Chapter 840: Unanimous Positive Reviews

‘High difficulty – this has always been a characteristic attributed to Souls games, and I do not deny it. I believe that behind every player who conquers a BOSS in the game, there is also a frustrated player who gave up. For those players who feel there are too many hardships to overcome in the game, I am very sorry.’

‘Difficulty is the designer's prerogative. Not every game has to cater to everyone, and I have always believed and acted on this.’

‘But similarly, high difficulty and hardship are not the only labels for Souls games… High difficulty gives meaning to the gaming experience, and I have no intention of abandoning that. It is indeed one of the game’s labels.’

‘However, compared to high difficulty, I more so hope that more players can experience the joy of overcoming difficulties and hardships. In real life, death is a terrifying thing, but in games, we can give death more meaning. It shouldn’t just be painful; it can become enjoyable.’

‘As for players believing that Spirit Ashes and powerful weapon art combinations make the game easier, I do not deny this. In fact, when developing Elden Ring, we were heading in this direction.’

‘Unlike resolutely demanding players to improve their operational skills, we made appropriate changes in Elden Ring. However, this was not a compromise to lower the game’s barrier to entry. We wanted players to have more ways to solve a problem that they found tricky.’

‘Yes, that's right, 'solving problems'. In previous Souls games, there were many similar elements, like friendly in-game messages left by predecessors, and helpers who could assist you. In Elden Ring, presented as an open world to players, we have more choices, filling more content into this world.’

‘This way, when players encounter an insurmountable difficulty, they can explore the world and discover content that can help them overcome the challenge. I believe players will greatly enjoy this problem-solving process.’

………………

When players saw Chen Xu’s lengthy response, their first reaction was a bit bewildered. After all, although Chen Xu would typically participate in interactions with players, and had even held a live stream to demonstrate games to players, he had always given players the first impression of being ‘one of their own’, a designer who understood them.

But such a long explanatory text was a first. Many players, seeing Chen Xu's article, even wondered if someone had created a high-fidelity fake Chen Xu ID.

However, after reading what Chen Xu said, many players applauded him.

‘Even though Mr. Chen said a lot, I only got one meaning between the lines: the game is hard, but players shouldn't care, because I did it on purpose.’

‘So that’s why you designed so many disgusting monsters and traps in the game, Mr. Chen, to deliberately torment us?’

‘Ahem… Bros upstairs, don’t derail the discussion! Although I really want to campaign against Mr. Chen.’

‘Honestly, what Mr. Chen said is very good. In an open world, isn't it normal to stubbornly fight a BOSS or find other ways to break out of the situation?’

‘Exactly, exactly. Although it’s a Souls game, Elden Ring genuinely gave me a feeling of playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.’

‘If there are flaws, they certainly don’t obscure the virtues. This is definitely one of the best open-world games I’ve played in the last two years!’

‘+1. It’s a single-player game, why can’t you play it however you want? For those who say these playstyles are too strong, can’t you just choose not to use them? Or are you saying you can’t defeat the Valkyrie, the Black Blade, or Starscourge Radahn without using them?’

‘On one hand, you say strong builds make the game boring. On the other hand, when you use them yourself, you say BOSSes are designed to be so difficult precisely so players use these builds. You’ve said all the good and bad things. Isn't it just not admitting you’re bad?’

‘That’s right, difficulty itself is a characteristic of Souls-like games. It’s just that Elden Ring offers many more ways to solve problems compared to previous Souls games. Now you dislike the game’s builds and want to hone your skills to clear levels, but then complain that the monsters are too strong. You’ve said it all.’

Although Chen Xu didn't explicitly state it in his article, some quite rational players clearly understood that the players who complained about Spirit Ashes and weapon arts making the game boring were fundamentally shifting the goalposts.

A single-player game naturally has a concept of balance, but an imbalance refers to a particular build being incredibly powerful, so much so that other builds are completely incomparable in effectiveness. For example, if build A can instantly kill a BOSS, while builds B, C, and D offer very low returns, purely dealing very low damage to the BOSS, then this is an imbalance.

In Elden Ring, Chen Xu referenced the balance from his previous life and made appropriate adjustments to the Moonveil Katana, glass cannon builds, Mimic Tear, and the turtle spear build. While it wasn't possible to achieve a completely even playing field, these builds were definitely viable, and the differences in strength were not significant. In terms of overall effectiveness, there wouldn't be a situation where any build was underperforming, at least for the first and second playthroughs.

Furthermore, as a single-player game, how to play it is entirely up to the players themselves, unlike online games. In most online games, many players actually have no room for choice. Because if they don't use a certain strategy, others who do will infringe on their gaming experience, and even if they don't want to use it, they might be forced to in order to maintain their own enjoyment.

As a single-player game, Elden Ring's PVP and PVE content are completely different modes. These builds, if used in PVP, would be slaughtered like pigs. As for the Golden Greatshield cannon build, Chen Xu also specifically balanced it within the game. It could be said that there is absolutely no situation where someone else's use affects another's gaming experience. If it does affect them, it's probably due to external factors outside the game, such as the psychological harm of affecting their ability to show off.

Of course, a small group of players continued to express their dissatisfaction with Elden Ring online, with some radical players even revoking Chen Xu's 'Souls-game designer' status. However, Chen Xu didn't care. After publishing this lengthy article, he didn't show up again.

The mainstream discussion trend for Elden Ring was completely shifted.

At the same time, Elden Ring truly became popular. This popularity wasn't just in terms of reputation, but also in sales. Previous Souls games, besides their excellent content, were also known for their outstanding memes. Excellent art, story, and world-building, coupled with artistic level design, high difficulty, and the social media propagation of streamers suffering, all contributed to Souls games achieving high renown.

But in reality, more of their audience consisted of 'cloud players', because playing a Souls game yourself and watching it are truly two completely different experiences, especially for clumsy players who really can't experience the fun of Souls games. If they can't even defeat the regular mobs and BOSSes, how can they appreciate the grand narrative setting or the exquisite plot design?

Elden Ring, however, is different. Without looking at guides, 90% of players would likely suffer when they first start. But with the appearance of guides, after familiarizing themselves with BOSS strategies and moves, subsequent players can suffer much less. This has made Elden Ring the highest-selling Souls-like game.

Exquisite graphics, perfectly balanced and rich gameplay, stunning art design, and world-building – these elements have all contributed to Elden Ring, a Souls game transformed into an open world, receiving unanimous positive reviews from both players and media.

(End of Chapter) <>