Nioh/Bloodborne etc causing excessive stress?

Ok so you probably seen tonnes of threads like these but all the ones I've read are of people actually having intense fun while playing other less stressful games, but I want to talk about difficult games potentially causing health issues. I played Dark Souls one and loved it, albeit a little difficult at times. But in most cases the reason you die is because you fucked up, right? I continued playing the Souls series going back to Demon Souls (meh, it's good but definitely no where near Dark Souls IMO) and then the rest.

The more I played the more I started to notice my heart literally pounding when getting beaten off bosses like Ludwig in Bloodborne or that Fume Knight or whatever it was called in DS2. I gave up on both because I was so angry and snapped a few controllers in half. Maybe it's just me that does this in anger but honestly, I couldn't control it...

These type of games ,to me, have gotten more and more stressful/annoying rather than fun. I did like Bloodborne but found it a little too stressful at times and if your not having fun then it defeats the purpose of buying a video game. Recently I bought Nioh to try it out and I got up to that Nue boss, which doesn't seem that bad in comparison to other bosses I've done in the past but for some reason I was having a tough time with it. Again, heart feeling like it's cracking my ribs!

So I'm done with that now I'm going to trade it in but I have noticed since playing these ridiculously difficult games that my heart rate has increased to what some would say an unhealthy level. I also noticed that I get stressed a lot more easily now with things that I used to be able to deal with no problem..

Could this be related to me getting angry with video games? Nioh is just punishing and not fun at all IMO. Obviously there's people that can plough through these bosses without taking any damage and they are normally the first to rub it in your face by saying 'it's easy, you just suck..' but really, it's not easy they just normally have way more time to play games and/or can deal with stress a lot better. Or in some cases they get paid to play games, like youtubers.

I'm getting my heart checked out soon because it honestly feel like something is wrong and I think these stupid games are the cause. I realise now that in most cases these games are just an achievement to brag about ya know? 'I beat Nioh, you can't! I'm better than you!' Lol... Like you can only be a true gamer if you can beat these games. Well I platinum'd Dark Souls before it was cool so there :-)

Just kidding about the last part, what do y'all think?? I'm going to buy Horizon....

Kind regards,

Lee.

@lee34567: They're simply not the kind of games for you. And that's ok.

Games like Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry (not 2 or reboot), Monster Hunter and Dark Souls require careful timing and awareness. Along with getting to grips with the mechanics on offer.

I personally enjoy games like Nioh and Bloodborne, would even call them "cosy". Not too difficult, but they keep me on my toes, and are fair enough to make me see the errors I make.

You can certainly find much more difficult games than those above, and they will have insane difficulty spikes, and will feel insanely punishing by comparison.

Games like Nioh and Dark Souls however, are about understanding how they play. I think they're tightly tuned and not overly difficult.

Overall I think it's more that many mainstream games released in the past decade have just gotten too easy.

@RSM-HQ:

I understand what your saying bro, for sure.

I did ok with the first few games, not too punishing but maybe I reached my breaking point with Nioh. The Ki system made it impossible for me since I kept either forgetting to regain it due to so much going on or got tagged because of looking at my stamina bar. I couldn't get it right when just looking at the blue mass that surrounded you, always fucked it up.

I feel a lot calmer now that I've put the controller down and agreed to trade it in but I still feel that all this stress (that ive caused myself btw, nobody else to blame) has taken it's toll on me a little. I guess I haven't got the patience for it anymore, it gives me no enjoyment. I'm honestly not that bad at these games I just just can't keep going back and dieing over and over even if I know I will beat it eventually. I've watched friends give up on the tutorial bosses Lol..

@lee34567: I think a big issue many have with Nioh in particular is it doesn't actually play like Bloodborne or Dark Souls at all, and when they don't take that into consideration and try tactics from a whole other series, they die a lot.

The media keeps calling Nioh a "Dark Souls clone" but in true Team Ninja fashion plays closer/ much closer to Ninja Gaiden. And I love that.

Nioh can be a tough game, yet I think it's very forgiving when you get how it all works.

These games do require a lot of patience, and I understand some just don't want that in a game.

I'm not a judgemental type, and believe everyone should just play games they enjoy. Not games that they dislike

Plenty of games I simply can't enjoy, so I understand you to a degree.

best thing you could do. 30+ hours of hunting giant robot dinosaurs is just the medicine you need. hope everything's ok with your ticker

@RSM-HQ: Yes I was guilty of trying my souls like tactics in this game and having my ass handed to me.. I tried new tactics, studied enemies and for the most part got better at it.

Then I fought Hino Enma and everything went out the window, almost my console too Haha! I beat her eventually and tbh Nue is probably easier but I just can't be bothered with it now that I realised my heart BMP is in it's 90s when I'm just chilling.

With Souls I could just take 5, come back to it and learn from my mistakes. Nioh however is a completely different beast and I take my hat off to those who have completed it with ease.

@Macutchi: Thanks buddy. It really does look like an epic, fun game. I actually recommended to a friend at work just off the videos I've seen on it and he is very impressed.

I'm going to measure my resting heart beat (upon waking up) other the next few days to get a more accurate reading. That and join the gym again to do some serious cardio.

I get extremely stressed when playing online. I've tested my blood pressure and I was at stroke level a few times. A couple times after all night game session when I woke up the next morning I nearly passed out. I felt the blood drain out of my head and I nearly collapsed. I'm not overweight but I am a smoker and I'm 40 years old. I've been playing a ton of online games over the past 10 years and I kept getting worse. When I play intense online matches I get heart palpitations and headaches. I've cut way back over the past couple of months. As of late I've sworn off Overwatch. I went to the doctor and she said I was fine. I think my doctors an idiot and couldn't diagnose a cold.

If you are having heart/blood pressure issues, take care of it. I recently started taking medicine for my blood pressure, best thing I've done for a long time (I am also losing weight and watching what I eat). I was at hypertension levels of blood pressure before, but now I am at like 135/76 which is better than most people I know.

Bloodborne was a lot of stress for me so I played in short burst and do other stuff to cool down. I liked the way the game play, the music, the atmosphere and even a little bit the difficulty ... but I suffer from anxiety and so this game tested my limit.

Bloodborne was also my first Souls type of game ... so my ego made me got the platinum since in my first playthrough I only missed 3 trophies ( 2 ending and killing the Queen ) so I bit the bullet and did it but no more like that.

I really want to play Resident Evil 7 but it also gave me way too much anxiety.

Meh. No video game is so hard that it effects my health. I love souls. I love horror games.

The world is filled with those having drastically different conditions, both mental and physical. Depending on genes, working conditions, and environment.

Like yourself I don't have anything that would psychologically break me down when playing games.

Yet; as you can read. some do and it's best to understand that such people exist.

I don't find these games to be stressful, I find them to be deliberate and rewarding.

I got nightmares from DS3 when I encountered the winged monkey enemies for the first time. Not only are they scary looking but the sounds they make freak me the hell out.

I had to get past them in shorts bursts of play time haha

Um, yeah, sure. Where in my post did I say TC is making this up lol?

@Shmiity: What are you even writing about?

I simply stated you could try seeing these games through different perspectives than your own.

@TC holy crap dude I can relate to you 100%. I love these games (havent played Nioh yet), and it sucks like hell when you just can't beat a boss. This happened to me in DS3 when I had to summon for help both with lighting boss (the one where you kill his dragon first and then fight him) and the final boss. It felt like I was cheating as I had never summoned on any DS game. I think what cracked me at first was quitting the DS2 DLC where you fight the two tigers in the snow, I just couldnt beat them even though I got as far a just one hit to finishing the fight. Anyways after that I started doubting my prowress when playing this type of games. I managed to beat Blodbourne with little trouble. I plan on returning to both DS2 DLCs and replaying DS3, I need to get my mojo back :D

Regarding you heart its probably anxiety, you'll be fine but got see your doctor.

I'm the same way: I just don't find these game entertaining, so I play something else. Just don't try to jam the square peg into the round hole: if it's not the game for you, you're just going to get stressed out.

Bloodborne is fun and not too difficult (aside from a chalice dungeon boss and sir Laurence).

Nioh fucking pissed me off so much I sold that shit after losing my cool and dying so much at the giant centipede.

Started the ringed city dlc and am loving the frustration. I like it when dark souls does it. Other games don't do frustration quite like From.

I find them kinda relaxing, actually? Not on the first playthrough, of course -- they're always very tense on the first run -- but they quickly lose their edge once you know what's coming and from where. They become simple games of memorization then. Makes it easy to settle into their rhythms when I need to de-stress or generally distract myself.

I usually end up getting stressed more from online multiplayer games due to the constant pressure to perform well so as not to be a burden on the team. It's why I tend to avoid most multiplayer games like the plague.

I swore off these sorts of games after playing modern platformers. After playing Outland, it was enough to make me feel that the more traditional games like hack and slash or platformers were not for me.

It's weird because I used to play them all the time back in the late 90s. And I was pretty darn good!