gaming How hard are the Soulsborne games?

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

 

For those who don't know, Soulsborne is a term for the Dark Souls games, Demon's Souls, and Bloodborne. 

Are the Soulsborne games really hard, or do games today hold your hand so much that they just seem really hard by comparison?

Now, don't misunderstand. I'm not saying the games are easy, but I do think their difficulty is overstated. Once you learn a boss's patterns, they're not THAT hard.

What do you think?

[The Recherche 29,965]

I think it's just a matter of how video games are designed nowadays, so Soulsborne just stands out more. Generally, video games nowadays are relatively forgiving, and don't punish you for mistakes that much. Soulsborne is a very stark contrast to this; Soulsborne not only requires you to know how enemies and bosses move, but it also requires that you don't make too many mistakes or be impatient, otherwise it can cost you battles.

For example, not too long ago, I defeated the Vordt of the Boreal Valley in Dark Souls 3. He was probably one of the easier bosses in the game, but I still managed to lose quite a few times. How? Even though his attack patterns may have been predictable, he still did a shitload of damage if he managed to hit you, and could also cause frostbite; the challenge factor comes from not getting hit too many times, I;E, not making too many mistakes. Like I said before; Soulsborne doesn't take too kindly to screw-ups, so you're effectively on edge for the entire battle.

That's just how I feel about it anyway; Soulsborne may not be the most difficult set of games out there, but they do contrast greatly from the majority of mainstream video games.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

No; the games are hard, but that's not a bad thing. There's a difference between a challenging hard, and a frustrating hard. One doesn't hold your hand and encourages you to try again, learn, and eventually succeed. Of course you may feel like breaking your controller, but if you keep at it you CAN eventually beat the obstacle.

 The other difficulty is pure BS; which is hard for the sake of being hard. This is something that I've heard Dark Souls II is guilty of from time to time, but there yah go. I don't think the difficulty is overstated as it's there to challenge you and better yourself.

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,627]

There's nothing hard about them, really. The bosses and enemies may hit like a truck, but they're not that difficult.
It's just a matter of memorizing their patterns, knowing when to dodge, and knowing when to strike. Anyone can beat them, with enough persistence.
Which isn't hard with the solid controls and addicting gameplay.

Don't get me wrong, you will lose a lot, but since there's really no ultimate penalty for dying, there's no reason to call it impossible and quit.


Keep in mind, I define difficult as something that's not only hard to beat, but hard to play. Thus making you want to give up, never beating it. *cough* *cough* Superman 64.

[ultrairongorilla 2,064]

2 hours ago, PathfinderCS said:

 The other difficulty is pure BS; which is hard for the sake of being hard. This is something that I've heard Dark Souls II is guilty of from time to time, but there yah go. I don't think the difficulty is overstated as it's there to challenge you and better yourself.

Dark Souls II is extremely difficult because of how the health bar is handled. Every time you die, your maximum health bar decreases more and more, until you use a Human Effigy to fix it. The combat is a bit floaty, and some of the levels are a bit hard to navigate through. 

I still find Bloodborne to be the most difficult Soulsborne game (especially the Old Hunters DLC), as it relies more on getting up close with enemies, and the game doesn't have a shield system.

Edited March 10, 2018 by ultrairongorilla