Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a game that tons of people have been waiting for with extreme anticipation. I personally couldn’t be happier that From Software is still going strong with their personal genre of difficult games. It’s what makes me want to buy the games before anything else. But others seem to be much more frustrated by the fact that the game is forcibly difficult, as there is no option to tone down the difficulty that some players are met with upon attempting to play.

EASY MODE

I have heard large groups of people complain about the lack of an easy mode in games made by From Software, for example, I know someone who entirely avoids the games released by From Software simply due to the fact that they’re quite difficult, but I can understand that some people would rather have an easier game than a difficult one. A lot of people are addicted to the idea of mindless hack and slashes, which is something that the games that From Software releases should, in my opinion, never include.

I understand that this type of game isn’t for everyone, and I respect that. But, if someone isn’t up for this type of game, then there are plenty of other games for that individual. They should never demand that an easy mode is included in a game as it is not their place as a player to demand that. It is the developer’s conscious design choice that lead them to leaving an easy mode out and I personally agree with them that an easy mode would simply not fit with this type of game, as the main appeal is the difficulty.

MAIN POINT

A main point I wanted to raise is that the sorts of people complaining about the lack of an easy mode in games like Sekiro are the kinds of people who are new to the genre. People that probably didn’t play much of From Software’s previous titles. They can feel free to voice the fact they think the game is too hard, but to people that have played the previous titles to oblivion, the difficulty is something we wear like a soldier wears their military badges. As an example, I heard someone mention recently is that adding an easy mode would be like adding a cable railway to mount everest. It would make it much easier for people to get to the top and feel the enjoyment of the destination, but the people who want to feel the enjoyment from climbing, or in this case, beating the game on a more difficult mode would be lessened drastically.

The accomplishment of beating the game would feel less important to them, I feel adrenaline when I beat Dark Souls bosses I have struggled with for days, weeks, and sometimes even months. I don’t want to have to worry about the urge to tone the difficulty down when I struggle, I only want to resist the urge of turning the game off. So that I can keep trying, so that eventually, I kill that boss, and I scream out in enjoyment, as it feels amazing.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was released on PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4.