I have written three posts about accessibility issues in FromSoft games. That mean s this is post four, and who knows when I’ll stop? Here is post three that I wrote yesterday. In it, I mentioned Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon, which I quit about an hour after the tutorial boss. And it took me twenty to twenty-five tries to kil the tutorial boss. Yes, it’s supposed to be challenging (all From tutorial bosses are hard. As Andy from OutsideXbox said, Iudex Gundyr from Dark Souls III is a literal gatekeeper), but not die two dozen times difficult. I have included that video below with the appropriate time stamp. He’s not talking about it in terms of accessibility, but the points he makes could apply to that as well.
My nibling told me they spent hours on this boss without beating him. Several hours. You cannot summon for this boss, so you have to beat him solo. This was the second From game Rory played, and he died several times to this boss, too. Now, I bet he would beat Iudex in three tries max, but at the time, he was flailing wildly at Iudex and dying repeatedly. Funnily, I don’t have much trouble with Iudex–at least not as a Pyro. He is very weak to fire, especially after his transformation (which usually makes him harder for most players).
In AC VI, the tutorial mech is definitely a gatekeeper. If you can’t beat it (and it’s pretty hard), then you might as well walk away. It has a Sekiro deflect mechanic that while not as punishing as the one in Sekriro, it still wasn’t something I could do with any consistency.
My biggest problem with the game, though, is the platforming. I have written several timess about how much I hate the platforming in From games. It’s not the purpose of any of the games, well, except maybe Sekiro to a certain extent. From certainly wanted you to traverse vertically in that game.
I knew before I even tried the game that it was going to be a problem for me. From watching the trailer, I had my doubts about the game. First of all, I’m not into mechs. Literally or figuratively. They don’t do anything for me, so that was one ding. Secondly, I could tell that the traversal was going to be a big problem for me. A BIG problem. Sadly, I was right about that. Thirdly, the platforming. Oh, the platforming.
Here’s the thing. There are two ways to boost in tthe game. They are slightly different kinds of boosts, but they are boosts. And you have to gauge when you’re going to boost so you don’t fall to your death. Well, not your death exactly, because you respawn, but with less health. Which is like most games, I guess. But It’s very demoralizing because I have issues with my spatial recognition. I cannot tell how far something is from me, especially in pixels. So after I scraped by the tutorial boss, I went on a mission. And I kept failing to land on a platform.
I know this is an issue with me. I know other people didn’t have a problem with it. The people I knew who played it didn’t mention it at all. So, yes, it’s a ‘me’ issue, but it’s absolutely an accessibility issue. I was cut off from playnig the game because I could not (again, not would not, but literally could not) do the basics of the game. Flying and landing. I could not do those without dying.
I do not mind dying to a boss. Well, yes, I do, but I accept it as part of these games. I’ll even accept the occasional gravity death or being overwhelmed by mobs. But dynig because of bullshit platfrorming? Not fun. Will never be fun. Dying becaus eI can’t do the basic combat in the game? Very much not fun.
It’s really hard to make people understand that I’m not dissing the game when I state why I can’t play it. Same as Sekiro. My comments about it are not to say it’s a terrible game–it’s not. But it is to say that it’s extremely inaccessible.
One of the problems with accessibility in games is that it’s an interactive media in ways that other media isn’t. No one would say that we should not have movies because there are people who can’t see. Or that we should not have music some people are deaf. There are not concessions for these mediums other than perhaps closed captioning. Or TTY for phones.
I think it’s hard to know how to do accessibility in games. I do think that finding a way to have accessibility aids is a good step.My protest against simplifying boss attacks was never that it should just be hard for everyone, but how onerous it would be for From to do it. Now, however, it’s 2024. There is no excuse just to shrug and say, “That’s too hard” without even thinking about it. Although, honestly, I don’t think From cares one whit about itt. Yes, they made some concessions for the masses in Elden Ring, but that was more to make it friendlier for the masses than anything related to accessibility.
I’m not a developer. I don’t know how hard it would be to make the games accessible. But I am not pleased that From doesn’t even seem to be trying. I have said for years that I’m knocking on the ceiling of my ability with the games because they keep making them harder. Miyazaki has said that it’s not his intention to make games hard, per se, but I don’t buy that. It may not be the first priority, but it’s certainly in the top five. Otherwise, the games would not be so consistantly difficult.
I do buy that his first priarity is to make elaborate worlds tha elegantly loop back on themselves, but I refuse to accept that he doesn’t even think about difficulty when he plans the games.
So many people want a Sekiro sequel, but not me. I did not enjoy the first game, and I doubt I would be able to play another one–especially one that was more difficult than the first. Which it would be. This is not me being self-deprecating. This is me being realistic. And brutally honest. I really hope they don’t do a sequel to Sekiro, but I probably will at least give it a go if they do.