Dark Souls Difficulty and the Easy Mode Debate

[@EyebrowCinema]

Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 7:25 - Framing the Discourse 11:44 - What Makes Dark Souls Hard in the First Place? 21:37 - How From Already Tweaks Difficulty 36:00 - How the Player Can Tweak Difficulty 42:53 - The Appeal of Dark Souls Difficulty 54:37 - Not Everything Needs to be for Everyone

[@_Just_John]

15:22 - And when they give you a map like in Elden Ring, a lot of people just follow the golden arrow and then complain about Margit being too difficult.

[@TheGallantDrake]

I’m an old hand an even I made that mistake before realizing I needed to examine the world more closely.

[@SirGrimLockSmithVIII]

I honestly love Blighttown for all the busy work it prompts you to do to properly traverse. Makes you feel like an adventurer figuring out how to explore a hostile and unforgiving environment Basically, buying moss clumps gives me the same primal satisfaction that packing a lunch before for a picnic does

[@rangda_prime]

Yes, DS has a lot of passages that makes me flash back to roleplaying DnD in the 80 with a nasty DM pulling no punches. Make a plan, draw a map, bring the right gear and take your time to look carefully before each leap. Blight town gave me a real satisfaction to beat and finally kind of understand the layout of.

[@Oreca2005]

I got lost before I even knew blight town existed so I ended up farming the clumps from the tree creatures with no idea the place existed

[@WerDeDeDe]

Seeing you make a video about games totally surprised me, but it was still really interesting and even gave me a new perspective on this whole problem. This proves that you could make essays about other things that you care about, not just movies. It reminds me of a quote from Matthewmattosis about Demon Souls, and about how adjusting difficulty and level design could affect the appeal and popularity itself. "It would become a game that everybody likes, but nobody loves"

[@EyebrowCinema]

Thank you! I was nervous about stepping outside my comfort zone but this topic really excited me. Also, man, that Matthewmattosis quote is just perfect.

[@queengames8421]

Thank you so much for making the distinction between "approachability" and "accessibility" in games. It's incredibly frustrating as a designer to watch people refer to both as "accessibility", and is a large part of why I feel the debate around this question in particular can get really toxic, as both sides have differing definitions of the words "accessible." You can have one without the other, and in the case of Dark Souls, it's a very important distinction to make.

[@Nightknight1992]

its similarily frustrating to argue for accessibility (the game doesnt even come with colourblind mode, come on...) and then just get git gud or anti easy mode responses. people really like to shit on handicapped people to shield their favorite game

[@queengames8421]

@@Nightknight1992 Agreed. There's so much shit that should be standard in this industry that just... isn't. This is why clearly defined terms are important. Sadly, since games are relatively young compared to most other forms of art, we're really behind on clear terminology.

[@Nightknight1992]

@@NeoHCgbz do you really think thats a strong rebuttal?

[@zebertmcfly7274]

The difficulty of Dark Souls is an issue I debated with friends loads of time. What I like about DS the way it is, is that it really changes the way you tackle video games. Me and all my friends came out "a different person" after finishing DS. And I think that's great and it is a testament to the strengths of the video game medium.

[@EyebrowCinema]

I think that gets to the core of these games very well.

[@nathanoakley3940]

i don't get it, millions of 30+ year old uber casuals have beaten it

[@shira_yone]

@@nathanoakley3940 considering there's many other people who echo this sentiment, I don't think "getting" it even matters. I just chose to believe that these experiences exists and doesn't really have the need to deny them.

[@bachiak1]

@@nathanoakley3940 people say they did but who really did

[@rangda_prime]

Yeah, it teaches you to persevere. I'm one of those people who played it when being clinically and deeply depressed and it actually gave me some solace that I managed to beat it. It was a journey emotionally. I got angrier with it than I've gotten with any game, but once I reached the peak of frustration it suddenly couldn't hurt me anymore. I just kept on doing it and knew it would never beat me since I had won over my own self.

[@radmanstan413]

I feel that these games should be portrayed more as challenging instead of hard. These games are for sure tough but that fucking one bee boss in cup head is harder than anything I fought in a FromSoftware game.

[@jokerzwild00]

Shit, the later levels of just about any 2d Mario game are harder than a Fromsoft game.

[@joereno955]

It's different from person to person. The hardest bosses in the Souls games gave me at least as much trouble as anyone in Cuphead (on Normal difficulty.)

[@jerules4909]

It all varies depending on playstyles. For me cuphead is not that difficult at all. I never got stuck on any boss for long. But the fromsoftware games on first play through are definitely harder. But they can all be overcome once you know how to play. But people now just want every game to give them everything at the start.

[@enotsnavdier6867]

Sekiro was fucking impossible for me to get into, but Dark Souls wasn't that bad

[@thefirstone4864]

I play hollow knight that people says it's hard but it's really tame and gets challenging I defeat nightmare king grimm pantheon 4 later on it's hard but encouraging but dark souls demand very very high skill from the moment you land your foot in the field it's not too bad after a while but I had one of the worst gaming experiences from early games that a weakest enemy would kill you no problem I absolutely love challenging video games but from fromsoftware approach is baffling it's discouraging If it's a vision doesn't mean it's immune to criticism. Stop saying it's challenging it's hard for new players. There are games harder than dark souls but they usually don't put giant barrier to overcome them.

[@livon6661]

This is an endless debate that has been beaten to death, and it's clear no one will ever agree, but this is where I'm coming from as pretty casual gamer that's mostly a cinephile. I wish I could experience the inherent qualities (outside of the challenge) these From Software games uniquely bring to the table, but the skill barrier doesn't allow me to, and it bums me out. Everyone's skills are different, and FS games demand way more of a player than some of us can realistically handle. As a pretty casual gamer myself, my skills are fairly low, but I still absolutely love the aesthetics of a game like Bloodborne, its lore, the soundtrack, character designs, all of that works for me, I love Lovecraftian media, but I can't make it pass further than 40 minutes before I hit a permanent wall and that's a shame, because I really do love everything else about the game minus the difficulty. I also want to address one of your points in the video that I also often hear a lot online, the one of "if you want a souls like game with an easy mode just play something like Fallen Order" Frankly, I find it disingenuous. That game doesn't feature the same rich, thought provoking settings, lore, character designs and music as Bloodborne, Dark Souls, or Sekiro, and it's not even close in quality. Last time I played Fallen Order, I encountered more bugs and glitches than anything, meanwhile, FS games are polished from top to bottom. And Stranger of Paradise, which is another Soulsborne like game with an easy mode I hear people mention is looking pretty mediocre (but it hasn't released yet so jury's still out). Meanwhile, Elden Ring is looking to be yet another masterpiece with massive hype and praise. I'm reminded of something you said in one of your past videos, these are the "Never Say Never Again" of From Software games, they just don't compare to the originals. The only thing those games offer are similar gameplay loops, but those aren't the only desirable/appealing trait of From's games. I just don't think telling people who can't handle Soulsborne games to instead play a cheap imitation makes much sense. Like, I know there's no size fits all solution for this, I don't claim to have the answers, I also don't disagree with all of your points, I get where you are coming from as someone who has the skills to see the entirety of these games and gets to experience just what FS is aiming for. I'm just someone who wishes to also be a part of that because these games look amazing and are special, but the skill floor doesn't allow me to, and I don't find the easier alternatives from other developers satisfying in quality/setting compared to FS' output. Is it FOMO? Maybe, but that's just how I feel. But it's clear what From's stance is after all these years, they are not going to put an easy mode in their games, so you guys have already won, this debate is pointless. My one comfort is that there exist so much entertainment to choose from that doesn't gate content through skill. That's why I see myself respecting art forms such as Movies/Music/Literature/ more than video games.

[@slippers8000]

You seem honest and i hope you can find similar games you can enjoy which won't demand as much for you. It's a big thing with video games as entertainment, sometimes skill is content. Edit: i recommend hollow knight but I'd probably look it up before getting it as it's very easy to get lost lol.

[@AnnaAlexandra_]

The first 2 times I played Dark Souls Remastered (first and only Souls game I've played so far) I quit playing after putting in hours and hours and not even being able to make it past the Taurus Demon. I was one of the people wishing it had an easy mode and figured I was just too bad of a gamer to play Souls games. But they seemed so fun to me and I so badly wanted to be good at them. So after a while, I tried the game for a 3rd time. I watched some beginner tips videos for playing the game and started playing again. I managed to beat the Asylum Demon in 1 go, got a better weapon from the Undead Merchant and actually made it past the Taurus Demon on my second try. I was so incredibly proud of myself and kept playing. After a while I started to understand that the difficulty level and challenge of these games is what actually makes them so fun and good and my whole perception of the game changed. I had SO much fun and toward the end I'd gotten so good that I managed to beat the 4 Kings and Seath in 1 try, Kalameet in 2 tries, Manus in 6 and Gwyn in 4 tries (Artorias beat my ass 18 times but was still the best boss fight I've ever done). By the time I finished the game I felt so accomplished and was actually glad this game doesn't have an ''easy mode'', because by the end of it I don't think I wouldn't have felt nearly as accomplished as I did by playing the game in the difficulty it was meant to be played in. After finishing it I immediately started the game all over again doing an entirely different built than I did before. First time I did a Dex/Strenght build with a very quick and agile character. Now I'm doing a Sorcerer because I missed out on the whole spells and magic aspect of the game my first time around. And even on my second playthrough it's still so so good.

[@RossMcIntyre]

I'll never play these games but I never get tired of watching people talk about them for hours on end

[@mamalannightshyaman]

I played eve online for 12 years in a row, I don’t anymore but I sure as hell watch the videos on KZbin

[@bachiak1]

What u waiting for

[@lucilovesick3938]

I think you should play it bro. Alot of people are put off by how challenging the games are. But this year I said I wanted to play a fromsoft game and I bought one and threw myself into it. My first 3 hours were me losing alot and figuring out what I need to do to get better. But once I started to understand what the games were telling me by their gameplay design, I found that it was not nearly as hard as I thought. Yes they are challenging, but it isn't a stonewall and you do have the ability in game to decide the level of challenge you will face. The games have alot of items, weapons and the ability to level up that all effect the challenge and also in most parts the game doesn't require any actual farming unless you wish to vastly over level (which is absolutely fine to do by the way I just know some people do not like grinding, I am one of them)

[@obscure.reference]

anyone can do it !

[@epis8613]

Check them out. I've always sucked at video games and I really enjoy the souls series. I'm not good at them, but I find it very satisfying to find a way to win anyway.

[@Pingwn]

Thank you for separating accessibility from approachability, people with disabilities don't necessarily want or need the game to be easier but to address a problem that blocks their ability to engage with the experience like others. It's the difference between taking a version of Simon that requires you to remember the order of different colours appearing on the screen and giving it an easy mode where you can make a few mistakes without being punished and adding different shapes to those different colours (or even just using colours with higher contrast) in order to be accessible to people with colour blindness.

[@TheCosmicafroninja]

I can’t believe I sat here and watched this whole thing from beginning to end without doing some mindless task to otherwise occupy my attention, nor did I click off periodically to some other short video. This is an amazingly well thought out, brilliantly articulated, and highly entertaining essay.

[@thesummerofmark]

Eyebrow Gaming let’s fucking go

[@DwRockett]

Taking all my energy not to declare this the “dark souls” of “videos about if dark souls should have an easy mode”

[@EyebrowCinema]

Your restraint is exceptional.

[@itsyaboyj0j0]

Honestly, the hard difficulty of dark souls far precedes the game. On my first playthrough I cheesed out a black knight in undead burg. I was awarded with a very powerful weapon that carried me through like 80% of the game. When I didn't need it anymore, my character was already so strong that I didn't find the rest of the game that challenging. Without even mentioning how many game-breaking builds there are out there. There's plenty of ways to play it 'easy' on dark souls, the people who complain about 'easy mode' are mostly just gaming journalists without much else to write about...

[@cr-nd8qh]

Yeah I'm playing it got the first time now blind. I did the same thing and got that weapon and honestly without it I probably would have quit. The game is awesome

[@theautisticfancriticshow2000]

This video made me go from being slightly interested in DS to incredibly interested in DS! And the best part is that it's from a youtuber that doesn't even specialize in making videos about video games. Which I find to be just amazing.

[@Tanner31904]

Younger me would have loved an easy mode, as I didn't like DS1 when I got it on PS3 because it was hard, but after killing the Soul of Cinder on my own in DS3 when I was 19, I'd rather it not. The challenge is integral to the experience. If the Soul of Cinder was piss easy and I beat him in one go without thinking, I wouldn't have remembered his boss battle almost 3-4 years after I beat him.

[@jhonjacson798]

20:53, funny thing but I'm a teacher and what you described right there is something I can see with the students in the school I work with. The lack of punishments never motivate them to actually learn how to do things well, and all people get are chastisements. It just makes school sucky for them.

[@TheRisky9]

Dark Souls I matches the game design of FromSoftware's very first franchise, which is the King's Field Franchise. Healing was a calculated risk. You had long traverse between your last save point and your boss fight. Enviroments were often unforgiving where one wrong step plunged you to your doom.

[@TheBestRoddy]

Yea but who cares about that

[@sladoid]

Haven't even seen the video yet, and I'm going to say Easy Mode is using magic. Dark souls hard mode would be if the enemy patterns changed each play through so you can't learn their movement patterns. That would be a fun mod

[@EyebrowCinema]

That would be fascinating. Could also really spice up New Game Plus.

[@Hack_The_Planet_]

It’s not the same but the next gen version of dark souls 2 changed enemy placement because of backlash I think. Interesting idea to randomize that though.

[@Guitar-Dog]

I think there is a mod that changes the rhythm of boss attacks, sure I've saw a souls creator play one where the animations will slow down or speed up -0.5 or +0.5 semi randomly to stop it being a rhythm game

[@bachiak1]

Damn We need a enemy patterns randomizer mod 💀💀💀 imagine capra demon wit artorias pattern 😂

[@EyebrowCinema]

What's your favourite From Software game? Mine is definitely Bloodborne but I can see arguments for most of their titles as "the best one".

[@BenBG25]

Sekrio Shadow die twice

[@jacobynoctis4825]

Mine is also Bloodborne.

[@TheSoldierChristian]

Dark souls 1

[@kissadev.]

Dark Souls 1... it was also the first I played back in 2012 but... ...I just can't... you see, a well made interconnected world without warps all the time is something that makes me like a game more. I came from metroidvanias, exploration throught a good level design always makes me have more fun than battle itself. I see that DS3 have a much better gameplay, I do have 600 hours in it (for PVP, everyone seems to be in DS3), but that straight map is something I can't swallow. Also, I liked very much that you had no "hub world" in Dark Souls 1, almost every new bonfire was a new hub world (I stayed for a long time coming back to Firelink, I stayed a long time coming back to Andre's bonfire, I stayed a lot of time coming back to the forest bonfire and etc), which enriches the sense of pilgramage.

[@filipecordeiro7109]

if you mean of the soulsborne era then ds3 if you mean ever then probably armored core 3 or evergrace from nostalgia alone

[@TheGallantDrake]

Accessibility vs approachability puts words around an idea that’s been bugging me for a while, thank you so much!

[@jaymiechan]

i'll admit you make a lot of good points, but "look up a guide online" is along the same lines as "get good" in attitude. There's better ways to do things; in fact, you point out the Black Knights before Gwyn as an example. If people are having trouble getting out of the STARTING AREA even WITH HELP, then there is a problem with that starting area, which should be designed to have the player learn the game's mechanics. Even the Asylum has things like that by gradually giving you equipment, showing you that the game world will be full of traps, that traps can lead to new areas, that some places will be locked off but you can come back later. Looking up a guide, outside of the game, not for secrets, but just to get past the first boss, is bad and not something that can be argued for.

[@Minotaur_]

Difficulty is one thing. Repetition and backtracking is different thing. I believe these are two very different issues. Some people have a problem with pointless repetition of huge chunks of levels and not difficulty.

[@grantpolley]

Elden Ring's removal of solo host invasions is also of note to the point that From has decreased difficulty in subsequent titles. Potentially a huge hit to multiplayer longevity for the sake of giving offline players access to the messaging system.

[@EyebrowCinema]

Excellent point.

[@Муня-ж7з]

That could make sense if ER had more hostile environment, but from what we've seen, the open world system is a big advantage for the player...and if the world is kinda casul and there's no pvp element against you, where's the hardcore?

[@shira_yone]

No solo host invasion could've hurt longevity (case in point: Bloodborne). I just hope when you're invading in Elden Ring there's a system that lets you finds host anywhere in the map, in other words make it easier to find host to invade.

[@_Just_John]

"Dude, this shit's fucking tight."/10 video. Also your Sekiro story was nice. It makes me happy when people get this kind of fulfillment from a game.

[@tomlangford1999]

Great video! In Dark Souls, when you hit a wall your choices are to level up, or keep practising. Giving players the option to decrease difficulty removes the incentive to improve and robs the player of the satisfaction of beating a previously insurmountable challenge.

[@TheCreatorNFE]

Disagree. This is why I miss the old days though. I could just pop a Code Breaker or GameShark in and go. Lol, Suffice it to say though, I'm on my second playthrough of Bloodborne. I was playing Dark Souls 2, but quit it. Never returning and wish I could get my money back. I don't play games for challenges, I play them to blow off steam. Tbh, my friend oversold me on Bloodborne. If I had known how it was, I would've chosen something else.

[@Valsorayu]

@@TheCreatorNFE What's the point of saying. "I disagree because I like [X]" when the comment isn't about opinion but about game design?

[@sonofmenov]

One issue with the "git gud" argument is one against the inclusion of easy mode and could be better packaged the game creates one difficulty to create a universal experience and getting good is just "master the games mechanics"

[@MousePounder]

I don't know if I agree with you...I haven't watched the whole video yet. I will get back to you on that, but i wanted to leave a comment now to help with the algorithmic engagement metrics.

[@EyebrowCinema]

You'll have to circle back and let me know!

[@schmoop3660]

I would like to point out that the run to Quelaag is possible without getting poisoned. Put on some poison-resistant armour and fast roll through the swamp between areas of land as the swamp does not impede rolling

[@BlueKyuubi64]

Every souls fan has had that one moment that made the souls formula click with them. Either finding that shortcut back to firelink after going across the entire map or beating a hard boss by mastering your dodging and parrying timings, there is always a moment similar. When you first go into a soulsgame for the first time it's a hard time before you have that moment and understand how to play. When you get that click, the games become extremely more enjoyable and understandable. If you can beat one, you can beat them all

[@TanyaUrrutia]

Heh, I'm still stuck at the "wow, this is really cool and it's really hard" stage. Perhaps I'll give it a go once again over the Christmas break.

[@jack_myers]

Though the mediums are completely different I'd argue that the difficulty of dark souls is no different from the films of someone like Tarkovsky. You wouldn't go in to films starting with Solaris in the same way you wouldn't go in to video games with Dark Souls.

[@DrewSpacely]

You can get to Qualaag without being poisoned. I do it literally everytime. I never fight her poisoned and I don’t get the moss.

[@cherubin7th]

Same is true for games that are build around being super easy. People instantly start to call it a game for babies even if the theme is too adult for children.

[@robbegeusens1302]

I was that guy to get to nito's golden gate, without realising there was a light source and before getting the lord. Oh i love getting pegged from the behind for no reason Miyazaki how'd you figure out.

[@wednes3day]

ngl, (especially the description of the intro to bloodbourne?) reminds me of the phrase (from learning dev software) of something being a "learning wall" instead of a learning curve .. except now with mandatory time pressure and without the benefit of .. idk being able to model or sculpt something from scratch (which can be widely applicable), being able to generate a realistic environment with accurate watershed erosion from scratch(?) ... basically .. idk if I want a learning wall .. I can sit down and finally look into photoshop or blender or teach myself houdini or unity and so many more .. or go back to the company interview assignment we were given with barely any guidance or chance to get those interviews ...... essentially what to some extent games are there for me to be able to avoid/procrastinate on .... (or throw on osu and work my way up to insane difficulties with less pretentious bells and whistles?) ... and yet there's so much (maybe toxic?) elitism around dark souls it feels??? like they're the true experience (and difficulty)? and the true gaming experience? (which have you seen what osu levels can look like towards the upper echelons?) which seems a bit blind to gaming's other strengths and purposes and ways of achieving things?

[@Nightknight1992]

the accessibility really needs to be adressed, no way triple A studios can come with not even colourblind modes and similar easy to add options after games like last of us 2 had an option for like every disability on the planet. and while i dont think im in favor of an easy mode, it certainly is very hyperbolic to say it would ruin the game. i dont think i would ever switch to easy mode even if new from software titles would include the option, but that doesnt mean there isnt a place for it.

[@KingSleaze916]

Lol the addition of Josefkas imposter was hilarious

[@jacktar550]

You can change the difficulty. Put the calamity ring on

[@EyebrowCinema]

Hahaha

[@Hjy84]

Should films have translations for non-native speakers, or should the viewer learn the language of the film? Any translation is going to lose the nuances of someone outside of that culture. Any translation is going to distort the authors intent in some way. You will be able to enjoy it, but not the way it was "meant" to be. It can be hard to learn a new language, but that experience not only can enrichen your experience with the medium, but also the rest of your life as well. Is it better to have a different but more accessible experience or not have it at all because of a skill gap?

[@slippers8000]

I find "should films have an abridged version for people not having the time to watch it" more apt. Which is a clear no, it would hurt the project all through it's development. It would need a separate cut to make sense of it for example.

[@GravelordNito150]

Except that it's possible to learn to play Dark Souls by playing Dark Souls whereas it's not possible to learn Korean by watching Parasite (for example).

[@Hjy84]

@@GravelordNito150 If you're going into Parasite completely blind, then yes, your first time trying to understand that movie will kick your ass. You won't have any idea what's going on. But keep watching it and you'll soon recognize patterns. "He keeps saying that when meeting this person... Oh is that his name? No wait it sounds like an honorific cause he says that exact thing to another char!" it may take months, maybe even years, but keep at it you'll soon have a better and better understanding on what's going on in that movie. And even if you get really stumped, there's an entire community out there who's more than happy to help guide you through the tricky parts. You may never reach the skill level as someone with years of prior experience as they do, but with their understanding of the nuances of the film, you can get a better grasp it. Edit: Personally I don't really care if they put an easy mode in darks souls. If they keep it out, great. If they put one in, also great. I just find it fascinating that, by its very nature, the medium of games is one that can lock out a person from experiencing what it has to offer by a skill gap that differs so much from other entertainment.

[@VelkanKiador]

Oh this is one of the videos where my gut reaction is to throw out my own arguments before I even watch the video...

[@EyebrowCinema]

I'd be happy to hear you out :)

[@Hack_The_Planet_]

I wasn’t sure if you covered games but I was hoping you would. I also started with bloodborne got the platinum, now sekiro is one of my all time favorite games.

[@courier6640]

When I first beat Elden Ring, I felt dissapointed. Until I faced Malenia and the Foreskin Duo, I felt unbeatable. I eventually relented and changed my build twice, but nothing worked. I got the tankiest build I could get (60 Vig, 50 End, Veteran/Radahn armours) with the Frenzy Stone Shield and Blasphemous Blade. Even with all of this, throughout two days, I couldn't solo Malenia. I felt like I completely gave up when I beat her in one try by using the Mimic Tear. I felt like a champion when I did a second run of the game. Light Armor (Confessor Set with Skeletal Mask for maximum EDGE) Uchigatana, Parry Wakizashi and Nagakiba, and no summons. I eventually faced *HER* again. I only smashed my head against her rotting wall for 3 hours when I did it. Felt like I was on top of the world. Also, it turns out it's really hard to solo a pro-wrestler who's thrice your size. Still possible, though!

[@TheCreatorNFE]

Easy Mode for me was always using a Action Replay disc or GameShark. I miss that aspect of gaming, despite still owning one and tons of PS2 games. My PS2 put me down, so I was forced to return to my PS3 and PS4 games. I've always wanted to bring those things back though, the code discs, by way of my own game company. That plan is on the backburner for now.

[@MasonOfLife]

I never had an issue navigating the environments so I do think that an easy mode would literally just need to be enemies do less damage It’s just a bit too punishing imo (even though I love the games) I guess there is the issue of being able to run past enemies with little risk but you can kind of do that already As for the timing of healing, it’s essentially inconsequential

[@thesupreme8062]

Elden ring is the only gane i genuinely think has a problem with enemy damage, evwryyhing in the endgame does too much damage it just discourages exploring

[@poggers3218]

This is such an underrated channel

[@EyebrowCinema]

Thank you kindly :)

[@calebpennington5819]

Really love your channel. Look forward to seeing where you go from here

[@ElGoro]

As I've explained to my friends, I am very drawn to the dark aesthetics of these games. Indeed, Bloodborne seems to tick all of the aesthetic qualities that I prize most. However, I don't have the time or inclination to "git gud" nor does the idea of failing constantly have any appeal for me in my leisure time. I find satisfying challenge in other aspects of my life, such as weight lifting or my job, and I prefer a more casual experience in my gaming. I am drawn to story and artistic design, not challenging gameplay. From Software is free not to accommodate that. I just won't play their games. No big loss on either side.

[@rid71k]

There are far more difficult games than dark Souls. People tend to over react to games they find somewhat difficult .

[@allandm]

I think that difficulty levels would not be as bad if the game doesn't allow you to change it mid game. I changed it to normal when fighting the Valkyrie Queen too xOx

[@elisetehhooman4236]

(Before viewing) My take is that the only “easy” mode they should have is decreasing some stats and not changing anything else about the game because the world design and controlling mechanics is what’s difficult not the enemies

[@PunCala]

I beat Manus in DS1 in exactly 50 tries (I kept a tally). I remember hating the fucking spellcaster that hurled spells at me on the way to the boss, until I realised it was there to make me use the spellshielding talisman item. The boss was extremely hard still, especially when I made the fight more difficult for myself by insisting on using my favourite weapon, the slow zweihander. The feeling of accomplishment was immense.

[@gaslichttorwachter5939]

every game needs an option for a one button configuration and an option for watch only

[@arthurbates5566]

People should have the option In all games. To change the difficulty levels some people's reflexes are different than others. These games should be made enjoyable for everyone

[@Paethgoat]

As a veteran of the Soulsborne series, I'd say that Elden Ring is far more approachable. The earlier games would always have a wall that new players would never overcome until they mastered whatever the designers wanted to be learned. Elden Ring gives you a myriad of places to go and things to see before you're ever locked behind a boss wall.

[@_Just_John]

21:24 - Haha. Rapier against the Ironclad, that's gold. I am so glad ER bought back the usefulness of slash/thrust/strike weapons.

[@jacobynoctis4825]

The difficulty debate kind of kicked up again thanks to Elden Ring. I like the discussion though and I definitely lean towards games that don't have difficulty options should have them. Though you spend you time talking about From Software games, I think Nintendo's recent Metroid Dread carries much of the same criticisms as well. I think teaching a player how to play is the appeal of Souls games, Metroids and the like and a difficulty slider doesn't change any of that and it could actually make the game worse and simply not fun

[@kahleeb624]

Your experience with Bloodbourne is what I had with Dark Souls 3 as I didn't have a PS4 and couldn't stop probably played through each now including elden ring too about 3 times a piece. Lol

[@thefirstone4864]

I don't have problem with changing video games I beat hollow knight 112% People would cry (even souls players) beating nightmare king grimm or pantheon but I enjoy slaying them and laugh. That's because hollow knight approach is very important it has barrier but more into the game with hornet. I absolutely love changing games but my problem with the dark souls difficulty is you face the big barrier after the demon asylum (the boss is stupid easy even for the first time using keyboard and mouse) after that it feels like you can't progress at all the regular mob would slaughter you and it's more of an expectation when I face a boss I love to get destroyed and get stuck for hours but when you just like to explore the game punishes you for doing that facing regular enemies is annoying and you're guaranteed to loose resources It was a nightmare even after I get good The first experience was not fun at all Should I start with other games? If it's the Miyazaki's vision to make the first experience miserable it's worth criticism and the vision doesn't make the game better like ultrakill creator doesn't push their vision cause people did not wanted it. I start with hollow knight and become God and it's satisfying to finally complete the game even if it might be harder but Mastering dark souls was more of chore and makes the rest of the game less impactful. Is Ds3 more forgiving than ds1 cause I can't play bloodborne or elden ring. The reason people ask for an eazy mode is the famous first dark souls experience they either gave up or even if they overcome it gave sour taste in their mouth. I'm not in favor of eazy mode but being more welcoming is the key. And no I don't want guides I like to play games blind.

[@Solibrae]

After you leave the Undead Asylum and enter Lordran, you have multiple places that you can go to. From the looks of it, it seems to me that you're trying to get through one of the harder areas rather than the easiest one, the Undead Burg. I hope that helps!

[@stephenchurch1784]

I came upon dark souls at a time in my life when I felt incapable of overcoming even the smallest challenges in my life. I avoided the game for a long time because I'm pretty terrible at video games but a friend kept pushing me. When I finally tried it, I fell in love. Fromsoft believed that I could handle the game's challenge and, by showing me that I could overcome anything it threw at me with perseverance, it helped me to begin tackling my real life problems. If it had had an easy mode, I would have played on it and robbed myself of that empowerment that helped me turn my life around. People like to accuse dark souls of gate keeping constantly in these arguments but Miyazaki and Fromsoft don't want to exclude people, they want to push people to rise to the occasion just like all their characters do

[@proclasscorvo4498]

You can circumvent the Capra demon and the gaping dragon if you kill moonlight butterfly early and go through Havel’s room

[@User-xw6kd]

Good stuff man. You should make videos about whatever you're passionate about.

[@noahwen-li]

I'm so glad there's a video about how these games not needing an easy mode that addresses that yes, FromSoft should make some effort to accommodate disabled gamers, and also doesn't have a that smug "games journalists are so bad LOL" attitude that makes watching video game content fucking insufferable to me. Im glad to hear someone say that you the games need to preserve their challenge without being a dickhead about it.

[@koopinator20]

This video is what I agree a lot especially the souls games seeming like they improved each game. To me I was concluding that after blood borne because by dark souls 3 you can roll faster and fights became fast pace which I seen people mentioning before dark souls came out. I was thinking by dark souls 2 I was thinking I bet they were trying something new since you had gems that heal you but slowly, killing enemies 15 times stop them from respawning. So I thought that the developers were testing but improving the games especially when I play Bloodborne which was my favorite when it came out since I felt you were a hunter dealing with the super natural. Elden ring I think is the best they can probably do so far with the games. But I wonder how they could improve it further. The git gud I felt is not a way to help a player who probably needs advice or know a lot of the games mechanics or knowledge of stats since just saying that is not a good way to explain how to get better at something. One I think is logical is the term gate keeping since it is the developers who decide if they want to add modes to game

[@Goingwithafakehandlehere]

Man, could have summed up the throat clearing on accessibility in like 20 seconds instead of several minutes.

[@cr-nd8qh]

Im finally playing dark souls now for the first time blind. It is awesome. I see why people like these games.

[@livingfailure7838]

Love your channel! Would def love more vids on games! It's so satisfying how difficult the boss fights can be because you get stomped over and over and eventually you'll be able to beat the boss with minimal damage by learning the patterns. It's almost becomes sort of a dance between dodging and poking. Very very satisfying once you beat it

[@EyebrowCinema]

Thank you! And yeah, feeling yourself getting better at the games and against bosses is a real thrill. After finishing this video, I finished Sekiro for the 3rd time and beat Isshin on the first try. Felt amazing.

[@Elora445]

I'm really thankful for this video. Now I realize I would never be able to play Demon's Souls or Dark Souls (or other Souls-like games). The difficulty level I could handle, but I have practically no sense of direction - so I would have absolutely no fun in these games. (Edited for clarity.)

[@QuestionMarkKick360]

Dark souls 3 is very linear.

[@Ahmedyaksha]

i discovered dark souls remastered when i was in high school i was borrowing my friend account on ps4 and i was bored for my games and tried it and fell in love with it

[@jackjackson3942]

Finally got around to watching this one. Great vid. I think it's important to advocate for the design philosophy that makes FS games so special without being toxic or condescending about it, and I think you do it perfectly here. I agree with you 100%.

[@marklikeshark]

You hit all the major points and even some I hadn’t thought about, great video

[@MoldMonkey93]

All I know is when you FS is strapped for cash, they’ll make an easy mode. It just won’t be called an easy mode or even mentioned most likely. Remember Sony has a patent to change the difficulty of games in real time.

[@shawnmarcum8078]

42:37: Holy crap they even zoomed the camera out a ton for a bigger boss.

[@czm137]

I literally quit these games because the difficulty made them not fun to play. I was really interested in the lore and bought the games specifically to explore and learn about the worlds as I played. That’s fun to me. I got the furthest in bloodborne. I didn’t even reach a single boss in dark souls. The gameplay was too much, and it sucks that people out there insist I have to play a souls-like their way. That’s what ticks me off the most about this video. It’s just someone telling me I’m playing it wrong for an hour. Maybe on a different play-through I’ll put the difficulty back to normal. But, jeez, the fact that I have to enjoy a literal game on someone else’s terms when my experience does not affect them is just insane.

[@meherenow793]

"Fun"; ah, there it is.

[@Dave-hp4vh]

Sorry dude, but this take is insulting as hell. Every version of it I hear ultimately boils down to "It doesn't need easy mode, because I think artistically it doesn't need easy mode". That's like "wheelchair ramps would destroy the artistic integrity of this stadium I designed". If devs or publishers don't want to put "easy mode" in their game, fuck 'em, less money for them. But for the public to support that is really insulting. I'm a combat vet with peripheral nerve damage. I'm also a computer programmer and LOVE video games. I LOVE the dark souls games, too. I had to mod mine to be able to slow the game down in real time, so i have time to make the controller inputs during combat. It's FUN, and I love the story and the atmosphere. For someone to say "No, that's wrong, you're cheating" pisses me off beyond measure. I am not doing competitive play, or speedruns, or showing off ill-gotten trophies. I am just trying to enjoy a game I purchased for $60. And when I bring this up online, I am attacked and harrassed so relentlessly that I had to delete my facebook and twitter. All because I defended ENJOYING A GAME IN A WAY PEOPLE DON'T APPROVE OF. Sorry dude, but this take is just "GamerGate 2.0", man.

[@Dave-hp4vh]

Let me also point out two games that are EXTREMELY challenging, yet which include sliders to adjust almost every single aspect of the game: Pathologic 2, and Axiom Verge 2. Both phenomenal games (despite the glaring flaws of the former), and both games I would absolutely consider to be works of art unto themselves. Both games I would never have been able to enjoy without accessibility features which go FAR beyond an "easy mode". (and which also include explicit difficulty levels including an outright "easy" mode).

[@Vlm303]

The video addresses the differences between accessibility and easy modes. In your case it's accessibility, because you have a physical disadvantage compared to the average person. This video isn't directed at people like you, in fact he talks about how accessibility options are a good thing which I agree. This video is directed towards the people with no physical disadvantages who still pleas for an easy modes. I think there nothing wrong with you evening the playing field for yourself given your circumstances and It sucks that other people don't think like that. I understand that you may have projected a bit of those past experiences with conceited elitist onto this video, but I don't think this video is the video to direct your anger towards.

[@Dave-hp4vh]

@@Vlm303 exactly my point. At the end of the day there isn't a difference. Difficulty levels ARE accessibility features. When removed or ignored, an element of the community is denied access. That is what makes his argument so infuriatingly demeaning.

[@Vlm303]

@@Dave-hp4vh which is another point he makes. Not all games are for everyone. If dark souls is to hard for a gamer than they should just play a different game. Taking away the challenge away from dark souls defeats the purpose of the themes of the game itself. It does suck that it means people with impairments won't get to experience the game though, but I couldn't care less for the fully capable who still won't rise to the challenge. Games are art too. And just like other art forms not everything is for everyone and that's completely fine.

[@Dave-hp4vh]

@@Vlm303 "Some art isn't for everyone" shouldn't mean "some people aren't allowed to even experience my art". Again, you are literally, right this moment, explaining to a disabled veteran why I shouldn't get to experience the Dark Souls games. Which I DID do through mods, for which I am harassed and told "no, this art is NOT for you, stop it". But please, tell me some more about how "challenge is an essential element of the gameplay, and by allowing the challenge to be reduced dilutes the integrity of the art by allowing the filthy disabled, the old, the children, and the disgusting MOMS and filthy middle aged DADS to enjoy it." Adding difficulty levels takes NOTHING from you and grants EVERYTHING to people like me who are otherwise shut out completely from this entire genre. And again, features cost money to implement, I get it. But when you justify it as an "artistic decision" you propagate an attitude which further boxes out a lot of folks. If that is your intention, fine, but don't pretend that is is a noble pursuit. It's just elitism.

[@Homelesshubby]

Video was fucking outstanding loved it man keep up the great work

[@rina8764]

Yeah agree, dark souls 2 is pretty good

[@brutusmagnuson315]

What’s hard(pun intended) is that for this type of game to work, things have to designed a measured way that forces player engagement. I think this forces the game to be difficult, rather than the difficulty forcing the design

[@Arexion5293]

I am two minds about this: 1. It already has plenty of ways built in to make the game easier. 2. Every game isn't for everyone. Difficulty is a taste, and not everyone is into it. Some enjoy a game because of it, some enjoy a game despite it, and some just ignore the game altogether and play something else. It's your choice to tackle something that might or might not interest you, to make your way through it because of aspects of it or despite them. I personally don't like turn based combat at all, but I still made my way through FF VII despite it. But I wouldn't want the turn based combat to be removed from it, because that is what the game was designed as. I just happen to like it despite not being part of the target audience. 3. Where is my hardcore mode in Animal Crossing? That game is gatekeeping me away from it by having no difficulty. I demand a hard mode! ... This one might be a joke about taste and target audiences, how everything cannot appeal to everyone. I wouldn't be interested in Animal Crossing regardless, so it probably should just stick to what it knows. Don't bother appealing to someone who won't play it anyway.

[@dashiellnagarajan7878]

Finally someone who makes an argument for this without being super condescending

[@andrewkelly1337]

I would let poison drain out snd pop a humanity to heal it then go to Quelagg

[@willwicked]

Souls like game are hard because you are not the chosen one (like master chief), you are not the hero, you HAVE TO BECOME THE HERO through out the game and if, only if you make it till the end, you'll see what it truly takes to be the chosen one.

[@jimmyboyle3543]

Hour long video from Eyebrow Cinema about video games…. Yeah ok I’m in.

[@plaidchuck]

I look at it this way- Why compromise the game designers vision? And if it was more financially lucrative or necessary to have any easier mode you'd think they would have done it already.

[@rangda_prime]

You're kind of wrong about increased damage not making the game easier. I struggled for a long time, but eventually I realized Dark Souls 1 had infinite experience points. So I made a playlist of good podcasts and spent an entire evening farming in excess on 1 million souls. After that the game was easy. In fact, so easy that I almost regretted doing it. However, DS1 and DS2 are entirely different beasts than BB and DS3. The combat is not the same, the way you can do builds is changed etc. DS1 and DS2 I can still beat despite being 50 and absolutely feeling my reflexes degrading with age. DS3 and BB I frankly struggle with, since they are way more frantic, doesn't have functioning hyper armor and poise and rely much more on twitch reflexes to pull off the aggressive play style required. So the earlier games are more accessible, but the later ones more approachable since you just need reflexes to master them.

[@alfhoward5825]

On one hand, soul’s games are requiring a time commitment then, totally disrespect that time on the other. Loss of hours of rune accumulation and little to no quest markers. Your average casual not only may be new to the series but also, have little time to play. There’s nothing more frustrating than losing your runes and then dying on he way to collect them. From Software disrespects your time, plain and simple.

[@lyrebird5982]

if you die before getting to where you dies previously, that means you didnt learn anything. so you get penalized or just spend them since in elden ring you can do taht at any point in the game unline dark souls 1. git gud

[@Valsorayu]

@@lyrebird5982 To translate this: The game uses the fear of loss as an incentive to drive you to improve in mastering the mechanics. The game also allows you to turn back and reset the area any time you feel like the next enemy might be too much or that you have a lot of souls saved up. This is an element of risk-reward as well as resource management (which isn't, and will never be, for everyone). In successfully caching in your souls at a reset you learn enemy movesets whilst acquiring more level up juice and materials thus allowing you to "get good at the game".

[@lyrebird5982]

@@Valsorayu your one is nicer, i like my one more

[@Valsorayu]

@@lyrebird5982 That's because I am not a twat(slag for an obnoxious or otherwise unpleasant person in my region of the world) on the internet.

[@lyrebird5982]

@@Valsorayu until you went down to my level by name calling

[@Chronaria]

Why is this god tier video not getting more views?

[@calimerohnir3311]

Isshin is technically a 4 health bars boss since you have to fight Genichiro first

[@bigt4135]

I’ve been there day one since demons souls on ps3. Love these games.

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

Great video, very tactfully communicated

[@EyebrowCinema]

Thanks, Elias!

[@hilberttowsed2324]

Debates and games such as this reminds me why I don't play video games. A piece of entertainment where my lack of skills means I won't see the end of it and people championing such aspects sounds unappealing. Thank god for passive media.

[@slippers8000]

The only difference between 2 people that tried dark souls and only one beat it. Is that the other person gave up.

[@ThePeteriarchy]

I'm not and never was one of those smug hardcore gamers who are like "lol git gud" whenever these debates come up. But I do think it's an insult to the developers to say that their choice not to have difficulty settings in their games is some kind of malicious gatekeeping. If a game's based around some theme of hopelessness and having to defeat insurmountable odds, it takes away from that vision to demand that the challenge be taken away when the devs and artists chose not to have that option. Take Hotline Miami. Its entire point is to make the player feel desensitized to all the murder they commit and how pointless it all is; to hit the R key upon death over and over as naturally as one breathes, and getting into a flow state of constant killing only for the levels to end in complete silence as you walk back to your car and see the terrible things you've done. The feeling that Hotline Miami evokes in the people playing it wouldn't nearly have the same effect if there was an option to take the threat of constant death away.

[@DoctorWho_Livestream]

Haven't watched the full video yet. Just want to point out Demon's Souls allowed for traveling and it was at the beginning of the game, not something that had to be unlocked over time (e.g., Dark Souls 1). Bloodborne and Darks Souls 3 took the Demon's Souls approach to traveling.

[@leoncurtis5762]

Dark souls was designed around being difficult, because it is a story about struggling on because your life is not burned out. Having adjustable difficulty wouldn't make since. It is like if you take the bestiary and weaknesses out of the Witcher 3. You would feel way less like a witcher.

[@KisniCovek]

--Really surprised this doesn't have more views. It's good, very well made and thought out. Good work and thanks for sharing. --The only time I was really bothered by anything in this video was referring to From Software's video games as art. I don't think the term applies, I don't think they'll stand the test of time. They are excellent creative endavours tho, for sure.

[@CocoHutzpah]

I think God Hand did difficulty the best. With each level of difficulty, enemies start using more moves. Likewise, the better you do, the higher the difficulty goes, with each level clearly displayed on the UI. If you feel the difficulty is too much, you can plead for forgiveness in front of your enemies to lower the level. This method gives more challenge and enjoyment, as the player needs to learn new patterns rather than put more damage into enemies. It also grants design space to have light attacks at easy difficulties and very heavy attacks at the top difficulty level. It puts more work on the developer, so it won't always be practical to implement. But, IGN hated God Hand because they didn't understand it, so here we are.

[@shadowweaver1599]

I love this game it’s the only dark souls game I have spent over 200 hrs in on several different characters. my latest is 80 hrs and I’m working on completing the capital. Working on all side quests and trying to beat all bosses in game. I have to say being a spell caster wether that int or faith or a middle. Melee is much more difficult for newer players like me. Also no it doesn’t need an easy mode this is a hardcore game. It’s not meant to be easy. Also ty from soft for not giving a difficulty slider. That is not the way this game is. Also I get annoyed with game that when you die a lot ask if you want to change difficulty screen. That’s annoying to me if I wanted to change it I would of started it on that difficulty. So quit asking me once is enough not constantly.

[@KarlMarkyMarxx]

The only Souls-type game I've enjoyed is Death's Door. If DS ever had an easy mode, it'd probably resemble DD. You don't lose your souls on death. You have hit points, so nothing can ever one-shot you. There's no boss run-ups. The atmosphere and pacing is actually quite relaxing. But DS is obviously is not built for that experience.