Is it fair to criticise a game for being too hard/easy?

[S.T.A.G.E.]

VAMatt said:
One's opinion of a game is just that - their opinion. They can measure a game based on any criteria they wish.

The question is....would Dark Souls be as intended if it had an easy mode? This is exactly why publishers capitalizing on play to win strategies. They are seeing that the mass population are not finishing games either because of time constraints or lack of aptitude so they are dumbing down games.