I can't compare it to anything else mainly because i think souls games really are sort of a separate genre. They are not slashers (which i don't play, i hate these type of games), far from that. They're also not action cRPGs like Witcher. The statistics and leveling is much less important. It's all about you and your abilities.

At some level i agree with what you said, that they're difficult for difficulty's sake. The game is designed to kill you. It's not just the fighting. There are traps and ambushes. Not to mention falling down is one of the most common way to die in souls games. Death is around every corner. You have to be focused all the time. At any point you can be killed by a bunch of rats because you failed to see a whole in the ground and you fell to some pit with rodents. The most basic enemy can kill you anytime if you do something stupid.

Souls games are not fast games IMHO and that is good for me. You really have to be patient. Mashing buttons won't get you anywhere.

But i totaly get that they are not for everyone. Many times i was close to dumping it.

But at the same time souls games are fair. There is no cheating from the AI. You die because you made a mistake and it's up to you if you repeat these mistakes or not. If you explore maps carefully you will always unlock shortcuts. So even if you die, you won't have to go through the whole area again. This is how the game rewards you.