Utterly Mad

Actually, I'd say Dark Souls is a game that is hard and benefits from being hard because it has all that other stuff to back it up, it's not just difficult for the sake of it.

Cata is still a good game, a little difficult to get into but honestly most roguelikes are, part of the issue is there isn't really a good way to learn what you're doing without bashing your head against a wall of deaths that you don't understand until you get one character that has a lucky break and becomes OP, at which point you have time to learn the mechanics and tricks that would've made starting out much easier, but by that point they don't benefit your current character. Most roguelikes are like that though, it's part of the genre, dying is fun even if you're not quite sure why you died, start over and try again, maybe using some new stuff you learnt. Which is why rogue-lites have become so popular, because dying still has a benefit there, you don't start over with nothing but new information, you gain something from your previous character.

Dark Souls is a Challenge, it isn't hard. It has systems, and their is NOTHING that is purely chance. No missing an attack because of dice rolls, you miss an attack because the other asshole got out of the way, or you forgot he could parry.