It’s not just you. Hidetaka Miyazaki also has a tough time mastering video games…which says a lot because he’s helped create some of the toughest games on the planet.
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FromSoftware is known for one thing first and foremost: Making the type of video game that redefines the word difficult. After three Dark Souls games, the beloved PS4 classic Bloodborne, the challenging action-based Sekiro, and more recently Elden Ring and Armored Core 6, the studio has consistently one-upped their sadism with every successive release.
Elden Ring’s latest expansion Shadow of the Erdtree is no exception. The DLC is terrorizing fans across all skill levels and giving everyone a collective reason to be afraid again. But it’s not just you that finds FromSoft’s games rigorous and tough as nails, or games in general–Hidetaka Miyazaki is the first to admit that he “absolutely sucks” at games.
In a recent interview with The Guardian’s Keza McDonald, Miyazaki shared rare insight on his personal thoughts about difficulty in video games, especially how Elden Ring’s multi-faceted structure has helped influence the decision-making process at the studio.
“…In preparation for Shadow of the Erdtree, I played through the main story of Elden Ring.
“I want to preface this by saying I absolutely suck at video games, so my approach or play style was to use everything I have at my disposal, all the assistance, every scrap of aid that the game offers, and also all the knowledge that I have as the architect of the game…the freedom and open-world nature of Elden Ring perhaps lowered the barrier to entry, and I might be the one who’s benefiting the most from that, as a player, more than anyone else.”
Elden Ring’s myriad of helpful options, weapons, and meta build designs have certainly opened up the game to more players…but it’s still a challenging experience. While FromSoft may never add an easy mode to their games, these extras–multiplayer assistance, myriad of different skill/weapon combinations, etc–have all been instrumental in helping the game become more accessible to a widespread audience.