There are some effects that are simpler than other. Digital ones are generally easier than analog ones, and purely digital filter are also easier than digitally-transformed analog ones. Linear filters such as passband, cutband, … are easy to digitally design, chorus can be achieved through some spectral computations, delay and reverbation are computationnally expensive but easy to code.
It said that analog devices have a unique sound that digital devices cannot achieve. In fact, much is due to the simplications that occur when digitizing an analog device. One of the most blatant examples is the overdrive, which I took from Simulanalog.