A game developer can have massive blind spots about their game, feedback can elevate the artist’s vision if responded to critically.

Are tedium and difficulty the same thing?

Difficulty and fun are orthogonal, one doesn’t exclude the other. Look at something like Celeste, it gets brutally difficult in farewell but never feels unfair.

A difficult game should motivate the player to get better, and that can happen while still remaining a fun experience. Nine Sols has a difficult combat system, but the combat feels fluid and fast-paced. Learning how to parry an enemy’s attacks and get in counter hits feels amazing, also you get lots of meaningful upgrades and rewards from everywhere.

Meanwhile in silksong you have a character with insane horizontal movement, then you repeatedly get pushed through narrow vertical platforming sections with flying enemies above, spikes on the sides. Killing a bell guy by agonizingly hitting them 1 hit at a time before they dash away out of reach again is not a fun combat paradigm and doesn’t create the power fantasy Hollow Knight excelled at.

The boss fights and >!Mt.Fay!< are fantastic but exploring the map just feels frustrating, especially when 90% of zones don’t drop any rosaries.