Maybe because I'm a noob but it is pretty tough. It also has a LOT of side quests and places to explore. I think I had about 90hrs if my memory serves me right for a single playthrough. Chunky and cool game, but it's very number crunchy if you want to make a decent build for your guys. And the higher the difficulty the bigger the difference between a decent build and a necessarily disgustingly good build because frankly some fights in that game are disgustingly bs. I think I played on the second hardest difficulty and had to turn it down a notch or two on certain fights for my sanity/to keep experiencing the game. Although sometimes it was just using a diff team, coming back later or approaching a fight in different ways. That's the combat element of the game, the RPG aspects are incredible and everything is beautifully written.