Elden Ring Director Struggled Through The World He Created

Highlights

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is getting a calibration update to reduce difficulty.
Even Elden Ring’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, struggles with the game and uses all available assistance.
Miyazaki is open to an Elden Ring movie adaptation but believes it would require a strong partner for success.

For those who love a good old challenge, FromSoftware’s latest DLC into the Elden Ring fantasy world is proving to be a bit of a hurdle, even for the most hardened Tarnished. Thankfully, some good news is on the way that will see the notoriously difficult Shadow of the Erdtree become that bit “easier” in a calibration update that will reduce the level of difficulty by making players stronger.

It’s fair to say that the new update still won’t take away the fact that the DLC will still give players a good run for their money (and maybe even having to buy a new controller out of it), but the comforting news is that even Elden Ring’s director isn’t that great at the game and needs “all the assistance” and “every scrap of aid that the game offers” to get through it.

“It Didn’t Work Out And Didn’t Fit”: Elden Ring’s Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Was Meant To Be In The Base Game

Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki reiterated George R.R. Martin’s contribution to the base game also covered Shadow of the Erdtree’s story.

Don’t Worry, Even Hidetaka Miyazaki Finds Elden Ring Hard

Speaking to Keza MacDonald in an interview with The Guardian, Hidetaka Miyazaki talked about how much he enjoyed getting “hands-on” with Elden Ring before it was released, but as soon as it was completed, he had to keep away from jumping in again because he’d end up finding little things that he’d want to change but by that stage, it would be too late. “After the release, I tend to not want to touch it, because I know I’m going to either find things that I left on the table or issues that will bug me.” Miyazaki continues. “And once I become a player, I’m powerless to do anything significant to change it. So once a game is out in the wild, I tend to not play.”

Breaking his own rule a little, Miyazaki decided to hop into Elden Ring to play through its story once again in the lead-up to Shadow of the Erdtree, and for players who have been struggling with its difficulty process, Miyazaki is here to say that you aren’t alone as even he who created the world, finds it a grueling endeavor and needs every bit of help he can get to overcome its combat.

“I want to preface this by saying I absolutely suck at video games, so my approach or play style was to use everything I have at my disposal, all the assistance, every scrap of aid that the game offers, and also all the knowledge that I have as the architect of the game”. Miyazaki also touches upon an Elden Ring movie and how he wouldn’t say no to this possibility, but says that he can’t envision FromSoftware at the helm of an adaption, and would rather leave it up to those who have the industry smarts to make it really work.

“I don’t see any reason to deny another interpretation or adaptation of Elden Ring, a movie for example,” Miyazaki states. “But I don’t think myself, or FromSoftware, have the knowledge or ability to produce something in a different medium. So that’s where a very strong partner would come into play. We’d have to build a lot of trust and agreement on whatever it is we’re trying to achieve, but there’s interest, for sure.”

Even though Shadow of the Erdtree received a fairly mixed reception at launch due to its colossal difficulty spike, it still managed to grab the crown from the highest-rated DLC of all time, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine. In true sportsmanship behavior, CD Projekt dedicated a stunning art piece to FromSoft to congratulate them on their success, which included images of the team waiting to play the expansion.