John Walker, writing for Rock, Paper, Shotgun:
Walker also anticipates a number of counter arguments. It's worth reading the full article before posting.
For my part, I agree with him. And I would emphasize something he doesn't: Skipping the difficulty spikes introduced by bosses is also an accessibility feature. It helps people who are disabled to an extent that a higher degree of dexterity or play control is simply unavailable to them.
This is ground I've covered before. And each time there's been a very similar reaction. In 2009 I suggested it was daft that I'm not able to just skip ahead while playing game, like I could in a film, book, or TV show. Of course that's daft! I wrote back in 2012 about the idea of being able to skip fights, as a reaction to the despicable response to BioWare's Jennifer Hepler's suggesting that game combat should be skippable. Of course it should! Last year I talked about how deeply peculiar is the perceived notion that people have to be GOOD at games for them to be properly enjoyed. Of course they don't! And in light of this seismic (that shouldn't be, oh it shouldn't be) announcement regarding AssCreed Unity, I want to reiterate it once more: let other people play games their way.
The reaction against these thoughts is one of Us and Them, and a desire to keep the Them from getting near the Us. ”Them" are all ordinary, inexpert, mediocre, or worst of all, new. While ”Us" are expert, experienced, hardcore, elite. But let us reject that silliness immediately, and embrace the idea that welcoming the Outsider in is always how society broadens and blooms. Never mind that there are plenty of people already here who are looking for different and more varied experiences.
I hate [boss fights] for me because I find them incongruous to the rest of the game they're in (there are exceptions, games where a ‘boss' is in fact a sequence that asks you to employ all you've learned so far, the gaming equivalent of a comprehension test, and these work so well, but they're rare like rubies and it's almost always just a difficulty spike). But I also hate them for other people, those who aren't as good at games as I am (I am average good at games), for whom I know these are not boss fights, but end points. They are massive impassable obstacles between them and the fun they could be having afterward.
Walker also anticipates a number of counter arguments. It's worth reading the full article before posting.
For my part, I agree with him. And I would emphasize something he doesn't: Skipping the difficulty spikes introduced by bosses is also an accessibility feature. It helps people who are disabled to an extent that a higher degree of dexterity or play control is simply unavailable to them.