The game is not "difficult" per se, it's just that the underlying systems of how to make it easier aren't made explicit. You're meant to engage with it and learn how to create the advantages you need. It's supposed to be a process of learning and growth that feels rewarding and earned. Or read a guide.

It's honestly one of the easiest From games, once you engage with the particulars. Let me be clear: This isn't an elaborate "git gud". That began as an ironically bad opinion that inevitably became a genuine opinion held by fools.

Engage with the systems and dynamics presented to you, and you begin to see that the difficulty setting in ER (and other Souls games) exists on a conceptual level.

The exception that proves the rule here is Sekiro, which was an amazingly interesting experiment in putting you into a character's shoes through game mechanics - the only way to beat the game is to adopt the bold and precise combat style of the main character. The difficulty of that game comes from hesitation, fear, and carelessness - and it is painfully unforgiving.