This is such a terrible take. You can have difficulty accessibility options in difficult games (eg. Celeste, Furi) and it doesnt make the game worse. This is just gatekeeping bs
Honestly how is this gatekeeping? That word gets slinged around a lot and it using it here seems like it diminishes the real situations where the word is useful. So they’re limiting access to the game from people who what? It’s hard for everyone, they’re not being selective about the difficulty somehow.
Except some people have disabilities that prevent them from enjoying difficulty in a game. Some people just want the ambiance and story. Some people have reflexes that are not as sharp as they used to be. They should be able to also enjoy this art form as much as others
Eh I’m sorry but I still don’t buy it. Making it a game about ambiance and story makes it a different game, doesn’t it? Every game has a target audience right? Why does it seem like it’s just games like this that get this sort of outrage thrown at it? FPS games have a similar level of entry yet no one is out there demanding they make Counter Strike less twitchy.
They can, it’s just not in the form of 1 button.
It’s an RPG, if you want the game to be easier then level up your character to have adequate HP/defense/attack power. Not enough? Upgrade your weapons/shield. Still not enough? You can summon two whole extra players to do all the work for you.
Still not enough? There’s mods.
Honestly how is this gatekeeping?
“Gatekeeping: the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something.”
The lack of difficulty sliders make the game inaccessible to people who have no ability or desire for the unforgiving experience, nor any ability/desire to “Git Gud Scrubs”. It’s intentionally left out to exclude those people. That makes it “gatekeeping” by the definition for the word.
This is substantiated by the fact that a mode to make the game easier and a mode to make the game harder are in the top 10 downloaded mods for Elden Ring. If you leave out the loaders and modutils, those same mods are top-5. This is basically unheard of in most games.
You can argue that you approve of this gatekeeping, but it’s silly to die on the “it’s not really gatekeeping” hill.
Soooo a game, which is not paid for nor developed by the community, and is rather purchased with the knowledge that it is a difficult game which will require ample skill to surpass its many challenges, should put in difficulty sliders despite them fundamentally going against the very nature of the game itself?
If you don’t like spicy food. Don’t buy spicy food. They’re not gatekeeping food from you. You have other options.
If you don’t want to “git gud”. You can use summoned spirits. NPCs, other players. There already is a difficulty slider. It’s one you set for yourself.
You always have the option to come back when you’re stronger. The boss is not going anywhere.
Learning to play the guitar or code also doesn’t have a difficulty slider, but people of all abled-ness manage it anyways. It’s a matter of patience and practice just like any other skill.
But this particular skill has in-game mechanics like leveling up, upgrading equipment, and summoning up to two whole extra players to do the work for you. Then there’s mods…
they’re gatekeeping the game story and experience, and ability to finish experiencing the game, from people who might be disabled or simply bad at games.
by making the game more accessible they would allow more people to enjoy the whole game
it’s a pretty standard example of gatekeeping
The difficulty is the experience, home slice. People need to accept that some things just aren’t for them.
If someone writes a complicated work of fiction, is it gate keeping to not also include an explainer in simple prose?
Someone might but Finnigan’s wake and be completely baffled by it. Is that an accessibility problem? Is the author in the wrong?
Why or why not?
Note this is distinct from publishing it in braille or audiobook format
But the game that the other half is enjoying is the difficulty and the reward of experiencing the story street overcoming said difficulty
Accessibility is an extremely important topic and Elden Ring could absolutely be better in that aspect.
Difficulty, however, is unrelated to accessibility. Disabled people should be able to play difficult games – that’s what accessibility is about, letting people with disabilities experience the same content as everyone.
I feel like the main difference is that Elden Rings difficulty is innately linked to its game design. A similar game in a largely different genre is Underrail which is basically designed with CRPG fans who want to be kicked in the dick… repeatedly. Seriously Underrails combat is weirdly complex and frankly speaking even on easier difficulties is still a bitch.
I get that accessibility is a factor and all but theres only so much one can do thatll help without compromising the game design. I think the current situation is for the best, folks can mod the game to make it easier but there shouldnt be any official fuckery.
Also go play Underrail if you like Isometric CRPGs it hurts so good.
It has difficulty options. They’re just not in a menu. If you want to play on hard mode, use fist weapons and never summon. If you want easy mode, be a mage carrying a great shield and summon every fight.
Those are not difficulty settings and you know it. This argument is so fucking shit.
Of course they are. They literally allow you to ignore all of the most difficult game mechanics. With a great shield you literally never need to time dodges. As a mage, you can easily do ranged damage, so you don’t need to time your attacks or worry about positioning. Using a summon means the boss doesn’t even attack you half the time, and some of them are so powerful that they can beat many bosses on their own.
It’s actually a far better difficulty system than the standard “the game mechanics are the same, but enemies do less damage and have less health” system that most games use.
Thank you. People just ignore that difficulty settings literally means they can still have it fucking difficult as they want, or more so. Gamers are fucking ridiculous, I swear. Try to advocate for accessibility and they act like you’re talking about murdering their mother.