I've recently ran through Bloodborne with a friend and we're going deep into the chalice dungeons now. It's so fucking FUN!
Did Demon's Souls back when it came out with my girlfriend. Took a few attempts, but after we did the platinum we just replayed the thing for shits and giggles...and for the Blueblood Sword which is absolutely STUPID OP on a Luck Builds.
Did Dark Souls 1 with the girlfriend and we loved every moment of it, even if it was getting tough at times. The archers were a pain in the ass, but nothing we couldn't push through after getting the timing down.
I started working a pretty stressful job so never got around to playing Dark Souls 2 and 3, but she did. Among the cursing against the devs I don't think I've ever heard her whine about the game being unfair. "BULLSHIT! I DODGED THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" I don't think counts against my point.
I think the Souls games got the balance just right between difficulty and fairness...and that's why we have 5 of them so far, plus a fuckton of DLC for them. The games punish mistakes and reward exploration, slow progress, taking in the view and trying things your own way at times.
To say they're not hard, though, I believe it's just a cry for attention towards your special little enlightened snowflake self. They are difficult and built TO BE difficult, but can be overcome with patience and a bit of LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES!
With a friend...well, the games just devolve into stupid.
