Of all the gaming conversations happening online, one that always makes a big splash is the discussion around souls-like games. These are the modern games made by the company FromSoftware— Dark Souls, most namely— and other games which fit the genre.

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The genre in question is third person action games that are notoriously difficult in one way or another, known for their iconic boss fights, sister game mechanics, and always taking place in grim fantasy worlds. And the worlds of these games are a whole different can of worms, dark fantasy kingdoms like Lothric or Yharnam, which have long since fallen from grace and are fumbling in the dark for the glory they once had. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to the lore of these games, running surprisingly deep for being hidden in item descriptions, loading menu tooltips, and context that is not apparent at a cursory glance.

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But while the lore of these souls-like games is cryptic and beautiful, that is not where the controversy lies. It lies in the gameplay, and how bone-grindingly difficult it can be. And while its detractors bring up good points from accessibility in games to the nature of art in general, there is a point to the difficulty.

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Let’s talk, first: what exactly makes these games so hard? Anyone who’s chosen the ‘hard’ difficulty on any game knows that games can be hard. But soulslikes do not derive their difficulty from more, tankier enemies who deal more damage. Because this is what a lot of games do. Uncharted or the Witcher games as two arbitrary examples in which most of the hardness of the higher difficulties is due to the fact that the enemies have more health and deal more damage. And yes, it is harder, but it only demands that you put up with the combat for longer instead of actually making you think about it. Numbers change, enemy AIs don’t. Instead of having to hit the big boss five times, you have to hit him seven times. 

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But souls-likes don’t work this way. Not only is there only one difficulty, the games work in ways that most games don’t. They rely on timing as the core mechanic.

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If you play one of these games, you will notice that your attacks take some real time, and can be painfully long with the larger weapons. What’s more, you generally can’t cancel the animation of an attack, the game forces you to see it through. This forces you to stop mindlessly attacking and think for a little bit. Because if you’re not careful, an enemy will catch you mid attack and presumably deliver some devastating blow. 

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And dodging is different, as well. You can dodge attacks by rolling or stepping out of the way like in many games. But soulslike dodges give you invincibility frames, or “i-frames,” during which your character is invincible for a brief moment during the dodge. Not to mention that dodges don’t bring you too far and a lot of enemies have a way to hit you anyway, you can’t just dodge. You have to time it.

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Not to mention healing, which also takes some time, the game demands you don’t just hit the attack button Devil May Cry style and go for the most points. You have to engage in the rhythm and be patient. And that’s very hard! Many enemies try to trick you or have attacks which will simply kill you if you get the timing wrong. Many bosses, such as Ludwig from Bloodborne or Mohg from the more recent Elden Ring have attacks that nearly encompass the whole arena— and you’re dead if you mess up the dodge.

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Dark Souls represent the core of this gameplay, but other games do employ variations on the theme to set themselves apart. Bloodborne’s rally mechanic allows you to heal by hitting enemies just after you take damage, encouraging aggressive attacks. Sekiro is all about the parry system, turning the rhythm-game-ness up to eleven. They boil down action video games to their most core point: pressing the right button at the right time until you win.

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But these games are hard, so what, right? Well, people have a lot of opinions about it. Game critics, a group online often ridiculed for being bad at video games, especially with the Cuphead tutorial fiasco, often lambast these games for being too hard for the average gamer. Which is mostly true, a person not willing to put the effort in is going to have a bad time playing these games. Additionally, activists online bring up rightful concerns that the mechanical precision that these games require being inaccessible to disabled gamers. Many people bounce off of these games angry and frustrated, not understanding why people play these games. And if you’ve ever played them, you inevitably will feel frustrated. These games are unforgiving, almost as if they are determined to make you lose. But, people still play them. And people still somehow like them. Why? How?

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The director of these games, Hidetaka Miyazaki, said this once in a discussion about the difficulty. "It’s a valid discussion… I feel like our approach to these games, not just Elden Ring, is to design them to encourage the player to overcome adversity. We don’t try to force difficulty or make things hard for the sake of it. We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorize what’s happening, and learn from their mistakes. We don’t want players to feel like the game is unfairly punishing, but rather that there’s a chance to win a difficult encounter and make progress… we try to design the games to make the cycle of repeatedly trying to overcome these challenges enjoyable in itself."

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And he’s right. Despite repeatedly throwing yourself at a wall, the wall cracks a little bit each time, and you eventually learn how to throw yourself at it in more effective ways until it breaks entirely. It is a thrilling experience to do the dance of a Dark Souls boss and come out on the other side victorious. This feeling only comes after five or ten or more tries of frustration, but it makes it all worth it each time. It becomes, dare I say, fun.

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Plus, these games aren’t all hard. Most of them have level mechanics, and the difficulty stays consistent as long as you stay at a normal level. But there’s nothing stopping you from grinding for more levels for as long as you want. And Elden Ring has its spirit summoning feature, calling down NPCs to help you in battle. The game is only as hard as you want it to be. And that’s the point, really. It’s not about the game at all. It’s about your perseverance, doing something difficult until you get good at it. It is a feeling that video games rarely provide.

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There is also the note system, in which other players can leave little notes around the map that you can read. Most of them are silly, but the point is that it can feel like you’re standing with fellow players in kind, and when you persevere, you can celebrate with them.

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The point is, you simply must persist, and that you are not alone.

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And if you liked this article, then there are some more you should check out! Here’s one about Elden Ring’s myriad endings. Or, look at this review of a 2d souls-like called Tunic.

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