DS3 and ER.
Bullshit no-stagger enemies with infinite stamina and Killer Instinct-like combos that can be shortened or extended on a whim, plus the most shameful input reading since the glory days of arcade fighting games.
The previous Souls games were hard, but honest. I never had to restart from scratch so much as in DS3 and ER, because some builds are just not viable in those games and the amount of bullshit there beggars belief.
Sekiro is hard, but it rewards you for getting good, to the point that you can effectively lead bosses to do what you want (to some extent).
DS3 and ER just keep coming up with new ways to troll whatever no-cheese strategy you may have settled upon. When so many videos are dedicated to show people how to cheese a game big time, it may be a sign that the game isn’t really balanced, you know.
Demon’s Souls was my first Souls game and it broke me, but now I’d rather replay it than DS3 or ER.
Same. I fell off the series after Dark 1. I've played the rest, but I really don't care for em as much. Sekiro being a major exception. The other souls games focused on throwing the player into tanky bosses where the focus was dodging and parrying bosses that love to delay their hits my a few milliseconds to throw you off. Rinse repeat.
Back in the day with Demon's souls, Miyazaki stated his focus for the game was never to be difficult, but to give the feeling of accomplishment. Something I definitely felt going from Demon's souls up to the latest entries. Much of that sentiment is lost now. Finishing a beast of a boss isn't a rewarding feeling anymore, its more of a "finally I can continue my game" feeling. As opposed to the feeling I got during demon's when I figured out a small mechanic that was hidden to overcome a boss.
I could ramble on and on about this, but I'll just point my finger to the Matthewmatosis video "
The Lost Soul Arts of Demon's Souls", as it really just matches mostly with how I feel.
That said after all that rambling.
Sekiro and ER are easily the most difficult. Sekiro for the obvious challenge of learning such an awesome combat system. Really pushes you to learn the game if you want to survive. Isshin being one of the most difficult fights I've ever had to do in a game. Was absolutely worth the learning curve though.
Where as Elden ring becomes difficult because health bars are a suggestion and not taken into consideration. Single scratches from enemies or bosses nearly wipe you out in a single hit or two, leaving very little room to work with. Some of my fastest deaths from bosses come from this game. "Walk in, get hit with a single attack in the first few seconds. Die, repeat". Plenty of areas where enemies will just ambush you in groups, catching you off guard. Or bosses that are hours of progress ahead of you out in the lower level zones. Leaving you completely unprepared for their presence. I'm all for surprises and ambushes, but not when its the #1 go to trick to play on players.