I've had a love/hate relationship with BoD the last few weeks. The hate part is the keyboard mapping. I guess I'm too much a keyboard klutz to really enjoy the game. I've shut the game down at least three times cursing 'I'll never play that *%#&@! game again!!' A few days later it's back at the binding menu wondering how to get the keys arranged so I can actually kill something without taking major damage. The solution was to toss the keyboard for fighting actions.
Now I'm playing with a controller and mouse and things are really looking up. I use the mouse for movement, lock on, inventory/weapon selection and attack. I've got the controller set up with 4 special attacks, jump, roll away, and use item. So far I'm only using the left half of the controller, there's room for 7 more 'actions' if/when the need arises. I use the controller with my left hand held comfortably in my lap for fighting and the mouse to run around and keep Zoe pointed in the right direction. The game is a LOT less stressful without all the keyboard wrestling.
I've gone back and redone the earlier levels and I've actually had great FUN playing the game. I've always had to hide in one of the rooms in the cemetery to fight the wave of skeletons in the first level. It gets the job done but it was rather unsatisfying. With the new setup I was out there running between tombstones and kicking some major butt with little damage taken. In the later two levels it's no problem to take off limbs and heads with the spear and Whirlwind.
If you've been frustrated with the keyboard during the heat of battle, attach a controller to your system. Use the mapping software to add the key presses you have in the game binding menu to the buttons/axis. Then use the key recording to make 'commands' like (Whirlwind - attack, left+right) that you can map to the controller. I'm using an old Logitech Precision controller that's been laying around for a while. I downloaded the software from the site and it was pretty simple to set up the configuration that was 'just right' for me. The bottom line is that I'm actually enjoying the game after switching to a mouse - controller - keyboard setup. The biggest frustration now is how to get past the trap after finding the rune.