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Soulslike games are demanding for beginners, but “difficult” does not mean impossible or off-limits. They are built around observing enemies, learning from failed attempts and gradually changing your approach. Your experience depends heavily on the individual game: ELDEN RING lets you explore elsewhere, improve your character and call for help, while a more linear Soulslike may give you fewer ways around a difficult encounter.
What makes a Soulslike feel difficult?
The defining challenge is usually a learning loop rather than a high setting you can simply turn down. Enemies have recognizable attacks, timings and positioning rules. Your first encounter may be about discovering those rules; a later attempt uses that information to avoid a mistake, create an opening and survive longer.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version) | $34.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Elden Ring, 1 PS5-Blu-ray Disc | $74.25 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5 | $43.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS5) | $40.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Elden Ring - PlayStation 5 | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The official DARK SOULS page describes the expectation directly: players “must learn from death to persist through this unforgiving world.” In a PlayStation.Blog interview about ELDEN RING, director Hidetaka Miyazaki similarly said, “We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorize what’s happening, and learn from their mistakes.” Those statements describe the design philosophy, not a promise that every player will find repeated failure enjoyable.
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A first attempt at a boss can reveal which attack reaches behind you, whether a delayed swing catches an early dodge, or how long you have to heal. Treating that attempt as reconnaissance removes some pressure. You may still lose progress or feel frustrated, but the loss has a practical purpose if it tells you what to change.
#1 Best Overall
- Collaborating with George R.R. Martin to create the ELDEN RING mythos has been a genuinely delightful experience and a source of wonderful inspiration. The team is working hard to ensure that the world of ELDEN RING will be a fascinating place for players to explore, filled with peril and wonder from its furthest reaches to its lowest depths. This is a FromSoftware title through and through, rich in fantasy and RPG action. We sincerely hope you look forward to it.
- Building the world of ELDEN RING with Miyazaki-san and his team was a treat! The graphics, mythos, and action-RPG gameplay will deliver an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait for people to see what ELDEN RING has in store for them.” Said George R.R. Martin.
There is no single “Soulslike difficulty”
“Soulslike” covers games with very different structures. Some are open-ended and let you leave a dangerous area; others are more linear and make you repeat a route to reach a boss. Checkpoints, enemy respawns, summoning systems, ranged options, stealth and upgrade systems vary by title. No genre-wide statistic establishes how many attempts a beginner normally needs, so reputation alone cannot tell you whether a particular game fits.
Can a complete beginner enjoy ELDEN RING?
ELDEN RING is a plausible starting point if you like exploration and want several ways to respond to a hard fight. It has no conventional difficulty menu, but its open world lets you change the circumstances instead of repeatedly attacking the same obstacle at the same strength.
Leave a boss and return later
Bandai Namco’s gameplay overview explains that the Lands Between contains areas with different dangers and encourages players to explore other regions or come back to a difficult boss later: ELDEN RING gameplay overview. A wall in front of you is therefore a decision point, not necessarily a mandatory stop. You can investigate another route, find equipment, gain levels and return when the fight makes more sense.
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The game provides Spirit Ashes, player summons, equipment choices and different character builds. Stealth, ranged attacks and a slower defensive style can change how much close-range timing you need. These are intended parts of the game, not evidence that you have failed a purity test. Miyazaki told PlayStation that he wants new players to feel “unpressured” and to approach the game at their own pace; the complete interview is at PlayStation.Blog.
Rank #3
- Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5
What the game does not provide
You cannot select an easy, normal or hard mode from a conventional difficulty screen. The adjustment comes from your route, upgrades, equipment and assistance. That flexibility helps many newcomers, but it does not remove the need to learn enemy behavior or accept some unsuccessful attempts.
How does the original DARK SOULS structure compare?
The official DARK SOULS page presents a more checkpoint-focused loop. Bonfires act as checkpoints and restore health and magic, but resting also brings defeated enemies back. You must decide whether to spend resources, push farther or return to a bonfire before attempting the route again. The page also describes cooperative play, so help from another player is part of the intended experience.
Compared with ELDEN RING, this structure can feel less forgiving when a long route separates a checkpoint from a boss. That does not make it objectively harder for every person: some players prefer a compact world with a clear route and a smaller set of systems to manage. The important difference is that the official descriptions establish different support structures; they do not provide a universal ranking of which game beginners will find easiest.
Beginner-focused comparison
| Question a beginner should ask | ELDEN RING | DARK SOULS |
|---|---|---|
| Can you leave a difficult obstacle? | Yes. The open world has areas with different dangers, and Bandai Namco recommends exploring elsewhere or returning later. Source | The official page presents a more connected, checkpoint-driven journey; a comparable open-world option to leave a boss is not stated. Source |
| What happens at a checkpoint? | The cited gameplay overview emphasizes exploration and progression tools rather than a single bonfire rule; exact checkpoint behavior is not stated there. | Bonfires restore health and magic, and enemies respawn after you rest. Source |
| Can you summon help? | Spirit Ashes and player summons are among the options described by Bandai Namco’s comparison of the Souls series. Source | The official page describes co-op play. Source |
| Can you change your approach? | Exploration, upgrades, equipment, builds, stealth, ranged attacks and summons let you alter the situation, although there is no conventional difficulty menu. Source | The cited official page confirms the learning-and-checkpoint loop; a complete list of combat approaches is not stated. |
| Is there an explicit difficulty setting? | No conventional difficulty settings, according to Bandai Namco Europe. Source | The cited official page does not state a difficulty-menu policy. |
What should you do on your first ten hours?
Use this process in any Soulslike, adapting the details to the game you chose:
- Observe before attacking. Watch an enemy’s stance, range and recovery animation. Do not assume that a large wind-up is safe to punish; delayed attacks are often designed to catch an early dodge.
- Make the first attempt a lesson. Identify one attack you can reliably avoid and one moment when the enemy is vulnerable. A short, controlled attempt is more useful than spending all your resources on frantic hits.
- Change one variable at a time. If you keep taking damage, try a different distance, shield, weapon, armor setup or attack pattern before changing everything. This makes the cause of improvement easier to recognize.
- Secure progress before experimenting. Use the game’s checkpoint system when available. In DARK SOULS, remember that resting at a bonfire restores health and magic but respawns enemies.
- Explore when the fight is a wall. In ELDEN RING, follow Bandai Namco’s advice and investigate another area instead of treating one boss as a required first victory.
- Upgrade deliberately. Spend resources on a weapon or character direction you understand. More power will not replace learning, but it can reduce the number of perfectly executed attacks required.
- Ask for help when the game offers it. Spirit Ashes, player summons and co-op are valid systems. Using them can let you see a boss’s patterns while reducing the pressure of handling every attack alone.
- Stop before frustration removes your judgment. A short break is part of a practical learning strategy. Returning calm is more useful than repeating the same mistake while angry.
How to choose your first Soulslike
Choose ELDEN RING if you want room to roam
The case for ELDEN RING is flexibility, not a proven “easiest game” ranking. Choose it if you enjoy exploring, collecting equipment and deciding when to revisit a challenge. Its systems let you adjust the situation through route choice, upgrades, Spirit Ashes, summons and varied builds. The official PlayStation listing confirms versions for PS4 and PS5 at PlayStation; check the current edition and platform compatibility before buying.
Choose a more linear game if you prefer a clear route
A linear Soulslike can be a better fit if open-world choice feels overwhelming. You may have fewer ways to bypass a boss, but you also have fewer regions, systems and optional tasks competing for attention. Check the specific game’s checkpoint spacing, co-op rules and build options rather than assuming that every title follows DARK SOULS or ELDEN RING.
Use support features as your selection criteria
Before committing, look for five concrete answers: Can you leave a difficult encounter? How far is the next checkpoint? Are NPC or player summons available? Can you use ranged, stealth or equipment-based approaches? Is there an explicit difficulty setting? The answers predict your experience better than a label such as “hardcore.”
How much time should a beginner plan for?
Bandai Namco describes fully exploring the Lands Between as a “100+ hour experience.” That is a publisher estimate for choosing to explore the game fully, not a typical completion-time statistic and not a promise about how long your own playthrough will take. You can spend far less time if you follow a narrower path, or substantially more if you investigate optional areas, experiment with builds and replay encounters. The estimate is recorded by Bandai Namco Entertainment America; the publication date is not shown on the inspected page (accessed 2026).
Best Value
- ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware Inc. and produced by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG and FromSoftware's largest game to date, set within a world full of mystery and peril
- Journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential DARK SOULS video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
- Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, and foreboding castles
- Create your character in FromSoftware’s refi ned action-RPG and defi ne your playstyle by experimenting with a wide variety of weapons, magical abilities, and skills found throughout the world
- Charge into battle, pick off enemies one-by-one using stealth, or even call upon allies for aid - many options are at your disposal as you decide how to approach exploration and combat
Common beginner problems and practical responses
“I die before I understand what happened.”
Slow the encounter down. Stay outside the enemy’s range until you identify a complete attack sequence, then practice one response. If several enemies are involved, separate them with positioning rather than trying to trade hits with a group.
“I keep losing to the same boss.”
Change the objective from winning to collecting information. Note which attacks are safe to punish, whether your healing attempt is being interrupted and whether your current equipment encourages you to stand too close. In ELDEN RING, leave, explore, upgrade or summon help and return later.
“Using summons feels like cheating.”
Summoning is a designed option, not an unofficial exploit. Miyazaki’s stated goal is to let new players approach the game at their own pace, and Bandai Namco lists Spirit Ashes and player summons among ELDEN RING’s ways to approach difficulty. You can always attempt a later playthrough without assistance if that challenge is what you want.
“The game feels unfair rather than challenging.”
Some frustration is a normal part of the design, but persistent problems may indicate a poor fit. If you dislike repeating routes, memorizing attack patterns or losing after a long attempt, choose a game with more forgiving checkpoints or a different genre. No article can guarantee that every beginner will enjoy this loop.
Bottom line for a first-time player
Soulslike games ask you to learn through attempts, so expect an initial period in which progress is measured by understanding rather than victories. They are not automatically too difficult for beginners, but the fit depends on how much repetition you tolerate and how many support tools the game supplies. ELDEN RING is a sensible example for newcomers who want exploration, optional routes and multiple forms of assistance; a more linear Soulslike may demand a stricter checkpoint-and-retry routine. Start with the game whose pace and support match your preferences, then treat every failed attempt as a choice about what to observe or change next.
Quick Recap
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