Miyazaki Stated FromSoftware Needs To Better Guide Its Players; I Couldn’t Agree More

During a recent interview, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki talked about how despite Elden Ring’s success, it’s still not the “perfect RPG” in his eyes. One of the major reasons behind why is that the game lacks proper directions and guidance given to players. Because of this, Miyazaki mentioned that he doesn’t fault players who might need to rely on walkthroughs or online assistance to get by.

Despite the many things Elden Ring does right, this is one aspect of the game that I also feel needs to be addressed in a much better way. So it’s great to see Miyazaki himself come out and say it. Currently, Elden Ring, and all Souls games, struggle with guiding players in an appropriate direction. While discovering things for yourself can be fun, in some cases it can be painfully tiring too. Here’s why.

Questing In An Open World 

Questlines in Souls games are notorious for how difficult and convoluted they can be to complete. Players are often tasked to interact with NPCs in a very specific and linear order. In some cases, killing certain bosses or progressing to a specific part of the game before completing a particular NPC interaction can outright brick a quest line. 

Unpopular Opinion: The quest system in Elden Ring sucks
byu/Murrdox inEldenring

This problem is further compounded in Elden Ring, thanks to its open world. It doesn’t help that sometimes you have characters standing in the middle of nowhere in the game’s vast open spaces. Because of this, it’s not uncommon for players to simply not come across certain NPCs, missing out on their quest lines entirely. The only way to ensure you thoroughly complete every part of the quest is to hop onto the online wiki.

It doesn’t have to be like this though. FromSoftware, for any of its upcoming titles, should consider opting for a more involved questing system. Maybe even opting for a traditional quest log, or at least a journal that covers the last known positions of important characters and where they might show up next. While Souls games are known for their simplicity, adding a bit more knowledge can help alleviate issues with poor guidance.

The Thrill Of Discovery Can Only Go So Far

There’s no denying that by taking a more hands-on approach to player guidance, the game will have to forsake some of that thrill of discovery Souls games are known for. Completing a quest naturally, or stumbling upon a secret that you know the developers placed specially for someone to find it can be great. But it’s worth noting that finding the right balance is the key.

In Elden Ring’s case, it’s become the norm for players to rely on online guides to be able to get anywhere with the game’s convoluted quests. Anyone deciding to go out and do these on their own is bound to meet tons of frustrations as the game does a poor job on its own relaying details on where to go next and what to do. In some cases, this problem isn’t limited just to quests either.

While some form of guidance in terms of player progression is provided, for anyone who’s completely new to Souls games, finding out where you need to go, and how you need to level up effectively can be a challenge. Most players have been playing these games for so long that stuff like this might be second nature at this point. But there’s no denying that there are tons of new players who try out these titles too. And they could use the help.

This Will Help To Make Souls Titles More Approachable

Even with its faults, Elden Ring is easily the most accessible FromSoftware title. For players who might not be familiar with Souls games, there are tons of ways to help alleviate the problems in combat. From spirit summons, to easier builds, it hardly feels like you’re stuck in a specific spot with nowhere to go. But that’s just combat, in terms of progression and questing, there are still some changes that need to be made.

And so, by offering better guidance to players across the board, FromSoftware can definitely make its future titles more approachable for all kinds of players. This definitely seems to be one of the company’s long-running goals. So I can see Miyazaki and the rest of the team investing in this a lot more. He’s already mentioned he’s working on another RPG, so it’s possible the company could outdo even Elden Ring.