Okay, that’s a completely different issue though. The reason that difficulty selection gets push back is because developers are often very lazy in how they implement it, and it makes the “hard” modes little more than an exercise in tedium rather than an actual challenge. So people who enjoy the Dark Souls style games tend to get protective over one of the very few significant titles which scratches that itch these days. There are a wealth of significantly easier games to explore (and frankly better, too, unless you are there for the challenge).
That’s a great point and I definitely agree from that perspective. I didn’t really mean that it necessarily should have been implemented so much as the people that actually got mad that “you wouldn’t be playing it the way it was meant to be played”. I absolutely understand the technical issues that go into it (built server APIs at an indie game studio for some years if you can believe that after saying how bad I am at Elden Ring). It was just that the very idea that someone could want a more forgiving experience causing some other gamers to seeth over it for some reason as if someone’s casual gaming desire affected their ability to enjoy the game.
Seething over someone wanting to enjoy a game they bought is unreasonable. Some people get pissed at the suggestion it should have an easier mode.
Accessibility takes nothing away from the way those players want to play Souls games. Simple, small adjustments to enemy health, damage, invincibility frames, and speed could go a very long way to making the game worth the money people paid for it.
It’s especially frustrating that Elden Ring was constantly pitched as the most accessible souls game, but it’s still not nearly as accessible as fans and reviewers made it out to be.
Exactly. It’s like some players want to gatekeep the game in a way where it’s an exclusive experience with this weird “If you’re trash then git gud or you shouldn’t play” mentality.
Weird how there’s this “there shouldn’t be an easy mode” mentality yet the community absolutely ate up the whole “Let me solo her” meme where another player literally came in and fought people’s fights for them and that was totally acceptable.
Have you been on Reddit? I’m not saying this is the ER community as a whole by any means. My entire whole point is “why does anyone care how I or anyone else wants to play a single player game” even if it’s only a few people. I’ve seen comments verbally berating players for saying they wished there was an easier mode. Yes they’re the minority but my point was never “all players are like this”.
I didn’t ignore it, I just didn’t address your points individually. I just don’t think someone being “protective” of a game is a good reason to be mad when people who readily admit they suck but still wish they could play it because there’s nothing else really like these games for combat, pace, and worlds etc.
I don’t intend to act like all the fans are these angry seething fools. I’m just saying that it’s ridiculous that some of them would get mad about the idea that someone would actually prefer an easy mode. As if their enjoyment of the game is directly impacted by the level of difficulty another player plays on. Like the OP here, if someone save scums then who cares? If I’d love an easy mode for Elden Ring then who cares? It literally only impacts the person playing it. I like to play games for the worlds they create. Not to challenge myself. My job and life does that enough for me.
If there was an easy mode where enemies had say 50% HP (just an example) how would that impact anyone but me? Why is it justified for hardcore Souls-like fans to be upset about that?
Okay, that’s a completely different issue though. The reason that difficulty selection gets push back is because developers are often very lazy in how they implement it, and it makes the “hard” modes little more than an exercise in tedium rather than an actual challenge. So people who enjoy the Dark Souls style games tend to get protective over one of the very few significant titles which scratches that itch these days. There are a wealth of significantly easier games to explore (and frankly better, too, unless you are there for the challenge).
That’s a great point and I definitely agree from that perspective. I didn’t really mean that it necessarily should have been implemented so much as the people that actually got mad that “you wouldn’t be playing it the way it was meant to be played”. I absolutely understand the technical issues that go into it (built server APIs at an indie game studio for some years if you can believe that after saying how bad I am at Elden Ring). It was just that the very idea that someone could want a more forgiving experience causing some other gamers to seeth over it for some reason as if someone’s casual gaming desire affected their ability to enjoy the game.
I told you what that reason was though, and you ignore it in favour of imagining strangers as entirely unreasonable antagonists.
Seething over someone wanting to enjoy a game they bought is unreasonable. Some people get pissed at the suggestion it should have an easier mode.
Accessibility takes nothing away from the way those players want to play Souls games. Simple, small adjustments to enemy health, damage, invincibility frames, and speed could go a very long way to making the game worth the money people paid for it.
It’s especially frustrating that Elden Ring was constantly pitched as the most accessible souls game, but it’s still not nearly as accessible as fans and reviewers made it out to be.
Exactly. It’s like some players want to gatekeep the game in a way where it’s an exclusive experience with this weird “If you’re trash then git gud or you shouldn’t play” mentality.
Weird how there’s this “there shouldn’t be an easy mode” mentality yet the community absolutely ate up the whole “Let me solo her” meme where another player literally came in and fought people’s fights for them and that was totally acceptable.
They only like those games so they can feel better than others. Gatekeeping is part of their fun.
If the souls games had much more to offer than difficulty like they claim, then the game would still be good with a lower difficulty.
Do they really though? Or are you just imagining the people you argue with online in the least charitable light?
Have you been on Reddit? I’m not saying this is the ER community as a whole by any means. My entire whole point is “why does anyone care how I or anyone else wants to play a single player game” even if it’s only a few people. I’ve seen comments verbally berating players for saying they wished there was an easier mode. Yes they’re the minority but my point was never “all players are like this”.
I didn’t ignore it, I just didn’t address your points individually. I just don’t think someone being “protective” of a game is a good reason to be mad when people who readily admit they suck but still wish they could play it because there’s nothing else really like these games for combat, pace, and worlds etc.
I don’t intend to act like all the fans are these angry seething fools. I’m just saying that it’s ridiculous that some of them would get mad about the idea that someone would actually prefer an easy mode. As if their enjoyment of the game is directly impacted by the level of difficulty another player plays on. Like the OP here, if someone save scums then who cares? If I’d love an easy mode for Elden Ring then who cares? It literally only impacts the person playing it. I like to play games for the worlds they create. Not to challenge myself. My job and life does that enough for me.
If there was an easy mode where enemies had say 50% HP (just an example) how would that impact anyone but me? Why is it justified for hardcore Souls-like fans to be upset about that?