Actually started playing this for the first time a few days ago! Such a good game, very charming art style, and the mechanics and ideas are amazing. Certainly a game to go into blind, and just enjoy the experience.
I also did not realise it was secretly a soulslike, but it never really felt that punishing (as someone who never got past the first real boss of Elden Ring).
Oh, did they make it easier in a patch sometime after release?