TThe famously challenging dark-fantasy epic Elden Ring was the second best-selling game in the world in 2022, and the release of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion last Friday has everyone once again debating whether it’s too difficult. Every game FromSoftware has developed since 2009’s Demon’s Souls has inspired this discourse, and I’m not going to get into it because it’s neither interesting nor particularly important: these games are what they are, and you can either join in, or, right, running away.
This vision is passed down directly from the game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki – also president of FromSoftware since 2014, after making his name (and that of the developer) with Dark Souls in 2011. It’s hard, sure, but there’s also an element of faith and trust in it. encouragement in this approach to game design: Elden Ring and its other games trust that if you just hang in there and call on other players for help, you will ultimately triumph, and it will feel all the sweeter for it.
Miyazaki is an interesting character and one of the most influential artists in gaming, and indeed in entertainment; he was on Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people last year. I first interviewed him in 2010, shortly before the release of Demon’s Souls in Europe, and following his career has been one of my highlights. I recently interviewed him again in Los Angeles, and it may comfort some of us to know that playing his games is sometimes torture for him, too.
“Leading up to the release of any game, I will play it very hands-on and spend as much time on it as possible,” he told me. “But after the release, I tend not to touch it anymore because I know I’m going to encounter things that I left on the table, or problems that will annoy me. And once I’m a player, I’m powerless to do anything significant to change it. So once a game is out in the wild, I usually don’t play it again.
“But in preparation for Shadow of the Erdtree, I played the main story of Elden Ring. I want to preface this by saying that I absolutely suck at video games, so my approach or playing style was to use everything I have at my disposal, all the help, every bit of help the game provides, and also all the knowledge I have . as the game’s architect… the freedom and open-world nature of Elden Ring may have lowered the barrier to entry, and I’m perhaps the one who benefits most from that as a player more than anyone else.
I was deeply amused by the image of Miyazaki, controller in hand, tormented by the world he created (and all its imperfections, which only he would notice). That’s the true commitment to his game design philosophy of improvement through failure – a credo that seems to permeate his entire life. Miyazaki is an extremely hands-on director and all of his games bear the unmistakable stamp of his influence, but he has also sought to pass on his knowledge and artistic approach to others at FromSoftware in the ten years he has been president of the software. that they too have the space to fail.
“Budgets, scale, scope, everything has grown so much that the room for failure is not tolerated as much as I think it was in the past,” he told me. “FromSoftware has its own way of hedging risks, so to speak, in the sense that most of our projects have a partner who finances the project… From a business management perspective, we don’t bet everything on a single project. At the same time, you have to find the right project to enable failure: whether it is smaller in size or scale, or a small module within something larger, there has to be room for that. I think this is where a lot of young game directors are challenged and can learn from it. By ensuring you understand and identify where these failures may be allowed, we seek to grow our talent.”
Miyazaki sees Elden Ring as a “turning point” for FromSoftware: “Before and after Elden Ring there will be a clear difference… you could see that in [2023’s mech game] Armored Core VI, I would say.” He hopes that we will soon see games from other directors of the company, and not just from himself. “Where FromSoftware is now, in terms of scale, I would say Elden Ring is really the limit. We have tapped into all the resources and talent we have access to. If we want to make it even bigger, I would have my concerns about that. Perhaps having multiple projects is the next phase, where some of the other younger talent can be given the opportunity to manage and drive game design for a smaller project.”
Shadow of the Erdtree is the end of Elden Ring for now – Dark Souls is an exception to the rule, but in general Miyazaki does not make sequels. Demon’s Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and now Elden Ring all stand as standalone works, and you get the impression he likes it that way. But interestingly, he wouldn’t mind if someone else did more with The Lands Between – in a different medium.
“I don’t see any reason to reject another interpretation or adaptation of Elden Ring, for example a movie,” he told me. “But I don’t think myself, or FromSoftware, have the knowledge or ability to produce anything in any other medium. So that’s where a very strong partner would come into play. We will have to build a lot of trust and agreement on whatever we are trying to achieve, but there is certainly interest.”
If Souls nerd readers work for arthouse film production companies, consider this your chance to pounce.
What to play
And now for something completely different, as they say: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is out this week, a welcome blast from the past (I reviewed it for IGN at the time). Originally released in 2013 on the Nintendo 3DS, this wonderfully characterful creepy caper is better than any Ghostbusters game ever made.
Mario’s bumbling, cowardly younger brother has five detailed diorama mansions to cleanse of ghosts and secrets. The animation here is second to none, with each ghost oozing personality, along with all the ectoplasm, and Luigi himself is an underrated star of the slapstick comedy.
Available on: Nintendo switch
Estimated playing time: 12 hours
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What to read
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Think of Paradox’s upcoming competitor for The Sims, Living through you? It was supposed to come out this month, but it was postponed indefinitely a few weeks ago and then abruptly canceled – and now its developer has been shut down. The Sims has remained unchallenged in the life sim genre for decades: perhaps it will remain that way for another decade now.
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The hugely popular streamer Dr. disrespectful – real name Guy Beahm – was permanently banned from Twitch in 2020 (he has been streaming on YouTube ever since). For years, no one knew why — but now The Verge reports that he was caught sending inappropriate messages to a minor via Twitch’s Whispers chat system, as claimed by two former Twitch employees. After Midnight Society, a studio co-founded by the streamer, cut ties with him on Monday evening, Beahm, 42, released a lengthy statement about , but vehemently denied any criminal wrongdoing. One of his sponsors, Turtle Beach, also dropped him.
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The Ringer released this stunner of a feature film about the fleeting multiplayer connections forged by games like Elden Ring and Dragon’s Dogma, from long-time Guardian games contributor Lewis Gordon.
What to click
Question Block
I’m going to shamelessly abuse the formatting of the newsletter to post one last quote from Hidetaka Miyazaki, the answer to a question I’ve always wanted to ask him:
“When we talk about artistic inspirations, we often ask about things: movies, books, games, visual art. But often it’s the people in our lives who inspire us. Is there someone in your life who is like that, someone who inspires you? respect?”
His response: “One that comes to mind is the previous president of FromSoftware, [Naotoshi] Zin-san. He directed the first game that FromSoftware produced [bleak medieval action game] King’s Field, close to the launch of the PlayStation 1. I really like his world building and way of thinking, his approach to things. So even now, when we catch up or have a chat, I can always learn something from it. Of course, I never told him to his face that I respect him and that I feel that way, so if this interview is somehow translated back into Japanese and he sees it, I don’t know what he’s going to say. ..’
If you have a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – click ‘reply’ or send an email to pushbuttons@theguardian.com.