Difficulty options aren't there to offer different experiences with a game, they're there to offer the same experience to players of different skill levels. People who are better at Dark Souls are playing it and its clones at a reduced difficulty compared to people who are worse at it.

Kojima:

We added Very Easy Mode

Also Kojima:

Get good or wear the chicken hat

I like the video games with a difficulty selector having a joke difficulty

Souls ganes has easy modes. Usually there’s an OP build or archetype which makes the game much easier

You know, the darksouls creator's quote pisses me off. Not because of his opinion, but because the extreme soulslike fanatics will yell, kick, and scream about how difficulty sliders are the devil and how the game itself has its own way of making it easier for you but if you don't play the game with their specific build, your play through doesn't count.

EDIT: had an extra "their" for some reason

I think Terraria has a really good approach to this.

Your first playthrough is on "normal" mode. Boss fights aren't about skill, you don't have to be on your toes constantly, etc. — except, that doesn't matter. Because your first playthrough is hopefully blind and without the wiki, meaning you'll have really bad, inefficient gear, and most of the challenge will come from finding and understanding good gear and how the world works before you can even find and beat bosses. Normal mode on your first playthrough has its own kind of challenge.

After that you will know how to progress and want more challenge and excitement for your second playthrough. Enter "expert" mode. New loot, new super powerful cool accessories, everything is way harder, even basic mobs hit twice as hard. Now everything is about staying on your toes, showing your skills in boss fights, meticulously crafting plans — but you're rewarded for it by a new experience and what feels like a new, more exciting Terraria. If you get tired of expert mode (I'm gonna say 200–300 hours of playtime later), there's the ridiculous "hard" mode. And "hardcore." Endless possibilities.

But everyone is given a chance with normal mode, which is really extremely easy. Everyone gets a chance to get to know the game. But you are rewarded with the full game, in a sense, for playing the proper difficulty.

I don't mind any of these approaches. Personally I'd want a single difficulty that is made challenging but with specific accessibility options. Like disable quick time events, loose lock on, and other things to make the interface more bearable if you have a physical or mental disability.

While I don't care if a game has an easy mode, a lot of the "easy mode is accessibility" arguments feel similar to the "AI art is accessibility" arguments. Unless you can't properly interface with the game, having low skill is not a disability or something needing accessibility support. If you practice you'll get better at it.

The "but I don't have much time" argument feels especially weird, like would you demand a cliff notes version of a book or TV show because you don't have the time otherwise? If you just want the story just find a playthrough online.

If a game has an easy mode, great, it appeals to a wider audience. If it doesn't, great, it's catering to a specific audience. A game's not worse for having an easy mode and a game's not inaccessible for asking you to practice its mechanics.

Also Hideo Kojima: Can I add a setting to have lots of feet. Do you all like feet? more feet!