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[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

That is indeed the case. The fact that Fromsoft hasn't only bent over, and added difficulty settings after hundreds of thousands of people bitching ever since Dark Souls 1, but they've even increased the difficulty by a ton if you compare current titles to the first two. But in general, i don't even remember the last time i played a single game that wasn't set on the highest difficulty for the first playthrough. I don't get frustrated from dying like most scrubs, and if the game is easy, and mechanics of the games can be skipped, this is where i fall asleep, and stop playing the game. There's nothing worse than an easy game. MONSTER HUNTER FUCKING WILDS is a perfect example of what to NEVER do in a video game. Holy shit Capcom........

 

[ReasonBeing]

I feel like this is more naunced than "Normal" is really "Easy". Blanket statements such as the one you are making, are most certainly wrong. Balancing will vary from studio to studio and any given level of challenge can be extremely subjective.

 

[RoboFu]

Pretty sure a lot of 8bit and 16bit games were easier in Japan than NA because of how the US was full on into game rentals back then. Just saying.

 

[buenoblue]

I exclusively played on hard a few years ago but now I have to many other commitments so go normal now. Plus I find hard just means making enemies damage sponges not actually changing gameplay mechanics.

 

[GateofD]

Most obvious example is modern Fire Emblem games. Normal is easy, Hard is Normal, Expert or Lunatic is 'hard'

 

[buenoblue]

On a side note I was saying to a friend recently that games start off harder because you have limited capabilities and dont understand the game mechanics. Then by the end you are a killing machine and the game actually gets easier rather than harder lol.

 

[Soren01]

Since when is a lack of options a good thing? Difficulty modes are welcome, even in Soulslikes

 

[yamaci17]

this is why I have trust issues with video games
i just cannot pick easy or normal modes anymore. i experienced this with avowed and outlaws recently. i just felt like playing normal this time for some reason (wasn't too interested in the game initially). turns out it was still super easy. it only took half an hour before I put it on highest difficulty and never looked back. the game was still super easy

same for the witcher 3. "blood and broken bones" it says. literally easy mode. labels like this are even further infuriating. i cannot even imagine the 1st and 2nd difficulty options. even death march becomes trivial once you get past 8 levels

some games have the courtesy of telling you "if you're going to grind, clear most of the map, play on this hardest difficulty"

most other games do not

at least in games like tlou part 2 you literally know what you're getting with difficulty increase (better AI, specific things getting disabled etc.)

i'm not saying all games should be like dark souls games but ALL games should take some notes from last of us games difficulty design

 

[ReyBrujo]

I play with the default difficulty level, however sometimes I just drop the level because I hit a roadblock, like with Nights of Azure 2, I couldn't beat the first boss so had to drop it to Easy. And RE1 once I spent all my bullets trying to kill the very first zombie and discovered that all you had to do was walk back into the dining room for your partner to kill it I said, fuck this, and dropped it to the second level (which I guess was normal).

 

[March Climber]

I always started at the hardest difficulty setting and then lower depending on how BS the devs make things.

To be honest though, I always preferred the rare "You die fast but enemies also die fast" option for that heart-pounding 'PvP-like' experience.

 

[Lethal01]

That is indeed the case. The fact that Fromsoft hasn't only bent over, and added difficulty settings after hundreds of thousands of people bitching ever since Dark Souls 1, but they've even increased the difficulty by a ton if you compare current titles to the first two. But in general, i don't even remember the last time i played a single game that wasn't set on the highest difficulty for the first playthrough. I don't get frustrated from dying like most scrubs, and if the game is easy, and mechanics of the games can be skipped, this is where i fall asleep, and stop playing the game. There's nothing worse than an easy game. MONSTER HUNTER FUCKING WILDS is a perfect example of what to NEVER do in a video game. Holy shit Capcom........

Promsoftwares easymode is grinding and using companions, which they regularly encourage

 

[Lethal01]

Plus I find hard just means making enemies damage sponges not actually changing gameplay mechanics.

looking at it from the other angle you could say that the "normal" mode just makes enemies die from a light breeze so thad it doesnt matter how hard you fuck up the mechanics.
does it matter if both modes have the same mechanics if you only really have to use em in one?

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

Promsoftwares easymode is grinding and using companions, which they regularly encourage

That is fine. I am not fine with bleed being as powerful as it is in ER and mimic is a game destroyer, but rest is mostly ok.

 

[P.Jack]

Another thread filled with soulsfans tooting their own horn, how surprising. I don't play souls as I find them too slow but some of the worst gamers I know love Froms games. So I figure if those retard friends of mine can finish every new From release, it's probably not that hard (they all complained a lot about sekiro though, I take it it's different?).

But somehow difficulty options are bad and thank the lord From doesn't bend over? How about if they'd make a hard mode instead then? Some of my favourite games like DMC and Ninja Gaiden are best enjoyed on higher difficulties, how are Froms games different?

I still find the whole single player difficulty resistance stupid. It's like some sort of gatekeeping despite Froms games being some of the most popular and mainstream games around.

If you want a challenge with bragging rights, go play other people. And even then you get a kind of difficulty option in the form of MMR. And it's a great thing because even my moron From-loving friends can enjoy some online multiplayer, despite being absolute dogshit at every competitive game they play.

 

[cireza]

I am old enough to remember when games were actually made more difficult in the West compared to Japan, mainly because there was a huge rental market in the West.

 

[March Climber]

I exclusively played on hard a few years ago but now I have to many other commitments so go normal now. Plus I find hard just means making enemies damage sponges not actually changing gameplay mechanics.

looking at it from the other angle you could say that the "normal" mode just makes enemies die from a light breeze so thad it doesnt matter how hard you fuck up the mechanics.

Which is why the best form of this is to make it PvP-like.

You die fast, they die fast.

 

[P.Jack]

I am old enough to remember when games were actually made more difficult in the West compared to Japan, mainly because there was a huge rental market in the West.

I remember when I found out you had 3 lives in the Japanese version of Contra: Hard Corps. Felt like my life was a lie.

Never thought about it as a response to the rental market, that's actually a good take.

 

[daxgame]

A few days ag,o I was playing on my Snes Asterix & Obelix with my wife.
At first it was fun. But then, we kept dying at a certain level and not just she, I also got bored and we dropped it.

It's crazy because when I was a kid it was normal for me to re-do everything 20th times - it was just like how games were.

Now that I'm a grown up however difficulty is one of the things I check first. If there are not multiple options, I try to understand how difficult the game is.
If it's too difficult, I skip it. The thing is, nowadays I don't have time.
I just want to have fun, I don't care having to execute perfect controls or to have a challenge.

The only exceptions might be games where I have infinite time to make a decision.

 

[dave_d]

Pretty sure a lot of 8bit and 16bit games were easier in Japan than NA because of how the US was full on into game rentals back then. Just saying.

I'm trying to remember, I think Contra Hard Corps on the Genesis is harder than the Japanese version since you don't have a life bar. I kind of remember hearing Dynamite Headdy was easier in Japan but I forget what the difference was.

 

[kur07]

Games with difficulty settings are a turn off. I want to play a carefully tuned game "the way it was intended", instead of some half-assed "hard" mode featuring arbitrarily boosted enemy stats.

 

[Danny22]

I always play all games on very easy mode, I cheat in soulslike with unlimited health and the idea of repeating something exhausts me. Life's too short to do the same thing over and over again.

But ironically, my favorite game is Sekiro which I have played hundreds of times, speedran in 50 mins, downloaded hardest mods possible etc. It's strange...

 

[DanielG165]

The only games that I put into Hard mode and above are Ninja Gaiden, as said difficultly is literally where those games were designed to be played at. Even 'normal' would be considered hard mode in any other game.

Otherwise? I have nothing to prove in other games/couldn't care less; I leave the difficultly on normal and enjoy myself.

 

[Ikutachi]

Problem with hard mode is it could mean more tedium than it is about difficulty, so for those games I play on normal.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I bought Lies of P last night cause I know there are easier modes if I need it. Now you got me considering Khazan. Didn't know they did that.

You conveniently left out:

For those looking for a real challenge, we're adding a new "Hardcore" difficulty.
"Hardcore" is a special difficulty that unlocks after completing the first playthrough on "Challenge."
It can be started as a New Game, and difficulty cannot be changed mid-playthrough.

 

[Dynasty8]

They're doing the same thing with the Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster that was recently announced. That game was special partly because of the challenge. Square Enix just loves making everything easier.