The game design secrets of Elden Ring’s Hidetaka Miyazaki

In this week's newsletter: FromSoftware's president and the director of the popular fantasy game spills

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The famously challenging dark-fantasy epic Elden Ring was the world's second bestselling game in 2022, and the release of its expansion Shadow of the Erdtree last Friday once again has everyone arguing about whether it's too difficult. Every single FromSoftware-developed game 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 consequential: these games are what they are, and you can either get on board or, quite justifiably, walk away.

This vision is passed right down from the game's director, Hidetaka Miyazaki - also the president of FromSoftware since 2014, having made his (and the developer's) name with Dark Souls in 2011. It's harsh, sure, but there's also an element of faith and encouragement in this approach to game design: Elden Ring and his other games trust that if you just persevere, and call on other players for help, you will eventually triumph, and it will feel all the sweeter.