Playing games on hard mode (or other harder modes)

[agent817]

So I was wondering this recently. I know some people like a challenge. I don't mind, if like a challenge depending on the situation. I have also gone through hard mode at times but when does it feel like less of a challenge and more unfair? For example, I remembered playing "Saints Row 2" on hard mode at times and there were moments when I would lower the difficulty because some missions were hard to the point of me wanting to throw my controller to the wall. So sometimes it's less of a challenge and more like the AI just got cheaper.

Now I may play a game on normal if I am starting out. Maybe down the road I could try it on hard.

What are your thoughts?

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Most games I stick with the normal difficulty, or set it to easy if it's a massive game and I don't want to have to spend most of my time grinding.

On the other hand, I've played the Mass Effect trilogy so many times on regular difficulty whenever I tend to go back I bump it up a level. Haven't done many missions on insanity, though.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I'm not much of a gamer, like at all, but I'm an easy or normal mode guy.

Video games cheat enough. I take no joy out of ramping up the "AI" bullshit.

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

There should be no shame in playing a game on an easier level if it means you will enjoy it. There's way too much stock in having to beat it at a high enough level that I think a ton of video games got ruined for people who got frustrated with the toxic mindset that they have to struggle in order to get any enjoyment out of something. This is just a bad way to go at things not just in gaming but in life.

The sooner the "all about winning/get gud" narrative dies in gaming the better. Gaming stopped being about having fun and is now all about winning and how much you can achieve. This is not the WORST thing but I think there's WAY too much focus in this today. Difficulty should be part of the game, not the entire game.

[Duke Cameron]

I play every game I play on the easiest mode it has. I’m trying to relax and have fun, not stress over how many times I’m dying because I have the difficulty turned up.

[dirtyoldman]

Normally stick to normal for the first time. Although when i got 'Rise of the Third Power' the difficulty levels had an explanation of what to expect when selecting them so i chose hard the first time. There was one difficulty above that called nightmare or something i think. Still found the game quite easy still.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

I play it on normal difficulty. Unless raising the difficulty doesn't lead to more challenging AI but just ranks their health up a few bars. Then I just pop it on easy--making the enemy twice as sturdy, doesn't make the game harder. It just makes it more tedius.

That was an issue with Guardians of the Galaxy and the new Spider-Man game, I didn't find the enemies any more difficult at higher difficulties. They just took longer to kill.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Usually I go with the normal difficulty if it’s like a platformer or a shooter. Though I generally don’t get that sense when I’m playing something online like a fighting game. Because with that I’m competing with another person and it’s fun to go up the ranks, find shrewder players and try to out-strategize them.

With single player stuff, I’m not a speed runner or a masochist, so why bother stressing myself out against a non-human?

[Timeless Hayterade]

I usually go with easy or normal (in the case of Gears of War, Casual or Normal). It's no use getting frustrated.

[chrom]

I play on easy mode because I wanna enjoy myself and see how the game goes. Games are meant for us to get away from what's going on in the real world even if only for a half hour

[Push R Truth]

I play on normal and will go to easy if the game has poor controls or bullshit AI. Sometimes it also reaches a point where I think, "I'm a 40+ year old dude and I have a job I need to wake up for tomorrow. I'm not going to spend 8 hours on this fight like I would have back in college."

I'll go to hard if it's a game I really like and it's easy to control AND it respects the limited time that I have. I'll play Starcraft 2 AI on the highest settings and BOTW was on master mode for my second playthru.

[salz4life]

If I had the time to really put a crap ton of hours into a game, I'd be more inclined to play on a hard or legendary mode. I don't have many hours so if I want to get a chance to complete a game, I have to play normal or even easy difficulty.

[tirtefaa]

Most "Hard Modes" games I've played aren't really hard mode. It's less forgiving mode.

See, programmers aren't going to take the time to program different ways to make the game challenging. Instead, they do things like put smaller time limits, take more damage from enemies, and require more damage to kill enemies. It's the equivalent of reading a book, then I take the book, make the font smaller, turn the lights down real low and constantly pull the book away from you as you're trying to follow along. Actually, if anything I'm putting in more effort than a lot of programmers.

I stick to normal. I may try hard if I like the game well enough, but otherwise that just seems like padding to increase replayability.

[Soultastic]

I think it depends on the game. I always try the higher difficulties in games like Devil May Cry. I can barely make it past Very Hard but I do get enjoyment out of the challenge, even when I fail (which is most of the time).

Other times higher difficulties are less challenging and more annoying, so I stick to normal or hard at most. Looking at you, WWE games.

[Hit Girl]

Easy/casual mode.

[Cyno]

I usually play on easy or normal. I only tune up the difficulty if it gets so easy that I get bored.

[government mule]

The only racing game I've ever dared to go to a manual gear change for was 'Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco Grand Prix 2' for the Sega Mega Drive. Every other driving game I absolutely suck at.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Nov 1, 2023 22:30:54 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

I'm not much of a gamer, like at all, but I'm an easy or normal mode guy.

Video games cheat enough. I take no joy out of ramping up the "AI" bullshit.

Very much this. I don't spend a tonne of time gaming these days, so when I do I generally wanna sit back and enjoy the game. I want a bit of challenge, but I also don't wanna spend hours replaying the same area over and over again because I'm not particularly good at video games anymore

[schma]

Count me among those who don't have time to get gud. I'm looking to relax after a stressful job. I still enjoy a challenge but I will typically default to normal unless it's a game system I'm intimately familiar with.

[saneiac]

I guess I'm the masochist. If it's a series I'm unfamiliar with, I do a playthrough on Normal, then another on Hard or Hard+ if I enjoyed the game. If it's a game I kind of know already, I start on Hard. I've been like this since my 1980s NES and Sega days.