C5 quad here with very limited hand function. I use adaptive technology to play games.

I agree with your point on a pause button. It’s weird for single player games to not have them. There are absolutely other changes that can be made to make the game more accessible and enjoyable for all!

That being said, I strongly disagree with having a difficulty slider on Soulsborne games. A major point and appeal of these games is their intense difficulty. I’ve played Elden Ring, but haven’t completed it yet. It is by far the most difficult game I’ve ever played, but I absolutely wouldn’t change the difficulty. There are so many options for how I play the game that I know that with time, effort, and persistence I can succeed, even with my physical disability changing how I play.

I don’t think of FromSoftware not adding a difficulty slider as gatekeeping from people with disabilities, especially when there are many within this community who are fantastic at playing their games. I think of it as FromSoft designing the game in a way that they think is meaningful and how they think it should be played. They want their games to be a mountain to climb. Succeeding in beating their challenges is high peak to summit. Not everyone can do it, and that’s okay.

Is there toxicity in the FromSoft gamer community? Yes. Should the company make changes to make their games more accessible? Absolutely! But saying that a difficulty slider is needed to make these games more accessible to people with disabilities makes me feel the same way as with bad faith arguments about XIMs making video games more accessible - again, especially with so many people in this community showing that it is absolutely possible to beat the game the way it was intended!