Soulslikes Get Easy and That’s OK

The Advent of Easy Mode
Should Soulslikes have an easy mode? Yes. Next question.

I mean, no, of course not! Anything else?

Let’s recap. FromSoftware’s lineup of fantasy ARPGs — from Demon’s Souls through Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne and Sekiro — spawned what eventually became a subgenre all to itself. The Soulslike moniker has been applied to a lot of games, some deservedly so, because they sport some common characteristics. A non-exhaustive list includes limited healing, bonfire-like checkpoints, dodging, blocking, parrying and a strong emphasis on stamina management. Using this matrix, games as diverse as Hollow Knight and Another Crab’s Treasure are true and proper Soulslikes. There are hundreds more.

But wait! What about that humungous elephant stinking up the room? You know: Difficulty. Pain. Challenge. FromSoftware games are freaking hard. Only the best of the best of the best gamers can beat them, no-hit-run them, speed-run them. This means that if you’re a developer making a real Soulslike, your mission statement has to include ball-busting difficulty, right?

Mistaken Identity
First of all, there’s always been a misconception about FromSoftware’s games. They don’t have an easy mode, but they all have an ” eventually easier” mode. It’s called progression. That easier experience comes from leveling, grinding, gearing up, learning the mechanics and bosses and revisiting impossibly difficult parts of the game with a stronger character. It requires patience more than raw skill. Perseverance more than fast-twitch reflexes. I would contend that where FromSoftware really shines is not so much the externals but the game plan. Unfortunately, a lot of developers ignore or never crack this code. They default to building their Soulslikes with impossible situations, awkward mechanics and unfair challenges.

Here’s what I think happened. FromSoftware makes challenging but fair games. Other studios follow by making hard games but sometimes forget the fair part. Eventually, Soulslikes get the reputation of being brutally difficult as the defining characteristic. Players either don’t play them or bounce off because they balk at the difficulty. Developers make concessions and include an easy mode. Hardcore player get incensed. Here we are.

Even the GOAT FromSoftware has been accused — or praised — for making Elden Ring relatively beginner friendly. You can putter around Limgrave for hours, getting OP enough to beat the early bosses easily. It’s still FromSoft’s traditional way of making their games more accessible, just on a larger scale. It obviously works, because Elden Ring is an immensely popular game with a wide range of gamers, including the hardcore fans. And no one would argue that Shadow of the Erdtree or the recent Nightreign are easy games. Something for everyone is a win for all involved.

So, Who Cares?
Generally speaking, video games have become easier, varied, more diverse and accessible. It’s one of the reasons that games have famously become the most popular form of entertainment. Games have evolved organically from hardcore niche products to mass-market mainstream dominance in only a few decades in part because more people can enjoy them.

But Soulslikes? Nah man, they need to be unforgiving. The argument against an easy mode in a Soulslike goes something like this: Dark Souls (or whatever game) is hard. You have to be the best gamer to play it and beat it. I played it and so I must be the best. You didn’t beat it? You suck. Get outta my clubhouse.

Unfortunately for those gamers who want to keep their enclave exclusive, the arguments in favor of easy modes are more compelling. To start, having an easy mode — in addition to the standard difficulty, new game+ or special modes like permadeath — takes nothing away from the experience that more “skilled” gamers crave. All the easy modes do is give gamers options that make their playtime more enjoyable. Which, in case you’ve forgotten, is part of the value-per-dollar equation. Obviously, many gamers want to explore lore, world-building, combat mechanics and story without a cranial fracture from beating their head against a wall.

What about developers that make a Soulslike that’s purposely easier in general? Does that dilute the genre from being hardcore players-only? I’d argue all that does is make the genre a little deeper and wider. Don’t like an easy Soulslike? Don’t play it. Problem solved.

Case Studies
The whole easy mode argument has popped up again because three high-profile, notoriously difficult games — Lords of the Fallen, Lies of P and The First Berzerker: Khazan — have either added or expanded their range of difficulty options. In the case of Khazan, the new easiest mode trivializes the difficulty. Lies of P’s newly-added easy mode, on the other hand, is still pretty challenging for most players. The standard modes are still there, just as brutal as ever. Lies of P added a new boss challenge mode that is as difficult as playing on New Game+ or higher.

It’s to be expected that not every attempt at giving players options will be perfectly balanced. Some will go too far or not far enough. And sure, your beloved bragging rights will need to be qualified to make sure that you’re still justified in feeling like a gaming god. But in the end, as long as players can dial up the challenge level that works for them, their time, skill and commitment, easy modes are nothing but another form of accessibility that takes nothing away, and adds a lot.

Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.

For amazing videos, head over to our YouTube page HERE.
Follow us on Twitter HERE.
Our Facebook page HERE.
Our Instagram page HERE.
Listen to our podcast on Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
If you are a fan of cosplay, check out more of our cosplay features HERE