Just spent the last few days with Demon's Souls, and so far my first general impression is YES, THE GAME IS HARD; which at this point is what all the reviews are saying too. That said, I am enjoying the game in a masochistic kind of way. After really getting my ass handed to me during my first attempt to play the game I toughened up and took another shot at it the next morning. 
 
Combat - It feels good for the most part, this really isn't the most difficult part of the game, you'll find yourself able to take on most enemies of the game, the real trick is just dispatching of them and trying not to lose all of your health, there are just so many enemies and I feel like I need to use a small potion after each encounter. It mainly gets tough when a group of them teams up on you; you know how in other games the enemies used to wait to attack you until the first one was done, well not in this game, they just all swarm you. 
 
Honestly, I really think the developers could have made the game a bit more forgiving and it still would have been able to be a very challenging game with a bit more upside on "fun" than "frustration", a slow regenerating health bar, check points, or at least not having all the enemies re-spawn when you die would have gone a long way in having me continue. 
 
The other thing you have to realize is that often in the game, a failure in a mission hurts you more the second time, so it's not just a matter of fighting something and learning. When I tried the first boss, it wasn't until I used about 60% of my resources that I really figured out how I could take him on, the issue i face now is how to regain a bunch of health and fire before attacking him again. You really have to make sure you make yourself strong as you go. 
 
Either way, I can see myself getting addicted to this, but based on how difficult it's been so far I'm going to have to get really motivated to beat it. Hopefully the game lets you get more powerful quickly.

Just spent the last few days with Demon's Souls, and so far my first general impression is YES, THE GAME IS HARD; which at this point is what all the reviews are saying too. That said, I am enjoying the game in a masochistic kind of way. After really getting my ass handed to me during my first attempt to play the game I toughened up and took another shot at it the next morning. 
 
Combat - It feels good for the most part, this really isn't the most difficult part of the game, you'll find yourself able to take on most enemies of the game, the real trick is just dispatching of them and trying not to lose all of your health, there are just so many enemies and I feel like I need to use a small potion after each encounter. It mainly gets tough when a group of them teams up on you; you know how in other games the enemies used to wait to attack you until the first one was done, well not in this game, they just all swarm you. 
 
Honestly, I really think the developers could have made the game a bit more forgiving and it still would have been able to be a very challenging game with a bit more upside on "fun" than "frustration", a slow regenerating health bar, check points, or at least not having all the enemies re-spawn when you die would have gone a long way in having me continue. 
 
The other thing you have to realize is that often in the game, a failure in a mission hurts you more the second time, so it's not just a matter of fighting something and learning. When I tried the first boss, it wasn't until I used about 60% of my resources that I really figured out how I could take him on, the issue i face now is how to regain a bunch of health and fire before attacking him again. You really have to make sure you make yourself strong as you go. 
 
Either way, I can see myself getting addicted to this, but based on how difficult it's been so far I'm going to have to get really motivated to beat it. Hopefully the game lets you get more powerful quickly.