It’s intriguing to note that even after all these years, Lies of P remains my favorite Soulslike game, in my opinion, and The First Berserker: Khazan is one of the top Soulslikes I’ve played this year. Therefore, it was surprising when both games sparked discussions about the conventional easy mode within a short time span.
Initially, the game “Lies of P” made several bosses less challenging shortly after its release. Now, the developers have added an easier play mode for this game. Furthermore, they are also preparing to soften certain difficult parts in the upcoming DLC, named “Overture.
Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creative mind behind FromSoftware and the mastermind of Elden Ring, who is often referred to as the Souls series’ own ‘Father’, has previously suggested that games like Elden Ring need to be challenging in order to accurately portray their intended vision and player experience. “If we wanted everyone in the world to play the game, we could simply make it less difficult,” he stated.
I believe Miyazaki is spot on with his perspective. If the developers’ vision is firm, they should certainly uphold it. However, the FromSoftware approach isn’t the singular method for creating and balancing games like this, and it’s evident that the creators of Lies of P – a game that leans more towards the Sekiro style with its challenging playstyle – opted to make the game more accessible. And they’re not alone in doing so.
On June 11th, the creative director of The First Berserker: Khazan, Junho Lee, shared an update with the game’s community. This upcoming release will include popular gear and inventory enhancements for user convenience, tutorial improvements have been made, and adjustments to the balance will ensure a variety of play styles, preventing the overuse of the spear’s “Trance spam” build from becoming overwhelming.
The main highlight, however, revolved around enhancements for the “Challenge System Adjustments.” Instead of reducing their power, these are enhancements. Let’s delve deeper into that later. Here’s a rundown of all the modifications:
1. Difficulty System Improvements
2. Challenge System Adjustments
3. Enhancements for the Hard Mode
4. Updates to the Expert Setting
5. Tweaks for the Casual Mode
6. Modifications to the Intermediate Level
7. Any other related changes to the game’s difficulty settings.
- Current “Easy” difficulty renamed to “Normal”
- Current “Normal” difficulty renamed to “Challenge”
- New difficulty below Easy, “Beginner,” added
- New difficulty above Challenge, “Hardcore,” unlocked by beating the game on Challenge
Initially, I played The First Berserker: Khazan on what was previously the hardest mode, as it was the only challenging option available. However, now there are four different modes to select from, effectively doubling the difficulty range. This expansion provides players with a wider variety of choices when deciding their preferred level of challenge.
Beyond that, the game will offer a challenging mode called Hardcore, which conceals enemy health and stamina meters, disables features like AI summons, and removes your useful Phantom Form. Additionally, it introduces balance settings and a distinct camera lock-on view. In essence, this mode is designed to be tough and raw, with the developers planning to temporarily remove the demo for improvements as the gameplay between the demo version and the complete game has evolved noticeably differently.
Instead of potentially conflicting with its original design, it seems that the modifications made to Lies of P and Khazan are geared towards allowing a variety of players to tailor their own ideal gaming experience. Neither approach, be it the FromSoftware approach or this adaptive one, is incorrect in my opinion. I appreciate both styles of gameplay.
The level of difficulty is subjective; playing in the ‘Challenge’ mode in Khazan might offer me an equivalent challenge that the ‘Easy’ setting would present to someone with less experience. In the end, we’re both struggling just as much. For those who care about their gaming reputation, you can always claim ‘I conquered it on Challenge’… if you really feel the need to boast about it.
In other words, while the ‘play it for the story’ argument might apply to some extent with Lies of P, it seems less significant here since I was primarily drawn to its combat and music. However, approaching The First Berserker: Khazan solely for its story would be akin to going to an upscale restaurant and requesting their best dishwater instead.
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2025-06-14 00:10