Don't make the same mistake I did. Listening to the good reviews, blinded by fandom.
Now, probably like you, I read over the reviews for this game thinking "What a bunch of wimps, complaining just because a game is hard.
This game IS hard. I'll give it that. But only because it makes itself nigh unplayable. When I hear 'such-and-such game is difficult' I typically think of games with tough puzzles, and relentlessly strong and cunning enemies. This game has neither of those. The game is devoid of any puzzles and your enemies are shambling, scrawny piles of slow-moving wuss. Then why, is this game so difficult? The controls and interface are clunky and undecipherable as hell, in that order. And the game itself makes a habit of being a bold-faced liar.
Your attacks, assuming the game even picks up on the fact that you pushed a button, will often just go through enemies. Now, this isn't a 'miss' in the RPG sense of the word. There is no stat to determine accuracy. No, the game just simply didn't detect a hit. But there was one. I see hits. I see my axe slice the enemy. But instead, I'm being stabbed to death. Huh.
Defending works basically the same way. Assuming the game realizes you're even holding down the defense button, enemy attacks will hit you anyway. Dodging would have been a useful addition, except for the fact enemies can and will turn mid-attack and hit you anyway, making it completely pointless and a waste of time.
Even ignoring all of that, combat itself is dull, slow, repetitive, and boring. Assuming the game even worked correctly, it would be hard to play more than a couple hours without getting bored.
Lastly, the game is deep, as far as stats and loot is concerned. This is great, as it's one of the things most people look for in an RPG. But the game makes the mistake of not telling you how to do anything or what anything does. There is almost no tutorial to speak of, and what little there is, you can't trust. Players of the game have the option to leave messages for each other. Of course, this is almost always negative and misleading. The game's tutorials and other player's messages appear the same and have no distinctions between them. I would actually find that involving and enjoyable a bit later in the game, but in the introduction where you're meant to be learning the game, giving other players the privilege of leading new players to cheap deaths was not a good design choice.
The few good aspect (great graphics, deep customization) are marred by the large amount of bad.