Summary
Elden Ringdirector Hidetaka Miyazaki claimed he struggled to clear the main story of FromSoftware’s critically acclaimed open-world Soulslike. Since its release in 2022,Elden Ringhas garnered a reputation for its brutal difficulty. While many longtime veterans of FromSoftware’s previous titles believed it was the most approachable Soulslike, that didn’t stop some players from debating whether the game was too hard in the weeks following its debut.
Now, over two years later, the release of the first and onlyElden RingDLC has kickstarted the topic once again, with a sizable group of fans arguingShadow of the Erdtreewas far too unbalanced to be enjoyable. The complaints regarding the expansion’s difficulty were so widespread thatElden Ringpublisher Bandai Namco offered tipsto players, with the official Twitter account for the company reminding fans how there were ways to lower the DLC’s difficulty.
As it turns out, Miyazaki himself can personally sympathize with the struggles of his player base. During aninterview with The Guardian, Miyazaki revealed how he played through the entire storyline ofElden Ringin preparation forShadow of the Erdtree’s release. Despite being the main architect of one of the most critically acclaimed titles in recent memory, the director stated he “absolutely sucked at video games” and that he employed every trick in the book so he could make it throughElden Ring’s main story. Miyazaki also believed the many tools developers put in the game to help with player progression, such asElden Ring’s open-world designand the freedom to explore and level in other areas, might have ironically helped him more than any other player.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Is Meant to Challenge Longtime Players
Despite experiencingElden Ring’s difficulty first-hand, Miyazaki also previously revealed the developers forShadow of the Erdtreealways intended to challengethe most skilled players with the DLC. The director explained how he and his team wanted to push veterans to their breaking point, with some of the main bosses forShadow of the Erdtreeeven specifically designed to do just that. Miyazaki also notably stated theElden RingDLC was balanced around fans who had triumphed over most of the content in the base game, meaning the expansion was specifically meant for players who were already intimately familiar with the game’s mechanics by the time they entered the Land of Shadow.
While the game is challenging, it is undeniable thatElden Ringis still one of the best-selling titles in the industry and is easily the most impactful FromSoftware project to date. Its recently released DLC has similarly been a huge success, with publisher Bandai Namco announcingShadow of the Erdtreesold over five million copieswithin the first three days after its debut.
