means, among other things, a resurrection of the timeless debate over difficulty in Dark Souls games. In the eyes of many soulslikers, Elden Ring was notably gentler than its predecessors because if you're getting hammered by one demigod clown or another, you can always take off, do something else for a while, and come back later when you're better equipped to clean house.
"Had we taken that approach, I don't think the game would have done what it did, because the sense of achievement that players gain from overcoming these hurdles is such a fundamental part of the experience. Turning down difficulty would strip the game of that joy—which, in my eyes, would break the game itself."