

Monday, 3rd September 2012 16:25 GMT By Dave Cook






Cheers OXM.


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  1. ps3fanboy

    what about easy mode for the demon souls?… you can start with that… there are people out there that are more interesting in the story and exploration, than fighting idiotic insane hard bosses in boss battles.

    make first an option for easy exploration mode without boss battles, second option you keep the game as it is now, third option should be insane hard with one hit you get killed for the die hards out there….

    #1 2 years ago
  2. YoungZer0

    Why not? The more people play it, the better. I think it’s also fair to say that Dark Souls has a lot of cheap deaths.

    #2 2 years ago
  3. DSB

    GFWL will make a lot more hesitant to play it.

    #3 2 years ago
  4. Dave Cook

    @1 & 2 yeah, I mean, if people don’t want to play easy mode, they don’t have to. How long until before his quote gets some fan upset though? ;)

    Love Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls. If this means more people will try it, then they should go for it. It deserves to be played.

    #4 2 years ago
  5. Balbarian

    Methinks this should definitely be considered…as an option for weedy WiiU owners only though – whenever they get the time to do that, that is ;)

    Seriously though the main thing they could do to make the game easier is give it an offline only setting via the opening options screen so that you are protected from online invaders at least – even if it does take away one of the game’s main selling points in the process.

    #5 2 years ago
  6. DrDamn

    When it’s a defining part of the game I don’t think it should be messed with too much. Every game doesn’t have to be for everyone. The game isn’t that difficult when approached with some care. The boss battles are sometimes a little cheap – rebalance that if necessary. Even those can be made easier already by summoning some help from experienced players.

    It’s not broken, don’t fix it. Spend the time on new stuff imo.

    #6 2 years ago
  7. Wychodzew

    Mr. Miyazaki, how about toying with the idea of fixing the problems on the PC version? It’s still poorly running (performance, not the other stuff). Planing easy mod for a Souls game, but not taking care of it’s technical problems.


    #7 2 years ago
  8. DrDamn

    Offline only would be more difficult. You can avoid frequent invasion in Dark Souls with affiliation choices. You need online to summon help.

    #8 2 years ago
  9. YoungZer0

    @3: there’s actually a crack for the game that gets rid of gfwl. But that means that you can’t play it online.

    @4: i’d give it another 5 min. Max till we hear the fans get mad.

    If they want to include an easier difficulty they’ll have to do a lot more than just give the player more health. The biggest problems i have with the game are the following:

    You encounter an enemy, a huge one, but not a boss, someone like hazel. He swings his huge as weapon, you roll to the side, he still hits you, because he aims at you around the last milisecond before the weapon hits the ground. That means that you have to roll a little bit later. Most huge ass enemies also have way too many fast-attacks, which just seems ridiculous.

    The biggest problem though is that after one attack there usually comes another. You lie on the ground, while the enemy prepares the next attack. The moment you get up, he hits you and you die. That’s just cheap.

    @8: nope, you can summon ingame characters for help.

    #9 2 years ago
  10. Elven_Star

    Usually, if a game doesn’t have a really really gripping narrative, I don’t touch it. Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are pretty much the only exceptions to that rule. And the reason I played them is that sense of accomplishment you have after getting through a tough area or defeating a boss. If they make these games easy, they’ll lose all their appeal in my opinion. I recommend these two games to my friends all the time. They try the games, they get their ass kicked, they give up. Makes me feel good when I tell them I’ve finished these games. If there’s an easy mode, that feeling will be gone.

    tl;dr: Please don’t do that.

    #10 2 years ago
  11. ps3fanboy


    you can still brag about finish the hard mode… easy mode player will not touch it.

    #11 2 years ago
  12. Edo

    Did they ever actually thanked that guy(Durante if I’m not mistaken)for doing what they should’ve done in the first place?

    #12 2 years ago
  13. Zeydlitz

    Problem in DarkS is not is diffictulty. Problem — game is pretty badly designed. Demon Souls was way to better! Respawn within visibility range, extemely big penalty for death (way to bigger than in DS), lame balance.

    #13 2 years ago
  14. loki

    PC fail port = easy mode

    #14 2 years ago
  15. _LarZen_

    I havent bought it for the sole reason of the insane difficulty I read in reviews and from people that have played it.

    #15 2 years ago
  16. absolutezero

    Surely an easy mode completely defeats the purpose of the game?

    Its not as if Dark Souls has a story to speak of, the atmosphere is oppressive and the difficulty is a key part of that.

    There would have to be an entire new online set-up because of all the black phantoms destroying the easy mode players.

    #16 2 years ago
  17. burrsalem

    Personally I admit I would LOVE an easy mode. I was really drawn in by the tone and the implied history of the whole thing, but alas it really was just to crushingly hard and frustrating for my taste. (and skill I suppose) If they provide an easy mode patch for 360 I’ll buy another copy and jump back in. It should be pointed out that an “easy” mode in Dark Souls would still likely be harder than most games on the market.

    #17 2 years ago
  18. tgchan

    … pathetic…

    There are 99% of games mostly for noobs and people who don’t want/know how to use your own head…

    This game isn’t even hard when you learn the basics…

    Fck you all whining noobs go play sims if you can’t handle dark souls…

    #18 2 years ago
  19. Clupula

    As someone who treasures the difficulty in these games, I think it’s a lame idea. However, if people are that sad that they can’t learn to get better at the game, I guess an easy mode for them would acceptable…PROVIDED you cannot earn any trophies or achievements when playing it.

    #19 2 years ago
  20. monkeygourmet

    It’s not even as hard as old games…

    People have just got used to checkpoints, infinate ‘lives’ and save states available from any point. Also fast travel etc…

    In my opinion Dragons Dogma was the best middle man for people who would like to enjoy a game is similar to dark souls, without much penalty for dying.

    Without sounding too much like an old man, but please try Monty Mole, Jet Set Willy, etc… etc… If you really want o see what unfair dificulty is like.

    Even games on the SNES / MD were harder… 3. Lives, 3 continues then game over!!! and start again even if you were on the last boss! :)

    Dark / Demon Souls aren’t hard, you just have to get used to the controls and keep your wits about you, also knowing when to gamble or not comes in handy…

    It makes it exciting and more ‘real’ than any ‘fake’ choices you could make in a game like mass effect for example…

    You see a sleeping dragon buy some treasure… Do you gamble and run in to loot it (risking everything else), or play it safe?!

    Again, it’s not hard, it just makes you think, and for that reason, even without a compelling story, it’s the best game this gen for me…

    Each persons experience is more unique compared to anything else out their! Kids have just got soft these days! ;)

    #20 2 years ago
  21. Da Man

    Videogames went from being entertainment, which asked for effort in return and ‘gamers’ willing to beat the impossible Battletoads because it was interesting and exciting to shallow time killing under various marketing disguises aimed at the widest audience possible.

    #21 2 years ago
  22. OrbitMonkey

    When I want to play a open world game that challenges me, I fire up Skyrim… Without the patches…

    #22 2 years ago
  23. brotherhoodofthewolf

    No no no. This is a stupid idea! (not you no.22)

    #23 2 years ago
  24. powerbuoy

    @5 When I played Demon’s Souls I simply turned the internet connection off in the PS3 settings to avoid invaders. But in Dark I played online for the first time and really benefited from summoning other players. I cleared the Depths in like 5 minutes thanks to two other guys :)

    @6, @10 & @16: +1

    I haven’t finished either tbh (not really stuck either but it started to feel more like a job than entertainment in the end :P) but I think the movement and fighting/hit detection is easily the best in any RPG. Because the controls are so tight you never feel cheated when dying either imo. It’s always your own sloppiness that leads to your death (except some of the traps in Demon’s I guess).

    #24 2 years ago
  25. IrrationalGamer

    Yes, Miyazaki, there are easy games being made, and the reason for that is because everyone has their own version of “hard”. To some people, “easy mode” is “normal mode”.

    I have no problem with them adding an easy mode for less experienced/skilled players. Just please make sure to include a normal/hard mode for the experienced players to enjoy.

    #25 2 years ago
  26. YoungZer0


    >>> Dark/Demon’s Souls
    >>> Tight Controls

    What? O___o

    Are you serious? I don’t think you can say a game has tight controls when it reacts seconds later.

    Example: You get smashed to the ground, furiously, you hit the attack button, your character gets up, the monster (of course) prepares another attack, so you hit the block button, your character stands up, but instead of blocking, he attacks.

    That’s not what you can call tight controls. Not by a long shot.

    #26 2 years ago
  27. powerbuoy

    @27 I think in * Souls you shouldn’t “furiously hit the attack button” but rather plan every move carefully. I understand what you’re saying though and I guess being able to “change your mind” wouldn’t be bad. But compared to (for example) Skyrim the fighting in * Souls is leaps ahead imo.

    #27 2 years ago
  28. YoungZer0

    @27: But that’s what defines tight controls. Just the fact that rolling and jumping share the same buttons means that you can’t have that.

    #28 2 years ago
  29. Telepathic.Geometry

    I am all for an easy mode. I’m the proud owner of platinums in both games, but for me the draw was not the sense of accomplishment in defeating a tough boss, though that was certainly there, no, it was…

    …the satisfaction in building my character the way I wanted them
    …the surprise of some fucker randomly turning up to KILL me :O
    …the camaraderie of beating the previously unthinkable with the (in my admittedly limited online play experience) incredibly friendly DS online community
    …the discovery of new places that really transport you
    …the discovery of NPCs who are genuinely important and interesting
    …the ability to truly embrace the role of magician, knight, thief, assassin, ranger and have it really change the way you play

    The difficulty? Meh, I could take it or leave it to be honest.

    #29 2 years ago
  30. Telepathic.Geometry

    For the record, I think that giving you a permanent companion NPC to carry shit for you, cast support spells and draw some agro, as well as giving you some advice about the various areas could be a good way to implement an easy mode, as well as giving you an opportunity to add atmosphere.

    Like say your character says “Sen’s Fortress, I’ve heard stories about this place, and none of it good. Watch where you step here…” Dragon’s Dogma style. Obviously, the character would probably be morose like the crestfallen knight or something, but…

    I think that could really work for DS.

    #30 2 years ago
  31. Kuwabara

    What a stupid idea. Make it easy and you take away what made the game so great. At first i was pissed off with how hard it was, i nearly broke the game in rage and was cursing the developers. A few months later i gave it another shot, used my brain, and started exploring other areas/level, finding new weapons and getting stronger, till i was able to face the difficult challenges. And demon souls became one of the best games ever made. The game is supposed to give a sense of challenge, a threat, which sucks you right into the world and makes it feel real. This is why it’s one of the few games where you feel like you are actually there and not playing a game. And the game isn’t hard, it’s brilliantly designed.

    #31 2 years ago
  32. Lord Gremlin

    Really is a bad idea. The whole game is set in such a way that you either getting better or getting nowhere. And reminded that you suck. Take that away and it will lose much of it’s gameplay appeal.

    #32 2 years ago
  33. Telepathic.Geometry

    “At first i was pissed off with how hard it was, i nearly broke the game in rage and was cursing the developers. A few months later…” This is why any developer who likes being able to eat and pay his bills wwould consider an easy mode. Most gamers simply aren’t up to the challenge. That’s just reality…

    #33 2 years ago
  34. r3volter

    Oh my god noooo, dont you dare add a easy mode to the best game ever…. i will practically sell my copy if they add a stupid easy mode.
    this game is meant to be hard, but it isnt hard, once you start a ng its the easiest game ever carrying all your equipment +1 2 3….so if someone cant get through the game, here ls an advise: LEARN HOW TO BLOCK, ROLL AND DONT HACK N SLASH BUTTONS.
    For mr hidetaka, please make new regions or more souls game harder.

    #34 2 years ago
  35. Telepathic.Geometry

    That’s just crazy talk. ALmost all of my games have an easy mode, and I almost never (maybe never?) use it. What’s the beef? They’re not making you use it. If they had it there, you’d never click it on would you?

    I hope all these guys moaning about the difficulty being important never summoned anyone to help them out, I mean, that would just be too EASY don’t you think? :-/

    #35 2 years ago
  36. r3volter

    #36 why the hell would you want a easy mode when you can summon someone to help you? No one here is whining…this game was made that way like demons souls, solution? learn to play and plan carefully your hits and moves.

    #36 2 years ago
  37. GwynbleiddiuM

    I consider the removal of the horrfying GFWL and Xbox controller scheme off the face of the game an easy mode. I’d take that, but right now the hardest part for me is to understand why do I need to be arsed with “Push LT” “”Hold RB” while I’m playing with a freaking mouse and keyboard, it’s even more annoying than the fact I can’t benefit from online services.

    #37 2 years ago
  38. Telepathic.Geometry

    r3volter: You seem to be only seeing this from your own point of view. I have a few gamer friends who were too scared or intimidated by this and Dead Space 1 to get into it. I know if I could make them sit down and get to grips with it, they’d realise it’s not as hard as it seems, but adults only have so much free time for gaming, and if the barrier of entry is to high, they’ll just play something else.

    It’s a bit much to say “Get with the program or fuck off noob”. It’s a game for fuck’s sake, how does it take anything away from us to furnish some kind of easy mode? Or to make summoning easier to do, and more obvious for gamers not so savvy with DS…

    #38 2 years ago
  39. DrDamn

    I’d say the controls are tight and also some of the best combat mechanics in any game of it’s type. It has rules for actions, you can’t just spam moves, stamina control and awareness is a huge part of the combat.

    #39 2 years ago
  40. Ichisaki2882


    Or, make a super die-easy mode that I can invade in!

    (Buy Chain Armor from Vendor, I like Deprived)

    #40 2 years ago
  41. Fin

    Games should have difficulty levels so everyone can finish them.

    Play on normal if you like, but I don’t see what the problem is having a super-easy casual mode too.

    #41 2 years ago
  42. SplatteredHouse

    Games need not have difficulty levels so that everybody can finish them. Instead, they’re better off having depth of gameplay, to where the less experienced player can get some fun with the game at their level, and feel satisfied; and, then the most experienced of players can play the same game more akin to the skill level of the ones who made it, and they have fun.

    That needs to be a design goal from the outset though, the game designed with that accessibility in mind.

    #42 2 years ago
  43. DrDamn

    When difficulty and sense of achievement are integral to the game then it’s not a problem as such – more of a why bother? Games are distinguished by the interaction, the control, the taking part. If that gets boiled down to press A to win then what’s the point exactly?

    #43 2 years ago
  44. r3volter

    Demons souls was harder than dark souls, why would he implement a easy mode in dark souls?, its not dark souls anymore.
    Instead of adding a easy mode, i would suggest fixing the damn glitches and bugs the game has and fixing the summons, coz you get fail 9/10 times.
    He should make new regions, dlc’s and of course dark souls 2 or another full new souls game harder than the other.
    But if he adds a easy mode, please add a nightmare difficulty too, because the game after u beat it is the most easy run of all

    #44 2 years ago
  45. Fin


    Why not bother? If you get one person who enjoys playing on a super-casual mode, isn’t that enough – I know a friend of mine really enjoys the stories in games, but doesn’t like actually playing them? Why not have a Press A To Win for him? It’s not affecting your experience.

    #45 2 years ago
  46. DrDamn

    Because it misses the point of the experience. You can watch someone complete the game in a couple of hours on Youtube if you just want to see what happens. To properly rebalance and restructure the game to make it easier and still a good game is a reasonable amount of effort too. Effort best spent by the developers on new content and new games. There are plenty of other games out there which cater for the press A to win crowd.

    #46 2 years ago
  47. Gadzooks!

    It wouldn’t be the same experience with an easy mode.

    I’d have used it on Sif, and the whoopin and a hollerin, arms waving, air punching would not have happened when I finally took that bastard down. I don’t want that cop-out being available.

    The game is what it is because it doesn’t pander to anyone. It’s old-skool for those that have been gaming for more than this gen, or the last. Kids these days are mollycoddled so much I’m surprised that their skin hasn’t evolved into chenille.

    It’s nothing to do with E-peen, it’s about the satisfaction of perfecting rolls and blocks, stamina management and builds. It’s about being proficient but knowing the sense of trepidation when you aren’t in your comfort zone.

    If it had an easy mode you wouldn’t be outside your comfort zone and the atmosphere and tension of the game would just dissipate.

    No change, please.

    #47 2 years ago
  48. r3volter

    if you want to add a easy mode do it, but dont touch my hard mode.
    btw please if you add a easy mode, could you also add a nightmare mode? im tired of not dieing and the game being so easy.

    #48 2 years ago
  49. Astral Frost

    I’m far more likely to buy and play this game if they give me an easy mode. Not because I will never try the harder difficulty level(s), but because I don’t want to be scared away right out of the gate. It’s like Ninja Dog Mode in Ninja Gaiden, only with less deprecation of the player…

    #49 2 years ago
  50. OlderGamer

    I am in same boat as Astral Frost. I haven’t and won’t buy a DS game because it is billed as harder then hell. I buy the game, I want to finish the game.

    I don’t mind the game having a harder mode, why would anyone mind the game having an easier mode?

    #50 2 years ago
  51. Telepathic.Geometry

    Beats the hell outta me OG. Probably selfishness?

    #51 2 years ago
  52. DrDamn

    @51 and @52
    What is being described here as difficulty is an intrinsic part of the design, it’s what makes the game what it is. It’s not actually difficulty as such, it’s making you *play* the game, it won’t allow you not to. You have to learn the combat controls and implement them, you can’t mash your way through the game. It only seems difficult at first because other games have become so slack and pandering.

    It’s like asking Metallica to record easy listening versions of all their songs for the people who don’t like the normal ones.

    #52 2 years ago
  53. Deacon

    I agree with those that have said the difficulty is intrinsic to the gameplay. I think it’s a shame for the dev to be considering this, primarily because their whole angle with the game was that it is HARD. Not unfair hard, but trial and error hard. Stay on your guard hard. Edge of your seat hard, in a lot of cases.

    A lot of people these days just seem to want to breeze through every game they put in their machine without breaking a sweat, and we all know that the more accessible a game is the more it is likely to sell.

    This is what I found so exciting about From Software and the Souls games. They knew that they were appealing primarily to a small portion of the gaming population, yet they stood by their vision. I would prefer they didn’t incorporate an easy mode into DS, even if it doesn’t affect me.

    My hopes of them continuing to develop future (challenging) titles like the Souls games are diminishing. Everyone sells out eventually.

    #53 2 years ago
  54. OlderGamer

    I understand what your saying, Doc. But I think those days for games to be tough as nails are pretty much over. You want to remember why games used to be hard. they weren;t for the integerty of the game. The simple reason is …

    …the games need to make you put another quater in the arcade in order to make the dev/pubs and store/bar/arcade establishment money. Games also used to be short, if the game was easy it would be a quick experience that would feel like a waste of money(once things transitioned from arcade only to home consoles).

    Games getting easier is just another market transition.

    As the market expands beyond sadistic core elitest gamers(j/k), and reaches for a wider more mass market audiance, many buyers will be turned away if they buy games they can not get thru. I know I won’t buy DS for that reason. And also consider the sale of DLC. If the game is deemed too hard and not fun to play, who is going to buy DLC?

    It becomes an art form of trying hard to not exclude would be buyers. that is more important then making a game geared for the much smaller core audiance that favors a “challange”.

    Like I said, just another transition, you can find examples of them over the past what 25-30 years of gaming history?

    The DS game is like a last bastion of hope for alot of core gamers. And I understand the love for it. But, without a dificulty option, the game is selling less then it could, imo.

    #54 2 years ago
  55. r3volter

    wtf… people has to learn to play hard games… too many sissies around that cant handle a great game.
    they die 5 times and whine, and on the other side we have those that whines before buying a great game saying its hell hard… lol.
    the best part is that when they are ingame, they dont even know hoy to fight without backstabbing all the time. the only change this game needs la to ver rid of backstabbing in pvp ir when u have ir shield on ir back reduce the dmg 25% from backstabbing noobs.

    #55 2 years ago
  56. OlderGamer

    r3volter, I learned to game in the 70s/80s man, trust me I played many a hard as hell game. But I have learned over the years is that it is just isn’t fun. Let me rephrase that. I no longer find it fun.

    And this a reality the industry only midly understands, those same gamers that used to play in the 70s, 80s, and 90s still play games. And my skills are no where near what they used to be 20 to 30years ago. And as gaming moves forward so will the age of its consumers. Guys and gals like me are just on the cusp of it. But there are a lot of folks here that are in their 30s and 40s maybe even a few in their 50s.

    So the solution is just to make things optional. Stick an easy mode in there. Or in most cases, stick a hard mode in their. Alot of games today do tend to be easier then some of the core would like, so make a mode in there that challanges them.

    That being said, I have no problem with DS games. I understand that some folks want a game like it. But, the truth is, I won’t buy it because it lacks an easier mode.

    #56 2 years ago
  57. absolutezero

    So why does every game NEED to be available to every single person that might have a passing interest in playing it?

    No other entertainment industry works like this. Not a single fucking one feels the need for every single last release to appeal to everyone. Not movies, not music, not literature and not art. Nothing.

    Why is it so very bad for something like Dark Souls to exist? Nothing is going to change because whoever it may be might not enjoy the challenge, the fight the progress the improvement of skill, there is an audience for it though, as has been shown by the games sales figures.

    I would never expect a Shmup to have an infinite shield which allows you to just hold down fire and move up the screen, it completely defeats the purpose and someone had to work on making it. Who could have been making something else.

    #57 2 years ago
  58. Telepathic.Geometry

    God damn, why are these debates so circular.

    I KNOW the game is at its best as it is!
    I KNOW the game isn’t as difficult as it seems.
    I DON’T personally want or need an easy mode.

    But what about all the people who can’t hack it? Should they just fuck off? Are we that elitist now? If you’re a real fan of DS games you should want as many people as possible to be able to get a taste of it.

    #58 2 years ago
  59. OlderGamer


    Because pubs are in the biz of selling games. And moving more units is better then moving less units.

    Let me turn it around on you.

    Why does a game containing an easy and a hard mode bother you? You aren’t forced to play the easier mode. So why do you feel cheapend or offended by it?

    “Why is it so very bad for something like Dark Souls to exist?”

    Relax man, I wrote:


    And that kind of condences what I was saying.

    Add in what PG just said, and that is a wrap.

    #59 2 years ago
  60. absolutezero

    I want them to get better. If they can’t get better then I want them to play something else more suited to their skill level. Its not as if theres a lack of things to play specifically designed for them or anything.

    So because of publishers wanting to sell more continuously I as a game playing person am expected to put up with it?

    Look at the Hearts of Iron games, could you imagine what an easy mode would do to those games? The samething goes for Dark and Demon’s Souls, im not going to say difficulty because thats not really what it is. Its attention, the games demand concentration and attention and adding in an easy mode would outright lessen the experience. So if I had to choose between a player either not playing the game outright OR playing a gimped lesser version I’ll take the first option. Lost sales or not.

    #60 2 years ago
  61. OlderGamer

    But AZ if the game had an easy, normal, and hard mode to select from … wouldn’t that be ok? Your experience could be tailored to your skill set. I also think that a lot of other games could use the same type of thing, alot of gamers think some other games are too easy.

    #61 2 years ago
  62. absolutezero

    I think there could be a mode in the Souls titles that could possibly be called “Easy mode” but its never going to pull off the same atmosphere if it took the route that the rest of the industry seems to think constitutes lessened difficulty, that being more player health, less enemy health, more items to pick up.

    It would involve changing enemy AI to make them less aggressive, changing spells, instituting some form or in-game tutorial and auto-levelling. It would take a fair amount of work to get it working and keep the same Souls feel. I would rather have the people assigned to work on that facet working on the game itself trying to get rid of bugs and frame rate issues.

    Like I said before no other entertainment industry works on this principle, but just like the games industry there are publishers there trying to sell as much as possible to. Can you imagine a publisher sending a book back to Dawkins and asking him to remove the longer words because it might confuse part of his audience?

    #62 2 years ago
  63. Telepathic.Geometry

    AZ, I don’t know why you’re saying no other entertainment industry works this way. 95% of the games I own have three or more difficulty modes. I would say that DS is the exception in this, rather than the rule.

    I don’t even know what Easy mode is like in most of those games. I usually play through on Normal or Hard the first time and then the hardest mode the second time around.

    It’s par for the course to have an easy mode AZ. And since like me, you’ll never play it, why would it bother you? I’m not a big FPS guy, but if I were gonna play CoD, I’d be glad of an Easy mode, or low-level gamers match-making online. What your saying sounds a lot like “Up your game or fuck off home” to me. It’s a game dude, a GAME!

    #63 2 years ago
  64. absolutezero

    It bothers me because Dark and Demon’s Souls was’nt just “another game”, it was a special little bundle of challenge and reward and secrets and helping and discussion and practise. All of those stemmed from un-comprimising nature of the game.

    If Demon’s Souls had come out with an easy mode in place it would not have reached the level of cult love that allowed From Software to produce a follow-up.

    The very nature of the difficulty produced a community devoted to it. They banded togethor against it, to beat it with each other and share stories about it. Without that challenge, that foe to face and defeat that never would have happened. Dark Souls would not exist if the games had an easy mode from the start.

    I mention other forms of media simply as a comparison, no film director producing something like a horror movie expects to to appeal to everyone and for everyone to enjoy it. So does every game producer need to ensure that every single person who picks up a pad can play it?

    Mainly its also because even one generation ago there were a select bred of games specifically about challenge, difficulty and practice to over-come. There are almost none now, hell look at what happened to Ninja Gaiden 3.

    It bothers me because its something really quite rare and I want it to remain that way.

    Fuck me if thats elitest but I really don’t care.

    #64 2 years ago
  65. freedoms_stain

    Isn’t the difficulty kind of the point in the Souls games?

    I think it’s fair enough to set a skill bar in games if that’s what the actual game is.

    #65 2 years ago
  66. Telepathic.Geometry

    Well, I don’t think anyone’s gonna change their opinion on this, so might as well leave it at that.

    However,　it does occur to me that there are ways you could implement an easy mode that wouldn’t get in the way of that. Like say, give the easy mode gamers double/triple the humanity pick-up to make sure that they were always able to summon for help.

    Or say, you could be immune from invasion for 10-15 levels and have an undead NPC follow you around before being brutally perma-killed by an invader to stop the hand-holding. Very Soulsy I think.

    If you did it like that, it’d probably be enough to get most newbs up to speed on the game mechanic without breaking the atmosphere. It might even be better, seeing your dude get killed and scream at you to run or some shit. From could definitely make something like that work…

    #66 2 years ago
  67. absolutezero

    Is it really worth all the work adding that into the game just to get some people that are’nt interested enough to approach the game in the first place to try it out though?

    When instead they could for instance be working on sorting out the frame rate issues in Blight Town instead? Or creating an entirely new area like in Prepare to Die?

    The very thing that makes the Souls games what they are and why the fanbase adore them is whats being talked about being lessened, it would be a lessened experience for those that don’t have either the ability or the commitment to tackle them as they are now. That, for me, would be worse than not playing them at all.

    #67 2 years ago
  68. Telepathic.Geometry

    I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree then…

    #68 2 years ago