Hidetaka Miyazaki, Elden Ring's creator, has apologized to players who think the game is too difficult. Developer FromSoftware's newest third-person action RPG officially released last week and has taken the video game community by storm as evidenced by Elden Ring's Twitch debut numbers. On just the first day of its release, the JRPG had almost 20 million hours watched on Twitch, and received glowing reviews from both critics and players.
Despite the game's popularity, many players have found Elden Ring hard to play. As the game was developed by FromSoftware, the same developer of the infamously difficult Souls games, it came as no surprise to fans that Elden Ring would have a similar level of difficulty. The Souls games are known for their challenging combat and difficult learning curve, which made several players abandon the series out of frustration. However, because the new JRPG is an open-world video game, Elden Ring is less stressful than Dark Souls. The open-world aspect of Elden Ring gives players the option to leave an area with a challenging boss and return to the area once they feel ready to fight the boss again. Though the game may be a little less challenging than its predecessors, many players still think that the game is difficult.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Elden Ring's creator Hidetaka Miyazaki expressed sympathy for players who think the game is too difficult. Miyazaki's games do not easily offer victory to players: fans of his work know the game over screens all too well. Miyazaki admits that this is done on purpose:
“I do feel apologetic toward anyone who feels there’s just too much to overcome in my games [...] I just want as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship.”
Fans must approach the Souls games and Elden Ring with patience and hard-earned accuracy in order to beat them.
With new mechanics like Ash of War: Wild Strikes in Elden Ring, FromSoftware's recent release offers a sort of compromise. These mechanics help players throughout their journey and make the game feel truly beatable. Other features that decrease the difficulty include the ability to summon spectral animals and the ability to flee a strong opponent by horseback. Players can even summon another player to help them during an especially challenging fight. In these ways, Elden Ring is a little more accessible to fans than both Demon Souls and Dark Souls.
Though Miyazaki offers an apology to players of the new JRPG, he does not see the difficulty of his games as a negative aspect. Elden Ring and the Souls games that came before it offer players something other video games do not easily offer: the chance to attain victory through constant self-improvement. While the idea of an easy mode is often debated when it comes to FromSoft games, it seems Miyazaki is committed to the tough-as-nails gameplay.
Source: The New Yorker