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Difficulty is an intrinsic part of FromSoftware games' tones. Easy mode in Soulsborne is equivalent to asking for horror films to be less scary

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ToddBonzalez

ToddBonzalez

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Seeing alot of chatter online from gaming journalist types about adding an easy mode to From Software games for accessibility reasons. This is a valid line of reasoning--giving the widest audience possible a chance to play games is important, and, on the whole, the industry seems to be getting better about this over time.

That being said, I believe that the high degree of difficulty isn't an arbitrary decision on From's part, it is an intrinsic thematic aspect of their titles. From games are meant to feel tonally dark and oppressive. The worlds are meant to feel menacing and mysterious. Very little is explained and any sort of handholding is entirely absent. The player stresses as they anticipate what could be lurking around the next corner. Mastery and overcoming challenge seem to be paramount experiential goals.

An easy mode would negate or remove these things. It's almost like asking a horror director to make their films less scary so that people who spook easily can experience them. Or akin to asking Stanley Kubrick to re-edit 2001: A Space Odyssey to make it faster paced so that people with short attention spans can watch it without getting bored or distracted.

I respect From for having the the confidence to alienate some players in service of their artistic vision.

What do you guys think?
 
Imran

Imran

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What if the people who need an easy mode don't care about overcoming that wall
 
Davilmar

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I think the comparison to a film director is a pretty poor example, since film is meant to be watched and not interacted with at all. Video games are different entirely as a medium. Would an easy mode ruin the artistic vision? Probably for the gamer, but adding one wouldn't hurt. The difficulty and game design alienated me, but I can definitely understand why so many people enjoy it.
 
signal

signal

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Shadow Tower Abyss and Armored Core For Answer were easy!

e: soulsborne added after...damn my sarcasm is ruined.
 
Seneset

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I think you're comparing apples and oranges with your horror film analog. Games are meant to be interactive and if someone wants the easier or harder experience and you can give it to them, then why not. Who's to say other players wouldn't get the same challenge or 'stress' out of easy that you do on normal.
 
Jonneh

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Yet you can bring 4 other people with you to defeat a boss

Souls games have always had options to make them easier so I don't see what the problem is
 
Voxl

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No - its like watching a horror movie with lights on, at day or with friends. Totally missed the point here: it's optional and my personal decision.
 
Spoit

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....I'd go for some less scary horror games. So many of them have interesting art design, not I don't want to deal with the jump scars
 
Zips

Zips

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I think an optional easy mode takes nothing away from those players that don't want to use it while making a game more accessible to a wider audience.
 
Rran

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It might be more akin to having a horror film edited for cable (where access to the original director's cut is still readily available).
 
Garou

Garou

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Funny thing is, there is an easy-mode in Horror-movies called "closing your eyes", which for many works quite well. FROM basically rewind the movie every time you close your eyes...
 
Undrey

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Ultimately I think it's up to the developer to decide whether or not there is an easy mode, it is their vision and they should not be forced to add in an easy mode.
 
Imran

Imran

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I mean

Contra's a hard game. We can agree with that, right?

Is that game just completely invalidated by the Konami code? Are you no longer able to have a fun time with it because someone had thirty lives?
 

Deleted member 8593

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FROM has commodified the experience of giving your older sibling the controller to beat the game for you and yet people will still claim this nonsense.
 
Glio

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I would be more open to the debate of the author's intention if there was not always in these sites a defense at all costs of difficult games and an absolute disdain for easy games like Kirby
 
Samanosuke Akechi

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I mean, the ppl who enjoy the difficulty of these games are always gonna buy and play these games anyway. It's not like they're losing money by giving other ppl who might not otherwise play these games a difficulty setting option, which could potentially drive more sales to their game.
 
Imran

Imran

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I met Tai Yasue a few weeks ago and asked him about Kingdom Hearts III's difficulty. He said the intention was to make it easy for newcomers and younger players. The game, as people complained about it, was made to spec.

As a decision the director of the game made, he absolutely should not be asked to make it any harder, correct?
 
UsoEwin

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Imran said:
What decisions are and are not allowed to be criticized in a game

Is there a list
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You can criticize it all you want. But that doesn't mean they will, or have to add it. I don't think From is a bottom line company, they will stick to their envisioned game as closely as they can. Which means people may be shit out of luck forever.
 
Inuhanyou

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There are already easy modes in dark souls games. you can call in friends to help and other people leave messages to help. Sekiro for its part allows you to come back to life if you die once as opposed to having to restart immediately.
 
DrDeckard

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Davilmar said:
I think the comparison to a film director is a pretty poor example, since film is meant to be watched and not interacted with at all. Video games are different entirely as a medium. Would an easy mode ruin the artistic vision? Probably for the gamer, but adding one wouldn't hurt. The difficulty and game design alienated me, but I can definitely understand why so many people enjoy it.
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I completely disagree, and agree with the OP. Software should be experienced at the designers intended difficulty for the most part.

FromSoft is on a different level to most other studios and I would put them ina different catagory. I often speak, or hear of people who "can't watch those types of films" "they are too scary" "they are too boring for me" "they are too MUCH for me" etc

Games should be the same way, or we are at risk of having the same old experiences.

I want to be challenged, I want to feel accomplishment. There are thousands of games now, hundreds of thousands. I'm sure there will be something I can't play.

I don't have the reflexes or brain speed to play a league of legends, I literally just can not understand it. I would never expect them to change the systems and design for me.

I'm sure I could force myself to understand it at a low level and get some enjoyment, but that's something else.
 
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ToddBonzalez

ToddBonzalez

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Glio said:
I would be more open to the debate of the author's intention if there was not always in these sites a defense at all costs of difficult games and an absolute disdain for easy games like Kirby
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Kirby rules. I would definitely not ask for Kirby to be Souls-level difficult. IMO difficulty is baked into From's vision for their games. Lessening it removes something core to experience.
 
Chas Hodges

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Seriously, the people hanging onto this difficulty thing as the be all and end all need to have a rest.

It's a really stupid hill to die on.
 
Dphex

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Imran said:
What if the people who need an easy mode don't care about overcoming that wall
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there are enough other games for those people to play. not everything needs to be for everyone.

Samanosuke Akechi said:
That's a very rude sounding thing to say. It's like you're telling ppl, "oh you're not good enough to play our game" or "we don't want you to play our game"
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it isn´t rude, it was the truth for a very long time, the whole gaming of the 80´s and 90s was based on that. and From Soft games tap in this oldschool games feeling that you wouldn´t have with different difficulty settings. the games are about overconing a challenge, either someone says "challenge accepted" or not. not every game needs some "story mode difficulty".

is every movie for everyone? no. it is the same with games. instead of whining about the difficulty and wanting easy modes, the people could have practiced the games for a long time and just try it, there is no persistence to nowadays gamers, everything have to be catered to everyone because they don´t want to try it out.

i am against easy modes everywhere because it takes away from this challenge to overcome and many people would resort to easy mode instead of clenching their butt together and pull through.
 
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Calibro

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I want an easy mode for Pynchon books.

Jk, if you want an easy mode just watch a playthrough on YT. Or use countless Cheat Engine solutions. Like a horror movie but without jump scares.
 

Deleted member 17952

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Imran said:
I met Tai Yasue a few weeks ago and asked him about Kingdom Hearts III's difficulty. He said the intention was to make it easy for newcomers and younger players. The game, as people complained about it, was made to spec.

As a decision the director of the game made, he absolutely should not be asked to make it any harder, correct?
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No one is above criticism, but the criticism itself is not above criticism either.
 

Cathcart

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You can make horror movies less scary. Don't blast the volume, watch them in the daytime with lights on, invite a few friends to watch with you.

You know, choices. Like most of the other From games offered.
 
Raijinto

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Imran said:
I met Tai Yasue a few weeks ago and asked him about Kingdom Hearts III's difficulty. He said the intention was to make it easy for newcomers and younger players. The game, as people complained about it, was made to spec.

As a decision the director of the game made, he absolutely should not be asked to make it any harder, correct?
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Click to shrink...

Pretty much this. KH3 was too easy at points, FS games are too hard at points. Both merit criticism, but only one has a 'debate' around it that can result in 50+ page threads. I wonder which one...
 
GSR

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Voxl said:
No - its like watching a horror movie with lights on, at day or with friends. Totally missed the point here: it's optional and my personal decision.
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Bing bang boom.

I can respect the idea that a game is balanced around a high difficulty level, and that that's an important part of the team's vision. But them adding an easier difficulty doesn't magically remove the harder option. Just give choices y'all.

(But then we wouldn't be able to use "I beat a From game" as some kind of unassailable point of Real Gamer Pride)
 
Aztechnology

Aztechnology

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It's the artists choice. People can be mad all they want. But personally, I love that they do it.

There's something special knowing and conversing with friends about the game, knowing you had a shared experience in a way.
 
LiquidSolid

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I agree that it's absolutely a design and direction decision but eh, film and games are two different mediums. If you want to make a comparison just use horror games.
 
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