Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki is not known for making wrong calls; over the years, he has made some very exceptional video games. From Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls to the most recent title, Elden Ring, he has made sure every person who plays this game finds it to be an unforgettable experience. And it appears he succeeded too; the game is without a doubt one of the most replayable games ever made.
Elden Ring is not the only game where he has assured such excellence. He has done this before with most, or almost every, one of his games. The best part is that DLCs for all of these titles have also remained an equally enjoyable experience. But Hidetaka Miyazaki himself suggests that one DLC remains a reason for regret for him.
Hidetaka Miyazaki is not very happy with how Dark Souls 3 DLC Ashes of Ariandel turned out
The Dark Souls series started with a blast, and ever since the first game was released back in 2011, it has amassed a massive fanbase. Those fans love every single aspect of these games: their gameplay, their story, the NPCs they meet, and the bosses they fight.
Many people also know that, due to some budget issues, the latter half of Dark Souls 1 feels incomplete or rushed. The proof is in fact in the pudding: copied enemies, unsatisfying bosses, lazily designed levels—everything is evidence of this.
While these things exist in Dark Souls, fans usually ignore them. They do so because they like playing that game so much. To make up for it, FromSoftware launched an incredible DLC for that game, Artorias of the Abyss. An incredible new DLC is full of interesting new characters and incredible new bosses to fight. And this is how DLCs became an important part of this franchise.
The Lost Crown for Dark Souls 2, The Old Hunters for Bloodborne, and Ashes of Ariandel and the Ringed City for Dark Souls 3. Every soulslike they released got a DLC. Even Elden Ring is set to release a DLC named Shadow of the Erdtree later this year.
After releasing some incredible additional content over the years, director Hidetaka Miyazaki still has some regrets over Ashes of Ariandel. One DLC that fans were quite disappointed with because of its size. It was small, had very few bosses, and did not have much to see once the bosses were defeated. He revealed his regret to Japanese video game magazine Famitsu.
“I think we were unable to convey the positioning and actual volume of the 1st DLC well, and the 1st DLC alone I think there were some areas where we didn’t give enough consideration to the volume of the game, or the sense of satisfaction of having done just one DLC.”
Ashes of Ariandel is a very small DLC indeed; for players who like to play at a normal speed, it lasts around 4 hours. That is not enough, without a doubt; over that, it only has two bosses to combat.
In contrast, the second DLC, The Ringed City, has around 4 bosses and a very big area for gamers to explore. That area has a number of weapons to find and a large number of secrets to uncover, and let’s not forget the story of that very special NPC called Patches that ends here.
They are all set to make up for it, though!
While Ashes of Ariandel ended up being a disappointment for gamers, FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki made up for it with the second DLC, The Ringed City. As mentioned above, they doubled the number of bosses in it and added a significant amount of new content to it too.
And now, years later, they are once again seemingly making up for it. They are doing that by giving fans a massive new DLC for Elden Ring. It is named Shadow of the Erdtree, and it is set in a new location in the Lands Between, which is the setting for Elden Ring.
They have once again added a bunch of new characters, a number of new bosses, and a massive new area that is reportedly much larger than any DLC they have ever worked on.
