Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice came out a couple of weeks ago to the adoration of critics and fans. Sometime after the release, the players have started to ask the devs to lighten up a bit – unlike Dark Souls, you have no option to summon another player to assist you. However, FromSoftware’s uncompromising stance on the game’ sparked a debate around accessibility and difficulty. There are lots of discussions about the relation between the two concepts, often joined by well-known developers, like Cory Barlog.
Accessibility has never and will never be a compromise to my vision.
— Cory Barlog ? #BAFTAGames (@corybarlog) April 7, 2019
“Accessible features do not equal easy mode,” Barlog said. “Challenge, even extreme challenge, can co-exist with options to allow gamers different from you to play the same game with the same level of challenge.”
Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail addressed the same idea in response to Barlog, asking the question: “Who said accessibility needs to be ‘easy’?” Steve Spohn, COO of the AbleGamers charity, had participated in the discussion as well:
The only time the word easy keeps being mentioned is by people who don’t understand what accessibility is.
Easy is subjective.
What is easy for me, might not be easy for someone else. But with difficulty options, we can both enjoy an experience together
— Steve Spohn (@stevenspohn) April 9, 2019