I don't have to know that the covenants exist or where to find them, as they aren't integral to the game -- and knowing that there are covenants out there, but not where they are or how many there are is kind of cool -- but because "experimenting" with covenants comes with a cost that is burdensome as a player, I should at least have some semblance of an idea as to what I'm getting into when I do find them, and whether or not it is in my interest to join them. As BigJiantRobut said, I really don't think that knowing stuff like what a "raw" weapon is or isn't really adds to my experience with the game. Not knowing what kind of enemy lurks around the next corner, or whether or not there's a boss behind that wall of mist, or whether or not an NPC can be trusted --
those are the kinds of mysteries which make Dark Souls interesting.