The question of difficulty and accessibility has become a hotly contested debate all over again, thanks to the release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with its formidable and intimidating difficulty. A lot of people argue that video games should have accessibility and difficulty options to not outright exclude people from enjoying them—others argue that this would dilute the artist’s vision if they were forced to add such concessions.
However, at least one developer does not think so. Chipping in on the matter on Twitter, Cory Barlog, the director of God of War emphatically stated that accessibility will never be a “compromise” for his vision, firmly planting his flag in the camp of those who want to accommodate and include more players.
Barlog, of course, offered multiple difficulty options in God of War, as well as a plethora of customization options, so we have already seen him put his money where his mouth is. On the other hand, Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of Dark Souls and Sekiro, has stated how the aim of his games is to create a sense of challenge and accomplishment for his players—so it is two separate artistic visions here. I just understand why people might have issues with the more exclusionary one of those, that’s all.
Accessibility has never and will never be a compromise to my vision.
— golrab of the frost (@corybarlog) April 7, 2019
