A towering beast attacks you as you enter a cavernous room whose barely lit stone pavement reflects a sickly green hue. This beast can only be overcome through a rigorous series of precise dodges and parries. The cost of failure is significant. Returning to this place is a long journey, and one failure will result in a fierce backlash.
For many, this gameplay loop established in the 2009 video game Demon's Souls is engrossing. For others, it's infuriating.
Is this ferocious challenge an essential feature of the Soulslike genre, which grew out of these roots? Or does it make the game more approachable while still maintaining its inherent difficulty, allowing more people to try out the impossible at first? Is it possible to enable them to experience the satisfaction of overcoming what seemed like an encounter?
“The player experience is both accessible and rewarding,” said Morgan Baker, Game Accessibility Lead at developer and publisher Electronic Arts. “Difficulty is subjective; what is difficult for one person may be easy for another, and vice versa.”
Another Crab's Treasure, released this week for PC, Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, brings a sense of wonder. It's a faithful rendition of the Soulslike formula, but its colorful underwater landscapes are dissonant with the harsh nature of the genre. Nick Kaman, head of studio Aggro Crab, described the game as DarkBob SoulsPants.
Last year, a TikTok video by the studio gained widespread attention, showing that Another Crab's Treasure would give players the option of reducing the health of all enemies or increasing the timing of parrying attacks. The most shocking option is to equip the game's eponymous crab with a gun that can kill with one shot.
Some fans of FromSoftware's games argued that this god-like power threatened the sanctity of Soulslike because it was difficult to incorporate into DNA. Many people want to retain the visceral satisfaction of overcoming a difficult challenge and the badge of honor that comes with achieving it.
Kaman said Another Crab's Treasure presented the challenges players would expect from Soulslike. However, he believes that perceived difficulty should not be a barrier to entry, and that everyone experiences the enjoyment of the genre differently.
“Some people will beat the final boss on their first try. Some people will try it 100 times,” he said. “We have no authority over what their experience is.”
Agro Club knew early on that it was important to include accessibility options, as many people felt left out of traditional Soulslikes, Kaman said. Would you like to stand out on this occasion? ”
Accessibility reviewers who favor the genre say games like Another Crab's Treasure and Enotria: The Last Song are solid examples of how to make Soulslikes more accessible without diluting their appeal. said Laura Kate Dale of the home.
Another Crab's Treasure also allows players to increase their own resistance to attacks, prevent loss of items upon death, and even fall from heights without taking damage. This is an accessibility option that some players have requested for years.
“This really helps players avoid situations where they get stuck on a single insurmountable obstacle and have no choice but to fail over and over again,” she said.
Scheduled for release in August by Jyamma Games, Enotria: The Last Song incorporates the warm tones of northern Italy without sacrificing Soulslike's core difficulty curve. This visual style is approachable even for those who are put off by the monochromatic worlds of most Soulslikes, and alleviates many of the visual accessibility issues associated with a more limited palette.
Giacomo Greco, CEO of Jumma, said he hopes the game's accessibility considerations will bring a broader player base into a gaming world plagued by endless play.
“Broadening the audience not only allows more people to enjoy this experience, but also helps the genre itself evolve and develop,” Greco said. “Having access to different perspectives is essential.”
Edoardo Basile, the studio's business development manager, said Giamma was intentional to “give players more tools to adapt their approach based on their preferred playstyle.”
FromSoftware continues to solidify its approach to the genre, facilitating a variety of Soulslikes play styles with a diverse range of equipment. The studio did not respond to requests for comment through Bandai Namco, which publishes many Souls-like games.
Much of the innovation is driven by independent studios looking to stand out from the competition, but some big-budget games that incorporate Soulslike mechanics, such as dodges that make players invincible for a short period of time, are We are expanding our approach.
Developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor offers ways to slow down combat to a more manageable pace and increase parry windows, as well as numerous cognitive and visual accessibility options. Masu.
“Accessibility aims to create an equal experience for all players, while approachability is related to the game's difficulty,” said Jordan DeVries, the game's lead user interface and user experience designer. I am. “For example, a player can set custom his/her game controls (accessibility), but must use those controls to defeat the game's boss (familiarity).”
At the end of the day, these additions have little impact on the core experience of Soulslike games. You can leave accessibility settings off as easily as you can turn them on. But it changes its relationship with the genre, where players are lucky to be able to simply pause the game.
In particular, another Crab's Treasure aims to expand the enjoyment of the Soulslike genre by reminding us that games are designed to be enjoyed, and that everyone enjoys it differently.
“I'm here to have fun,” Kaman said, adding, “If that means shooting crabs with a Glock, why not rip it up?”
