FromSoftware Boss Puts Elden Ring Difficulty Discourse To Bed, Once And For All

FromSoftware’s games demand a lot from players, mandating they engage with mechanics and “lock in” to overcome punishing, master-crafted combat encounters. While the level of challenge required by each entry is open for debate, one thing is sure: studio director and sadist Hidetaka Miyazaki has weighed in on the inevitable Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree discourse and (we hope) put the difficulty debate to rest for good.

Speaking to The Guardian, Miyazaki explained that if the studio wanted its games to be more accessible, they would have made them that way. FromSoftware titles stand out because they buck established norms and demand something from the player and in the case of Elden Ring, a fact the developer is not only keenly aware of but actively banking on:

“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. Had we taken that approach, I don’t think the game would have done what it did because the sense of achievement that players gain from overcoming these hurdles is such a fundamental part of the experience. Turning down difficulty would strip the game of that joy — which, in my eyes, would break the game itself.”

How do you feel about Miyazaki’s (and, by extension, FromSoftware’s) stance on the difficulty of its games generally, and in Elden Ring in particular? At over a frankly ludicrous 25 million copies sold, it’s clear the studio is on the right path, with other developers still attempting to capture even a fraction of its magic. Let us know in the comments section below, and if you need a helping hand, take a look at our Elden Ring guide.