That’s a number that stands a testament to the potential of the PS5’s Game Help system, even as we wait to see whether or not more developers will ultimately choose to utilize that system over the long term. It’s also a number that could very well offer a somewhat unlikely solution to the debate over implementing an “Easy Mode” into Soulslike games. You’ve probably heard some variation of this debate before, but the basic argument sees one group of gamers suggest that Soulslike games should feature difficulty options designed to make the infamously difficult titles more accessible. Opposing them is a group of gamers who feel that the difficulty of those titles is an essential part of their design and that lowering the challenge would compromise the experience. Granted, those arguments typically devolve into the phrase “Git Gud” at some point, but that’s the general idea. The crux of the debate comes down to game design philosophy and the cultures it inspires. After all, developers can’t flip a switch and implement difficulty levels. The path of least resistance in that respect would likely involve altering certain parameters in lower difficulty modes so that enemies have less health or players deal more damage. A more complicated solution would involve fundamentally altering the design of easier modes to offer an experience that was built from the ground up with lower difficulty in mind. This is where the PS5’s Game Help system and Demon’s Souls‘ help videos could offer a fascinating compromise. However, Demon’s Souls isn’t the kind of game where a walkthrough or help video is going to immediately solve the problem for you. They could offer a little guidance for when you reach that point of frustration where you just don’t know how to proceed, but unlike puzzle heavy games that can be “solved” via a walkthrough, there’s still a divide in Demon’s Souls between knowing what to do and mechanically executing the solution. That’s what makes these videos so fascinating. They’re helpful aides that can be accessed while playing the game but exist outside of the foundational design elements of the Demon’s Souls remake. They exist if you want them, but they won’t affect the people who don’t and they require little effort from the developers compared with the task of designing multiple difficulty levels. Whether or not more developers will actually take advantage of this system remains to be seen, but it’s one of those examples of how next-gen gaming’s advancements extend beyond better graphics and could help us change how we think about the seemingly simple act of playing games.
