its not that they're hard per se, they appear that way at first but once you settle into their laws you can usually achieve pretty steady (if slow) progress.
for first time souls' players thats the hardest part though as the vast majority of all other games encourages a balls-out approach whereas souls will cut yours off if you try it with them.
and its not necessarily the deaths thats the problems, its the loss that goes with them.....
can't reccomend them enough to people though, once you've learned to live in their world they are brilliant games, as satisfying an experience as you'll have with a pad in your hand
annoyingly i wont be able to pick this up before the weekend