Hello Internets, I am Juniper Jams, and this is my new blog! As the title says, this blog will be my rambles, random thoughts, and discussions, mostly about pop culture but also whatever peaks my interest. I appreciate all feedback, and if you want to send me something you think I would like, I will gladly take a gander at it, give my silly thoughts, and maybe even talk about it on the blog.
So since I have been binge playing Dark Souls, and with the recent announcement of BloodBorne, I figured I would talk about the easy mode controversy. While around since the release of Demon Souls, the announcement of the new Souls game has once again kindled the flames of controversy as to whether or not the Dark Souls games should have a difficulty setting. Personally, I think this would ruin the appeal of Dark Souls, but let's hear the argument first. From my own experience, most of the arguments against the Souls games' difficulty is that they either:
A. Do not allow the player to adapt the experience by forcing everyone to play at the same difficulty.
or
B. are too difficult for most players to get into or enjoy.
These arguments are typically based around how Dark Souls notorious difficulty turns players away, or makes theme quit while playing out of frustration. And this is true to a certain extent, as many who go into the game not fully aware of what they are getting into do turn away after getting killed, as they see the game as artificially hard. This supposed artificial difficulty is due mostly to it's lack of a pause, number and placement of enemies, and sheer learning curve. Others meanwhile see the games and unfair, as the game's single difficulty makes the game only for "Hard-Core" gamers, and not something everyone can enjoy. And while I can understand where these arguments stem from, I strongly disagree. Many lovers of the Souls games' like myself, Vaati Vidya, and EpicNameBro are of the opinion that the Souls games' are made by their difficulty. A lot of modern games have it so that a player could just ignore every single thing the game gives them, and just beat it, following what many call the "Everybody Wins" philosophy. And while many beloved series have gone this route from Elder Scrolls to Mario, this is where the Souls games differ, and where they go back to games like Castlevania and Contra, where skill is the key element.
In the Souls games', difficulty is used to teach the player, as it shows that the player that if they try and rush an area blindly, they will die. Quite often in these games there are enemies who will kill anyone with ease, such as the Black Knights or the Asylum Demon, and who will often repel a blind charge. These monsters teach the player to strategize, to learn the attack pattern of the monster and uncover it's flaws, rather than just bashing away until they win. In a Souls game, the player is taught that they can overcome any obstacle with enough forethought, reflex, and cunning, so that when they die, while they may get mad, they understand where they went wrong. I remember playing when I was in the Asylum, and I died because I thought I could mow down a horde of enemies. I was mad, but I realized I should've kited them to the cliff and used my shield to knock them off. This is what surprises many players, and what the Souls games are all about, as From Software, the creators of the Souls games', literally states that the point of the Souls games was to create near impossible challenges for the player that give the greatest sense of achievement when beaten. In a Souls game there is always a boss you fight twenty times and can't seem to beat, yet when you finally beat, you feel like a true hero or mighty warrior.
This is where the Souls games shine, as they give the player all the tools to beat the game, and then throw the player into the experience to fend for themselves, solving the problems on their own with whatever they have. And while this does make the game challenging, it does not make the game unfair, as shown by the phrase "Prepare to Die". These games tell the player straight up that they are challenging, and the player will die often, but they never insult the player for failing, or lower the difficulty. These games constantly tell you that you can win, but that it's gonna take some effort. And while this may turn some players away, it's not unfair, as the game never does anything sneaky, or pulls some drastic shift out of nowhere. The games are true to their ideas and their message all the way through, and that is what makes them great, and why a difficulty setting would be horrible. These games are based on the idea that challenge can be rewarding, and that catering to the player is bad, and many player love them for it, myself included. These games show that something difficult can be rewarding, and that just because something is hard doesn't make it unfair or bad. But if you let the player artificially change the difficulty, then you lose the meaning of the game, and the game is made just another dark RPG with some fun mechanics. In the end, these games (and hopefully BloodBorne too) are fun because they never give an inch, and while they are challenging, they are also immensely rewarding. So for what my two cents are worth, I would say keep the games hard, as they wouldn't be the same without their challenge. And for those of you out there wanting to play these games for the first time, well, good luck and prepare to die.
My name is Juniper Jams, this has been quite a ramble, and I will see you all next time!
