In of difficulty, Miyazaki has often stated that his games are designed to be tough but fair in an effort to make players feel accomplished when achieving something. However, the series has come under fire by a vocal minority for being too difficult and not providing players with an easier difficulty option. The choice to omit an “Easy” mode is clearly a deliberate one on Miyazaki’s part, although the Soulsborne games have begun incorporating more gameplay elements in order to at least give the player more options. By doing so, the Soulsborne series have created an environment where there is no “right” way to surmount a challenge–although some approaches are undoubtedly more viable than others.

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According to Famitsu, this idea is expanded upon for Elden Ring. In the interview (translated by theangryfurlong on Reddit), Miyazaki explains that there will be roughly 100 weapons in total, and each can have a skill assigned to it. “Also, completely separate from this,” he says, “it is possible to summon spirits. You can summon these to become allies and fight with you when in the correct place.” He goes on to explain that the spirits will essentially be ghostly versions of enemies the player has defeated; by defeating an enemy, their spirit can eventually be used in battle. As an example, an enemy with a shield can be deployed to protect a character from behind, or archers can be summoned to attack enemies from range. These spirits can also level up.

While using enemy skills is far from new to video games, it’s a first for From Software's Soulsborne games. The mechanic is most often seen in JRPGs, such as Gau’s “Rage” ability in Dark Souls 3 in of difficulty.