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For most games, the real consequence of failure in a game is being forced to repeat what just happened. And getting caught in a Groundhog Day-esque situation that repeats once every few minutes suuuuucks.
It’s even worse when a failure causes your character to lose stuff. That’s even more time wasted, in that the time and effort taken to get the thing is gone.
Paint the rainbow on my proud carebear chest if you must. I just want a place to escape to for a little while, a place that doesn’t frustrate the shit out of me.
Exactly how I feel about the Souls games. How the fuck am I supposed to make any real progress when the only resource I have to do so is lost each time I die?
I have a full time job and a kid, I don’t have time to grind out a boss for hours. Can’t I just enjoy the world with an easy mode?
I agree with the person you were replying to, and I am glad that the Souls formula isn’t the norm (I’ve played all of them, and haven’t finished a one)…
But the Soulses get a pass from me personally, because their whole thing is about being present in the moment and overcoming what appear to be unbeatable odds. It’s the closest thing in modern gaming that gave me the feeling of being crushed by, and overcoming, the first Airship level in Mario 3.
That said, I’m not against accessibility option in a Souls game, so long as they’re optional.
Thats what the soul items are for. You eat those while standing in front of a bonfire about to level up. Because they are an item, you dont lose them when you die, so they are safe exp.
Especially boss souls. If you dont want the specific weapon that boss makes, you eat that shit when you need the level boost.
You can’t play Dark Souls without it being hard. There is no gameplay loop if you can just squash everyone in your path. I went out of my way to beat Souls 3 and Elden Ring without upgrading my character to make it more fun. If you want to just walk around then play something else.
I agree that the game falls apart without challenge, but the challenge will vary by player, especially those of different abilities. So while I wouldn’t use them (until I get older and slower maybe), I support the addition of optional accessibility options in Souls games. They aren’t a fun little experiment anymore - they’re a proven formula, and I believe it can survive tweaking.
I don’t even want an easy mode, per se, at the very least just a “medium” mode. Give the bosses like 5% less health, make them 5% slower, etc. Just take the edge off the difficulty so that it’s not so unbearable.
Exactly. I cannot stand how interested I am in soulsborne storylines because I’m simply not willing to put myself through playing that shit any longer.
The only soulsborne I’ve beaten is an “easy mode” modded Elden Ring. Nothing worse than watching a game LP on youtube because I really want to play it but don’t enjoy it. (Bloodborne, lookin at you)
I feel like souls games are the exception. The game is about the cycle of dying and reviving, and the progress you make isn’t in game, but in game knowledge. You might not like it, but it’s kind of the theme of the game.
And if you really want to experience those games, DKS1 has a really easy to perform soul dupe that will make you overpowered as hell in no time. Then you can enjoy the game. It’s cheating, sure, but so is asking for an easy mode in a game it’s not intender for, at least for me, and I’m totally okay with cheating when I don’t want to do the full experience. In single player games, ofc.
Indeed. I want easy mode and cheats in my games. I am paying for them, let me play the way I want. Sometimes I play with normal difficulty, sometimes in story mode. And sometimes I just want to be immortal and have infinite money. I don’t know why basically no developer makes this available.
Except for Fallout 4. That survival mode turns it into a completely different fucking game.
Running around cause you need to get to a sleeping bag or dirty mattress after walking half a map, words can’t describe the feeling adequately.
Voluntarily drinking dirty water.
Actually using the cooking system.
Local man discovers difficulty settings.
Pretty accurate to the story, now that I actually read it.
This is one of those threads where if you agree with the author, you’re a filthy casual, but if you actually want your hard game to be hard, you’re a sweaty loser than needs to touch grass.
Have your easy mode. Some of my favorite games even have a “Very Easy” mode. Just don’t corrupt games that are designed with a specific challenge in mind with nerfed nonsense.
Agreed. I’ve been playing through Forsaken Remastered and that game doesn’t fuck around. Figured I’d run through it on easy for my first run and work my way up the difficulty settings. Easy is for beginners.
I don’t have time to play on the hardest settings anymore. Plus I’m old and I’m just not as good as I was 20+ years ago. My son laughed at me once when he saw I was on easy, that was 10 years ago, he’s still grounded. 😂
Eh, easy mode is for those who need or want to use it. Ditto for hard or impossible modes. Adult, teenager, troglodyte, don’t really matter what ya are
Yeah, I felt the same way reading this. It frames the easy mode option as this revelation that everyone should try because they are too proud not to. In reality, it’s the tale of one person’s experience who found a way to make their hobby more enjoyable for them
I’m 38 and easy modes are made for people like me. I usually dont have the time, attention or patience required by some games to even have a fighting chance in game progression (looking at you FromSoft) I don’t regularly use easy mode as it does make many games trivially easy but sometimes it’s just enough where I can enjoy the story, explore a beautiful and imaginative world and see it through to the end without the bullshit. I usually have no desire to be a hard-core veteran of a game’s mechanics but I still want to play the game. If people don’t like it, we’ll, I’m still 38 and dont give a shit what others think anymore. Just take my $60 and entertain me.
Easy mode is for younger adults and kids too. Age isn’t really relevant tbh. I never played games on hard or even normal when I was a kid. Like you said it’s more about how much time do you have to invest
I’m older than you and have beaten all the Dark Souls games and Elden Ring.
I grew up playing actually hard games like Bionic Commando and Ninja Gaiden on the NES.
This article’s premise is BS. Easy mode is for people of any age who have not gotten gud.
Years ago, I may have felt the same and I probably did but my life is not compatible with “getting gud” at every game that comes my way or that i even want to play. I grew up with the same systems as you as I know full well they used to be much harder and the challenge was the whole point. Not anymore so much with a lot of games.
I have chosen 1 game to fully invest myself into and that’s BG3. I’m on my tactician run, just as I did with DoS 1 & 2 and I’m enjoying it because I’m willing to do so with that masterpiece of a gaming experience. But I also play other games when I can’t and I just want it to be fun. Hard, easy and everything in-between, I just wanna zone out, forget about my day and watch an interactive story unfold before me.
Edit:typo
This article’s premise is BS. Easy mode is for people of any age who have not gotten gud.
I don’t disagree with you, but a lot of people, when presented with new game mechanics, don’t have the time to spend “getting gud”.
I know that if I were to start playing, for instance, Hollow Knight today, rather than at its release (cleared Pantheon of Hollownest), I’d likely have to put it down or install a nail damage increase mod – I have kids now; no time to grind at bosses to learn the patterns.
I really wish there were an “adult difficulty” setting to pick instead of ‘easy’. I don’t have hours to waste on hordes of “difficult” enemies that just slows progress and pads the playtime. Nor do I want a walking simulator where the boss just falls over with no need for anything beyond the most basic game mechanics. Give me an option to experience the story with an interesting challenge without wasting my time, dammit!
I haven’t read the article yet, but easy mode is actually for me.
I like gaming, but almost all my gaming time is compressed into a few months of the year. Even then, it’s not uncommon to have to have a week or longer hiatus between sessions. And when I do sit down to play, I’m lucky if I get the time to have a 1 - 2 hour session. With my situation, games that are long or difficult or that have overly complicated control/button schemes are not a good fit for me.
One game that really stood out for me in terms of being really well designed in this respect was Hades. I thought it did an excellent job of making itself accessible to more casual audiences, while still providing lots of options for dialing up the punishment if that’s your cup of tea. I definitely wish more development teams would put as much effort into making other genres and franchises friendly to more casual players, and I think it’s definitely an achievable goal to do without compromising the experience for more dedicated/advanced players – at least for certain types of games.
Nice. Seasonal worker? I dream of taking off a huge chunk of time rather than a few days here and there
In a manner of speaking, yes and that’s a factor. Really it’s just that general life slows down a bit for me for a few months around the end and beginning of the year, and then goes full throttle from spring right on up to the holidays.
Plus, when it’s warmer and days are longer, I prefer to be outside doing something/anything when I have spare time, rather than just sitting and staring at a screen like I do all day at my official job.
That sounds very healthy.
I have two kids and I only play on easy mode when I’m playing with them. Otherwise I prefer to be challenged.
Bought GTA V 10 years ago with a newborn on the way. Two more kids later and I’ve still never finished it because I’ve hit my video game skill cap. I just want to finish the story.
Please bring back cheat codes.
Please bring back cheat codes.
They exist behind paywalls nowadays.
Perhaps the real irony is that only PC still lets you cheat for free in single player games nowadays, but you have to download a trainer (which might have dubious origin), or just learn how to use CheatEngine and look up for ready tables for games
Huh, never thought of finding tables other people made, I just used cheat engine with a process of elimination every single time.
Like this?
Huh go figure. Maybe this is my year after all!
Edit: Why is the invincibility cheat only for 5 minutes?
yeah they “cheats” they put in are dogshit compared to a simple trainer.
Relevant video from Razbuten about difficulty settings on games.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Cmon you gotta play F.E.A.R. on hard. That’s when it really pops off.
It’s weird because I wish people were more clear about difficulty because it clears up contradictions. At the same time, it gives me an easy reason to dismiss an opinion if it doesn’t house my perspective on the best way to appreciate the game.
Okay The Atlantic. If you say so.
Lmao games journalists are never living down their reputation
