Shtof
Member
Ever notice how the first time a boss wipes the floor with you, the instinct is to drop the difficulty slider—only to discover later there's an entire stance system, a hidden parry window, and three ammo types you never touched? I keep doing this dance: blame the numbers, then realize I was swinging a pool noodle while the game had quietly handed me a lightsaber.
I'm convinced the issue isn't that modern games are too hard; it's that they gush every mechanic in the opening hour, slap "optional" on the tutorials, and bury critical tips in tiny corner pop-ups. By the time I actually need those tools, the info's long gone from memory. What I wish developers would do instead is weave new moves into the story bit by bit, let me practice them in a pressure-free space, and—when I die to the same attack five times—flash a short clip that shows the counter rather than another cryptic tooltip. Even better when an NPC just shouts the hint in-world; it feels like coaching, not nagging.
Tell me: have any of you played a game that taught its deeper systems naturally, without feeling like homework?
And devs—where do you draw the line between helpful nudge and annoying hand-hold?
I'm convinced the issue isn't that modern games are too hard; it's that they gush every mechanic in the opening hour, slap "optional" on the tutorials, and bury critical tips in tiny corner pop-ups. By the time I actually need those tools, the info's long gone from memory. What I wish developers would do instead is weave new moves into the story bit by bit, let me practice them in a pressure-free space, and—when I die to the same attack five times—flash a short clip that shows the counter rather than another cryptic tooltip. Even better when an NPC just shouts the hint in-world; it feels like coaching, not nagging.
Tell me: have any of you played a game that taught its deeper systems naturally, without feeling like homework?
And devs—where do you draw the line between helpful nudge and annoying hand-hold?
