Despite Elden Ring’s community passionately arguing that the experience should be as tough as possible, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has shared how he uses anything to make his time easier when playing.
The critically-acclaimed RPG gives players a variety of tools like Summons to use against its challenging enemies. However, a strong contingent of the Elden Ring fanbase has been adamant that using these is not the “proper” way to play the game.
In a surprising twist, though, the game’s creator has argued that the devs created these tools for players to use.
Speaking with The Guardian about how he prepared for Elden Ring’s new expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, Miyazaki explained why he uses these features.
“I want to preface this by saying I absolutely suck at video games, so my approach or play style was to use everything I have at my disposal, all the assistance, every scrap of aid that the game offers, and also all the knowledge that I have as the architect of the game.”
This comment stood out to the player base because of a common belief that using things like Summons can cheapen the experience. With Miyazaki following a strategy counter to that, it was a sigh of relief for those fans who use them.
As one user on the Elden Ring subreddit explained, “Miyazaki, the game director and captain of FromSoftware, basically telling everyone to stop arguing about the right way to play because even he needs all the help he can get. What a legend.”
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Another person even called out those who advocate for ignoring these tools, saying, “Well, there you go folks. For all the Souls fanboys that said things like Spirit Ashes weren’t playing the game the way Miyazaki intended, now you know.”
In addition to his playstyle, many Elden Ring players were struck by Miyazaki’s admission that he’s bad at the game, finding it ironic how he could suffer at the hands of his own creation.
However, many believe it makes sense, with one person explaining that building a game and playing it are two “very different” things.
One fan jokingly says they don’t believe he is actually bad, citing Miyazaki’s claims that the DLC’s map would be the size of Limgrave as an example of past falsehoods told by the director.
While Miyazaki may need to use certain tools in Elden Ring, it’s clear many fans prefer to keep it as challenging as possible. Given how tough Shadow of the Erdtree has proven to be, those fans are getting exactly what they wanted.