I don't think that's a good thing. The minute the game becomes reliant on coop to be able to advance to the next stage is the minute when it stops working for the single player. The section should be doable with or without a partner (either by reduction in enemy numbers/difficulty or something else). Otherwise people's concern about how the coop messing things up for single player is very justified.
I don't think we should make fun of people who find the game hard even on normal. The biggest complaint DS2 received was the spike in difficulty around Chapter 13 and up (starting with the Red Room) where enemies were basically thrown at you non-stop and in unrelenting manner. You can find people voicing their unhappiness at the gang-bang scenarios in the DS2 OT. One would hope that Visceral took note and keep that in mind while creating DS3.
I find that these days developers keep trying to create the most hardcore experience ever but they often forget that the game should still be fun. You don't want a repeat of AC3 final sequence where you end up having to patch down the difficulty because many people complained about it.
There is definitely a balance that is needed, and people shouldn't be put down for having difficulty with a game.
However, that's why there are difficulty modes, co-op, and all of the options within the game with the crafting system, stasis, and kinesis. The player has to use the tools they are offered to make it work for them.
Some sequences are going to be harder than others, but keep in mind that this was a build from E3. There's been a lot of time for QA. It's still going to be difficult, but DS games have always been polished experiences. Even the infamous run mentioned in DS2 was far from impossible (easy once you realize you can just plow through it with minimum stasis, FG), just very startling the first time playing.
The drill sequence is the same. The first time, you're overwhelmed and disoriented, with all these noises and movement all over the place from the drill and necros. So you panic, and that's the point. Yet you go through again, and realize you can easily go back and forth between the two groups using a combination of stasis and the force gun/pulse rifle and not even be touched (did that on my second play). Higher difficulties will be rougher, but by that point the player should have built up their upgrades from previous playthroughs if they have trouble with the difficult modes.
But I agree that Dead Space 3 needs to be a solo experience first, with co-op and its balance as an additive measure.
