Dying on a consistent basis in a FromSoftware game is inevitable, and Elden Ring seems to be no different in this regard. This is why Elden Ring's creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki tried to make death somewhat enjoyable for players, as they would likely be dying on quite a regular basis.
Some players are already having a difficult time with the game, as one Twitch streamer took seven hours fighting the Tree Sentinel boss in Elden Ring. Some players would likely level up and return to the boss fight after failing a good few times, however, the streamer was determined to beat the boss at his current level. This caused him to spend the majority of his day fighting the boss before finally besting it, and falling out of his chair in exasperation.
According to Miyazaki, the challenging nature of FromSoftware games is what makes them enjoyable, as overcoming hardship is what gives meaning to the experience. Miyazaki also stated that he too dies frequently in his own games, which is why he wanted to make finally overcoming death in his games enjoyable for both himself and consumers.
This is likely why Miyazaki couldn't resist putting swamps in Elden Ring, as swamp areas are notoriously difficult in FromSoftware games. Miyazaki acknowledged that most FromSoftware fans are not particularly fond of swamps, however, he noted that he just couldn't help himself, which is why there is more than one swamp in Elden Ring. The game also features a new detrimental effect in the form of Scarlet Rot to go alongside toxicity and poison.
There are already multiple examples of players having a hard time with Elden Ring online. One Redditor shared a video of them struggling to defeat an Elden Ring boss before they ended up being killed by a mob with a torch. This must have been exceedingly frustrating for the player, as both them and the boss only had slivers of health left.
Elden Ring even caused Dr Disrespect to rage quit, as the famous streamer was not a fan of how the game controlled. The Doc labeled the game's controls as sluggish and frequently made it known that he did not like the game throughout his stream. This led the streamer to hop on Escape from Tarkov instead.
Elden Ring has become extremely popular and will therefore be many gamers' first experience with a FromSoftware game. This means that many of these players may find that Elden Ring and the rest of the FromSoftware games are understandably not for everyone, owing to their difficulty.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: NewYorker
