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John Walker, writing for Rock, Paper, Shotgun:

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.

 

[Nuts2U]

I say, let us have full control over as much of the game as possible. I can chapter select any movie, show or book I purchase, what makes games different?

 

[Hero]

Remember when Nintendo introduced features that helped "bad" players like the Golden Tanooki suit or NSMB straight up skipping sections for you if you died too much?

 

[Phediuk]

Cheat codes used to let you do this.

 

[Deft Beck]

I don't agree at all. I think that they are a core element of action-based games; adding in an option to skip them would be akin to skipping entire sections of books. You won't be engaged completely with the work and therefore it will have much less of an impact.

There are plenty of games that do not require many discrete inputs in a small window of opportunity.

 

[Futaleufu]

Nah, watch a let's play if you don't want to play the game.

 

[BadWolf]

Imagine is Souls games did this.

 

[GurgleBot20]

I've been seeing the disability argument pop up everytime one of these articles comes up, but it's annoying how 1) it throws all people who are "disabled" into one basket and 2)
it doesn't go into detail on how it can affect performance.

 

[watdaeff4]

Imagine is Souls games did this.

They do kinda

 

[Gai Murakumo]

Imagine is Souls games did this.

It would be kind of weird because a huge focus of Souls games is the boss fights. You would be missing out on what makes those games great.

 

[Marcel]

For dexterity-based action games that aren't attempting to appeal to the unskilled? No.

For broadly-appealing AAA games that usually demand more accessibility features anyway? Sure.

 

[kAmui-]

I don't agree at all. I think that they are a core element of action-based games; adding in an option to skip them would be akin to skipping entire sections of books. You won't be engaged completely with the work and therefore it will have much less of an impact.

There are plenty of games that do not require many discrete inputs in a small window of opportunity.

But how would that harm your experience?

 

[DocSeuss]

Bring back cheat codes. Problem solved.

I've been seeing the disability argument pop up everytime one of these articles comes up, but it's annoying how 1) it throws all people who are "disabled" into one basket and 2)
it doesn't go into detail on how it can affect performance.

On how disability can effect performance? We're all very different people with very different disabilities...

But how would that harm your experience?

Because you're not engaged completely with the work. That's what it says right there in the post.

 

[heringer]

I don't agree at all. I think that they are a core element of action-based games; adding in an option to skip them would be akin to skipping entire sections of books. You won't be engaged completely with the work and therefore it will have much less of an impact.

There are plenty of games that do not require many discrete inputs in a small window of opportunity.

Plenty of people do exactly that. That's the whole point of the article, that people CAN do it with books and movies, but not with games.

 

[Alienous]

I hate them 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)

So really the problem is badly designed boss battles, then? I'd say boss battles that don't challenge a player's knowledge of core game mechanics are actually "rare like rubies". That's what the difficulty spike is - 'employ what you've learned beforehand within this challenge'.

But as far as accessibility goes, sure. I think the days of 'enter this code to unlock all levels' ought to come back.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Nintendo Super Guide is the best solution to the accessibility problem that I've seen. Fail a bunch of times and you have the option to become a god. You still see the content.

 

[pa22word]

This is also a rather pointless conversation to be having anyways, because AAA gaming has largely killed off boss fights to begin with. The dragon's already been slayed john, go home.

 

[Sheriff_Battlesnake]

Sure, why not? Put all kinds of options in the settings to make things more approachable.

That said, I fucking love Boss Fights and prickle when people say they should be done away with.

 

[Ferr986]

I guess I'm getting old but I don't understand how many people want to actually skip chunks of a game. Like I don't get it, especially considering the average story of a game is shit, what's the point?

Still, I wouldn't mind that much. I mean, a lot of AAAs basically half plays by themselves nowadays so...

 

[Wagram]

Imagine is Souls games did this.

What is Summoning and Magic builds?

 

[Bedameister]

Imagine is Souls games did this.

I'd finally be able to beat one then. I'd actually like that.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Eh why the fuck not.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Sure, why not. As long as it doesn't take too much dev/time, shove in an option to skip a boss. Obviously, disable achievements, put it in its own difficulty mode and disable the option in the others, etc.

I imagine it turns Cuphead into a rather...cinematic...experience then.

 

[Deft Beck]

But how would that harm your experience?

It would be kind of weird because a huge focus of Souls games is the boss fights. You would be missing out on what makes those games great.

If developers begin to design with this option added, I believe it would inherently hamper the game design process. If all segments are rendered superfluous by pausing and skipping, then why bother designing multi-stage bosses, ones with special mechanics that directly tie into the story, etc?

 

[pa22word]

I'd finally be able to beat one then. I'd actually like that.

If you can't beat a souls boss after summoning three phantoms and eating popcorn then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[CannonFodder52]

I'm fine with this I guess. Let people play games however they want.

Bring back cheat codes. Problem solved.

Cheat codes are micro-transactions now.

 

[CambriaRising]

Remember when Nintendo introduced features that helped "bad" players like the Golden Tanooki suit or NSMB straight up skipping sections for you if you died too much?

I remember "hardcore" gamers bitching about it, yeah.

 

[bigjeffery]

All books should come with the cliff notes attached so everyone can enjoy the work without actually having to read the difficult prose.

 

[Mesoian]

I say, let us have full control over as much of the game as possible. I can chapter select any movie, show or book I purchase, what makes games different?

The difference is that one is a passive experience that is happening to you and one is an active experience that you are supposed to be engaging with.

If you want to treat something like the Last of Us or uncharted as a passive experience, more power to you, but at some point, it is no longer a game. It's similar to flipping to the end of the sudoku book and just getting the answer rather than filling it out yourself.

But I mean, sure. You paid your 60 dollars, do whatever you want. I just wonder what happens when you decide to skip a level that's too hard only to find out that every level after that is also too hard.

 

[Tain]

I don't think I have any beef with accessibility options assuming they're clearly communicated as being "out-of-world." Make a Cheats menu with a boss skip option. Don't make in-world gear or abilities or whatever that trivialize the fights. Don't expect me to play designer with game elements as I'm playing to blindly shape my own difficulty level.

But I mean, sure. You paid your 60 dollars, do whatever you want. I just wonder what happens when you decide to skip a level that's too hard only to find out that every level after that is also too hard.

Yeah, this is something pretty confusing to me. I'm assuming those who want to skip around on first play also want fine control of jumping to any specific point in a game, but being able to skip bosses would be progress regardless.

 

[UnluckyKate]

for the first time this year, several games made me think :
" damn, I wish I had a way to avoid this "

either an infiltration segment, a boss fight, another back and forth...

It happens when games are filled with alternate ways, route or solutions and suddenly force you into a corner and spawn a boss or a forced mission with only a single way to complete it.

 

[Tyraniboah]

I love a good boss fight. Even a difficulty spike doesn't bother me, though I wouldn't mind seeing easy modes where boss fights can be skipped entirely. I don't want them gone through.

 

[hotcyder]

I say, let us have full control over as much of the game as possible. I can chapter select any movie, show or book I purchase, what makes games different?

.

If people want mainstream audiences to take games seriously as a medium, they got to be a bit more open to them being accessible - even if hardcore challenge is the game's raison d'être.

Boss fights can be hit and miss - though as JW says in his article; the best are the ones that test you on what you've learnt at the end of a section.

Zelda Dungeon bosses in particular do this the best - and as a result they can be challenging without expecting a higher level of performance from the user. Super Mario's end of world levels also do this really well - bringing back previous gimmicks or ideas on the lead up to a fight with bowser or one of the mini-bosses.

If a game wants to cater to a hardcore audience exclusively - then let them do so, but I don't think there's then the expectation for them to be accepted by everyone

(Can't help that this article might of been written around the release of Cuphead - which is a game that I imagine many were hoping was going to be something more conventional and accessible so people could better appreciate it's aesthetic and artstyle. I know I certainly feel like this - haven't picked up the game because I don't think I'd put up with the frustration enough to continue the game - and so waste all that animation work)

 

[Avallon]

No. If you can't beat the boss, you have not met the requirements to progress.

 

[bomblord1]

I can understand this in story focused games for people who just want to experience the story (ex Assassins Creed) as you are skipping the tedium to get to the content.

I can't understand this in gameplay first games where the enjoyment comes from mastery and overcoming challenges (ex Mario, Dark Souls). At that point I can't really see it as an accessibility feature because you are actually skipping the "content" to get to the ???. Although as I mentioned Mario they already have something but the feature there only activates after a certain number of failed attempts (ex you need to at least try) and doesn't actually just skip the content only makes it considerably easier (at least in the latest game).

 

[Lanrutcon]

All books should come with the cliff notes attached so everyone can enjoy the work without actually having to read the difficult prose.

What? you mean all those "Tolkien fans" who only watched the movies had to read the books? pfft. Elitist.

 

[Glass Shark]

.

 

[TreIII]

Disagree.

My main reason is that, in a number of cases, bosses are meant to not only be "gates" to rewards and progression, the best of them are there to help teach you how to play and learn the game.

For example, where would the likes of Mega Man be without its boss battles that taught you basic pattern memorization and how to exploit a weakness triangle (or otherwise, the application of another weapon you may have acquired from a previous boss)?

If you couldn't get past the likes of Guts Man, Air Man, Chill Penguin and so many other "pop quiz" bosses, you were going to have an even harder time by the time the "real" game started in the Wily/Sigma levels. And more than likely, this aspect would be proven correct if you actually DID use a password to skip to those levels!

 

[Rellik]

Cheat codes used to let you do this.

Bring back cheat codes. Problem solved.

If you're on a PS4 then just get PS4 Save Wizard. All the cheat codes you could ever want.

 

[nded]

I wouldn't be opposed to it if a dev chose to include the option, but how about we append that devs should decide what kind of game they want to make and players agree that not every game can or should appeal to every player.

 

[Marcel]

I'd finally be able to beat one then. I'd actually like that.

Summoning 3 phantoms is basically easy mode.

 

[Truner]

I think of a game's first playthrough more as a movie in a cinema. I can't skip any part of the movie in the cinema, right? Skipping things is usually something you get when you return to them.

What's the point of playing Metal Gear Rising if you are just going to skip the bosses? I think a better alternative would be the option of reducing the difficulty to make the boss fights a trivial task. That way, everyone experiences the same core package, but at their own pace, with their own abilities. Only doing each phase/section of the boss once instead of repeating it if you didn't take away enough of its HP and the like.

 

[Blam]

Sorta pointless tbh.

 

[semiconscious]

Imagine is Souls games did this.

yeah, imagine a souls game where you could summon help for bosses... oh, wait! ...

 

[CharminUltra]

Instant gut reaction: what? Fuck no.

But the more I think about... yeah, I wouldn't mind it at all. I would never use the feature, but it'd be there for those who want it.

 

[NeonBlack]

Would you be willing to buy the $10 Boss Pass for this option? Or maybe $5 and you skip one boss?

But honestly, this is what easy mode is for.

 

[Dark_3nergy]

So by skip boss fight, you mean

Accidentally pushing Iron Golem off the side of the boss battle arena? Cause that totally happened once upon a time.

 

[Earthpainting]

Playing Samus Returns right now, and I definitely feel the article. My dexterity is not the greatest in my left hand, and it makes me dread chase sequences, and boss fights in many games. I have to redo 'em so often that it usually stops my progress for hours or sometimes completely. I much prefer boss fights in games like Zelda and Metal Gear Solid, where they they're more about figuring out a gimmick like a puzzle, than tests of skill or endurance. Cheat codes would of course work too, and probably are easier to implement.

 

[Barajas_201]

Uh no.

Git gud.

 

[heringer]

Not sure how feasible it is, but it would be interesting if instead of "skipping" the boss or section you could turn on an auto-pilot and you could basically watch the game play itself.