Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki discusses Elden Ring difficulty Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki discusses Elden Ring difficulty "I think more players will finish it this time." News by Ed Nightingale News reporter Updated on 28 Jan 2022 93 comments Hidetaka Miyazaki has discussed the difficulty of Elden Ring in a new interview on the PlayStation Blog. The Souls games are notorious for their high skill barrier of entry and punishing difficulty, but Miyazaki hopes that perception will change with Elden Ring. "I feel like our approach to these games, not just Elden Ring, is to design them to encourage the player to overcome adversity," he said. Watch on YouTube "We don't try to force difficulty or make things hard for the sake of it. We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorise what's happening, and learn from their mistakes. We don't want players to feel like the game is unfairly punishing, but rather that there's a chance to win a difficult encounter and make progress." He continues: "In Elden Ring, we have not intentionally tried to lower the game's difficulty, but I think more players will finish it this time." That's down to the open world design, which allows players to tackle challenges at their own pace, and the variety of approaches to combat that includes stealth elements and an easier to access multiplayer experience. "So we hope the players embrace that idea of receiving help from others. And we feel like the overall clear rate will go up this time because of these things," he said. What isn't mentioned in this interview is accessibility, for which difficulty is only one aspect. The "git gud" mentality remains toxic, no matter what controller you use. These comments also mirror those made by Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao, who spoke earlier this week at the Taipei Game Show to discuss the variety of combat approaches in the game. Elsewhere, Miyazaki comments on the amount of colour in the game as the development team wanted to "provide the world with a much more painterly look to invoke a high fantasy feeling as a theme". He also discusses the boss designs, which twist and misshape the concept of heroism as inspired by the "very heroic and grandiose designs, essentially these demigods from the history of Elden Ring's world" that George R.R. Martin created. Additionally, Miyazaki confirms that multiple endings and new game plus will feature in the game. Read his full comments on the PlayStation Blog. Elden Ring is due out on 25th February across PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and PC. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 7 Nintendo Switch firmware update lets you take screenshots in the Switch Online app The app on your console, not your phone. 7 Latest Articles Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store