Good show!
I think you guys are 100% right that reviews skew positive because outlets assign it to their "souls guy."
I wrote a Demon Souls review back when it released on the PS3. Atlus sent the game out weeks in advance, because they knew it was a different kind of game, and they wanted to give reviewers plenty of time to figure it out. 2 weeks before release, I had lunch with my editor. He told me that he spoke with editors from other small outlets, and they were considering not running Demon Souls reviews, since they couldn't make any headway. The idea was that a review that said "this game was too hard for me to get very far in" wouldn't be useful, and only invite shitty "get gud" comments. He gave me our review copy to see if I could get anywhere.
I was able to complete the game, and I gave it a very positive review - it seemed like everybody that posted a review did. Those games feel really good, once you "solve" the combat and start making progress, but I think what most reviewers (myself included) forgot was that those first several hours feel *awful*. The back half of the game may be a 97, but there are plenty of people that can't invest the 8-10 hours to get started, and a review that states that is valuable.
The tip I will give you is to stop looking things up in the internet. There is a vocal group that thinks those games are all about min/maxing and the "community", but it can be a lot more rewarding to just discover on your own. Push in a direction until it gets too tough, then head somewhere else. Come back when you're stronger. Don't worry about the "best build," just play a build you enjoy. That magician class you talked about sounds very boring.
(Sorry for the formatting/spelling/grammar. I'm writing this on my phone)