They certainly can be tricky at first. But, once you know how to play them, you have such a wide range of new chords to play in differing positions. I used to think that I had to squeeze hard to make them work but learned to drop my wrist and make that first finger do the work.

Theoretically, you can almost make a barre chord without your thumb pressing on the neck. I say theoretically because I can't do that yet. Hang in there!