Ever since Demon's Souls first came out in 2009, FromSoftware has had a reputation for releasing some of the most grueling games available. Dark Souls even came in a 'Prepare to Die; edition, proudly flaunting just how comfortable you’ll be getting with death during your playtime. Hidetaka Miyazaki director of many of these games, including Elden Ring, maintains that the difficulty spikes aren't unfair.
Speaking to Game Informer, he discussed the philosophy around putting players through their paces consistently. "I know we get a lot of credit saying that our games are difficult, but it's not a matter of simply cranking up the difficulty; it's doing so fairly," he states. "When players are killed and they can understand why they were killed in an instance, and it feels justified, that makes sense. That's the game we’re trying to achieve."
