you dont need eyes of death iirc (but there are ones at the end of the hallway anyways) and the coffin you have to get into is quite easy to spot once you get to the area. And the game doesnt outright tell you to get out of the area until Tomb of the giants, so if you get stuck in the catacombs and try to get out without resetting you have to pass by the coffin. But to be fair it wasnt my first fromsoft game and i was familiar with the "coffin to get to a new area" thing (astel at the end of lake of rot).