PlayStation could be looking to make certain sections of games easier for players by allowing a friend or other user to complete it for them. Difficulty in gaming is often a hotly debated topic, with some believing that every game should have easy and hard modes to allow for greater accessibility. Others argue that each game should have its own level of difficulty and to force an easy mode into a title will degrade its quality. Fans of FromSoftware games such as Dark Souls and Elden Ring have been involved in debates over difficulty for nearly a decade with no sign of stopping.
While the discussion around gaming difficulty will continue for as long as there are titles that some believe are too easy or too hard, many feel that lessening the challenge somewhat can bring about greater accessibility. This is something that PlayStation has been focusing on a lot lately, with both God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us Part 1 showcasing acessibility features in trailers.
It seems that Sony is working on another way to make PlayStation games potentially less difficult and more accessible, as shown in a new patent application filed by the company. This patent would allow one user to request help from another, which would let that second gamer jump in at a specific point in a game. Certain snapshots will be created, similar to checkpoints, that designate specific moments when the secondary user can enter another's game.
This new patent is being described by Sony as a form of "gaming interaction," and while it would be interesting to see a gamer be able to summon a friend or stranger to help them out on a quest, this has been done before. Summoning is a key part of Elden Ring's gameplay, for example, as players can utilize both other players and the AI Spirit Ashes against certain bosses and in tough areas. Summoning other players has been an element in the Dark Souls trilogy as well. But to see this mechanic appear in more games, especially in the method that Sony is attempting, would be intriguing.
It isn't made clear whether the ability to have another player help out in a tough section of a game would remove the original player from that area or allow for a co-op style of play, but in either case, this would certainly allow for a lessening of the difficulty of a title. Alongside this Sony patent, something else that could increase accessibility for gamers is a system for new communications through haptic feedback in the DualSense controllers, which would even allow for simple messages to be sent to a user.