Why I Just Can't Get Into Souls Games - Life Already Tests Me Enough

July 30, 2026 - 09:01

I am taking the opportunity this week to get something off my chest, something I haven't been able or willing to share so publicly before. I hate Souls games. All of them. Even the ones that don't have Souls in their name, because they still count.

It's not that I don't appreciate what these games do. I understand the appeal of brutal difficulty, of learning enemy patterns through repeated death, of that triumphant feeling when you finally beat a boss who has killed you thirty times. I get it. Really, I do. But here's the thing: life already tests me enough.

I have a job that demands patience. I have bills that require careful management. I have relationships that need nurturing. By the time I sit down to play a video game, the last thing I want is another challenge. I want to feel powerful. I want to progress without having to memorize attack animations. I want to explore a world without worrying that a random skeleton is going to knock me off a cliff and send me back to the last bonfire.

Every time I try one of these games, I end up feeling like I'm failing at something that is supposed to be fun. And that's the core problem. Games are supposed to be fun. For some people, dying over and over is fun. For me, it's just a reminder that I have limited free time and I'm spending it respawning.

So no, I don't think I'm missing out. I think I'm saving myself a lot of frustration. Let the hardcore fans have their punishing worlds. I'll be over here playing something that doesn't make me question my life choices.