“I’m really bad at video games” – Elden Ring’s Hayao Miyazaki might make games difficult, but he had a hard time playing Shadow of the Erdtree before

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC may have just received some balance tweaks designed to make the game a little less difficult, but before that, director Hidetaka Miyazaki had been adamant that reducing the game’s difficulty wasn’t a desirable move. However, contrary to what you might expect, it sounds like the developer isn’t taking that stance, as he’s one of many highly skilled individuals who has completely mastered the art of taking on tough bosses.

In case you missed it, between stops to watch someone beat up a Messmer on a dance mat, the FromSoft community spent a lot of time arguing about whether Shadow of the Erdtree’s initial difficulty was a bit excessive. With both sides of the debate going on, it’s interesting that Miyazaki revealed that he’s very much in agreement with the general ER struggler camp.

In an interview with The Guardian, Miyazaki discussed his gaming habits, revealing: “Before any game is released, I play it as much as I can, but after it’s released, I tend not to touch it because I know I’ll either discover something I missed or find problems that bother me.”

That being said, the director made an exception and did a walkthrough of a basic version of the main Elden Ring storyline in preparation for Shadow of the Erdtree. How did the walkthrough go, you might ask?

Here’s how Miyazaki describes it: “I want to start by saying that I’m absolutely not good at video games, so my approach or play style is to use everything I can, all the help, every bit of help the game provides, and all the knowledge I have as a game designer,” he said. “The free and open-world nature of Elden Ring probably lowered the barrier to entry, and as a player I’m probably the one who benefits from that the most, more than anyone else.”

So, yes, Miyazaki believes very strongly in FromSoft’s philosophy of getting better through failure – a sentiment you can find in various ways on the motivational-themed memorabilia hanging around your elderly relative’s house – and he’s willing to live it out whenever he digs deep into his studio’s creations.

If you’re struggling to make your way through Shadows of Edtree and need some help completing it, be sure to check out our plethora of guides that should be able to help you no matter what you need help with.