>I don't remember the old games being so difficult.

standard enemies can have wakeup attacks, longer reach, super armor, maybe some i-frames and bigger hitboxes. it feels unfair at times, particularly because of the super armor absorbing a hit that should stun lock the enemy

it also plays closer to dark souls-like evade-counterpunch than classic beat 'em ups that mostly consisted of the player stun locking the enemies to death. the challenge used to be managing and prioritizing multiple enemies. now it's more about spacing and movement