It's a little weaker (not by diffculty...) shorter and just nothing so new for a new game. (metacritic.com)
One hit kills out of nowhere, teleport spam, stuff like that are the worst kind of diffculty. (thesixthaxis.com)
Then Dark Souls II decided to be an asshole and up it's diffculty with mobs, weapon degradation barely lasting between bonfires and cheap bosses. (thesixthaxis.com)