PixlBit

 Dark Souls is my favourite game of all time, but to most journalists, it's nothing more than a masochistic masculinity test. "Oh, it's so difficult, aren't my balls so much more testicular than yours? I'm so good at gaming, look at me."

 Constantly in reviews I'm seeing "this is the hardest Dark Souls yet!" or "This game is too easy, this is a baby's souls for babies."

 But why the fuck do we care? Dark Souls has never been about difficulty, only it's marketing has. Dark Souls is difficult, sure, but it's far from the most difficult game ever, and anyone who thinks so hasn't played Battletoads. Or Super Meat Boy. Or Braid. Or Shadow Warrior (original). Or Blood. Or Doom 2. Or Quake (no seriously, fuck Quake 1). Or Abe's Oddyssey. Or Resident Evil 1. Or Super Mario Bros 3. Or Devil May Cry 3. Or Ninja Gaiden. Or Max Payne. Or Catherine. Or a Persona game. Or any fucking SMT game. Or Manhunt. Or Jak 2: Renegade. Or Contra Or X-Com. Or Skate 1/2. Or Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. Or a megaman. Or a Castlevania. Or a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.Or a ton of other classics these fuckers are supposed to have played that are MUCH MUCH harder.

 Dark Souls ain't that hard. It's challenging, sure, but I beat them. You can beat them. If you've played more than like 10 games in your life you can beat them. There are so many ways to make the game easier. You can summon for a boss fight to make them pushovers. You can use magic. You can snipe a boss from a mile away before it can even react. These aren't exploits, these are mechanics that are actively encouraged! If the focus was purely on difficulty, none of these things would be in there.

 

  Dark Souls is forgiving. When you die, all you lose are your Souls - which are important, sure, but you have one chance to get them back and even if you lose them it's not that hard to get them back. You keep your items, which are more important. You keep you progress outside enemies respawning (doors stay unlocked, bosses and minibosses stay dead, shortcuts remain). And you'll rarely be set back very far. 

 These games aren't about difficulty, and if you fucking paid attention you'd know that. The difficulty exists, but it's not the focus. It exists primarily to fuel it's atmosphere and world. These games are about mystery, beauty, dense atmosphere, exploration, and some of the best combat in video games. They're about depth, variety, and customisation. These are games where you can beat the game at level 1 with your fists or level 2000 with a sword that kills bosses in one hit - and every single fucking thing in between.

 Dark Souls isn't about difficulty. Saying it is undermines everything the series strives for. Go fuck yourself internet.