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I don't enjoy hard games anymore

SGRU

SGRU

Member
I used to be more tolerant to difficult stages, to struggle to beat a game, but now... Now I don't have the time to play I used to and it infuriates me to die twenty times on the same spot in a game.

If I have half an hour to play (when I'm lucky) I want to see some progression, I don't want to repeat again and again the same stage just because the designer of the level hates humanity.

And that's why I'm not enjoying my last game, Donkey Kong for the Wii U. It's just frustrating. Do you want that K letter? OK, die ten times trying to get it and then just move on without it. Do you find it difficult to jump over that gap even with the help of Dixie? OK, die and then you'll have to do it without her.

I'll sell the game, I can't stand it. This or I'll have to buy a new gamepad, because I'm close to throwing it through the window.

I'm the only one in this situation? Does it depend on the spare time you have to play?
 
Don't play them?

I don't have that much time too. So if something is too daunting or I'm just not having fun, I drop it and move on.
 
Mercurio said:
I used to be more tolerant to difficult stages, to struggle to beat a game, but now... Now I don't have the time to play I used to and it infuriates me to die twenty times on the same spot in a game.

If I have half an hour to play (when I'm lucky) I want to see some progression, I don't want to repeat again and again the same stage just because the designer of the level hates humanity.

And that's why I'm not enjoying my last game, Donkey Kong for the Wii U. It's just frustrating. Do you want that K letter? OK, die ten times trying to get it and then just move on without it. Do you find it difficult to jump over that gap even with the help of Dixie? OK, die and then you'll have to do it without her.

I'll sell the game, I can't stand it. This or I'll have to buy a new gamepad, because I'm close to throwing it through the window.

I'm the only one in this situation? Does it depend on the spare time you have to play?
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How about you buy some of the items from Funkey's shop.
 
It's a fine line between a challenge that is satisfying and a challenge that is annoying.

I myself can't enjoy games that feel unfair or games that I can just breeze through.

There's exceptions though, like Journey.
 
Branch out and try new stuff then.
EvilKatarn said:
It's a fine line between a challenge that is satisfying and a challenge that is annoying.

I myself can't enjoy games that feel unfair or games that I can just breeze through.

There's exceptions though, like Journey.
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and this is true too
 
Yeah that's why I don't play platformers anymore. Recently I had to give up on Guacamelee. I just don't want to trial and error over and over again at the exact same spot. I hate it.
I liked Dark Souls though
 
Agree with you on difficulty. Some stages or battles can get seriously nerve racking that it raises my blood pressure to something fierce. So I intentionally avoid it as much as possible since raising my blood pressure causes me problems in the past.

Final boss battles and the like can't be helped so I always go in expecting and be fully prepared as much as possible anyway.
 
Mercurio said:
I used to be more tolerant to difficult stages, to struggle

I'll sell the game, I can't stand it. This or I'll have to buy a new gamepad, because I'm close to throwing it through the window.
Click to expand...

Whoa, bro; don't be so hasty. Take a break -- out of sight, out of mind. Play something lighter in the meantime and come back in a week or so.
 
DK isn't too hard, especially if you go to cranky's store often. Don't get the KONG letters if they are too hard to get.
But I agree, somewhat. I stopped playing the temple levels since it was artificially hard with no check points. I play to have fun, a nice challenge can help sometimes, but other times it just takes all the fun away.
 
Tropical Freeze was like the perfect difficulty for me. You don't need the letters and can go back and get them later.

I'm having a hard time being through Shovel Knight because I keep dying in cheap ways. It's kind of offputting.
 
There are very few games I can stand being hard.
Games like Uncharted or Zelda can't be too hard imho, because I want to go on. Games like Smash Bros. can be harder to unlock all the stuff though.
But yes, I get easily angry too and the sense of wasting time is there almost all the time.
Always play on easy mode, sometimes normal when I can choose. Never hard.
 
I like difficult games that put responsibility on the player. I think that's why the Souls games are so great. Whenever I die in a Souls game, I usually know exactly why I did, and it's probably because I fucked up. Games where you die repeatedly without feeling like you've learned anything are bullshit.
 
Tropical Freeze isn't any harder than DKC2.

Just pay attention to the level design. Notice patterns. Learn from your mistakes. Use all the abilities at your disposal. There's not a whole lot more to it than that.
 
EvilKatarn said:
It's a fine line between a challenge that is satisfying and a challenge that is annoying.

I myself can't enjoy games that feel unfair or games that I can just breeze through.
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Yep.

I get TC though, I used to just sit there until I could do it as a kid...now its just "whatever motherfucker"
 
A case of yes and no. There are some games that I NEED to be difficult. Ninja Gaiden on Master Ninja, Revengeance on Hard. And others where I won't bother giving it the time of day.

The same if I feel lost or can't figure out where to go next. On my character action games, and Mario games, I persevere. On anything else I just fuck off and do something else.
 
I'm not a fan of games with uneven difficulty spikes. I also don't like Hard Modes, most of the time it just adds artificial difficulty to the game. I love Dark Souls though, when I first played it I was worried because it's marketed as being hard, but it's so fair too.
 
I don't feel exactly the same. I just feel more severe with games that have broken/flawed gameplay.

For example, when you die not because the game is hard, but because the gameplay doesn't give you a proper and fair chance not to die.
 
Ive felt like this for a while too. I used to be completionist. I used to get every achievement in the games I bought. Now, i rarely do side content, i don't collect coins/stars/whatever unless i see them and grab them the first time through, i play on normal for games i am good at, and i play on easy the games i'm not good at. I find myself wanting to play MORE games instead of a single game giving me hundreds of hours (especially when its only giving high amount of playtime due to difficulty). I just don't have the time to keep up with all the games I want to play to spend a ton of time on a single game. I am much more story driven in games these days than actual gameplay. Don't get me wrong, I want the gameplay to be fun as well, but I tend to overlook some bad gameplay mechanics if they aren't breaking my game if it has a story that interests me.
 
Then you can consider yourself lucky that like 99.9% of all games are exactly catered to your needs. Just don't play those hard games, if you don't enjoy them. But please, don't be that guy that screams or even demands "a difficulty slider" or an "easy mode" in those hard games, because that ruins the fun for those that DO enjoy them and you already have enough games to choose from.
 
Completely understand. I grew up in the NES days, I fought my way through Ninja Gaiden on Xbox but today the NES and games like NG are dead to me.
Bloodborne on easy baby!!! Bring it on!!
 
I never did, but up to some point in my life, I was able to tolerate hard games and enjoy them. Nowadays? Nope, I don't want to bother with hard games anymore. I mostly play RPGs lately because even if they are hard, there is always a way to make them easier. For example, I love the Mega Man series, but I have zero motivation to replay any game of the series due to the difficulty. Like I used to 100% (or more) the DKC trilogy, but I can't bring myself to do the same with other games nowadays. Ironically, I played the three Souls games in the past year and I enjoyed the hell out of them, but tbh I don't find the Souls games to be that hard.
 
next time look for what audience a game is made for.

if it is made for the old school veterans, avoid it at all costs.
 
I don't enjoy hard games like Ninja Gaiden on master ninja, having to learn and have super fast skills is not for me anymore.

I do enjoy hard games of today like Demon Souls that is hard untill you learn patterns, etc.

Those are great, also challenge and overcoming hard things in games is one of teh things that makes me love them.
 
Yeah it happens when you grow older. I guess it's a combination of very little gaming time, where you want to have some sense of point to the thirty minutes per couple of days that you're able to play, and also not really feeling the need to prove yourself anymore. You're probably pretty successful in real life. Besides, you lived through the NES days, ain't no scrubs going to tell you nothing.

Though it could also simply be that in those old days, without challenge there would be no game left. Now there's also story and immersive worlds and such.
 
I don't have much time anymore so (gasp) I'll play games like Ass creed and TLOU on easy to see the story. I'll still play games like Dark Souls as intended.
 
I think the reason behind this is that as people get older and older, their gaming time gets lower and lower. I used to play games for ten hours non-stop, the difficulty or being stuck at the same spot wasn't a big deal back then. Nowadays if there is not a progress in the 45 minutes I get frustrated.
 
Actually I don't think my problem is necessarily with the difficult of a game, but with the type of difficult the game provides. I am not bothered by the difficulty in Monster Hunter or Dark Souls, for example, but the last levels in Shovel Knight annoyed the hell out of me (the game still is my GOTY, tho). Trying to re-play Bayonetta on anything other than Normal or trying to finish Street Fighter 4 with all characters wasn't fun at all also (fuck you, Seth).
 
No demands for Gamer Bribery.

No insinuating that you're entitled to it.

No behaving that you're a member of a huge untapped silent majority.

You're good people, Mercurio, and thank you.

EvilKatarn said:
It's infinite fine lines between a challenge that is satisfying and a challenge that is annoying.

I myself can't enjoy games that feel unfair or games that I can just breeze through.

There's exceptions though, like Journey.
Click to expand...

Fixed that for you.
 
I'm the same way. I hate high difficulty, it's not fun to me and if a game isn't fun... then it's failed me as a game. My girlfriend is the polar opposite tho, she believes if a game isn't challenging then there's no point.

I ain't afraid of Easy mode, it's better to experience a game on easier settings than not at all. Difficulty settings are there for a reason.
 
I admit that recently, I have been playing games on the easiest difficulty so I can just enjoy the ride. If the game doesnt come with an easy difficulty...
I search '<GAMENAME> Trainer' into google...
 
That sort of challenge is just one way to immerse players. There's plenty of games where there's no wrong way to play and the fun is in how you approach things. Various RPGs and strategy games represent those qualities without being brain-dead experiences.

I still enjoy hard games a great deal-- I like to 1CC arcade shooters-- but lots of games appeal to me and I can understand how plain challenge isn't enough. In fact, I think challenge will fall out of fashion as we get closer to simulating more complex worlds. Challenge is the cheapest, most efficient way to immerse players with few resources.
 
Eh. I'm the opposite. The less time I have to play games the more I want to play games that are actually worth my time. I used to play all kinds of games, but now I'm much more picky and only plays ones that I think I'll find fulfilling. Games that I can breeze through in a weekend are rarely the kind of game that I would want to play with my limited amount of time these days.

If a game takes me months to beat, well then so be it. It'll end up being a more fulfilling experience anyway.
 
For me it depends of how hard it is... I like hard games as long as it plays good and you feel that it was your fault and that, if you repeat and understand the strategy you can do it (D. Souls for example). I hate however when a game is hard because it jumps too much of the difficult out of nowhere, and / or have clunky controls to do certain sections (Guacamelee for example).
 
Here's the thing; I can sometimes feel this way myself, but tend to think it's not the games. It's just the fact of being an adult and not always having time for deeply engaging in skill based games.

Sometimes I don't feel up to a challenging game. I try not to let that feed the idea that games are made wrong for "adults". I don't buy the narrative that adults don't have time to be challenged and shouldn't be because they have better things to do. Instead, when I am feeling stretched thin, I set aside whatever kind of game feels too much for me at that time. And find something that I'm comfortable with. I save difficult games for digging into after having saved up my mental fortitude points.

IMO you can avoid burnout on being challenged if you can stay in a rhythm where you finish a series of low investment but fun games, between sterner fare. When you do reach the point that a more difficult game can be tackled, it acts as a reminder of how rewarding this feels.
 
I'm with you OP. But I still enjoy Tropical Freeze (mind you it isn't my favorite game on the Wii U by any stretch). The KONG letters are optional, and if nothing else it's a game you can easily pick up and play for a few minutes then put down again. And you can buy items to help you out.

Couldn't really imagine doing that with a non-Nintendo game which usually demands more of your time.
 
I'm playing the arma 3 campaign where you have to ambush a convoy. Playing on hard and I can't get it done, mostly cause the ai sucks balls and won't do what I say. Doesn't help that the enemy are apparently all sharpshooters. I've saved and reloaded about 50 times in an hour. I think I'm done wth games forever.
 
I'm with ya dude. Neither the time nor the patience for that shit nowadays. I play games to relax, not to stress myself out.
 
I still enjoy a challenge so difficulty doesn't really bother me. However, I'm at the point of my life where I appreciate a shorter length game. There's just too much going on at the ripe age of 27 (lol) to put in 40 hours plus to a Fallout or even a Zelda title for example. I only get to play games once or twice a week in the evenings before bed.

A 20 hour game is the sweet spot length for me.
 
Title Fight said:
I don't like thing jpeg? Anyone?
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I got you buddy.


RAMtEw4.png
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I'm actually the opposite. I used to hate hard games when I was a kid and teenager but now in my late 20s I really enjoyed the challenge. I think trophies are a big part of that.
 
Right now I'm playing through the new Wolfestein on PS4 and I picked "I am death incarnate" (not über) because I thought it would be more compelling to have a bit of a challenge.

I was wrong. It's punishing and absolutely no fun. But I'll but god damned if I'll drop the difficulty 12 chapters in. Sort of ruining the experience for me actually.
 
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