That's what I was doing, got shafted every time. Story missions seem significantly easier, bizarrely,
Also, the drain ability is useless. It would be far more helpful if you got health when you did that, rather than stupid arrows.
If I'd wanted a rock hard frustrating game I'd have bought Dark Souls. I don't, so I didnt. This is far from the fun slash em up I hoped for. It's not addictive, it's not fun, it's not hugely pretty, the story isn't compelling, the climbing controls are naff, button reactions are iffy at best, and I'm now 5 hours in without seeing a hint of character progression nor any sign of dominating minds.
Nope, I can't recommend this at all.