Gavin Moore (Demon's Souls Remake Creative Director): "There are no difficulty options in Demon's Souls, and there shouldn't be."

[vestan]

Demon's Souls' easy mode is going Royal, putting points into Intelligence and Magic and going full Firestorm

Anyways I wouldn't be opposed to a cheat menu or whatever for those that don't want to face the challenge but at that point, why bother playing the game?

 

[Deleted member 56266]

I don't think people replying here saying "disappointing, more options are always better" realize the game literally has an easy mode, choose Royal as your class.

 

[Navid]

That's their decision to make and that's perfectly fine...

Personally I don't feel strongly about it either way, I will get and play it as is but had there been a difficulty option I would have been fine with that as well as I would have just chosen to play at the default option like it do for almost all games.

 

[Sorel]

Umbasa !

 

[Bob White]

The thing with souls games thou, is there always has been an easy mode.

You grind and you over level, and everything becomes a push over. It's an action RPG, so it's as difficult as you make it

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This. It's an RPG, people. Just grind if you want to stomp enemies. Why have people forgotten about this when it comes to Souls games?

 

[manustany]

Disappointing but understandable. I was curious to give it a try but after my experience with Bloodborne, it's clear that this genre is not for me.

 

[Deleted member 431]

Very bizarre that he's tauting arbitrary limitations and not giving gamers options and this is praised lol. Don't understand it, and I love these games.

 

[Abominuz]

Demons souls is easier then Sekiro there i said it. Could not get into that game. But why would you want a easy mode, this game is designed around the feeling of achievement obtained by persistence and patience.

 

[Angst]

Disappointing, as are most of the responses here, as expected as they are.

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Just here to say I agree with you.

 

[francium87]

I had to turn cheat engine on (leveled myself up 30x?) to even beat the 3rd boss in Nioh.
Not surprised really by this. Always assumed I'd never play this because of the difficulty.

 

[2Blackcats]

Sometimes I think games should have a god mode or whatever for tourists (for the lack of a better term) but why not just watch a let's play at that point?

I think it would just create a lot of negative noise at this point, "why can't I invade", etc.

Also it's not a hard game. I find Mario 3 harder.

 

[JoJo'sDentCo]

That's all that all the From games ask.

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I did not find this to be the case with Sekiro. That game requires some real skill to finish.

 

[TraderPoe]

To the people saying thank you, how does adding a mode you will not use hinder your experience of the game? It's not for you, it for people who want a more accessible pathway through the game.

 

[Deleted member 56266]

Demons souls is easier then Sekiro there i said it.

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This is the coldest take imaginable. Who disagrees with this lol?

 

[blastprocessor]

It's a dumb decision let's not increase the accessibility of From Software games and ensure they are for the hardcore gamer.

 

[Lucreto]

I will get Watch Dogs instead then.

 

[zoodoo]

Was going to ask if it's not too hard. I like Sekiro so if it's like that I'm down to try it.

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It's way easier and shorter than Sekiro on first playthrough

 

[Snake__]

I am in support of developers doing what they want to do. If it's including an easy mode, fine. If it's having one true intentional difficulty mode, fine.

It's in vogue to mock developers who have creative vision, but frankly I am in full support of developers who pursue their vision with complete, even reckless precision. In fact it's pretty much the only type of game I want to play.

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I feel like accessibility should kinda be completely separate from the basic game design

It really could come down to just adding a cheats menu

 

[Type VII]

Say no to gatekeeping.

 

[bbq of doom]

Why though? A simple casual mode wouldn't hurt anyone.

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There are options in the game that effectively give you that though.

 

[TraderPoe]

Good. Thank you Bluepoint for doing the right choice.

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What does this even mean???

 

[Toriko]

I mean at this point I've just accepted these games won't be for me in their current state so I never expected anything different (my issue isn't even with the enemy design I just find the bonfire to boss trudge extremely boring)

At least I'll be able to look at pretty screenshots

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The whole USP of these games is to uncover shortcuts to the boss thereby encouraging exploration and appreciating the twisted level design. So you dont really have to ever trudge long distances to the boss if you are exploring the areas thoroughly.

If you are trudging long distances it is because of not exploring properly and not the fault of the game design imo.

 

[Decarb]

I would play whatever the standard difficulty is, but I don't see the harm in adding some modifiers like increased health or damage or something for people who want the help.

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Even fking Remedy went out of their way to add modifiers to health, ammo regen etc in Control for people who didn't want to be bothered with weapon and personal mods.

 

[bbq of doom]

I don't think people replying here saying "disappointing, more options are always better" realize the game literally has an easy mode, choose Royal as your class.

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It's readily apparent.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Demon's Souls' easy mode is going Royal, putting points into INT and Magic and going full Firestorm

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Nothing made me laugh harder than when I found out how weak Flamelurker was against basic Soul Arrows. My first horrible horrible Thief playthrough that bastard shredded me like Wolverine.

My Royal run...

 

[The Third Heat]

I wasn't expecting an Easy Mode, but it still bums me out a little that there isn't some sort of official way to soften the difficulty. It'd be great if the game could guide newer/less experienced players to create a build that might alleviate some of the frustration. I think that could be a cool opportunity to introduce players to these games, without straight-up nerfing the game. I know some people just don't have the time or the patience for games like this, which is a huge bummer because they're so fun and well designed. Sure, the internet will always be there, but it'd be cool to have a sort of official way to dive into these games without compromising the difficulty for everyone.

I do also think having much quicker resurrections after death will make these games at least 50% less frustrating, so there's that to consider.

 

[Kenzo]

This. It's an RPG, people. Just grind if you want to stomp enemies. Why have people forgotten about this when it comes to Souls games?

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Exactly.

 

[Abominuz]

This is the coldest take imaginable. Who disagrees with this lol?

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I really thought i was alone, im not? I was pretty good at all souls games but got my arse kicked playing Sekiro.

 

[Deleted member 49770]

Difficulty options only make a game better. I'm not gonna fight for them being mandatory, but anyone who suggests a game would be harmed by their inclusion probably takes that game a little too seriously.

 

[Dolce]

Demons souls is easier then Sekiro there i said it. Could not get into that game. But why would you want a easy mode, this game is designed around the feeling of achievement obtained by persistence and patience.

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Because patience and persistence is relative. Especially with the diverse groups of people who play video games. Even difficulty within the series varies. Many people still struggle on easy settings.

I don't think they have to add a difficulty option. Even saying "this is just something we didn't prioritize" is much better than the silly notion that "there shouldn't be" as if the games difficulty is some sacred cow. If it was that important, the games would be much more punishing. Or they could be like arcade games where game over is literally game over.

 

[bbq of doom]

I would play whatever the standard difficulty is, but I don't see the harm in adding some modifiers like increased health or damage or something for people who want the help.

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The Royalty class gives you a significantly powerful early ranged option (don't need to get close to enemies to kill them) and summoning provides a significant amount of help.

 

[stefanomusilli96]

So it's that time of the year where the internet is split in whether Souls games should have difficulty options?

Spoiler

#TeamEasyMode here.

 

[DeoGame]

I suppose I won't be beating Demon's Souls again. Fucking Fools Idol of all bosses gets me.

Ah well. Still looking forward to playing what I can. Who knows, maybe I'll even Git Gud. Just busy.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I wasn't expecting an Easy Mode, but it still bums me out a little that there isn't some sort of official way to soften the difficulty. It'd be great if the game could guide newer/less experienced players to create a build that might alleviate some of the frustration. I think that could be a cool opportunity to introduce players to these games, without straight-up nerfing the game. I know some people just don't have the time or the patience for games like this, which is a huge bummer because they're so fun and well designed. Sure, the internet will always be there, but it'd be cool to have a sort of official way to dive into these games without compromising the difficulty for everyone.

I do also think having much quicker resurrections after death will make these games at least 50% less frustrating, so there's that to consider.

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There is an official way to soften the difficulty. You can use magic, you can power yourself up by increasing your Soul Level, or you can summon help. Like that's what those things are there for.

 

[WrenchNinja]

You can tell who watched the video and who didn't.

There are ways in the game already to lower the ceiling of difficulty, like there were in the original. Most of the issue with dying in the original and losing progress were all the load times on PS3, that's not an issue any more.

 

[Deleted member 198]

There is never any good argument against giving players the option.

 

[MadLaughter]

'artistic choice' doesn't hold water for me.

If you are the creator, let's say your goal is to make a person feel a challenge level of 9 out of 10. You want to evoke that sense of accomplishment.

Well, for a really skilled player, that challenge level might feel more like a 6/10. So you've missed your mark.

For a player that is more casual, they might find the game feels like a goddamn 11/10 on the challenge front. So you've missed your mark there too.

If you give difficulty modes, these other players can pick a difficulty setting that will let them achieve that 9/10 feeling of challenge and accomplishment that the artist was looking for.

 

[Ambient]

You can tell who watched the video and who didn't.

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Yup.

In the context of this game it's understandable I don't get how some people can't grasp that.

 

[emilioasis]

wasn't the Magic Type basically Easy Mode in the original?

 

[Deleted member 56266]

There is never any good argument against giving players the option.

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It's a good thing they do in this game then!

 

[That1GoodHunter]

It's their project and they wish to remain faithful to the original vision, have to respect it. Sorry for those who were holding out hope for it, as many have said before me, DeS is the most forgiving of the Souls games.

 

[Jay-T]

Good

 

[Aeroucn]

Based

 

[Rotobit]

The whole USP of these games is to uncover shortcuts to the boss thereby encouraging exploration and appreciating the twisted level design. So you dont really have to ever trudge long distances to the boss if you are exploring the areas thoroughly.

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I've found those shortcuts in multiple of the games and still just found it a boring chore, it's still ultimately repeating the same content and that adds up

I get that it's appealing/satisfying to a lot of people but despite multiple attempts it's never clicked with me, and what frustrates me is that I think I'd actually enjoy learning boss patterns etc. if I didn't have that period of time between attempts taking me out of that headspace

 

[bsigg]

This is a bad stance. Lack of accessibility is bullshit and for what? Just to say your "gamer" cred is in tact because you beat a game that is difficult?

Come on, games should be looking to add options to allow everyone to play. Those options don't hurt the ability to go in and play how it was originally intended but rather give more people the ability to experience the game as a whole.

 

[MatrixMan.exe]

I think not having difficulty options is fine. Accessibility is important, super important but it's also fine for a creative to want their work experienced in a very particular way. It also doesn't stop them from making the game accessible in a variety of other ways as well. Having said all of that, I don't fully understand why people are cheering for this? Easy mode doesn't affect you?

If Devil May Cry can have an easy mode yet still have one of the highest skill ceilings of any game on the market currently, so can Souls games. Stop with the gatekeeping. It's not a good look.

 

[Tovarisc]

Souls Elitism that is prominent on ERA never stops amazing me.

Is Souls only exception where not giving any difficulty options and hence limiting accessibility is cheered on and praised?

 

[XaviConcept]

Agreed, the game isn't hard to begin with. It just asks patience.

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So while I generally agree with this, this wording gets to me a little bit

Thats not what people are typically asking for, they typically ask for accessibility features so that people who are not as abled as the intended audience can play the game at a difficulty that TO THEM feels the same as it feels TO YOU

 

[Deleted member 51789]

Unless they've hidden some excellent accessibility options like TLOU2 or Celeste in there, this is incredibly disappointing to hear (especially the part saying that there shouldn't be any - pretty much gatekeeping)

 

[ScoobsJoestar]

I'm torn because I want difficulty options for folks with worse disabilities than mine, but I also know that deep down my interest in the games would sort of fade with difficulty options.

Even knowing I'd never pick the easy mode, knowing it was there would change the framing of the experience for me from "gotta do this to get to the next area" to "I'm doing for the hell of it" which is a less interesting framing for me.

But I guess more people being able to play the game at all is more important than me getting a certain vibe from a game. It's cool if the game isn't for me anymore and I hope it changes for the sake of everyone with worse disabilities than mine.

But I'll keep enjoying them in the meantime haha.