A new mod for From Software’s praise from reviewers, but plenty of players and professional critics alike were also turned off by its extreme difficulty.
Sekiro’s release sparked the latest round of a long-running debate involving players, developers, and critics over difficulty in video games. Some argue that implementing easy modes would go against the creative vision of developers - particularly those like From Software, who are famed for their games’ unrelenting challenge. Others say that such a compromise would be worth it to allow more people to enjoy the game, noting that extreme difficulty can serve as an even greater impediment for people with God of War's Cory Barlog and Rami Ismail even weighed in to refute the idea that making games more accessible was a compromise in the first place.
The new mod, called Sekiro The Easy, certainly isn’t restrained by From Software’s intent, and it’s likely to help people who initially struggled with the game make a bit more progress. Just released last week, it’s currently climbing the charts at Nexus Mods. Sekiro The Easy makes a number of mostly statistical changes to lower the game’s difficulty, without affecting enemy behavior or placement or introducing new items. The biggest change is a buff to attack power and defense, which will help new players take down foes faster without falling quite as quickly themselves. It also removes the need to spend a limited currency called Spirit Emblems to use the game’s abilities and weapons, as well as removing fall damage, increasing buff durations, and nerfing a powerful status effect that could originally kill players outright.
Sekiro The Easy isn’t the only mod made to address Sekiro’s difficulty. Some offer wide-ranging balance changes to the entire game, while others fixate on single issues like Spirit Emblem costs or buff durations. There are even mods available to make the game harder, for players who really want to push themselves. The good thing about Sekiro The Easy is that it bundles a lot of changes into one mod, so players don’t have to search for mods that address each individual issue, which makes it ideal for new players who may not even understand what the more granular options do. It also doesn’t completely remove the game’s challenge, so players will still have to master Sekiro’s precise deflection system to survive.
It’s only been a few months since Sekiro launched, but From Software is already talking about its next game. That game, Elden Ring, doesn’t have a release date yet, but it will be interesting to see what lessons the developer takes from the uproar ignited by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Source: Nexus Mods
