The Dark Souls games are notorious for their difficulty. However, the question that doesn’t always come up is whether it is fair. A difficult game doesn’t mean that the game is poorly designed, or that an easy option needs to exist. However, these games always are centered on terms of difficulty in video games.
What makes the games difficult?
The Dark Souls games have a unique playstyle and require the players to be onboarded into the world. From Software creates a new language that the player needs to learn. In a From Software game, every enemy is a threat, and the world needs to be traversed in a unique way.
Along with this language of level design, the developers are also obtuse in how they communicate mechanics to the players. Item descriptions and tutorials can be obscure and laconic. This is core to the discovery that players love about the games.
The game is full of trial and error, and while areas can be completed on the first try it is still a steep learning curve. However, this is the biggest barrier for new players to becoming interested in the series.
Bad design or Artistic liberties?
The meaning of the Dark Souls series has been speculated and debated for years. The mechanics mentioned above has been intertwined in these discussions. However, they have been a point of contention among designers for years.
I think the Dark Souls games are really a story about overcoming in a world that is falling apart. The difficulty of the game is core to making the player understand this. FromSoft has woven the mechanics and themes of the world into one of the most masterful experiences.
Punishing or Fair?
I think the Dark Souls games are more forgiving than most series of games out there. The players have infinite lives to try and conquer the game. Besides that, the player can collect all of their experience lost from death if they can make it to the same point again. Death is not a setback in the game.
The player also has the ability to grind out levels as much as they want. The level cap is way higher than necessary to complete the game. Players can also call in helpers to make boss encounters easier on themselves.
The game has a sliding difficulty curve depending on how the player decides to play. If the player is always underleveled then the game will be hard, but if the player uses all advantages the game could be a normal difficult if not easy.
The problem with all of this is that it requires the player to discover how to make the game easier which not all players are willing to do.