Who else doesn't like difficult games? I prefer easier games because I value my time

As I was playing Warframe which I recently started I thought to myself that even though the game is going to become a grind I don't mind that because as is the case with RPGs and MMORPGs, grinding can be relaxing and requires little thought. So, you grind when you want to relax and that I don't see as wasted time. For example I LOVED the ATMA quest in FFXIV because collecting ATMAs was risk free and relaxing to me (I don't play FFXIV atm because it's my favorite game of all time and if I play it I won't play other games)

A difficult retro game is also not a waste of time, I don't play with the intend to beat the game I play with the intend to have fun and get as far as I'm able. If I have to do levels over and over I don't mind since that's all there is to those games, if a game is too hard and I keep getting nowhere hey, at least I experienced it for a bit, moving onto something else just as simple but easier and in turn more fun to me.

But then you have more complex yet difficult games, such as the Souls games and their clones, games where you invest a lot of time, effort and energy but a simple mistake could net you so much loss that all that time spent to get to where you were was simply wasted. These type of games also put a lot of stress on the player, you have to be constantly on edge, mind your every move and know your enemies and surroundings inside out, too much thought and effort for a digital toy IMO

If I have to spend hours trying to get through a certain segment while at the same time losing huge chunks of progress then I'm not having fun now am I.

For me video games are nothing but pure fun and relaxation, I play a lot of games but I always have a casual, superficial approach to gaming because to me they're nothing more than digital toys. I don't want to prove myself to the game or community, I don't want to prove to myself that hey I can do this or that in a video game. After having spent hours trying to get through a segment I find little satisfaction in having conquered an obstacle just to hit yet another wall soon after, I find an easier experience far far more satisfying.

I always feel that I live on borrowed time, very limited time and I want to draw, watch shows/movies, I want to play as many games as I can and spend some time with the people I care about as well. How do i justify my time spent on a difficult or complex game when I could've been doing so much more be it related to gaming or something else in that time? How can I justify spending time in frustration and anger just for a brief moment of relief when I get past a portion of the game just to hit the next wall or difficulty spike and spend time trying to get past that for hors yet again, no I'm not a very skilled player and I never was.

I can't justify working hard towards perfecting my skills in a video game to myself, I can't bring myself to devote time, effort or nerves to video games. As much as I love them, at the end they're still games, digital toys. I've had this same mindset since I was a kid.

I think this very mindset is why I passionately love games to this day, it's because they're nothing but pure fun for me.

With that said, I do play a lot of fairly difficult and challenging games, a ton of retro games and even more challenging modern games, but if a game becomes too hard I don't mind just walking away.

It all depends on the person. I like a challenge and have fun trying to master such. This could be in the form of an RTS or a simulator type of game. As I tend to play typically just on the weekends, I know that I will have X number of hours to play, especially if a flight sim such as Flight Simulator 2004/X due to some flights I have planned taking 6 hours or so. I often play for 4 or 5 hours on Friday or Saturday nights on the Bloodbath servers for RO2.

Depends on the occation. I otherwise like my 600 page, 50 hours to learn flight sims ;)

@White_Wolf_Kiba:

Depends on the game. If it's fun to play and easy to understand then I'd love the challenge. If it's boring with unfair mechanics then I stick to normal setting.

I forgot flight sims and flight sim enthusiasts even existed :) I could never play such games, no patience or interest in learning complex mechanics but I remember people being big into them back in the day. Do they still make those realistic flight sims?

Prepar3d by Lockheed Martin uses FSX as a base. You can even use FSX mods in it.

It all depends for me. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a challenge sometimes I just want to relax and just go through with the motions. I really don't mind grinding in games myself either.

I find myself more and more falling back on games such as those episodic point-and-clicks, visual novels, and easier open world games. I wouldn't say I'm bad at games, but I can get easily frustrated. I've beaten plenty of games on their highest difficulties, but my patience wears thin when I die or otherwise lose over or have to replay large portions of games.

I dislike it when other people think something that's challenging isn't fun, and should be viewed as a waste of time.

It's called preference, if it's not for you? That's fine; but don't assume people like myself have no life because others play games you think are "hard".

Different people like different things. It really is that simple_

I used to have a similar mind set, then I discovered Dark Souls

The worst thing for me in a game is to become frustrated... so generally I don't like overly difficult games. Doesn't mean I don't like a bit of a challenge every now and then (ie. I play the Forza games on the hardest difficulty etc), but generally, I play games to relax & be immersed.

I played Demon's Souls and really loved it, but I never finished it.

I personally didn't find it overly difficult, especially since I kept seeing other players shooting at this one reaper over and over so I figured maybe that's a good spot to farm souls and sure enough, it was and it helped me get OP pretty quickly, BUT the overall structure of the gameplay, the fact that I had to constantly be on edge and mind my every move and know my enemie's attack patterns AND react on time was just too much for me, it started weighing on me and it became more of a chore than entertainment, even with farming that reaper the risk of dying was still worse than in your average game IMO

Years later I tried Lords of the Fallen, again I didn't quit right away and enjoyed it for a while, but its "souls" style gameplay quickly became rather exhausting to me, if I'm not filled with excitement and joy every time I boot up a game and instead worry about whether or not I'll have the energy and focus to perform well as to not lose big chunks of my progress, stress over which health potions to keep or give away and exploration means death at every corner then that game simply isn't for me at all.

Right now I'm replaying Vanquish on Normal, one of my favorite action games of all time tho I haven't touched the game since it came out and I have no issues with the difficulty whatsoever, but checkpoints are very frequent and gameplay mechanics leave a lot of room for mistakes too. Overall an outstanding, fun filled game, same with DOOM 2016, Bayonetta 1 and 2 and so forth.

@White_Wolf_Kiba: the constant on edge of playing a souls game is what does it for me.

The fact you have to watch your every step makes the forward progress steps in exploring areas that much more satisfying.

i love playing a game on high difficulty if it's an actual challenge and the developers haven't just adjusted the damage taken so enemies are bullet sponges and i can barely take a shot. other than that i'll base the difficulty setting based on how much time i can be bothered spending with a game

depends on how its done. difficulty is one of those things thats nearly impossible to get spot on for everyone.

if higher difficulty is just the same as normal but it just takes longer to beat enemies because they are sponges then meh. i will play on normal. sure i could drag it out over the higher difficulty but few games are actually good enough thats its fun to drag out the combat. generally when a game has multiple difficulty thats all thats changed.

if the game is designed to be difficult from the off i think it can be more fun but the gameplay itself also has to be absolutely spot on and enjoyable. e.g. a game where once the player is hit they cant recover and an enemy just keeps throtelling them until they are dead. i wouldnt even call that difficult...thats just the developer taking the whizz. or 1 shot kills.....cheap and bad design.

on a side note i also love the difficulty system in the world ends with you. you can adjust your level to make combat easier/harder. making it harder leads to better rewards.

difficulty can be fun but very very few developers are very good at implementing it in a fun way. most turn it into a grind. others equate difficulty with needless punishment. its a very very tough balancing act.

Yeah, I like games with secrets that I can figure out or are on the minimap. I don't care for games where you constantly have to check a walkthrough or die over and over and have to repeat.

I fully agree that the right kind of difficulty can be fun. To me, difficulty is fun when the game doesn't take your time as punishment for losing.

For example, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is one of my favorite games of all time and my favorite in the DKC series hands down. But it's not an easy game at all, in fact even though it's an all time favorite of mine I have yet to finish it despite being on the last world because I just love replaying my favorite levels. DKC Tropical Freeze however NEVER wastes the player's time even if you have to die 20-30 times per level to get things right I know that I'm not losing insane amounts of progress by dying. The game also does its best to give the player an almost infinite amount of lives, though if you ask me it should have done away with the concept of lives altogether like Rayman did.

Super Meat Boy may be a very very difficult game, but again, unlimited tries and it's pure simple arcade pick up and play game where death doesn't result in huge chunks of time and player investment being taken away. Tho I must admit I'm not that big a fan of this game because it requires a ton more skill than I'm able to muster later on, still a game I do enjoy.

Depends on games. Usually I'm like you, I like games that are not very difficult but sometimes I don't mind or even love playing games that are tough, one example is Ninja Gaiden Black for the original Xbox. I remember I got my ass kicked by the regular enemies but I didn't give up thanks to the excellent combat system, and I kept trying, learning from mistakes, got better and eventuakly finished the game. To this day, NGB is still my faborite action, hack n - slash game.

Easy games are okay when they are story driven. Console games like TLoU and UC - easy mode for sure. I'm not going to waste my time playing the same shooting sequence over and over because I have to use a controller to aim. **** that and **** aiming with a controller.

And yes. MMO grinding is annoying mainly because most MMO game play is boring.

However, when the game play is actually enjoyable, I like a bit of a challenge. Souls games are a perfect example of this. I don't mind replaying sections (or the whole games) because it's enjoyable. It's not a basic hack and slash where I can tune out and mash buttons (which basically just puts me to sleep).

I tend to avoid the games that people say are near impossible since I know my blood pressure would probably sky rocket, but I still play and enjoy a lot of challenging games. The ones I play tend to either have shorter time between check points (something like Super Meat Boy or Hotline Miami) OR reward smart, careful play (Souls or Etrian Odyssey).

I play on easy most of the time bumping the difficulty just results in frustration for me.

It really depends on the game I'm playing. The more you need to think, the higher the difficulty. The more it is about remembering enemy patterns, learning combos and having fast reactions, the lower the difficulty. Or in other words: I play Civ 6 on the highest difficulty, but I usually don't go higher than normal in Fighters

Too easy is just as bad as too hard, as both can be a waste of time. Difficulty is different for everyone, but I think most would prefer something that challenges them, but not to the point to where they quit playing.

Of course, it's extremely challenging for devs to make the game the perfect challenge for everyone. as everyone finds different skills challenging.

I like difficult games because i value the effort you put into it.

But to be fair no game today is to difficult , even on the hardest it´s still pure carebear.

I do enjoy a challenge, but only up to a certain point.

Most of the time I'm just trying to have fun with the game. That's what makes games such as the Elder Scrolls series so enjoyable to me because you can just bum around creating your own fun and doing whatever.

You should play Battletoads, that game was a nightmare! But I do agree that nowadays, games difficulty aren't on the levels of Battletoads.

I prefer more challenging games. Games are probably less than frusterating if easier sure but they are also very less engaging and more boring. If there is nothing at stake, there is no thrill or gratification from winning and i question why im even wasting my time with it. The few games ive actaully enjoied lately are challenging or demanding games like CS:GO, Xcom and souls games plus nioh

@White_Wolf_Kiba I'm surprised you're alright with tough retro games, but disdain soulsborne games. I've only played DaS1 and 2, but from what I've seen they could be beat by anyone. Their PvE is not very deep (requiring little more than memorization and timing), and they even have easy-mode routes (certain weapons and co-op).

That being said, I can kind of share your sentiment. Recently I've been enjoying that new Yoshi game on 3DS. Is it hard? lolno. Not even. But the pace is brisk and the whole package glows with personality and interesting ideas that don't overstay their welcome. Entertainment's job is to entertain. If it fails at doing that, its not your fault.

Challenging/ relaxing all depends on the person's attitude

if you have no goal to be achieved in playing a game there will properly no pressure for you

CS:GO can be a relaxing game if you have a team of teammates that can enjoy with you, laugh with you without considering the game results.

I like a challenge I don't play games for the story. I like rewarding combat and getting a feeling of accomplishment when I finish game. I can't stand games that try to be Hollywood. If I want story I'll watch a movie.

I like games that aren't too easy but that aren't too hard either. I use games to relieve stress from work, so something too strenuous might not be the best choice for me.

I don't get how you like retro games yet hate "hard" games like the Souls series. I get where you are coming from, liking retro games which are more difficult than the Soul series IMO is kinda of an oxymoron liking easier games yet you like retro games which are much harder than modern games.

Me personally, I don't like retro games but I do enjoy the harder games like Ninja Gaiden or Souls series but I am not enthusiastic about it. I think they are fun games but can be stressful at times but once you pass an area it beomes more fun and I get curious at what setting, location or enemies I am going to encounter.

I like challenging games. Games that don't anger you with difficulty, but instead require you to adapt and think and scale to your skill level; ideally, you make progress but you are challenged along the way.

Difficult games, imo, become frustrating. I couldn't get into Dark Souls because, wtf is the point? You just die and die and die and that's frustrating. I get it that it is the design of the game and if you like it, fine, but that's not for me.

Basically, if I fail, it should be my own fault most of the time. That is the best kind of game in my experience; it punishes mistakes, but does not give an advantage to the opponent.

You say this as if people that enjoy difficult games don't value their time. :eyeroll:

There's a certain appeal to playing something like Castlevania, getting good at it, and perfecting a run. Does it consume time? Absolutely. But that's what all video games do.

If you don't want to be frustrated, that's fair. But sometimes life is about frustrations - and that's how you grow. You fall down, you get up again. You do better the next time.

IMO, games are far too easy now. They offer you a literal 30 minute tutorial about every little nuance of a game and hold your hand, EVEN MID-WAY DURING A GAME! Give me a classic Megaman game anyday. Megaman X told you how to play the entire game in the first level, and didn't require a 30 minute lesson with popups that said "HEY! GO HERE!" You learned by doing.

I used to normally play through games on normal.

However I now have 3 kids and don't get half as much time as I used to to play them, & always have a backlog of games I need to get through, so now I just play on easy to try and finish quicker!

Megaman X is one of my favorite games of all time. It's a challenging but never frustrating game unlike the NES Megaman games which I never cared much for due to their difficulty. That comment about how you should experience frustration in life to grow and such, dude, I can't take video games that seriously.

I think the best way to play games is however YOU like it best. I don't have to challenge myself if I don't find that fun and you don't have to play easier games if you like to challenge yourselfIt's unfathomable to me to think that I should tell somebody how to play their game.

If somebody wants to play a SINGLE PLAYER game with cheats then they should, because that's fun to them. If they start doing it in my multiplayer experience tho, then we have a problem.

I personally feel that games aren't something that I want to use as a means to prove anything to anybody, to me video games are inspiring and relaxing experiences that IF I can play on a lower difficulty I will because that's how I want to spend my time when gaming.

Take Vanquish for example, I'm playing it on Normal because there's NOTHING to the game on Normal, it's easy, it's simple and leaves soooo much room for mistake but it still challenges me enough to keep me interested and be fun while never ever crossing that frustration tolerance line.

I personally don't think that my time is well spent if I'm angry and frustrated, to me that's a waste of irreplaceable time! I've tried playing games on higher difficulties, it was not fun, why would I spend my time playing a game if I'm not having fun and am not happy and joyful 100% of the time when gaming? The whole point of playing video games is to be happy, for me at least.

The beauty about video games is that many of them let the player experience them in a way that is most comfortable to that person, so the person can have fun and enjoy them most. I personally enjoy my games when they're not too challenging but are challenging enough to be entertaining and if that's Normal or Easy mode then so be it.

For me, video games are pure fun, right? I don't enjoy being frustrated especially not when I'm playing a video game. So the more fun I have, the happier I am the more inspired I am to draw and create, my artistic drive comes from happiness and the positive energy I feel, I do my best works at my happiest, most ecstatic. This is how my mind, my body, my I dunno enzymes and hormones and whatever work. So no, I don't play games to draw inspiration from them specifically or to learn something or to better myself, I play games to have FUN and the rest just comes naturally.

I'm an illustrator for children's books and such, games have a very strong impact on my creativity, but I don't play them so I can improve in that field, I play them for fun and the positive effects they have on me are a byproduct of that joy I feel when playing games. My family saw how positive an impact video games had on my creativity early on so my gaming has always been fully supported and encouraged by my family and is to this day and I'm 33 now :)

OP I will also say that how long a game takes to learn varies by person. What is "difficult" for you, might be easy for others, and vice-versa.

For me, I hate buying a game at full price that only takes a few hours to beat, especially when the gameplay clicks immediately and the whole game feels like going through the motions.

Never tried Battletoads but i will look it up :) thanks

I don't mind playing certain games that are challenging (Splinter Cell, Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi for PS2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 for example). But, when it gets to the point where I'm not having fun, I'll play something else & not touch it.

I dont like too easy.

Watch Dogs 2 is a good example. Way too easy. Laughably so. So, after finishing it, I just traded it in an have no intention of going back.

Tougher games like MGS5 and Arkham Knight have much more replay value, thanks to the challenge they offer. You gotta sweat to beat them.

Mind you, games can get too tough, in which case it's just not fun to play them, as you keep dying like once every minute.

I'm with you, TC. I play video games for fun and having time constraints in school/work, I have to enjoy my play time when I have it.

It depends on the game. Am I failing at a part because the game is unreasonably hard or because of myself? I feel accomplished when I beat a boss in a Souls game because I die in those games because of my own mistakes. Once you learn the patterns, I don't feel the series is hard as retro games. I do have to make the time for these games though. I never play Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Nioh when I know I'm going to be busy. I have to be be in the mood for these games.

However, nowadays I don't get the time to play challenging games as much as anymore so I focus more on beating games as fast as possible. I'll never play the highest difficulty for a challenge. There's too many games to play and other things to do in life.

It's all preference though of course.

Depends on the game. What i do not care for are games that do not sufficiently reward a player for completing a difficult task. I will never complete a game on the hardest difficulty strictly for achievement purposes or just because. Unless there is a significant reason for doing it or the gameplay really is that much fun. Rewards in games seem bland and pointless these days. I suppose a lot of that might have to do with online play and development complications due to technology. What i mean is this, play an RPG and every bit of loot you acquire is just a higher numerical value in damage. There never is anything that grants new abilities, or some additional power that would alter the game mechanics. It seems developers are too afraid to or simply can not grant players meaningful rewards. But then.... i suppose that would be easier done in a simple sidescrolling NES game that also didn't require online balancing with other players.

Nah, you're just bad at games. Admit it. You don't sound like you're fit for gaming at all.

same here I don't like to play difficult games either I prefer to relax and take it easy when I play games.

I hate easy games.

I hate even more games with difficulty settings that you can change at any second (is like cheating !)....

I love games that allow me to go to hardest difficulty permanently (once started the new game on hard there is no turn back)

There are times when I just want to cruise through a game, enjoying the motions in a Zen sort of way and there are times when I need a stiff challenge, for that sense of achievement, overcoming odds and the thrill that you just dont get from easy games.

Easy games =lukewarm pleasant feeling at the end of the day. Hard games=adrenaline rush, that pumped up **** YEAH when you down the last obstacle or boss. Both are awesome in their own way and I like both.

I don't believe in a one size fits all in gaming, variety is good and a more wholesome gaming experience overall. Besides, difficult game doesnt immediately mean overly long.Sometimes I had a lot of fun just 10-20 minutes with a hard game and dying or failing than 5 minutes of an easy game that I'm bored with.

I think you're in a mode that you actually just want to rush through games just so you can keep up with all the new games coming up and you're feeling a little guilty of some backlogs. If thats the case, my advise is to just forget that thinking, just enjoy games, regardless of when they came out and despite of any new games coming up. When a game is fun, play it. When it stops, put it down and move on(and maybe come back much later,who cares). Time constraints only matters when the end of a game is the focus, when its the journey, you dont actually want the game to end so soon.

I don't care and never have cared about keeping up with any trends much less when it comes to gaming, I find it offensive that you'd think that of me as I generally frown upon such behavior in people myself.

I play what I want, whenever I want.

Old or new it's irrelevant to me.

Currently playing:

- Spike McFang - SNES

- Binary Domain - Steam

- Star Ocean 5 or whatever the subtitle is - PS4

- Gears 3 - Xbox 360

- all sorts of pick up and play games across all sorts of systems for relaxation. I simply like my games easier when possible, that's all.

Last week or so I felt like going through the Star Wars Force Unleashed games, fortunately they were sold in a humble bundle so I got both on Steam, never played them before and I went through them on easy mode and had an absolute blast! I did start the first one on normal but realized it was more work than I'm willing to put into a game and enjoyed it to the end on easy. Second game I must admit I probably could've played on Normal just fine as it was far far more polished and better put together, but I had an absolute blast on easy :D Really really loved these games and it was my first time playing them too.

Yeah in general I'm not a fan of overly difficult games... the worst thing for me is to be really frustrated while playing a game. I play games to relax, not for a massive challenge.