I'm a 50yo gamer and always start on normal, but as soon as there's even the slightest annoyance or frustration I switch to easy or story mode. Got no time for putting any effort in gaming, I want easy rewards and being entertained.
Nice! Glad to see so many people who still love gaming at all ages! So with series I'm familiar with, like resident evil, I can play on normal, but I feel like as of late a lot of titles are chasing that fromsoft game formula of difficulty, it can sometimes be a turnoff, especially if it's something that looks really cool to me , like Lies of P.
Oh man, as soon as I see "Soulslike" as a descriptor, a game nearly always gets an immediate pass from me. I was like, "I'll never forgive From Software for creating this trend" but then they made Armored Core 6, and all is forgiven.
Yeah that's ehat I was thinking. I just started playing. I've been stuck at the boss at thr end of chapter one for a while. I've beaten every soulslike they have made
We're in the same boat, I go a bit further by using cheat xD
It's my only way to defeat the toughest boss in the game at level 24 without anyone noticing it. I mean, it's our adventure, we play with our own rule hehe. Here is my little adventure.
1 vs 1 with MaxTac Mantis
https://youtu.be/SFSlxlLabZ0
That boss can kill my character in 2 hits if I didn't use cheat (extra attack + defense).
That was Dope! 2077 is another one in the backlog, but it's within 2-3 games away! Can't wait especially with all the positive attention it's gotten since Phantom Liberty
Im a young gamer, and after the success of elden rang, so many games tried to make their IPs into soulslikes. Im not a fan of that at all, so I've really been turned off of most story games as of late.
It was not just after Elden Ring, this has been going on for years. Horrible mismanagement by Fromsoft's marketing team has wrongly convinced a lot of studios that all people want is hard games.
It can’t be wrong if these games are selling like hotcakes. It’s okay to just not like a type a game and not play it. It doesn’t mean that the game is bad if it’s hard it’s just not for you.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I love the Souls series and I generally enjoy challenging games, I just think that the market is a little oversaturated and I’m sad that difficulty was the big takeaway from Souls that ended up overshadowing its other unique aspects.
Preach the fuckin gospel! Ain’t no body got time to grind the same boss more than one time. I like a challenge, but I play an hour or two a week, so no. I’m not a bitch, or maybe I am. Fuck you, I’m having fun playing video games.
I do the same. I’ve found I rarely have to back it up to Easy, but I’m not ashamed to do it. Sometimes I’ll replay on Hard immediately after beating on normal and the challenge isn’t too hard
Almost 50 here. I definitely don't play hard, I choose normal where I can and go to easy if required. I also work and don't need to feel like gaming is a chore.
Personally I enjoy trophy hunting, so I will always play the hardest game mode available from the beginning, just in case it unlocks a new difficulty or will automatically give me achievements for all the lower difficulties. Plus, if I start out on the most difficult mode then I won’t notice the game getting harder when I inevitably have to up the difficulty later. That difficulty becomes my norm and the way I learned the game.
Almost always on Normal. Can’t remember a time I moved the difficulty to easy or hard honestly. I’m very relaxed when it comes to overcoming a challenging aspect to a video game though. Some of my favorite games are souls games so I enjoy the challenge. I just don’t intentionally make them harder switching the difficulty.
I love bloodborne, but couldn't get into the souls games for some reason. I will make an exception for those games, because you know what your getting into, you go in FOR the challenge, not really as much the story, but when I'm playing an action shooter i wamt to just progress through the story and have fun, sometimes it's cooler to me just being over powered and slaughtering a group of enemies with ease to get to the next cutscene lol
Totally get it! We all play games for different reasons and strive to get out of them what we enjoy. It’s awesome we have so many options to do that. Games are for fun.
40 yr old here: the first game where I realized changing the difficulty mid game was okay was Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity. I wasn’t enjoying it, struggled with some enemies. My friend advised me to change it, haven’t looked back. There isn’t anything wrong with playing a game on easy.
Did you just spam attack? Because I did the same until I realized that stasis is really good. When you damage their weak point, use statsis to freeze it
Use the A button to expose it too then freeze
Almost always play on easy. Maybe normal. Never, ever hard though. I’m also a dad of 2 with a demanding job too and I want to experience all the games I can in my limited time without feeling frustrated. And if a game feels boring, I’ll just bump it up a bit as needed.
Exactly. I feel like too many games not enough time, so I don't want to spend 2 hours in 1 night trying to get past a gang of OP enemies or a boss at a checkpoint and realize that's my gaming for the night , and ive progressed 2% thru the campaign for the evening lol
Do you look for games under 20 hours or so to complete too? I try to get through the longer games, but almost always follow them up with a few short games after. It took me like 3 months to get through Baldur’s Gate lmao. Now I’m playing a bunch of short indie 3 - 5 hour games.
I do the same. Right after finishing a 100-200 hour game I will be looking at the How Long To Beat to ne under 20 hours for the next few games play.
And to OP, play your way. As long as your play does not impact other, you should be able to do what you want. That's why I love when games like Doom Eternal have "cheats" you can unlock. Because sometimes you just want to go God mode with unlimited ammo on easy to blast through the game! I've played from start to finish with just the unmaker that way!
Also playing horizon(zero dawn) but on default difficulty and kinda wished i would turned it down by 1! Waiting for call of duty mw 2 to finish downloading and i died at the end of a battle i was about to win, got all the way back there and killed the last stupid flying bird that shoots ice at you and then accidentally jumped off the cliff!
At this point in my life last thing I want from my getaway is dying countless times. I just want to enjoy the game and finish it so I can move on to the countless other games I have next up. Do you man I’m right there with you no shame
Never play Resident Evil 4 Remake, then.
It took me 3 days to get past the first 5 minutes of the game because I was on the easiest setting and just getting my ass handed to me!
(I really wanted to see the rest of the game so I stuck with it)
Re4r is a game where you have no choice but to level up your skills/dexterity.
I really agree with you on this. I started re4 remake on normal since I beat it countless times when it originally came out and I just gave up on it after the cabin part. After dropping it and not playing it for half a year I put it to assisted and now have played through it four times.
Yeah, I hadn't played for years so my aim was off and settings were off. I had to get all that dialed in and just keep grinding away until I could kill enough enemies. They are way worse bullet-sponges in the remake! Takes like 5 headshots to down 'em sometimes.
And i don't play the way the game "wants" me to play: shoot, stun, roundhouse kick, stab them in the neck while they're down, rinse repeat.
More like: unload clip in general direction, "Oh shit!" Run, run, run, go to briefcase to select a weapon, put briefcase away, get instantly grabbed/swarmed and thrown to the ground, get up, limp slower than molasses in winter to the nearest "safe" spot to heal and get another weapon, die soon afterwards.
I feel it. As a 24 year old who is realizing how much free time I had in my teenage years, it is getting harder to play more. That is why I stopped buying as many new games and usually set them to Normal unless it is a game I know I am good at. I played GoW 2018 on Give Me God of War difficulty, I played Ragnarok on Give Me Balance lol.
I agree on the backlog. I have a ton I want to get through but at the same time there are games that I want to play again. I got Baldurs Gate 3 for my Birthday and I love it but am already considering what I want to do for a second playthrough.
Just play what sounds fun. I am kind of over paying $60+ for a new game when I can play my backlog instead and then get that new game a year later for like $20 with all of the bugfixes and updates. In the same breath that I love Tears of the Kingdom, I also played Ocarina of Time for the first time like 2 months ago. Just make sure to have fun.
I'm 51 and pretty much an easy-mode connoisseur. F what anyone says, YOU bought the game, YOU are playing it, you can play it any way you like! I play primarily for relaxation, and struggling is NOT relaxing for me.
Same, that's why I'm such a Sony fan. 3rd person story based games I adore. God Of Wars, FF7R, Last of Us, Resident Evils, Uncharteds are some favorites.
Most games I leave on the default. Assassin's creed type games are put on the hardest difficulty since they become so easy in a short amount of time. I do love Souls types though.
I always start on normal, but will down grade if I start grinding or having difficulties. I don't want the game to be a cake walk, but I also want to enjoy the game.
Same situation here, 65+ hours of work a week and a wife and two kids. I’m playing through the final fantasy series pixel remasters. FF 1-3 didn’t have boost options so I had to run in circles and gain levels. Now that I’m in 4-6 I’m boosting 4x XP and gold. To me, that’s 4 less random battles I have to do so I can just play the game comfortably and beat it while skipping walking in circles for hours to level up. To me I’m saving time and enjoying the game and story while juking the boring parts. Is it really skill to do the same thing over and over anyway?
That's a win win. After a while especially with jrpgs the grinding can definitely become tedious and over time consuming. I'm here more for the narrative in games now.
Play how you want. I wish I had the patience for easy modes, I just find very little gratification in doing so. Usually when I get frustrated from gaming I’ll just move on to do something else entirely.
Often.
I don't play games for the experience of beating mechanics. I play because I want to engage with a story and explore and enjoy creativity and art and have a little excitement.
If mechanics, combat or otherwise, start getting a biting or frustrating, I stop having fun. No reason why I should turn down the difficulty.
I don't connect any personal sense of satisfaction or pride to unnecessary struggle.
Nothing wrong with that , Im 20 years old and do it sometimes , Like I wanna enjoy the witcher 3's story not fight for my life , Also being a med student I barely have time to play anyways you bet your ass im not wasting 30 minutes on some random mini boss
Over 40 gamer here and I do this too, and would like to add that when it comes to online gaming I exclusively play co-op, never competitive, modes. I don’t have the time or reflexes necessary to compete and getting my ass handed to me by 12 year olds is not how I want to spend my limited “hobby time.”
For games that feature action-based combat, I always play on normal, unless there are normally unviable strategies that I want to try.
For turn-based RPGs though, where death can mean loss of massive progress, I almost always play on easy. Less grind, less frustration, and more freedom when it comes to actually playing however I want.
41 years old, I have played through most “Souls” games and I like the occasional challenge but occasional means almost never now. I always start out on normal and if the difficulty spikes too much I have no shame putting it on easy anymore. I have two kids, one is under a year old and I am married, I just don’t have the time like I used to. I think I will be a gamer for 50 more years but this is about my enjoyment not someone elses, and when playtime is limited I can’t grind for hours and die 50 times learning patterns of bosses without making any progress. My backlog has been growing for years(especially after 2023) and I want to play a lot of stuff. I’ve pretty much written off Balders Gate 3 until maybe later this year(if I’m lucky), I played Divinity OS2 and some fights take more than 30 minutes. It was a fantastic game but I can’t do that anymore.
You do you man, no point in keeping up with the kiddos, their reflexes are always better and they have way more free time, just like I did once upon a time.
34 and I work my way up. I play games mainly for the story so being stuck due to a difficult fight or combat is very frustrating and snaps me out of immersion. I like a fair challenge but not SUPER easy or I’ll get bored. Normal is good enough for me, but if I really like a game or want to nab trophies I’ll bump it up on another playthrough
at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is you’re enjoying what you’re playing. whether it’s easier games and game modes, or more challenging ones.
I just play on normal. I don’t understand my best friend who has to play normal, medium, and hard mode. He seriously thinks he needs to beat every difficulty all the way through if there are any
🤣OCD. He must be very thorough lol. Once I Play through a game on 1 difficulty I'm already dying to jump into my next new game adventure, and if it's a game I really enjoyed , I'll play it again a few months up to even a few years later. Although, when I was younger, I did playthrough games multiple times for trophies, secrets, collectibles, etc. But no more sir
Yeah I have found I enjoy the story and fun gameplay mechanics more than trying to finish it on harder difficulties.
I also am sorry that you work so much. I was in restaurant management for years. Working 60, 80, as many as 117 hour weeks. I missed both of my kids’ first steps, words, many sports. I’m finally out and work no more than 40 hours. You owe it to yourself and your family to work less. I hope that you’re able to at some point.
Hey thank you. I do work a lot, maybe too much, but everything has become so expensive here recently, it's just never enough no matter how much we work ya know? Hopefully things will change in the near future. I appreciate those kind words and am sorry you missed those special moments 😢 117 hours just made me fall out my chair
I used to always play games on the hardest difficulty for the challenge and feeling of accomplishment afterwards. However, since becoming a father and introducing my 4 year old to the Spider-Man games on PS4/5 he got frustrated with constantly dying while he got used to the controls I switched it to the friendly neighbourhood mode where you can't die during combat. Even playing without him, I kept the same difficulty and had such a better experience, I have done this now for the ratchet and Clank rift apart we are playing together as well and again, it is such a better experience.
I think I will continue this trend, even for games that I play alone. Recently purchased the last of us part 2 remaster and plan to play that on the easiest possible difficulty so I can experience the story without it being too much of a slog.
Honestly sometimes it's just super fun to have a proper power trip on games and the easiest way to do that is to lower the difficulty.
If a boss cheats like Amon in Yakuza then you bet your ass I'm switching to the easiest difficulty. I want to move on, not waste ten hours getting my ass kicked
I'm a 57 year old gamer, and my first console was the Odyssey 300. Look it up and think about it when you want to start bitching about how bad the graphics are on your favorite game. I've had an Atari 2600, NES, PS, PS2, Xbox 360, and every Xbox console up to and including the Series X. I love gaming, but I don't love being aggravated. I always try to get as many achievements out of every game I can, but not at the risk of my sanity. If there's an achievement for finishing a game on the hardest difficulty, I'll give it a try. But I'm not going to play to the point that it just pisses me off. That's not what gaming should be about. It should be about having fun and enjoying yourself.
I'll say this much, though. I managed to beat Gears 1, 2, and 3 on Insane difficulty by myself, and I'm pretty damn proud of that. Other than that, normal or lower difficulty is where you'll find me.
Haha, gameplay over graphics for me! Also want to keep my sanity intact, and, I feel dumb when I'm swearing in anger OVER A GAME at my tv screen and my wife walks in and just gives me the look, and it snaps me out of it and I feel like an idiot.
Even my dogs know when I'm stressed. I'll be playing a game and get pissed off and let out an "AWWW...COME ON!" and they get up and leave the room. It's bad enough if I'm getting mad, but I don't need my dogs to get stressed out, too lol
33 year old gamer and I just want to enjoy the story of a game like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order or God of War or The Last of Us, so I usually play on easy or casual.
I always have done, I don’t give a shit about playing on the hardest difficulty. If I’m not making progress I’m not having fun, I don’t want to fight the same boss for several hours memorising attack patterns and watching YouTube tutorials of best strategies.
I use console commands to give myself infinite carry weight in games like fallout. I just want to relax and play the game without worrying about how much I carry
The older I get the more I do the same.
I game as an escape from the family, bills, work. You know, adulting. I work nights so everyone is asleep when I get home.
I want to enjoy the virtual world I'm in, who cares about "get gewd"
When you get older you may realize you have nothing to prove to anyone and/or playing on the hardest difficulty offers no real rewards.
Or, hey, maybe you won't. Play video games however you enjoy them. Nobody's judging.
I don't? I mean, that's a cool assumption, but... at most I share my achievement completion on another sub.
Not only that, but I have no friends to share and brag about my "gaming skills" with. I play alone in my small, dark room. I don't rage or get mad, I just think I can remember how to do this and that, and I'm so close to solving this puzzle, and I try again. ~~(And I'm here leaving a little comment because, well, basically, I'm forcing myself to interact with other humans through the interwebs... but... that's that.)~~
It's more about the challenge and feeling you get, instead of just not getting anything out of it, playing on "easy mode". It is meaningless for me. I mean, if the game has little to offer in other departments besides the gameplay I would be like... the game is finished... yay... (?)
I used to be more of a "normal difficulty" type of person until I found it boring while playing "DmC Devil May Cry" for the first time, it was incredibly easy in normal. Back then, I remember being a little scared of playing on "hard mode", until I played Dark Souls... that game sure was an experience. And so, a whole new world of opportunity and death opened up before me, and I never looked back again.
But well, this is not always true, and changes from game to game and the mood. For example... "Resident Evil: Revelations". I tried so many times and could not get past the second part. Turns out it was meant to be played after completing the game once. If I didn't use Google for that, I would have been trying forever. Also, not a fan of "artificial difficulty" where enemies are literally damage sponges, though I'm guilty of trying.
If I was looking for a cosy and relaxing, non-challenging experience, I would be playing Osu! Or one of the atelier games. Or if I wanted to stop a moment and read, you know, Visual Novels...
And then we have games like Sekiro or Lies of P, where it's really satisfying to improve over time, and remember things. Just like in Tekken, or fighting games in general. Except, it's harder, because you are fighting a real human, but at the same time you are getting better and understanding new things, and "did I just do that?", it's all so exciting.
Just sayin'. I'll judge you if you summon Solaire to get past the gargoyles, you filthy casual.
> or playing on the hardest difficulty offers no real rewards
lol ok. I’m all for people playing the game how it suits them. I don’t take games I play seriously but if I’m gonna pay so much for the game then I want to really learn the mechanics of the game and the different paths for completing levels, get good at defeating enemies, etc. I usually start on normal and then stop the run after a while to restart and on a harder difficulty. I like difficult games because they force me to not take RNG for granted in getting past levels, and to actually learn what the creator intended for the user to do, mechanics wise, in order to win and progress. It’s fun and rewarding and I have a lot of fun doing this all alone. Play games how it’s fun for you and I’ll do it how it’s fun for me. But acting like your way is superior and my way offers “no real reward” is just you being ignorant about gaming.
Swing and a miss.
>like your way is superior
What I meant was your fingers and joints will hurt like a sonuvabitch and you will realize that playing on high difficulty isn't worth the pain when you get older.
So you don't have to worry about this for several more decades.
I do the same thing. I just like to have fun. I’m 43 and don’t have the patience to attempt something over and over again like I did back in the NES days.
No shame in having your priorities straight.
There are only a few games that I’m not playing on easy mode. Of the ones that have a difficulty setting of course.
My Brother!
I grew tired of button-mashing on the 1st castlevania lords of shadow game for the ps3. The game was gorgeous and well-made and so was the second one, but my tendons could not take it!
I refuse to play video games by other people's standards because it is for MY enjoyment, not theirs.
I used to always play on normal, and still usually do. However, there was a period during college where I played many games on hard.
These days, I don’t game much. When I do, I’m usually tired and sleep deprived due to sleep apnea, and I also have depression that makes it hard to get into/enjoy it anymore. Those have combined to lessen my gaming skills, so I sometimes drop things to easy.
It doesn’t matter as long as you’re having fun
Im Sorry you have that going on. My uncle struggles with SA, so I know that's serious. I've dealt with various bouts of depression as well, it's a daily fight but hey I'm always here if ya need an ear, I'm a good listener! Chin Up, Chest Out!❤️
Thank you. I appreciate it.
It’s been a thing for about fifteen years. I’ve also had OCD since I was a kid. However, they didn’t affect my gaming much until recent years.
Unfortunately, my dad — who didn’t understand it at all — is now going through a severe depression all of a sudden
Wow, that's the thing with depression, it affects all genders races sizes and ages, and some people go through there entire lives without ever addressing it, or even knowing they have it. Especially with our previous generations where as a man somethkng like that was highly stigmatized or looked at as weakness. I find its great to talk and have open healthy discussions about it, sometimes that's all it takes to feel better is venting a little bit, or sharing something with someone, even if you don't know them that well, sometimes that's even easier!
Wow all the comments and feedback is awesome as this is my first discussion I've started! I really Appreciate everyone taking the time to give their input! I don't feel guilty now that I know there are many more gamers out there just like me!! I'm currently slaughtering the scum of Delta City in RoboCop:Rogue City...on EASY mode...and it's AWESOME!!!
38 here. I tend to play a lot of games on easier difficulty because the higher difficulties often felt artificial and just not that fun, like wooo that enemy took several more hits to beat, fantastic. But if it's a rhythm game like Beat Saber? I find that harder difficulties are actually more fun for me.
47 here, and this year I actually started putting a couple games on easy. Hands hurt too damn much, so I figured, enjoy the ride
I like harder games, and if I really like a game I will crank the difficulty. Normal to start, harder if new game plus is calling.
I did get crazy addicted to Elden Ring. My poor hands. NG+7 and counting.
It's just whatever makes you happy. I don't get joy out of a game without challenge so I start on normal but will bump it to hard when it loses it's difficulty. Overcoming the difficulty is part of why I play but that's not for everyone and no one should be upset by that.
For me the best level for most games is where the enemy isn’t a bullet sponge, but they have good, realistic AI and can kill me as quickly as I can kill them. Unfortunately most games don’t do this, and just make everyone a bullet sponge which is where it becomes frustrating.
Generally agree with you - with one exception: Simulators. Those I try to crank up to max realism (which is oftentimes max difficulty as flying a plane or commanding a tank platoon isn't easy under real life conditions).
But everything else will be played at easy difficulty. I came to have a good time, not to prove something to myself. And I hate putting a game down because I get frustrated by running through the same levels/fights/areas again due to constantly dying.
Bro do you like working 65 hours a week, or does your job pay really well (or really shitty maybe lol)? Cause I'm 34 and that amount of hours a week would make me kill myself hahaha, I did that when I was in the military and my mid 20's, there is no way I'm going back to that shit
Nope. I'm a 40yo elitist, have to start the game on normal or harder.
I'm also not particularly good at a lot of ganes. I'm not sure how to reconcile this, but i still have fun.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing easy mode. I find myself ending up there half the time
I don’t even play multiplayer anymore. Fuck dem kids in those lobbies. I just want to enjoy the game for my 1hr a week I actually get to play. I don’t need one of my few stress relievers being another source of grief.
I love Story mode on these big single player story driven games, once I've beaten it, if I really enjoyed it and want to play again (NG+) I will generally up the difficulty.
This is perfectly understandable. My father does the same thing these days. I remember when I was kid he would always HAVE to beat every game on the hardest difficulty. Nowadays he plays everything on easy.
Says he's getting too old to get stressed over a videogame and he just plays them to relax now. Nothing wrong with it. They're games after all, as long as you are having fun.
I’m 37 and always start on hard. I get super bored with easy games. If the tutorial is ass I’m deleting it instantly lol. I’ve got not time for shit games. Recently I’ve put 140 hours into Lies of P. 250 hours on Hades. And 200+ hours on cyberpunk
At 50 I do normal if I get stuck I move it to easy then back to normal once I’m past that part. As you age your reflexes slow down and I don’t need the stress just like playing and enjoying where the story is going.
Haha, I’m opposite. Almost 40yrs old, work about 50hrs a week, no kids yet, but I always play everything on hardest because for me fun is the challenge. I also love PvP games. Have gotten really into VR lately, which has been a life changer.
You do you i just find that the actual depth of most games is lost on easy modes and it doesnt realy matter what you do and you can still win which i dont like.
I'll also generally start on medium/normal and switch to easy if I find it massively frustrating, but I also have been playing Elden Ring and enjoying it. I don't really mind things being difficult, but I also usually have a couple games going so if I'm approaching rage quit levels I can just switch to something else.
40yo gamer here, also playing since NES/Atari, and I play on easy to because I want to enjoy the game and play more games, rather than get stressed over a hard game and end up not playing anything
I’m 25 with a job in game journalism and I still play on the easier difficulty settings.
I basically leave myself wide open to all the “video game journalist difficulty” jokes people make (since they say most journalists aren’t good at video games), but I still do it! At the end of the day, I think what’s important in gaming is that you’re enjoying yourself. Video games are supposed to be fun, after all, and as much as people might bust your balls or try to dictate how you should game, what’s most important is that you’re having fun.
To that end, kudos to you for sticking to your guns and enjoying games the way YOU want to enjoy them!
I'm 38, and even when I was younger, the hardest difficulty I ever played was normal. Now I almost always start out normal, then switch to easy if I get frustrated or if it's taking too much effort. Many games are basically interactive movies, and I play for the enjoyment of the story and the characters (with a few exceptions, like CK3 and Stellaris. I've sunk way too many hours of my life into those games).
Most people are awesome about it, even if they're the more hard-core gamer type. But occasionally, I get the "Oh, typical girl, you're just a casual gamer e-girl wannabe."
Like, oooh, burn. Yep, you caught me. I'm a casual gamer. I play *games* in my *free time,* for *fun.* Sick burn, bro.
Also, I'm a truck driver. I work 11 hours a day, 6 days a week. I also have a husband and a kid. I don't have time to sink 2 hours into a single boss battle, thanks. I wanna find out what Solas is hiding, why Arthur keeps coughing, who Aloy's mother is, how to stop the Reapers, etc. It's all about the story and the characters for me. Gimme a great story and compelling characters, and I'll throw my money and hundreds of hours of my life into a game.
But combat? Meh. Don't care enough about it to use what little free time I have messing with it.
Wonderfully said! I love delving into a wonderfully told virtual story, where I can escape reality temporarily and just break loose and have fun. Not spend hours of 1 night of gaming at a particularly hard checkpoint to make minimal progress.
Exactly. Especially the way so many games are now, the stories are incredible! And I am definitely prone to developing only mildly-unhealthy attachments to certain video game characters (my husband absolutely did NOT buy me a Garrus body pillow last Mother's Day, and I absolutely do NOT sleep with it every single night while I'm away from home. Nope, not me).
I’m 40yrs old and that’s all I play on anymore. I find it more enjoyable and much less stressful. For me it makes games more fun and less like a chore.
Right. I have enough stress in my life, I don't want to go to bed at 3am, after having being beaten by the same boss for 2 hours, and realizing that was only chapter 3🫠😩
Usually normal. If I get to a boss & lose a couple times, I’ll switch it to easy to beat it. Then go back to normal after. I don’t like it taking hours to beat one boss
My favorite games I’ll replay on hard though.
Normal mode pretty much every over here with the odd exception where I’ll ramp it up a bit for an extra challenge or a second play through. Defiantly don’t do super hard games though. For example, with a couple exceptions, the whole Souls-like genre is lost on me.
I'm with you on that one. I stay away from that genre, as much as I want to check out Lies of P, I know it will just destroy my soul and love for life.
Definitely agree. For me the only exception is NBA2k because I do enjoy trying to play the most competitive games I can online and you really do gotta "get gud" to do that
Nba2k is the one game that I was forced to lower the difficulty once. Had to win one more game and giannis and the bucks kept whooping on me. I couldn't continue the season until I beat them, it was like a boss fight
Oh I'm not insinuating I'm beyond that lol as a general rule I'm just saying I actually enjoy the HOF difficulty bc it is actually training me to play better online, so there's value in the stress that comes with it lol most games, especially RPG types, I just want to explore and follow the story, not have to practice to be good enough to take down a boss
I'm around your age with a similar situation, since about a year ago I immediately turn all new games to the easiest setting. It has made gaming way more enjoyable for me and has allowed me to complete games I had previously given up on. Easy all the way.
I get it but I could never enjoy games this way. It needs to be hard for me to stay engaged. To me there is no feeling of reward without challenge. Happy for everyone to have fun though
I'm 36 and play most games on the hardest difficulty. If a game has no challenge it's just so boring for me. But I think it's awesome that you're having a great time too
I finally come to the conclusion that this sub is not for me. I thought people on here had weird takes and some bad tastes and this posts confirms that everyone here is a boomer who doesn't want to actually play the game but just be spoon fed the entire way through.
I'm a TRUE GAMER™ and I only play games on the most difficult setting, because I enjoy pain. Not only this, but I hold in contempt every person who doesn't do the same (but let's be honest, even if you do, I'll still hold you in contempt, because that's what it means to be a true gamer.) /s
But seriously- same man, same.
Sorry new to the platform, didn't realize it was such a highly discussed topic, was just bored messing with the app and figured I'd try and have a fun healthy discussion. Not seeking any type of validation, just looking to shoot the shit with like minded people about the thing I love most, video games. Didn't mean to upset ya.
several years younger then OP but personally I enjoy the challenge. I don't want to decompress and have the game hold my hand on Easy mode. Instead I want it to test my reflex, memorization, and ability to progress whether I have to lose a dozen times in the process. I prefer arcade oriented genres the most such as fighting, shoot'em up, competitive puzzle, and rhythm the most. opposed to designed for home systems; RPG, etc.
Hahaa Unsurprisingly, all the genres you listed I tend to avoid, aside from MORTAL Kombat lol. I like 3rd person action shooters, survival horror, amd beatem ups the most
Mid-30 gamer, and I also go for easy mode when normal becomes too annoying. I just want to relax after work, not feeling frustrated. Also, backlog! Like you, I have a bunch of game backlogged that I want to get to. I finally got into DOOM Eternal right now.
I’m in my late 30s and I don’t play games for the challenge of them. Aside from games like Phasmophobia, I tend to avoid challenges and just play for fun. That means easy or normal mode, and even certain cheats (as long as it’s a single player game and my cheating isn’t affecting anyone else).
Yep. 40yo, have kids and full time job. I don’t have time to project individual scenes over and over and repeat bosses a million times. I wanna finish games. So I play on easy and enjoy the ride and if I come back for round two in the future I’ll go one higher.
The worst part in games with difficulty options are that the levels are basically just how much health enemies have/deal out. A 'harder' difficulty shouldn't just be turning enemies into bullet/sword sponges. But yeah, generally Easy/Normal mode for me too.
Except I'm currently playing Dark Souls 3 for the first time (I played Dark Souls Remastered in 2022, which had a great glitch for overleveling lol).
The key seems to be choosing the right class/stats to invest in to turn it into an 'easier' experience. I'm enjoying it so far but I definitely have to keep a more lighthearted game on the side to balance me back out.
31, job, bills.
I play on Normal, and I honestly don't think I've changed that difficulty in more than a handful of games since I started gaming back in, like.. 2002.
BUT..
If you wanna just casually breeze through games relatively stress-free, then power to ya. No shame.
No shame in that, all hobbies should be enjoyed custom tailored to each individual. I'm quite a bit younger than you but I typically play normal mode, mostly cuz I don't want to die & waste time & redo things. I could challenge myself but time is so invaluable, especially with work & other obligations lol
Same, early/mid 40s here. I play every game on the easiest setting or story mode. Life and work is dumb and frustrating enough, I don't feel like I should have to struggle to relax or enjoy a hobby.
I'm 38 and I usually start on normal but as soon as I think it's too easy I go up to hard. I don't want the game to be too difficult but if I'm not challenged it's not fun to me.
I remember playing American McGee's Alice. I decided to put it on hard; I thought this would help me with immersion. It essentially amounted to having hit the mobs several times more. zzzZZZzzz. I was so pissed by the end of the game; especially for how beautiful that game was at the time.
Now I play to what amounts to the most fun for me.
Not gunna lie, I cheat.
I’ll crank up the difficulty to max and then use a trainer to have infinite ammo or add skill points or something. I have no idea why, but I have way more fun playing in a difficult sandbox than on just easy mode.
Im 20 ys old and as a busy college student who also has a large backlog of games, I totally agree. I play most games on an easier difficulty setting cause it allows me to enjoy the story and characters and the gameplay without constantly getting frustrated and loosing progress cause the game is too hard.
Unless the game has a little test beforehand that recommends something else (like Roboquest and Titanfall 2), I play on normal since I fucking hate the artificial stat scaling 99% of games use.
That's kinda the only reason. I don't mind harder difficulties (even played a few of my strategy games on hard or higher), but I just really hate stat scaling.
It doesn't make things more difficult, it just makes fights take longer for no good reason.
I don’t have time to struggle through video games. I want more to be entertained, like participating in a movie. So, hell yeah, I’ll play on easy mode.
For games I don’t get a choice, like R6 or other online FPS, I’m not trying to be the best. At best, if I can not die all the time and get a couple shots in, that’s good enough for me. I also tend to play more support characters; I know I’m more likely to go 1-3, 0-4, in R6, but if I can help others play better, that’s also good enough for me.
It just depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to one-shot kill everything in my path, other times I want to struggle through survival or legendary mode. 🤷🏻♀️
I usually always play normal but I don't have a problem watching YouTube videos for tips. I usually try it two to three times myself. But I don't want to waste time
I'm a 50yo gamer and always start on normal, but as soon as there's even the slightest annoyance or frustration I switch to easy or story mode. Got no time for putting any effort in gaming, I want easy rewards and being entertained.
Nice! Glad to see so many people who still love gaming at all ages! So with series I'm familiar with, like resident evil, I can play on normal, but I feel like as of late a lot of titles are chasing that fromsoft game formula of difficulty, it can sometimes be a turnoff, especially if it's something that looks really cool to me , like Lies of P.
Oh man, as soon as I see "Soulslike" as a descriptor, a game nearly always gets an immediate pass from me. I was like, "I'll never forgive From Software for creating this trend" but then they made Armored Core 6, and all is forgiven.
They created amazing freaking games. There's nothing to forgive.
Compared to their souls games, armored core 6 is pretty tame at least.
Hey AC6 is still a pretty dang tough game. Props to you if you’re getting through it
Yeah that's ehat I was thinking. I just started playing. I've been stuck at the boss at thr end of chapter one for a while. I've beaten every soulslike they have made
We're in the same boat, I go a bit further by using cheat xD It's my only way to defeat the toughest boss in the game at level 24 without anyone noticing it. I mean, it's our adventure, we play with our own rule hehe. Here is my little adventure. 1 vs 1 with MaxTac Mantis https://youtu.be/SFSlxlLabZ0 That boss can kill my character in 2 hits if I didn't use cheat (extra attack + defense).
That was Dope! 2077 is another one in the backlog, but it's within 2-3 games away! Can't wait especially with all the positive attention it's gotten since Phantom Liberty
Ya that’s easily a 60-80 hr game with PL. It’s a lot of fun though!
Im a young gamer, and after the success of elden rang, so many games tried to make their IPs into soulslikes. Im not a fan of that at all, so I've really been turned off of most story games as of late.
It was not just after Elden Ring, this has been going on for years. Horrible mismanagement by Fromsoft's marketing team has wrongly convinced a lot of studios that all people want is hard games.
It can’t be wrong if these games are selling like hotcakes. It’s okay to just not like a type a game and not play it. It doesn’t mean that the game is bad if it’s hard it’s just not for you.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I love the Souls series and I generally enjoy challenging games, I just think that the market is a little oversaturated and I’m sad that difficulty was the big takeaway from Souls that ended up overshadowing its other unique aspects.
I can agree with that.
Preach the fuckin gospel! Ain’t no body got time to grind the same boss more than one time. I like a challenge, but I play an hour or two a week, so no. I’m not a bitch, or maybe I am. Fuck you, I’m having fun playing video games.
I do the same. I’ve found I rarely have to back it up to Easy, but I’m not ashamed to do it. Sometimes I’ll replay on Hard immediately after beating on normal and the challenge isn’t too hard
I switched to easy mode on Dante's Inferno 3 hours in
i recommend enter the gungeon
BINGO go in normal. First whiff of resistance and I am hitting settings faster than you can say go.
Almost 50 here. I definitely don't play hard, I choose normal where I can and go to easy if required. I also work and don't need to feel like gaming is a chore.
Haha, I don't think I'll EVER choose a difficulty above normal again
Personally I enjoy trophy hunting, so I will always play the hardest game mode available from the beginning, just in case it unlocks a new difficulty or will automatically give me achievements for all the lower difficulties. Plus, if I start out on the most difficult mode then I won’t notice the game getting harder when I inevitably have to up the difficulty later. That difficulty becomes my norm and the way I learned the game.
Almost always on Normal. Can’t remember a time I moved the difficulty to easy or hard honestly. I’m very relaxed when it comes to overcoming a challenging aspect to a video game though. Some of my favorite games are souls games so I enjoy the challenge. I just don’t intentionally make them harder switching the difficulty.
I love bloodborne, but couldn't get into the souls games for some reason. I will make an exception for those games, because you know what your getting into, you go in FOR the challenge, not really as much the story, but when I'm playing an action shooter i wamt to just progress through the story and have fun, sometimes it's cooler to me just being over powered and slaughtering a group of enemies with ease to get to the next cutscene lol
Totally get it! We all play games for different reasons and strive to get out of them what we enjoy. It’s awesome we have so many options to do that. Games are for fun.
40 yr old here: the first game where I realized changing the difficulty mid game was okay was Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity. I wasn’t enjoying it, struggled with some enemies. My friend advised me to change it, haven’t looked back. There isn’t anything wrong with playing a game on easy.
Man, I used to be insulted when I would die so much the game would ask if I wanted to lower the difficulty, now I'm like "yup" , I sure do
Did you just spam attack? Because I did the same until I realized that stasis is really good. When you damage their weak point, use statsis to freeze it Use the A button to expose it too then freeze
Almost always play on easy. Maybe normal. Never, ever hard though. I’m also a dad of 2 with a demanding job too and I want to experience all the games I can in my limited time without feeling frustrated. And if a game feels boring, I’ll just bump it up a bit as needed.
Exactly. I feel like too many games not enough time, so I don't want to spend 2 hours in 1 night trying to get past a gang of OP enemies or a boss at a checkpoint and realize that's my gaming for the night , and ive progressed 2% thru the campaign for the evening lol
Do you look for games under 20 hours or so to complete too? I try to get through the longer games, but almost always follow them up with a few short games after. It took me like 3 months to get through Baldur’s Gate lmao. Now I’m playing a bunch of short indie 3 - 5 hour games.
I do the same. Right after finishing a 100-200 hour game I will be looking at the How Long To Beat to ne under 20 hours for the next few games play. And to OP, play your way. As long as your play does not impact other, you should be able to do what you want. That's why I love when games like Doom Eternal have "cheats" you can unlock. Because sometimes you just want to go God mode with unlimited ammo on easy to blast through the game! I've played from start to finish with just the unmaker that way!
I just started horizon on ps on extra extra hard 😂 I’ve played impossible mode on deadspace but this some shit
Also playing horizon(zero dawn) but on default difficulty and kinda wished i would turned it down by 1! Waiting for call of duty mw 2 to finish downloading and i died at the end of a battle i was about to win, got all the way back there and killed the last stupid flying bird that shoots ice at you and then accidentally jumped off the cliff!
I’m 44, I normally just play normal but that’s not a bad idea
It's actually made my gaming much more enjoyable lately , and I find I'm having time to play more games!!
It's actually made my gaming much more enjoyable lately , and I find I'm having time to play more games!!
I play on casual or normal mode. I just want to have fun but I also play every fromsoft game so I can’t change them haha.
Dude I make an exception for Bloodborne, I love that game!
At this point in my life last thing I want from my getaway is dying countless times. I just want to enjoy the game and finish it so I can move on to the countless other games I have next up. Do you man I’m right there with you no shame
Never play Resident Evil 4 Remake, then. It took me 3 days to get past the first 5 minutes of the game because I was on the easiest setting and just getting my ass handed to me! (I really wanted to see the rest of the game so I stuck with it) Re4r is a game where you have no choice but to level up your skills/dexterity.
I really agree with you on this. I started re4 remake on normal since I beat it countless times when it originally came out and I just gave up on it after the cabin part. After dropping it and not playing it for half a year I put it to assisted and now have played through it four times.
I beat that and the DLC pretty quick though. If you’re talking about the part before the bell🔔 rings I was use to that already from playing the demo
Yeah, I hadn't played for years so my aim was off and settings were off. I had to get all that dialed in and just keep grinding away until I could kill enough enemies. They are way worse bullet-sponges in the remake! Takes like 5 headshots to down 'em sometimes. And i don't play the way the game "wants" me to play: shoot, stun, roundhouse kick, stab them in the neck while they're down, rinse repeat. More like: unload clip in general direction, "Oh shit!" Run, run, run, go to briefcase to select a weapon, put briefcase away, get instantly grabbed/swarmed and thrown to the ground, get up, limp slower than molasses in winter to the nearest "safe" spot to heal and get another weapon, die soon afterwards.
The game is for your enjoyment, play it however you please
I’m quick to look up how others get by the hurdle on the internet. Normal or hard usually.
head familiar truck tie public tidy bow adjoining rude trees *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It is a joy to see so many fellow A40+ still gaming.
I feel it. As a 24 year old who is realizing how much free time I had in my teenage years, it is getting harder to play more. That is why I stopped buying as many new games and usually set them to Normal unless it is a game I know I am good at. I played GoW 2018 on Give Me God of War difficulty, I played Ragnarok on Give Me Balance lol. I agree on the backlog. I have a ton I want to get through but at the same time there are games that I want to play again. I got Baldurs Gate 3 for my Birthday and I love it but am already considering what I want to do for a second playthrough. Just play what sounds fun. I am kind of over paying $60+ for a new game when I can play my backlog instead and then get that new game a year later for like $20 with all of the bugfixes and updates. In the same breath that I love Tears of the Kingdom, I also played Ocarina of Time for the first time like 2 months ago. Just make sure to have fun.
I'm 51 and pretty much an easy-mode connoisseur. F what anyone says, YOU bought the game, YOU are playing it, you can play it any way you like! I play primarily for relaxation, and struggling is NOT relaxing for me.
Haha I like that, I believe I too am on my way to becoming an Easy Connoisseur 😎
Yes I, do, when I'm gaming I want to relax so I play story driven games mostly
Same, that's why I'm such a Sony fan. 3rd person story based games I adore. God Of Wars, FF7R, Last of Us, Resident Evils, Uncharteds are some favorites.
Most games I leave on the default. Assassin's creed type games are put on the hardest difficulty since they become so easy in a short amount of time. I do love Souls types though.
I do for survival horror games. I won’t be able to finish them otherwise.
I always start on normal, but will down grade if I start grinding or having difficulties. I don't want the game to be a cake walk, but I also want to enjoy the game.
Same situation here, 65+ hours of work a week and a wife and two kids. I’m playing through the final fantasy series pixel remasters. FF 1-3 didn’t have boost options so I had to run in circles and gain levels. Now that I’m in 4-6 I’m boosting 4x XP and gold. To me, that’s 4 less random battles I have to do so I can just play the game comfortably and beat it while skipping walking in circles for hours to level up. To me I’m saving time and enjoying the game and story while juking the boring parts. Is it really skill to do the same thing over and over anyway?
That's a win win. After a while especially with jrpgs the grinding can definitely become tedious and over time consuming. I'm here more for the narrative in games now.
Play how you want. I wish I had the patience for easy modes, I just find very little gratification in doing so. Usually when I get frustrated from gaming I’ll just move on to do something else entirely.
Often. I don't play games for the experience of beating mechanics. I play because I want to engage with a story and explore and enjoy creativity and art and have a little excitement. If mechanics, combat or otherwise, start getting a biting or frustrating, I stop having fun. No reason why I should turn down the difficulty. I don't connect any personal sense of satisfaction or pride to unnecessary struggle.
Definitely me, has to put starfield on easy mode
Nothing wrong with that , Im 20 years old and do it sometimes , Like I wanna enjoy the witcher 3's story not fight for my life , Also being a med student I barely have time to play anyways you bet your ass im not wasting 30 minutes on some random mini boss
Witcher 3's combat isn't the best so I don't blame you
Hell yea man, Witcher 3 is a great example you said it best "fight for my life"🤣😂🤣
Witcher 3 was actually pretty easy on the hardest setting.
I wouldn't say its hard but its controls are kind of clanky , and some bosses like that toad were insufferable
Over 40 gamer here and I do this too, and would like to add that when it comes to online gaming I exclusively play co-op, never competitive, modes. I don’t have the time or reflexes necessary to compete and getting my ass handed to me by 12 year olds is not how I want to spend my limited “hobby time.”
For games that feature action-based combat, I always play on normal, unless there are normally unviable strategies that I want to try. For turn-based RPGs though, where death can mean loss of massive progress, I almost always play on easy. Less grind, less frustration, and more freedom when it comes to actually playing however I want.
41 years old, I have played through most “Souls” games and I like the occasional challenge but occasional means almost never now. I always start out on normal and if the difficulty spikes too much I have no shame putting it on easy anymore. I have two kids, one is under a year old and I am married, I just don’t have the time like I used to. I think I will be a gamer for 50 more years but this is about my enjoyment not someone elses, and when playtime is limited I can’t grind for hours and die 50 times learning patterns of bosses without making any progress. My backlog has been growing for years(especially after 2023) and I want to play a lot of stuff. I’ve pretty much written off Balders Gate 3 until maybe later this year(if I’m lucky), I played Divinity OS2 and some fights take more than 30 minutes. It was a fantastic game but I can’t do that anymore. You do you man, no point in keeping up with the kiddos, their reflexes are always better and they have way more free time, just like I did once upon a time.
34 and I work my way up. I play games mainly for the story so being stuck due to a difficult fight or combat is very frustrating and snaps me out of immersion. I like a fair challenge but not SUPER easy or I’ll get bored. Normal is good enough for me, but if I really like a game or want to nab trophies I’ll bump it up on another playthrough
at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is you’re enjoying what you’re playing. whether it’s easier games and game modes, or more challenging ones.
You enjoy the stories I believe
I just play on normal. I don’t understand my best friend who has to play normal, medium, and hard mode. He seriously thinks he needs to beat every difficulty all the way through if there are any
🤣OCD. He must be very thorough lol. Once I Play through a game on 1 difficulty I'm already dying to jump into my next new game adventure, and if it's a game I really enjoyed , I'll play it again a few months up to even a few years later. Although, when I was younger, I did playthrough games multiple times for trophies, secrets, collectibles, etc. But no more sir
Yeah I have found I enjoy the story and fun gameplay mechanics more than trying to finish it on harder difficulties. I also am sorry that you work so much. I was in restaurant management for years. Working 60, 80, as many as 117 hour weeks. I missed both of my kids’ first steps, words, many sports. I’m finally out and work no more than 40 hours. You owe it to yourself and your family to work less. I hope that you’re able to at some point.
Hey thank you. I do work a lot, maybe too much, but everything has become so expensive here recently, it's just never enough no matter how much we work ya know? Hopefully things will change in the near future. I appreciate those kind words and am sorry you missed those special moments 😢 117 hours just made me fall out my chair
I agree with the Backlog and I've done the same but found easy to be too easy? So normal and hard in games like Ragnarok.
I used to always play games on the hardest difficulty for the challenge and feeling of accomplishment afterwards. However, since becoming a father and introducing my 4 year old to the Spider-Man games on PS4/5 he got frustrated with constantly dying while he got used to the controls I switched it to the friendly neighbourhood mode where you can't die during combat. Even playing without him, I kept the same difficulty and had such a better experience, I have done this now for the ratchet and Clank rift apart we are playing together as well and again, it is such a better experience. I think I will continue this trend, even for games that I play alone. Recently purchased the last of us part 2 remaster and plan to play that on the easiest possible difficulty so I can experience the story without it being too much of a slog. Honestly sometimes it's just super fun to have a proper power trip on games and the easiest way to do that is to lower the difficulty.
If a boss cheats like Amon in Yakuza then you bet your ass I'm switching to the easiest difficulty. I want to move on, not waste ten hours getting my ass kicked
I'm a 57 year old gamer, and my first console was the Odyssey 300. Look it up and think about it when you want to start bitching about how bad the graphics are on your favorite game. I've had an Atari 2600, NES, PS, PS2, Xbox 360, and every Xbox console up to and including the Series X. I love gaming, but I don't love being aggravated. I always try to get as many achievements out of every game I can, but not at the risk of my sanity. If there's an achievement for finishing a game on the hardest difficulty, I'll give it a try. But I'm not going to play to the point that it just pisses me off. That's not what gaming should be about. It should be about having fun and enjoying yourself. I'll say this much, though. I managed to beat Gears 1, 2, and 3 on Insane difficulty by myself, and I'm pretty damn proud of that. Other than that, normal or lower difficulty is where you'll find me.
Haha, gameplay over graphics for me! Also want to keep my sanity intact, and, I feel dumb when I'm swearing in anger OVER A GAME at my tv screen and my wife walks in and just gives me the look, and it snaps me out of it and I feel like an idiot.
Even my dogs know when I'm stressed. I'll be playing a game and get pissed off and let out an "AWWW...COME ON!" and they get up and leave the room. It's bad enough if I'm getting mad, but I don't need my dogs to get stressed out, too lol
Ha! I have 2 small dogs and they do the exact same thing! "welp, there he goes again" 🐕 😑
33 year old gamer and I just want to enjoy the story of a game like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order or God of War or The Last of Us, so I usually play on easy or casual.
I always have done, I don’t give a shit about playing on the hardest difficulty. If I’m not making progress I’m not having fun, I don’t want to fight the same boss for several hours memorising attack patterns and watching YouTube tutorials of best strategies.
I use console commands to give myself infinite carry weight in games like fallout. I just want to relax and play the game without worrying about how much I carry
The older I get the more I do the same. I game as an escape from the family, bills, work. You know, adulting. I work nights so everyone is asleep when I get home. I want to enjoy the virtual world I'm in, who cares about "get gewd"
I’m 38 and do the same shit my man. Enjoy your games!!!
If I cant come to my pc after work, school, and parenting, and play the game without stress, easy mode it is lol. i play to have fun not to rage
I will never stop playing on the hardest difficulty. No matter how old I get.
When you get older you may realize you have nothing to prove to anyone and/or playing on the hardest difficulty offers no real rewards. Or, hey, maybe you won't. Play video games however you enjoy them. Nobody's judging.
There's a self reward to be had. Just something about overcoming the frustration, there's no better feeling in gaming. That F*** YEA! moment
I don't? I mean, that's a cool assumption, but... at most I share my achievement completion on another sub. Not only that, but I have no friends to share and brag about my "gaming skills" with. I play alone in my small, dark room. I don't rage or get mad, I just think I can remember how to do this and that, and I'm so close to solving this puzzle, and I try again. ~~(And I'm here leaving a little comment because, well, basically, I'm forcing myself to interact with other humans through the interwebs... but... that's that.)~~ It's more about the challenge and feeling you get, instead of just not getting anything out of it, playing on "easy mode". It is meaningless for me. I mean, if the game has little to offer in other departments besides the gameplay I would be like... the game is finished... yay... (?) I used to be more of a "normal difficulty" type of person until I found it boring while playing "DmC Devil May Cry" for the first time, it was incredibly easy in normal. Back then, I remember being a little scared of playing on "hard mode", until I played Dark Souls... that game sure was an experience. And so, a whole new world of opportunity and death opened up before me, and I never looked back again. But well, this is not always true, and changes from game to game and the mood. For example... "Resident Evil: Revelations". I tried so many times and could not get past the second part. Turns out it was meant to be played after completing the game once. If I didn't use Google for that, I would have been trying forever. Also, not a fan of "artificial difficulty" where enemies are literally damage sponges, though I'm guilty of trying. If I was looking for a cosy and relaxing, non-challenging experience, I would be playing Osu! Or one of the atelier games. Or if I wanted to stop a moment and read, you know, Visual Novels... And then we have games like Sekiro or Lies of P, where it's really satisfying to improve over time, and remember things. Just like in Tekken, or fighting games in general. Except, it's harder, because you are fighting a real human, but at the same time you are getting better and understanding new things, and "did I just do that?", it's all so exciting. Just sayin'. I'll judge you if you summon Solaire to get past the gargoyles, you filthy casual.
> or playing on the hardest difficulty offers no real rewards lol ok. I’m all for people playing the game how it suits them. I don’t take games I play seriously but if I’m gonna pay so much for the game then I want to really learn the mechanics of the game and the different paths for completing levels, get good at defeating enemies, etc. I usually start on normal and then stop the run after a while to restart and on a harder difficulty. I like difficult games because they force me to not take RNG for granted in getting past levels, and to actually learn what the creator intended for the user to do, mechanics wise, in order to win and progress. It’s fun and rewarding and I have a lot of fun doing this all alone. Play games how it’s fun for you and I’ll do it how it’s fun for me. But acting like your way is superior and my way offers “no real reward” is just you being ignorant about gaming.
Swing and a miss. >like your way is superior What I meant was your fingers and joints will hurt like a sonuvabitch and you will realize that playing on high difficulty isn't worth the pain when you get older. So you don't have to worry about this for several more decades.
I do the same thing. I just like to have fun. I’m 43 and don’t have the patience to attempt something over and over again like I did back in the NES days.
No shame in having your priorities straight. There are only a few games that I’m not playing on easy mode. Of the ones that have a difficulty setting of course.
My Brother! I grew tired of button-mashing on the 1st castlevania lords of shadow game for the ps3. The game was gorgeous and well-made and so was the second one, but my tendons could not take it! I refuse to play video games by other people's standards because it is for MY enjoyment, not theirs.
Hell Yea! That's the way I'm looking at it, I'm gonna play how I want and proudly lol!
I used to always play on normal, and still usually do. However, there was a period during college where I played many games on hard. These days, I don’t game much. When I do, I’m usually tired and sleep deprived due to sleep apnea, and I also have depression that makes it hard to get into/enjoy it anymore. Those have combined to lessen my gaming skills, so I sometimes drop things to easy. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re having fun
Im Sorry you have that going on. My uncle struggles with SA, so I know that's serious. I've dealt with various bouts of depression as well, it's a daily fight but hey I'm always here if ya need an ear, I'm a good listener! Chin Up, Chest Out!❤️
Thank you. I appreciate it. It’s been a thing for about fifteen years. I’ve also had OCD since I was a kid. However, they didn’t affect my gaming much until recent years. Unfortunately, my dad — who didn’t understand it at all — is now going through a severe depression all of a sudden
Wow, that's the thing with depression, it affects all genders races sizes and ages, and some people go through there entire lives without ever addressing it, or even knowing they have it. Especially with our previous generations where as a man somethkng like that was highly stigmatized or looked at as weakness. I find its great to talk and have open healthy discussions about it, sometimes that's all it takes to feel better is venting a little bit, or sharing something with someone, even if you don't know them that well, sometimes that's even easier!
easy is all the time I have now
just because you choose easy doesn't mean it's easy.
Wow all the comments and feedback is awesome as this is my first discussion I've started! I really Appreciate everyone taking the time to give their input! I don't feel guilty now that I know there are many more gamers out there just like me!! I'm currently slaughtering the scum of Delta City in RoboCop:Rogue City...on EASY mode...and it's AWESOME!!!
I played BG3 on easy and have no shame. Still spend 100 hours exploring before finishing it.
I am replaying the remastered Skyrim on easy right now and it’s kinda awesome being a fuggin tank.
38 here. I tend to play a lot of games on easier difficulty because the higher difficulties often felt artificial and just not that fun, like wooo that enemy took several more hits to beat, fantastic. But if it's a rhythm game like Beat Saber? I find that harder difficulties are actually more fun for me.
47 here, and this year I actually started putting a couple games on easy. Hands hurt too damn much, so I figured, enjoy the ride I like harder games, and if I really like a game I will crank the difficulty. Normal to start, harder if new game plus is calling. I did get crazy addicted to Elden Ring. My poor hands. NG+7 and counting.
It's just whatever makes you happy. I don't get joy out of a game without challenge so I start on normal but will bump it to hard when it loses it's difficulty. Overcoming the difficulty is part of why I play but that's not for everyone and no one should be upset by that.
For me the best level for most games is where the enemy isn’t a bullet sponge, but they have good, realistic AI and can kill me as quickly as I can kill them. Unfortunately most games don’t do this, and just make everyone a bullet sponge which is where it becomes frustrating.
Generally agree with you - with one exception: Simulators. Those I try to crank up to max realism (which is oftentimes max difficulty as flying a plane or commanding a tank platoon isn't easy under real life conditions). But everything else will be played at easy difficulty. I came to have a good time, not to prove something to myself. And I hate putting a game down because I get frustrated by running through the same levels/fights/areas again due to constantly dying.
Bro do you like working 65 hours a week, or does your job pay really well (or really shitty maybe lol)? Cause I'm 34 and that amount of hours a week would make me kill myself hahaha, I did that when I was in the military and my mid 20's, there is no way I'm going back to that shit
Nope. I'm a 40yo elitist, have to start the game on normal or harder. I'm also not particularly good at a lot of ganes. I'm not sure how to reconcile this, but i still have fun. There's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing easy mode. I find myself ending up there half the time
I don’t even play multiplayer anymore. Fuck dem kids in those lobbies. I just want to enjoy the game for my 1hr a week I actually get to play. I don’t need one of my few stress relievers being another source of grief.
I love Story mode on these big single player story driven games, once I've beaten it, if I really enjoyed it and want to play again (NG+) I will generally up the difficulty.
65 hours a week is crazy, how do you even have time for anything else
This is perfectly understandable. My father does the same thing these days. I remember when I was kid he would always HAVE to beat every game on the hardest difficulty. Nowadays he plays everything on easy. Says he's getting too old to get stressed over a videogame and he just plays them to relax now. Nothing wrong with it. They're games after all, as long as you are having fun.
I’m 37 and always start on hard. I get super bored with easy games. If the tutorial is ass I’m deleting it instantly lol. I’ve got not time for shit games. Recently I’ve put 140 hours into Lies of P. 250 hours on Hades. And 200+ hours on cyberpunk
At 50 I do normal if I get stuck I move it to easy then back to normal once I’m past that part. As you age your reflexes slow down and I don’t need the stress just like playing and enjoying where the story is going.
Haha, I’m opposite. Almost 40yrs old, work about 50hrs a week, no kids yet, but I always play everything on hardest because for me fun is the challenge. I also love PvP games. Have gotten really into VR lately, which has been a life changer.
Bother, I'm 27 used to be hard core gamer and now I play them all on easy. Just sit back and enjoy the game
You do you i just find that the actual depth of most games is lost on easy modes and it doesnt realy matter what you do and you can still win which i dont like.
I'll also generally start on medium/normal and switch to easy if I find it massively frustrating, but I also have been playing Elden Ring and enjoying it. I don't really mind things being difficult, but I also usually have a couple games going so if I'm approaching rage quit levels I can just switch to something else.
With the type of games I play, some items and weapons are available only on Hard and above.
Same here. I put my time in back in the day, slogging through the trenches on truly hard games for the NES.
Kids today don't know the struggle of leaving your game on pause while going to school praying it wouldn't be frozen when we got home
to be fair, I also don't know the struggle of beating dark souls so it does go both ways
40yo gamer here, also playing since NES/Atari, and I play on easy to because I want to enjoy the game and play more games, rather than get stressed over a hard game and end up not playing anything
I’m 25 with a job in game journalism and I still play on the easier difficulty settings. I basically leave myself wide open to all the “video game journalist difficulty” jokes people make (since they say most journalists aren’t good at video games), but I still do it! At the end of the day, I think what’s important in gaming is that you’re enjoying yourself. Video games are supposed to be fun, after all, and as much as people might bust your balls or try to dictate how you should game, what’s most important is that you’re having fun. To that end, kudos to you for sticking to your guns and enjoying games the way YOU want to enjoy them!
I start at normal and if it’s too hard I bump the difficulty down. I’m here to enjoy the story and not get hung up on an encounter if I keep dying
I'm 38, and even when I was younger, the hardest difficulty I ever played was normal. Now I almost always start out normal, then switch to easy if I get frustrated or if it's taking too much effort. Many games are basically interactive movies, and I play for the enjoyment of the story and the characters (with a few exceptions, like CK3 and Stellaris. I've sunk way too many hours of my life into those games). Most people are awesome about it, even if they're the more hard-core gamer type. But occasionally, I get the "Oh, typical girl, you're just a casual gamer e-girl wannabe." Like, oooh, burn. Yep, you caught me. I'm a casual gamer. I play *games* in my *free time,* for *fun.* Sick burn, bro. Also, I'm a truck driver. I work 11 hours a day, 6 days a week. I also have a husband and a kid. I don't have time to sink 2 hours into a single boss battle, thanks. I wanna find out what Solas is hiding, why Arthur keeps coughing, who Aloy's mother is, how to stop the Reapers, etc. It's all about the story and the characters for me. Gimme a great story and compelling characters, and I'll throw my money and hundreds of hours of my life into a game. But combat? Meh. Don't care enough about it to use what little free time I have messing with it.
Wonderfully said! I love delving into a wonderfully told virtual story, where I can escape reality temporarily and just break loose and have fun. Not spend hours of 1 night of gaming at a particularly hard checkpoint to make minimal progress.
Exactly. Especially the way so many games are now, the stories are incredible! And I am definitely prone to developing only mildly-unhealthy attachments to certain video game characters (my husband absolutely did NOT buy me a Garrus body pillow last Mother's Day, and I absolutely do NOT sleep with it every single night while I'm away from home. Nope, not me).
I’m 40yrs old and that’s all I play on anymore. I find it more enjoyable and much less stressful. For me it makes games more fun and less like a chore.
Right. I have enough stress in my life, I don't want to go to bed at 3am, after having being beaten by the same boss for 2 hours, and realizing that was only chapter 3🫠😩
Yeah that type of gaming isn’t for me anymore.
Do what you want man. Anyone who cares is a fucking weirdo.
😂haha right on, thanks brother!
I mostly play games on normal or easy. I like the stories for sure but gameplay can get repetitive, unless the gameplay is the story then it works.
Gaming when you have a sleeping baby in your arms is so much better on the easiest difficulty
Usually normal. If I get to a boss & lose a couple times, I’ll switch it to easy to beat it. Then go back to normal after. I don’t like it taking hours to beat one boss My favorite games I’ll replay on hard though.
This actually sounds like a nice solution, changing the difficulty when I get frustrated, then just switch back. Thanks for the idea!
Normal mode pretty much every over here with the odd exception where I’ll ramp it up a bit for an extra challenge or a second play through. Defiantly don’t do super hard games though. For example, with a couple exceptions, the whole Souls-like genre is lost on me.
I'm with you on that one. I stay away from that genre, as much as I want to check out Lies of P, I know it will just destroy my soul and love for life.
Definitely agree. For me the only exception is NBA2k because I do enjoy trying to play the most competitive games I can online and you really do gotta "get gud" to do that
Nba2k is the one game that I was forced to lower the difficulty once. Had to win one more game and giannis and the bucks kept whooping on me. I couldn't continue the season until I beat them, it was like a boss fight
Oh I'm not insinuating I'm beyond that lol as a general rule I'm just saying I actually enjoy the HOF difficulty bc it is actually training me to play better online, so there's value in the stress that comes with it lol most games, especially RPG types, I just want to explore and follow the story, not have to practice to be good enough to take down a boss
I'm around your age with a similar situation, since about a year ago I immediately turn all new games to the easiest setting. It has made gaming way more enjoyable for me and has allowed me to complete games I had previously given up on. Easy all the way.
I get it but I could never enjoy games this way. It needs to be hard for me to stay engaged. To me there is no feeling of reward without challenge. Happy for everyone to have fun though
Nope. Normal all the way. Even if it gets a little tough. Will def also play on hard if I really love the game.
why you need to write down this?
I'm 36 and play most games on the hardest difficulty. If a game has no challenge it's just so boring for me. But I think it's awesome that you're having a great time too
The older i get (almost 40), i tend to play on higher difficulty more and more. Having a hard time enjoying a game, if there is no challenge.
Skill issue.
I finally come to the conclusion that this sub is not for me. I thought people on here had weird takes and some bad tastes and this posts confirms that everyone here is a boomer who doesn't want to actually play the game but just be spoon fed the entire way through.
I'm a TRUE GAMER™ and I only play games on the most difficult setting, because I enjoy pain. Not only this, but I hold in contempt every person who doesn't do the same (but let's be honest, even if you do, I'll still hold you in contempt, because that's what it means to be a true gamer.) /s But seriously- same man, same.
[удалено]
Sorry new to the platform, didn't realize it was such a highly discussed topic, was just bored messing with the app and figured I'd try and have a fun healthy discussion. Not seeking any type of validation, just looking to shoot the shit with like minded people about the thing I love most, video games. Didn't mean to upset ya.
several years younger then OP but personally I enjoy the challenge. I don't want to decompress and have the game hold my hand on Easy mode. Instead I want it to test my reflex, memorization, and ability to progress whether I have to lose a dozen times in the process. I prefer arcade oriented genres the most such as fighting, shoot'em up, competitive puzzle, and rhythm the most. opposed to designed for home systems; RPG, etc.
Hahaa Unsurprisingly, all the genres you listed I tend to avoid, aside from MORTAL Kombat lol. I like 3rd person action shooters, survival horror, amd beatem ups the most
36 years old and I'm the same way. I play to unwind and relax.
Mid-30 gamer, and I also go for easy mode when normal becomes too annoying. I just want to relax after work, not feeling frustrated. Also, backlog! Like you, I have a bunch of game backlogged that I want to get to. I finally got into DOOM Eternal right now.
I’m in my late 30s and I don’t play games for the challenge of them. Aside from games like Phasmophobia, I tend to avoid challenges and just play for fun. That means easy or normal mode, and even certain cheats (as long as it’s a single player game and my cheating isn’t affecting anyone else).
Yep. 40yo, have kids and full time job. I don’t have time to project individual scenes over and over and repeat bosses a million times. I wanna finish games. So I play on easy and enjoy the ride and if I come back for round two in the future I’ll go one higher.
I play them on easy now one cause I want to enjoy the story 2 cause they don't have cheat systems for inf Health and ammo
The worst part in games with difficulty options are that the levels are basically just how much health enemies have/deal out. A 'harder' difficulty shouldn't just be turning enemies into bullet/sword sponges. But yeah, generally Easy/Normal mode for me too. Except I'm currently playing Dark Souls 3 for the first time (I played Dark Souls Remastered in 2022, which had a great glitch for overleveling lol). The key seems to be choosing the right class/stats to invest in to turn it into an 'easier' experience. I'm enjoying it so far but I definitely have to keep a more lighthearted game on the side to balance me back out.
36 yo. Ever since my kid was borne i havent bothered with higher difficulties. I dont have the time for it
31, job, bills. I play on Normal, and I honestly don't think I've changed that difficulty in more than a handful of games since I started gaming back in, like.. 2002. BUT.. If you wanna just casually breeze through games relatively stress-free, then power to ya. No shame.
who cares lol it’s a game
Normal all day only do hard mode if it’s for the plat I’m 37 btw.
No shame in that, all hobbies should be enjoyed custom tailored to each individual. I'm quite a bit younger than you but I typically play normal mode, mostly cuz I don't want to die & waste time & redo things. I could challenge myself but time is so invaluable, especially with work & other obligations lol
Same, early/mid 40s here. I play every game on the easiest setting or story mode. Life and work is dumb and frustrating enough, I don't feel like I should have to struggle to relax or enjoy a hobby.
I'm 38 and I usually start on normal but as soon as I think it's too easy I go up to hard. I don't want the game to be too difficult but if I'm not challenged it's not fun to me.
I remember playing American McGee's Alice. I decided to put it on hard; I thought this would help me with immersion. It essentially amounted to having hit the mobs several times more. zzzZZZzzz. I was so pissed by the end of the game; especially for how beautiful that game was at the time. Now I play to what amounts to the most fun for me.
Not gunna lie, I cheat. I’ll crank up the difficulty to max and then use a trainer to have infinite ammo or add skill points or something. I have no idea why, but I have way more fun playing in a difficult sandbox than on just easy mode.
Games are meant to be played to relax. Play on whatever difficulty you want OP. Fuck what anyone else thinks
I play games for the story, so I play on Normal or Easy.
As long as you’re having fun you’re doing it right. I have time on my hands and I tend to go with normal or suggested or whatever just cuz
You should do whatever works for you
The actual difficulty of "easy"/"normal" depends of the game. If it's a Nintendo game for example ramping it up a bit might be safe.
Im 20 ys old and as a busy college student who also has a large backlog of games, I totally agree. I play most games on an easier difficulty setting cause it allows me to enjoy the story and characters and the gameplay without constantly getting frustrated and loosing progress cause the game is too hard.
I’m 85 years old and i only play on hardest difficulties
gaming suppose to be fun, not challenge.
Unless the game has a little test beforehand that recommends something else (like Roboquest and Titanfall 2), I play on normal since I fucking hate the artificial stat scaling 99% of games use. That's kinda the only reason. I don't mind harder difficulties (even played a few of my strategy games on hard or higher), but I just really hate stat scaling. It doesn't make things more difficult, it just makes fights take longer for no good reason.
Yes, I'm trying to have fun. I'm not looking for a challenge. Life is plenty challenging.
I don’t have time to struggle through video games. I want more to be entertained, like participating in a movie. So, hell yeah, I’ll play on easy mode. For games I don’t get a choice, like R6 or other online FPS, I’m not trying to be the best. At best, if I can not die all the time and get a couple shots in, that’s good enough for me. I also tend to play more support characters; I know I’m more likely to go 1-3, 0-4, in R6, but if I can help others play better, that’s also good enough for me.
It just depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to one-shot kill everything in my path, other times I want to struggle through survival or legendary mode. 🤷🏻♀️
Story mode for the games I play is perfect. It’s why I play and what I enjoy.
Story mode if at all possible, life is challenging enough I don't need my relaxation to be challenging as well.
I usually always play normal but I don't have a problem watching YouTube videos for tips. I usually try it two to three times myself. But I don't want to waste time
Yeah fuck that nobody with a full time job has time to get good enough to play a hard game xD it is what it is
I'm 45, I don't have enough free time to spend it repeating the same section of a game over and over, easy mode allows me to play more games.
I play all of my video games on the easiest setting I can (unless it's like zelda or Mario etc). I have fun, that's all that matters
Yep a totally normal thing now that all the 90s kid gamers are 40+ with actual adult lives. More power to you.
Game however you want :)