Returnal Director Discusses Difficulty and Accessibility, Says it’s Always Hard to “Find That Sweet Spot”

Game director Harry Krueger opens up about the importance of accessibility in game design and the lack of difficulty options in Returnal.

Posted By | On 19th, Apr. 2022

Returnal_03

In a recent interview with Kinda Funny (which you can check out below), Returnal game director Harry Krueger talked about the importance of accessibility in game design. During the interview, he also clarified his stance on the lack of difficulty options in the studio’s latest release.

When asked about Returnal‘s unforgiving difficulty, Krueger started by saying that it’s always going to be a hard time finding the perfect balance between a tightly-designed experience and one that accounts for players of all skill levels and abilities. He says that there are never enough options when it comes to allowing more people to be able to experience the game.

“That’s definitely always going to be an interesting challenge to find that sweet spot,” he said (transcribed by VGC).

“I think we can always do more and could always add more support for different ways to play the game and different control methods. I think when it comes to the difficulty I think it is a question of what kind of experience you are having with Returnal.”

Additionally, he also talked about how Returnal‘s difficulty is part of its narrative structure, and allowing a player to easily power through the game would not only lessen immersion with the story but also create ludonarrative dissonance.

“It feels like if you were allowed to just power through a boss without any challenge, or just go from A to B to C through the narrative points, it almost feels like it would create a bit of dissonance,” he said.

“The game is telling you this is really challenging, and that you’re overcoming these obstacles but you wouldn’t have had to experience that friction. So that’s always a line to walk, but it’s something we’re going to keep in mind.”

Despite the lack of difficulty options, Returnal has earned high praise from both critics and fans. Housemarque has also added support for co-op and a new endless roguelike mode by the name of Tower of Sisyphus in its latest update- read more on that through here.


Tagged With: , , ,

Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Final Fantasy 16 PC Review – The Flames Burn Hot

Final Fantasy 16 PC Review – The Flames Burn Hot

Check out our review to see how well Final Fantasy 16 has made the jump from the PS5 to PC.

Sonic Central Announced, Offers Sneak Peek at “Upcoming Projects” on September 24th

Sonic Central Announced, Offers Sneak Peek at “Upcoming Projects” on September 24th

Sega will outline plans for Sonic the Hedgehog through 2025, including new events and partnerships, tomorrow a...

God of War Ragnarok PC Review – Fimbulwinter Comes

God of War Ragnarok PC Review – Fimbulwinter Comes

Check out our review to see if Sony can continue its streak of excellent PC ports of PlayStation Studios games...

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Has Over 100 Echoes

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Has Over 100 Echoes

"We made a conscious effort to clearly define the functions of each echo so that players understand how and wh...

Satisfactory Review – Factory Settings

Satisfactory Review – Factory Settings

After years in early access, Coffee Stain Studios' latest title establishes itself as one of the best factory-...

Enotria: The Last Song Review – A Decent Soulslike Brimming with Character

Enotria: The Last Song Review – A Decent Soulslike Brimming with Character

Enotria takes the Soulslike formula and adds a deep class system to it. The game's rich Italian setting is won...