People who tried Elden Ring, is the game really that difficult?

Short answer, yes.

Longer answer, it's a game of patience and learning patterns. You will die... a lot. If you don't like struggling for an hour, sometimes a few hours, on the same boss, then you probably won't like the game.

It is more forgiving than Dark Souls though.

I love the game. Learning those patterns and finally defeating whatever it is you're fighting is the reward.