In the 2010s, Western games trended toward open-world "checklist" design. Japan pivoted. , led by Hidetaka Miyazaki, created the "Soulsborne" genre ( Dark Souls , Elden Ring ). It rejected hand-holding, embraced obscure lore, and punished the player. Ironically, this "unfriendly" design became a global phenomenon, spawning a new subgenre of difficulty-based gaming.
What makes Japanese entertainment unique is its "Galapagos-style" evolution. Because Japan has a massive domestic market, its culture often develops in isolation, creating distinct aesthetics that the rest of the world eventually finds fascinating.