“There are too many soulslikes every year,” remarked the CEO behind this action RPG. With 96% positive ratings on Steam, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is deliberately easier than its predecessor. This is no accident—it’s a conscious choice made by its developers.

If you think about which genre has dominated gaming in recent years, soulslike will likely come to mind. Ever since the massive success of Dark Souls, countless titles have adopted its mechanics, sometimes diluting or reshaping them to appeal to a broader audience. This trend led the creators of Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist—the follow-up to the 2021 hit Ender Lilies—to lower the game’s difficulty. As Hiroyuki Kobayashi, CEO of Binary Haze Interactive, explained, “there are too many soulslikes in a year.”

In an interview with Famitsu, Kobayashi revealed that the decision stemmed from internal reflection and team discussions. During the development of Ender Lilies, the team drew inspiration from FromSoftware, aiming to craft a game that was both challenging and accessible.

Kobayashi explained that Ender Lilies was designed to be an entry point into the metroidvania genre, offering balanced difficulty, stunning 2D visuals, and smooth movement mechanics. The goal was to blend metroidvania elements with the signature challenge of soulslikes, creating a hybrid that many have tried to replicate.

A programmer’s bold suggestion changed the course

While developing Ender Magnolia, internal debates arose about difficulty. Kobayashi initially wanted to maintain or even increase the challenge to cater to veteran players. However, a programmer on the team voiced a different opinion: “Why does everything have to be a soulslike? Gamers only need one soulslike a year, and that should be from FromSoftware.” This perspective led Kobayashi to reconsider.

Player feedback during Ender Magnolia’s Early Access phase played a crucial role. Kobayashi noted that opinions were divided—some praised the lowered difficulty, while others missed the intense challenges of Ender Lilies. In response, the team introduced multiple difficulty settings, allowing players to customize their experience. However, they deliberately reduced the difficulty in the game’s core to “avoid flooding the market with yet another soulslike.”

A triumphant reception

So, did it work? It seems so. Released on January 23, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist has been thriving on Steam. While 96% of positive ratings were garnered during Early Access, the post-launch reviews have been equally glowing. Moreover, the game shattered its previous record for concurrent players, with numbers spiking tenfold from April 2024, reaching 13,676 simultaneous users.

Source: 3djuegos