We we got into an argument with a friend over Soulsborne games not having a difficulty slider. It mentioned several arguments, but one stuck out at us because it's one we identify with.
TL;DR Soulsborne games don't have a difficulty slider because Miyazaki wanted to create his games within a specific niche of players who enjoy overcoming difficulties, even unfair ones. It is his right as the director to create a high skill floor with the ends to curate a very specific experience. These games are specifically designed for you to learn them and to overcome them. Anyone can achieve this, given they put in enough time and commitment.
Going straight to the point, The argument that it made against why Soulsborne games should have a difficulty slider, is essentially "what if a disabled person also wants to experience the game?" This argument stuck out at us because, we are also disabled.
Not sure what disabilities specifically it would be referring to with that argument, but we're going to assume it's something along the lines of motor control and learning disabilities, both of which are things that we have ourselves.
Of course, these would make playing video games in general much more difficult; we should know. More times than we can count we've gotten very frustrated at video games because we just can't seem to get the hang of it, can't seem to learn the mechanics, or just get demotivated seeing everyone else be so much better than us at the game. This was true for League of Legends, when we used to play that. It took us five years of playing that game to become somewhat okay and grasp all the basic concepts of its mechanics and strategies. However, for us, despite the constant demotivation from seeing others be better than us, getting picked on constantly for being bad at the game, we enjoyed the feeling we got every time we learn something new, and every time we got better at a specific thing. This carries over to Soulsbornes as well.
It's no secret that these games are very unintuitive, save for Elden Ring. This was especially true for Dark Souls 1. This is by design; it is the experience that Miyazaki wanted to curate for the players. It's yet another obstacle that the player has to overcome.
And, yes, having a learning disability will make this a DAUNTING task given how unconventional the games are. However, and we are saying this from first-hand experience, it is not impossible.
Same goes for motor control disabilities. After Bloodborne came out, the combat in these games switched to faster-paced, reflex-based fighting, and this is ESPECIALLY true in Elden Ring.
Even having 500 hours on the game, our reflexes in Elden Ring are absolute dogshit, not to mention that we forget enemy attack patterns and we aways have to relearn them again, which we of course have a lot of trouble with. But honestly? In OUR humble opinion, we're glad that we get to have trouble over and over again even with the same enemies, because we get to have the feeling of accomplishment as if we were playing the game for the first time again, and that's not something we can say for a lot of experiences, obviously. But, I digress.
Case in point for this argument, if you're able to pick up a controller and hit all the buttons on it without much difficulty, then you're going to be able to beat any Soulsborne, given you actually put in the commitment to learn the game and overcome its challenges. Having a disability is just not an excuse for being unable to play these games. If you quit part-way through because you were frustrated that you couldn't get the hang of the games in a time frame that you could be satisfied with, that is perfectly fine. That's not something to blame your disabilities over; because it's not that you're completely unable to play the game, it's that you're not happy with the progression of your skill in the game, and again, that is a perfectly valid feeling to have.
Sorry that this was so long, and I'm sorry if any part of this sounds incoherent or nonsensical, we're really tired lol. might revisit this if there's anything that needs revision.
we just got really salty at the "what if the player is disabled" argument. Honestly if you can't play this game at all because of a disability you have, then you most likely have extreme difficulty playing video games in general, i.e. you are unable to use standard controllers, and are unable to play games that are not tailored to your disability; that is how CONFIDENT I am that anyone
with the capability of using a standard video game controller can overcome these games.
If you made it to the end, then hii! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, maybe even have a discussion about it. /nf of course.
In any case, I hope you at least enjoyed reading.
- posted by Abby
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