Why are we talking about Elden Ring?
It is easier than previous FromSoftware titles - or at least it is more uneven than previous titles. I had probably solidly overleveled for 30-40h of my ongoing playthrough, and only recently things started to even out once I reached the capital. I haven't fought Melania yet, though, it is the next thing on the agenda, and as I already heard about her many times, I am not looking forward to it. Elden Ring in general is easier, yes, but it also has occasional spiked of DarkSouls2 level of bullshit.
Dark Souls games always had difficulty setting. You struggle with some content? Summon a buddy. You struggle with a boss in Elden Ring? Use a summon. I also hear that magic makes things much easier - haven't used it in any for the game so can't comment.
Hardcore nature of the title is greatly exadurated - or at least what I would expect to be a hardcore game. It wants players to succeed and there are multiple ways to do so. Sure, you can try to kill Sentinel as soon as you leave the opening area... or you can not do that. But yeah, compared to major release it is hard - that game has some complexity and requires attention and execution, which is more than most big releases ask for. But, for example, I found all FromSoftware games so far easier than lets say Celeste or Kingmaker.
There was so much crying about Sekiro being hard, and I found it actually pretty breezy outside one optional boss which was just bad.
