There's a thing that Souls has that Obduction doesn't, which is that Souls is often just a little bit funny in the middle of also being very serious and meaningful, like just a little half smile that comes through from time to time. It shows that the game is mostly serious, but also a little bit knows your pain. 

The Souls perspective is, the world is scary and hard and painful, and you can't get around that, but it's still okay to laugh about it sometimes. 

It's reminiscent of the Host (2006, Bong Joon-Ho) in some ways; the crying and laughing deeply blend into a single complicated emotional state. 

And, while it's at it, those tiny winks to the player allow Souls to run much further with the anguish-inducing parts of the game (along with, you know, having monsters that are trying to kill you), because it's not just monotonously out to ruin your day. 

The beginning of the first non-tutorial area in Demon's Souls has this essence to it; there's a hole in the ground placed perfectly like a pie in the player's face, and a knight with hilarious glowy eyes. Both things are of course quite threatening, but also slightly funny.

Obduction occasionally has arguably funny bits, but they're usually the solutions to puzzles, when life has just gotten easier, which is exactly when humor is least needed.