A while back they reworked how food and blocking was balanced, making the game more difficult.

Absolutely nothing has changed in four months. They've only ever made the Mistlands mobs a little less spicy.

it depends. if youre in multiplayer and like 3 other players are nearby the enemy they get a 4% dmg boost per player in range up to 20% max. health bonus is 40% per player max at 200%.

solo nothing changed.

Perhaps you're just out of touch with the game mechanics, since you've been out for the last four months.

I recently went back to Valheim and I didn't notice any major difference in base difficulty. The only major change I notice is how I played the game: smarter, more perceptive, better food. I walked around the Black Forest naked wearing only the strength belt and still managed to destroy a small army of Greydwarves and brutes.

no they did not

give it a little time for your mind and body to readjust to the game, you will notice that you might just be a little rusty, happened to me also when i put it down for a few months.

Nope, game is as easy as it ever was.

Just because you can't handle difficulty, doesn't mean the game is bad

thing is 4 mos ago when i was playing solo as i normally do, and it was way easier, they for sure cranked it up.