They are a bit harder, but for different reasons then most people understand. What old school games lack are so called "quality of life" things. And they aren't missing them because the devs wanted to create harder games - they just didn't have the memory/processing power/etc. to include them in their games.

On top of that, these days many of us are soo used to the concepts used in games, that certain things are just instinctual to us and they weren't when we were younger.

And on top of the on top of that, we have millions of videos showcasing how to beat the hard levels, people telling us about optimal builds and such things on Youtube etc.

Great post ! Would you mind if I included it in todays "best of gaming"?