The Real Reason Elden Ring's Director Apologized To Fans
"Elden Ring" has taken the world by storm, receiving incredibly high praise from critics for successfully converting the FromSoftware formula into an open-world game. In the process, "Elden Ring" has attracted a number of new players to FromSoftware's unnoficial "Soulsborne" franchise. However, many players might find themselves unsure what the hype is about when they realize how difficult the game is. To that end, "Elden Ring" director Hidetaka Miyazaki has issued an apology to those players — even though FromSoftware won't be turning down the difficulty anytime soon.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Miyazaki expressed that he does "feel apologetic toward anyone who feels there's just too much to overcome," in "Elden Ring." He also stated that neither he nor the rest of FromSoftware are planning on any updates that would offer different difficulty settings, as he wants as many people as possible to feel the joy of overcoming hardship. Miyazaki ultimately said that he believes the feeling of struggling before success and finding a way to make the cycle of death and trying again feel rewarding is a critical part of his games, something that cannot be achieved without the hard difficulty. Even so, Miyazaki also expressed that he can relate to people who struggle with "Soulsborne" games.
Miyazaki said that he also struggles with FromSoftware games
If you have ever wondered if FromSoftware games are really hard just because the people creating them are extremely good at video games, Miyazaki has given you the answer. Miyazaki said "I've never been a very skilled player, I die a lot." This furthered his desire to give death in video games more meaning than just a fail state, instead turning them into learning experiences. However, Miyazaki believes "Elden Ring" to be more approachable than his team's previous titles, letting more people feel that they could beat the game.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Miyazaki also revealed a bit more information about George R. R. Martin's involvement with the game. While "Elden Ring" still contains the usual FromSoftware trappings — and even sees the return of a fan-favorite character from previous "Souls" games — Martin's work in developing the basic lore of the universe was still important. After all, you can't build a challenging game without plenty of interesting monsters and gods to do battle with, right?
The difficulty level isn't the only reason FromSoftware has felt apologetic towards fans in recent days, however. Last week, the devs and the publisher acknowledged the issues with the PC port of "Elden Ring," which has had a rough launch.