Ori director says Microsoft thought the beloved Metroidvania was too hard, but he's "on the Miyazaki side" and believes "you have to overcome challenge"

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Ori director and Moon Studios co-founder Thomas Mahler says Microsoft originally told him the beloved Metroidvania platforming series was too hard for a general audience, but Mahler insisted that the difficulty stay the same, believing the level of challenge was necessary for what he was trying to achieve.

Appearing on the Destin podcast (timestamped here), Mahler explained his game design philosophy, comparing it to Nintendo and FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki.