stubborn, and keep going if I lose and it’s my own fault (bad party setups, strategy, etc.)
end up quitting if it’s the game being bullshit repeatedly (rng, insane difficulty spikes)
Simply depends on my enjoyment of the gameplay loop.
If i enjoy the gameplay enough to keep re engaging with the system until i beat it, then i will.
Else, i will just play something else instead...
Elden Ring and Monster Hunter are hard games I enjoy but I've been playing the previous games. It's gonna sound weird but difficulty isn't the reason I play them. I like complex, interesting game systems. The AI in those games are incredible
Depends entirely, mainly on two things. One, how much am I enjoying the game? As in the story, the gameplay, the characters, etc. And two, is this genuinely difficult, or just bullshit? Those two questions pretty much define it lol
I don't mind playing hard games, so long they actually feel beatable of course. But if I'm not in a mood to sit for a while trying to beat something instead of doing something else then I get more impatient
It depends on a lot of factors. I'll generally try, but I also know my skills are pretty limited, so I'll usually play on Normal or easier difficulties unless I really feel like I'd enjoy a bit of a challenge.
It depends, if it manages to hit that golden spot where yeah it's difficult, but I really rather enjoy the game a lot and I want to get further into it. (i.e. Elden Ring)
Some games are just brutally hard & cruel on the player and feel like they don't reward you even if you make progress.
So...
My instinct is to avoid difficult games like the plague but two of my favorite games I played in the past year were Lies of P and Nine Sols so I don't know... I guess it depends on my mood. Slowly mastering a boss fight felt really satisfying in these games, especially Nine Sols.
Nine Sols is more combat-focused, like the exploration is pretty linear, there's not really any backtracing or things like that. This was a good thing for me but I know some Metroidvania fans were disappointed.
I'm old and can't be bothered at all with the "make it unfair" approach to design. I got the platinum for Elden Ring, so I'm not incapable of finishing hard games, I just refuse to spend my dwindling time beating my head against a spite machine like Sifu. I'll enjoy my game time, thank you very much
I don’t get a lot of free time so I only tolerate a reasonable amount of difficulty. If I get stuck and can’t progress by grinding or lowering the difficulty I just DNF the game and move on.
Depends on the difficulty. If it’s difficult because it throws things at you you can’t react to without knowing they’re there, or blatantly unfair mechanics? Pass. If it’s a legitimate skill issue? I’ll often try to improve to beat it.
I used to be detered from playing hard games (That's why it took me until 2023 to finally experience Bloodborne), but now, if I'm interested in a game: I'll probably try and play it regardless of any comments surrounding it's difficulty. As for completion, it depends on the game.
When I was younger, 100%, never give up. Now... it depends on if I'm having fun.
Elden Ring, kept at it, beat it, had a marvelous time. However, Sekiro was just too hard/frustrating and I had no desire to keep playing it. So now, if it is too hard and I'm not having fun, I'll throw in the towel.
I like a good challenge, but if it gets frustrating or if I just want to progress with the story I just reduce the difficulty. I don't want to steamroll through everything, but I don't want to hit my head against a wall over and over and over (screw the Icebound from Metaphor btw).
Oh Lordy I had to drop difficulty on the big boss at the end of trails 1 (or was it 2). I love games but I’m not very good at them. I give myself 3 or 4 tries at a 30-minute battle and then I drop difficulty because at that point I’m not having fun anymore.
There's a boss in CS3 who I just fought last night for the 3rd time, and it has to be one of the most un-fun fights I've ever done.
The boss in question feels incredibly cheap, to the point where I remember thinking it was a "required loss" fight my first time through because it felt impossible.
It depends on how 'real' the difficulty feels. If it's some From Software Demon's Souls thing where the difficulty feels fake, "one shotted by something you couldn't have seen coming a first time and now you get 50% max health because of our bad design" I don't really bother anymore.
If difficulty is inherent to the design of the game, and surmounting the challenges presented is fun for me, I love difficult games. Faster Than Light, Dark Souls 1—strategy and mechanical skill can be IMMENSELY rewarding!
This is very different from difficulty that results from obtuse mechanics.✨✨
Change difficulty mid-game, I mean. It can be scary to commit to hard mode if I can't change it later. JRPGs in particular can be bad with difficulty spikes so I at least like having the option. Usually I make it through without changing, though.
At this point, my free time is too valuable to spend very much of it frustrated or replaying the same section over and over. If a game has difficulty settings, I’ll try standard and lower it as needed. Otherwise, there are a million other things I could be playing and enjoying.
I’m not typically playing my games for the challenge, but depending on the game I can enjoy it.
For example, in Jedi Survivor I played on the normal difficulty, Knight, which was generally good for me, maybe I could’ve done with a bit more challenge sometimes. But,
For the absurdly difficult challenges with multiple bosses that can insta kill you if you don’t dodge right—and they use the insta kill move a lot—I just turned down the difficulty to reduce their aggression because I wasn’t interested in spending ages against these particular enemies.
For most JRPGs I enjoy, particularly turn-based, I play on Hard, but not usually the “merciless” or “nightmare” or whatever. If I start a game on Normal and find the combat satisfying I’ll turn it up to hard, but also the reverse if I start on hard and it feels bad.
Sometimes, difficulty in a game can dissuade me from finishing it, like with Fire Emblem Awakening where I stopped playing because I wasn’t having fun on Hard with the immediately-moving reinforcements, and you can’t turn the difficulty down, so I’d have to restart or push through.
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end up quitting if it’s the game being bullshit repeatedly (rng, insane difficulty spikes)
I don’t think I’m cut out for souls-likes 😝
If i enjoy the gameplay enough to keep re engaging with the system until i beat it, then i will.
Else, i will just play something else instead...
Some games are just brutally hard & cruel on the player and feel like they don't reward you even if you make progress.
So...
Elden Ring, kept at it, beat it, had a marvelous time. However, Sekiro was just too hard/frustrating and I had no desire to keep playing it. So now, if it is too hard and I'm not having fun, I'll throw in the towel.
Is the difficulty challenging, or annoying? If it's more of a challenge I'll happily pound my skull against it until I win.
But some games see difficulty as just "how unfair can we make this?" And I have no patience for that.
The boss in question feels incredibly cheap, to the point where I remember thinking it was a "required loss" fight my first time through because it felt impossible.
We spend too much time NOT enjoying ourselves or our time, why waste personal or hobby time then also NOT enjoying our time?
I enjoy souls games and soulslikes for the challenge.
In games with difficulty presets.
The hard mode has to be fun.
Like in FF 7 Remake and Rebirth.
If the hard mode just slaps on more hp to enemies, that's a hard pass.
Really makes you think things through!
This is very different from difficulty that results from obtuse mechanics.✨✨
If a game is too tough for me and there's no way to toggle it to an easier mode, I drop it
I'm also pretty darn stubborn but I have gone back down to normal when necessary. Doesn't happen too often though.
The tricky thing is the older JRPGs that don't let you change difficulty.
For example, in Jedi Survivor I played on the normal difficulty, Knight, which was generally good for me, maybe I could’ve done with a bit more challenge sometimes. But,