Summary
- Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki claims toning down the difficulty would "break the game."
- FromSoftware aimed for balance when creating Elden Ring, trying to appeal to both seasoned Souls players and newcomers alike.
- The new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been incredibly well-received, quickly becoming the highest-rated DLC of all time.
FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki claims that toning down the difficulty of Elden Ring would "break the game itself." The argument surrounding the difficulty of FromSoftware's Soulsborne games has been ongoing for years, and the new Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring is said to feature some of the hardest bosses in the company's catalog.
FromSoftware titles are famously known to require skill and mastery, and Elden Ring is no exception. The largest game the studio has created to date, the title possesses the inherent challenge of its Soulsborne predecessors while being accessible and varied enough to not overwhelm newcomers. This balance wasn't easy to achieve, but FromSoftware managed to do so, making Elden Ring a massive commercial success with over 25 million copies sold. Two and a half years after Elden Ring's launch, FromSoftware released the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC on June 21.
With the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently commented on the DLC's difficulty level, stating that it was balanced with the assumption that players had completed a considerable portion of the base game. Elaborating further on the perpetual difficulty debate in an interview with The Guardian, Miyazaki remarked that FromSoftware wasn't looking to appeal to a mass audience with Elden Ring. "If we really wanted the whole world to play the game, we could just crank the difficulty down more and more, but that wasn’t the right approach," he said.
Making Elden Ring Easier Would "Break the Game," Says Miyazaki
The director believes that Elden Ring wouldn't have been as successful if FromSoftware had watered down the difficulty, as the team believes that "the sense of achievement that players gain from overcoming these hurdles" is crucial. In fact, Miyazaki feels that Elden Ring's difficulty is so integral to the overall experience, that softening it would essentially "break the game itself." Even though some consider Elden Ring easier compared to previous Souls games, it appears FromSoftware remains protective of its ethos of creating challenging yet inexplicably satisfying gaming experiences.
Even though Shadow of the Erdtree is touted to be even tougher than the base game, the expansion has been faring exceptionally well with critics. Recent reviews peg Shadow of the Erdtree as the highest-rated DLC ever, further boosting player hype as fans finally get their hands on the new content. Miyazaki has confirmed that Shadow of the Erdtree will be the first and only DLC for Elden Ring, but if his comments are anything to go by, FromSoftware's future games will be no less challenging than the mega-successful action RPG.
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. And BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.
George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
