Demon's Souls PS5 PlayStation 5

Here's a news flash for you: Demon's Souls is hard. Much like FromSoftware's later action RPGs, the game is famously very challenging, rewarding skilful play but harshly punishing your mistakes. Push past the difficulty and these are some seriously brilliant games, but not everyone is comfortable with the uphill struggle they present. The choice of an easier difficulty setting would be nice, right?

Well, it's something that Bluepoint Games considered when developing the PlayStation 5 remake of the classic title. In an interview with the Washington Post, creative director Gavin Moore is asked about whether an easy mode was ever part of the game. Obviously, we know that the studio decided against it, but an easy difficulty was part of the conversation at one point.

Moore explains that, while some changes have been made to Demon's Souls, Bluepoint's main aim was "to preserve the spirit and intent of the original creators". He continues: "While we considered and discussed an easy mode, we ultimately decided it wasn’t our place — merely being custodians for this amazing game — to add something that would fundamentally alter its balance."

There is absolutely an argument that more options are always better. Why not make games like this more accessible to those that want to explore them without worrying? The counterpoint is that the challenge is a core part of the experience. Some argue that the whole point of games like Demon's Souls is overcoming their toughest fights through perseverance and skill, which an easy mode could trivialise. For Bluepoint Games, it seems it was more important not to meddle with the game too much, and keep FromSoftware's original intent.

What do you think about this? Would you have liked an easier difficulty in Demon's Souls? Go easy on us in the comments section below.

[source washingtonpost.com, via gamesradar.com]