Elden Ring is Hard. Miyazaki is Sorry, But Won’t Change.
Even if you’ve never experienced the ‘Soulslike’ genre, never dived into the worlds and stories offered, never experienced the community nor their in-jokes, one image has almost certainly reached your eyes. YOU DIED – the message fades in, a black bar emphasizing red text, as a sorrowing darkness overtakes the whole screen. The accompanying drone is likely to go down in gaming legend as one of the most iconic, emblematic sound effects in history. Right up there with Sonic’s ‘Spin Dash’ sound and the Metal Gear “!”. It might not be at “Mario-gets-a-mushroom” levels quite yet, but… give it time. The Dark Souls series may be over, but Elden Ring has proven that gaming’s most iconic way to die has a place to stay.
The fact that such a screen is so iconic is emblematic of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s… let’s say, ‘unique’ approach to failure in video games. He did an interview with The New Yorker recently, where he did a deep-dive into death in his games.. In it, he empathized with anyone put off by this prominence of death and failure. He directly said that he can and does “feel apologetic toward anyone who feels there’s just too much to overcome“, but emphasized that he wants “as many players as possible to experience the joy that comes from overcoming hardship.”
That’s why death is so prominent in Elden Ring. He explained his reasoning, saying “I’ve never been a very skilled player, I die a lot.” Continuing, “If death is to be more than a mark of failure, how do I give it meaning? How do I make death enjoyable?”
It’s a challenge that not all players will resonate with, but one that’s important to Miyazaki. While he understands the consequences, there’s almost zero chance of him removing that challenge from his games any time soon.