Support NeoGAF

[Dubz]

I've been playing video games on Hard, or Vey Hard since I was a wee lad. I'm getting older now, and my skills are deteriorating...and well, it kind of sucks.

I've been playing Doom on Hard, and not doing very well, so I've decided to go down to Normal... and well.... I love it. I'm killing shit left and right, and feeling like the badass I was meant to be.

I've now decided that I'm no longer a Hard or Very Hard player, and I'm ok with that. It was a tough decision, but I'm glad I made it. What about you, GAF?

 

[xxracerxx]

Depends on the game.

 

[Sub_Level]

How old are you op? I'm 26 and still doing Hard ok. I much prefer it to Normal the vast majority of the time. If anything I've gotten better. But I figure my the time I get into 30s, much less 40s, it won't be so easy.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

I always fuck hard

 

[Papo Swing]

Unless it is a game I really enjoy the game play from, like BOTW I could try hard on a second playthrough. Or if the game is too easy.

If neither then I just play normal, no time for bs.

 

[QisTopTier]

Nah, I like getting my time/money worth out of games always go as hard as possible as long as it isn't something too absurd

 

[Auto_aim1]

Yeah, I used to play CoD campaigns on veteran but now I don't care about the difficulty. I don't have much time or patience or the

Spoiler

skills

anymore.

 

[Cess007]

I do TPS/FPS on Hard. Everything else (RPG, Action, etc), on Normal.

 

[CouchDweller]

I always fuck hard

Lol

I always play hard (27 yrs old), but sometimes i like to dial it down to normal if the way the game scales the difficulty is poor. Doom does it really well imo; but some games are just either unfair on hard or just not difficult enough, so there's no point.

 

[paragonpro]

There was a brief point in my life where everything i played was on hard, then i realized who the hell am i impressing normal is way more fun and less frustrating

 

[Piston Hyundai]

Spoiler

there are some games where the harder difficulties are totally the way to play, but you're probably better off doing that

 

[Demoskinos]

I like hard mode on most games although it does depend. Some games I don't think have very well balanced hard modes. I do it for personal satisfaction though. I'm not out there trying to show everyone how fucking big my e-peen is. I just like games forcing me to use the full arsenal of abilities that they give me.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Always been my jam as I've never really played games for the challenge.

The older I get (38) the more games I play on Easy as well. Mainly things were I don't like the combat and am just there for the story.

 

[Gabbelgak]

I would sooner not complete it than lower the difficulty. Don't think age has anything to do with it, I'm 34 with limited play time and just love the challenge. When everything becomes brain dead easy going through the motions just to complete it I'm out. I don't play games for story

 

[QisTopTier]

I like hard mode on most games although it does depend. Some games I don't think have very well balanced hard modes. I do it for personal satisfaction though. I'm not out there trying to show everyone how fucking big my e-peen is. I just like games forcing me to use the full arsenal of abilities that they give me.

Yeah its not about flexing your epeen, it's about pushing yourself to the limits and the satisfying feeling of overcoming the challenges put before you

 

[Seik]

I usually always play on Normal and then Hard if I liked the game enough.

It depends if the Normal difficulty is described as 'new to the genre' though.

 

[ajb1888]

Normal is a setting on my washing machine 🙂

 

[Common Knowledge]

Hard is still kind of my default (never go beyond that these days), but I've found myself bumping some games down to normal lately just to reduce frustrations. I don't have the time or patience for some things these days like I did when I was a kid. Especially stealth-based games. Fuck that, I'm going normal. Lol.

 

[Mediking]

I always fuck hard

I like 'em easy!

 

[SirMossyBloke]

I always fuck hard

This has ruined the thread title for me now lol

 

[CountAntonius]

If it's something with unsatisfying combat and it just turns everything into a damage sponge than yeah I won't bother with harder difficulties.

 

[PSqueak]

Only pick hard in games from a series you are a veteran of.

Normal usually is the difficulty the game was built around anyways.

 

[Gbraga]

I don't really have a hard stance on this, I'll just choose whatever I feel like for a particular game.

 

[blame space]

I am Fucking awful at video games

 

[HardRojo]

I always fuck hard

It's the only way.

 

[w3bba]

Friendship with HARD ended. Now NORMAL is my new best friend.

 

[Daeoc]

It depends, games like Halo or Gears of War(Co-Op Campaigns) I'll play on the hardest difficulty, else I always try to go for the one that is balanced(not too easy, not too hard), which usually isn't the normal difficulty. Feels like normal is easy, while hard is normal a lot of the times.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Still on Hard, I'm 39. If you keep playing, your kills will still be pretty sharp.

 

[paranoidfortean]

Wait til you come to the land of easy, my friend.

 

[Tigress]

I've been playing video games on Hard, or Vey Hard since I was a wee lad. I'm getting older now, and my skills are deteriorating...and well, it kind of sucks.

I've been playing Doom on Hard, and not doing very well, so I've decided to go down to Normal... and well.... I love it. I'm killing shit left and right, and feeling like the badass I was meant to be.

I've now decided that I'm no longer a Hard or Very Hard player, and I'm ok with that. It was a tough decision, but I'm glad I made it. What about you, GAF?

I'm kinda the opposite. Used to be easy (if there was an easy mode. Lot of games didn't do that when I grew up though I wish they did) and now finding I want hard difficulty on many games.

 

[Zeneric]

i usually go for second hardest. sometimes normal and hardest. i used to own when i was a young guy; i'd kick anyone's ass irl and online. not anymore. probably to do with age (and/or my mental health. i think it's more my mental health). i'll be 37 this oct. completing doom 2016's ultra nightmare is impossible for me. i can't focus for long as required anymorel i get distracted easily.

 

[Ferrio]

Like most people I doubt it's your skills that are deteriorating and it's moreso your patience.

I play on whatever keeps me most engaged, sometimes it's normal sometimes it's the hardest difficulty. I started Persona 5 on normal scared that I'd get discouraged like I did with all previous SMT games I've played, but surprisingly enough it was too easy to the point of boredom. I put it on hard and I enjoyed the playthrough much more.

 

[Salty Rice]

I always fuck hard

Wasnt sure if this belonged in Gaming when i read the title.

 

[shoreu]

Normal is really boring makes the game trivial in most cases

 

[Marmaladefire]

Well normal is generally the ideal balance for a game. And yes, it's rarely that games are actually unbeatable level hard and moreso that people's tolerance for not having fun and suffering for no reason lowers.

 

[autoduelist]

I play games for the challenge. Always the hardest level, regardless of whether it's tactical or action. I'm older than most here. I can tell my skills are getting worse in action games, but whatever.

 

[Goldenroad]

Wait til you come to the land of easy, my friend.

Word. Let all your frustrations float away.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

I start Normal but usually end up on easy. I just don't have the patience anymore

 

[taco543]

It honestly depends on the game, some games were built from the ground up with normal being the ideal playthrough that devs wanted you to experience, and then just tacked on stuff to make it harder, but then there's those games where the harder difficulties were tailored to accommodate harder play, like grounded in the last of us, or even death march in Witcher.

 

[Loomer]

I've never been any good at games and still play on the highest difficulty. To me, getting crushed is kind of part of the fun, and I like the feeling of finally beating a tough game.

 

[Umbooki]

It all depends. If it's a skill-based game where execution can offset lower stats, then I'll rock with Hard. If we're talking about a game like Persona 5 where you're at the mercy of RNG, then I'm cool with normal.

My tolerance for fuckery fell off a cliff once I started working full-time.

 

[jstripes]

I play games to have fun, and I don't consider Hard fun, so Normal it is for me.

 

[malfcn]

I like the challenge and achievements. But lately hard is fucking stupid because it's just sponge after sponge with low ammo.

 

[Pancake Mix]

Friendship ended with Hard

Now Normal is my best friend

 

[Bahorel]

I've been having trouble recently on my playthrough of Kingdom Hearts 2 (the roxas added battle for final mix) on normal and it's making me think I need to play all further entries on easy. It's really not easy to play button mashers when you have tendinitis in your joints and it's not fun to continually fail a boss fight. I just want to move on :/ . Honestly I am really mad at games that don't allow you to take down the difficult midway thorough, it seems disrespectful of a player's time.

I usually have to move my left index finger to work the right side PlayStation buttons to be able to pass some things because my right hand is crippled garbage half the time

 

[Benzychenz]

I lost my Persona 5 save 40 hours in so replayed on easy.

Once I caught up to where I was I kept it on easy.

 

[Momentary]

I'm 32, have a demanding job, a family, and work hard to maintain some level of fitness... I don't have time for video games like I used to. I usually slap it on easy. I don't have time to retry crap over and over. I wish I did, but I probably won't have that luxury again for another 8 or so years. I'm hoping to retire at 40. So I'll probably hop back on hard and maybe jump back into MMOs around then.

 

[U2NUMB]

Fuck normal.. im 39 and I play on easy cause I need to get through all these damn 60 hour games..

 

[Shredderi]

Am I the only one who has become like 2-3 times better at video games as I've grown older? It was a running joke with my friends how bad I was at games in general but about 4 years ago I started playing old hard classics and doing games on hard mode and I've gotten a lot, and I mean a LOT better at games since then. My '8-10h gaming/day' kid self has nothing on the 28 year old me when it comes to competency and reflexes in games.

Maybe it's because as people get older they get other priorities in their lives which leaves them less time to play and thus they're not keeping their skills in top form? But then again I play a lot less now than I did as a kid.

 

[Alphahawk]

Normal for me, I always just assumed that that's how the devs intended it to be played.