'Elden Ring' Will Be Easier Than Dark Souls Games, Say Devs

Elden Ring is going to be a hard game. There are no two ways about it, considering it's FromSoftware at the helm. However, the director doesn't want to demoralise players who are new to the genre with these handy features.

One could argue that the gruelling experience of playing a game picked out of FromSoftware's portfolio - Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and so on - is an integral cog in these machines. Asking for a more accessible springboard with which to catapult yourself into these grim yet gorgeous worlds is missing the point of the tests of skill when you beat a boss. One could alternatively argue that life is too short. If someone wants a safe mode or an incremental difficulty setting for the game, that doesn't detract from your achievement. "Do we really tell players who are stuck on a ludicrously demanding boss battle that they don't get to explore anymore of this brand-new open-world game? One of the most-anticipated releases of 2022, at that? I'm not sure about that," explained Ewan in his call for difficulty settings to be implemented in Elden Ring.

As per a Famitsu interview with director Hidetaka Miyazaki, we learned that Elden Ring players will be able to summon fallen enemies to help them out in sticky situations. Their classes will offer different advantages in combat, like archers dealing out ranged damage and shield-bearers creating a barrier between you and the big bad. Through this, it seems like FromSoftware is encouraging adaptability in player approaches, and even the open world is yours to explore as soon as it becomes available.

Thanks to a translation of this interview from Frontline Gaming Japan, we've gathered even more information on the upcoming game and how difficult it might be. As aforementioned, Miyazaki hopes that the freedom of an open world structure will allow players to take on the challenges at their own pace and prevent people from becoming stuck at crucial points in the narrative. Actually, some bosses can be skipped entirely. Moreover, players will be able to leave messages to others offering hints or encouragement around the world, like previous titles from FromSoftware. And, people should pay attention to the new stealth elements, which will give them the edge over the enemy and deal a large amount of damage in one fell swoop. Nice.