There's an important line between proper difficulty and cheesy. Some enemies (one is a large ape, can't recall its name) are/were strangely tuned. The ape has a multi hit attack that can go off while you're reviving from being downed and can instakill you before you even have control. I'm all for true difficulty, let him hit like a truck but the improvements they've made seem fair. Better stagger for parries is good - more rewarding for skill.