"An eternal battle rages at the heart of Dark Souls II. On one side stands the stern force of challenge, the very soul of the Souls series. It has inspired thousands of fans to hack their way through two of the most demanding and rewarding games of an era, fans who expect at least the same test on the next go around. On the other side is the bright promise of accessibility. And why not? Why shouldn’t FromSoftware and Namco Bandai open Souls up to a wider audience when it could otherwise be in danger of becoming stuck in a cult cul-de-sac?
There are many, after all, who have been put off by the series’ habit of obscuring its best assets from all but the most committed. Entire systems, such as Dark Souls’ covenants and Demon’s Souls’ World Tendency, remain mysteries to even reasonably experienced players – wouldn’t it be a service to the games to help everyone understand them better? On the other hand, isn’t the very nature of the Souls series about obfuscation and what it makes you work for? Aren’t its greatest pleasures about the slow crawl of discovery in a world that refuses easy interpretation? What would the series lose if it was made more explicit?
As we find out in issue 249, the answers to these questions are in the hands of game directors new to the Souls series, Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, who have taken the reins from Hidetaka Miyazaki. Their descriptions of how they intend to mould Dark Souls II into a more approachable form seem reasonable. But Shibuya admits that their approach will be influenced by their individual characters. “I personally am the sort of person who likes to be more direct than subtle,” he tells us. “[Dark Souls II] will be more straightforward and more understandable.” We sympathise if that sort of statement concerns you, but at the same time, we can surely agree that we would all like to see Dark Souls attain as great a presence as The Elder Scrolls. How it gets there is a worthy matter for debate, but it’s certainly a noble task."
This view on the difficulty of Dark Souls bothers me. There aren't many games like Dark Souls, or ANY, really.
Most modern games on console are very mediocre, very generic, very easy. There are so many games for people to choose from.
Yet, for some reason, people want to lower the difficulty of Dark Souls?
Why not pick up another game?
Or, why not read up on the game, watch a few tutorials, and try again?
Why not respect that the "difficulty" is a big part of what makes Dark Souls so enjoyable? It's one of the most important aspects of the game (In making it what it is.), actually.
Dark Souls is a perfect example of what gaming is all about. The reward is in the challenge.
Hopefully the developers can maintain the aspects that make DS so enjoyable, though. But I doubt it'd be the same type of game.
I think Hidetaka Miyazaki talked about trying to appeal to casual players with Dark Souls, or implied it.. Or?
