Yeah, kind of, that's what the story mode is for. If you want the challenge and intended experience, then pick normal mode. Although depending on the genre you may have to accept the game isn't for you. That should be an equally valid option, there's nothing wrong with a game not being for everyone
That one is slowly changing, it's great! Fae Farm doesn't punish you at all, they just zoom travel you home at the curfew and you wake up the next morning in your house. Luma Island doesn't require sleep at all. It's definitely nice. 😊
i loved that the silent hill 2 remake had separate sliders for combat difficulty and puzzle difficulty. i'm down for complicated puzzles but i'm not trying to fight to the death in a narrative game
I'll usually go normal to have the intended experience the devs wanted the players to have, with no shame on dropping to easy if that's even too difficult. Like I did with RE2 Remake. Finally beat it on Normal last Halloween
Yup. I think devs have to realize that people are wired differently. Some really love a tough challenge and others find that difficulty doesn't translate as fun.
Stellar Blade's story mode was a godsend I did not vibe with the combat in the latter half of the game and I did not have to be frustrated with it due to that mode.
I've observed difficulty levels a lot and come to the conclusion that if your game is boring when it's too easy, then the game needs to be better. Because easy shouldn't mean there's nothing left for you to enjoy. I think that's why some games' story mode isn't easy, they worry you'll be bored.
I'd argue the journey from A to B is something in itself. When I find a game, like DA Veilguard, where I can play on very easy mode, then the focus shifts to the flavor of the journey, not overcoming things. One-shotting enemies is just fine, because the game has lots going on otherwise.
I love this take and totally agree. And I would argue that even lots of souls game can be enjoyed a lot too outside their gameplay loop. In fact its what I liked less in Elden Ring and constantly looked for tips and meta builds to bypass the combat. Exploration in that game is gold.
Good to know! I'm a big exploration gamer myself. Why I loved parts of Dragon's Dogma 2. And open world in general. But are you saying Elden Ring was good for exploration or that past Souls games were better in that way?
DD2 is on my wishlist. I absolutely loved the first one and tbh, I dont mind a bit of dificulty when combat is as polished as is in this game. Dark Arisen was ruthless and I enjoyed it. Souls games I cant...
Haha, yeah, Im saying Elden Ring is good for exploration and the way the lore is presented. Same with the old Souls games too. I love the worlds they crafted. Just not so much in love with the combat.
This is my experience currently with Elden Ring (Just got it) hate the combat and will find a way to be OP or cheese things, but the exploration, game world, and monster/character designs are rather superb. Just not likely I'll ever able to finish it unless I am 100% overlevel and OP.
Definitely the mark of a great game! When all the boxes are checked. I did hear you can get OP in the game, but the amount of grinding you need to do is A LOT, even more than say FFXIV grinding for new jobs.
Oh for sure, I am trying to grind so much, currently on lv63 with a Samurai (Following a guide for OP build) but it takes quite a while. All I really want to do is just explore, but even running into trash mobs can be difficult if not prepared for. (Long range is better for me too tbh)
I think it depends on the game tbh, it’s absolutely valid to have challenge be an integral part of a games design, it’s definitely considered the ONLY option a liiitle too much tho imo
Kirby is a very good example of how to do this well
Exactly, well-said. Depends on the primary goal and some game companies try to make it more accessible to others with multiple difficulty modes, which doesn't always work. But I figure this will improve over time. Newer games are always learning the lessons of older games.
I would argue that if a game *has* a Story Mode, then it should be easy. It implies the story alone is engaging enough to make the game worth playing. If beefy challenges are what makes your game fun (a valid option) then don't do Story Mode and use plain old difficulty levels.
Which is fine, me too! If we had enough interest/motivation we'd learn the ropes, but I wasn't feeling it. In part cuz overcoming combat challenges isn't that interesting for me. I feel the high of accomplishment after, but it's not great enough to want more, whereas others are really into that.
The older I get the more I just want to have fun, enjoy the story, and vibe. Occasionally I’ll pull out a game that’s difficult (like dark souls) but that’s not always my mood. Ya know?
Totally! A few games come to mind where I have to put in an effort when I distinctly remember I turned down the difficulty to just vibe and not have to do that.
On t other hand, I'd like for all of them to have an easy mode. I like them and I use them. And I dont think souls are anything that special such as that adding an easy mode would somehow "ruin" them. They're no different than other action games. A monkey island easy mode would trully be a travesty
I dont mean to essay, and this may be misinformed or shortsighted, but I think the fact that souls games have become their own genre makes them inherently different from other action games.
Obviously. At no moment am I saying they are not unique. I'm arguing that this uniqueness would not be altered by easy modes. Rise of the Ronin's combat is soul-esque and its difficulty modes are beautifully balanced.
We will have to agree to disagree about souls games then. From my persective, the entire point of souls games is to be difficult. If you can fine tune the 'easy' difficulty to still be difficult to gamers around that skill level then I think it would be fine.
I also think its difficulty is one of the main pillars but not the only one. The build mechanics, vague narrative, dreary world building, revival mechanic,... It's not such a simple genre. Adding the option to adjust the difficulty would not remove the "soul-ness".
Revenge, Curse, and Return do have easier modes. Curse's regular mode and Return's casual mode just simplify some of the puzzles so there's fewer steps. LCR's "lite" mode OTOH cuts a lot of stuff and kinda *is* a travesty. (They joked about it on the box: "for beginners and magazine reviewers.")
I think it depends on mood. Souls games are meant to be quite dreary, torturous, sad… The difficulty just reflects that, and so an easy mode would be *cool* but not perhaps appropriate. I am always for artist/dev vision above all else though, so…
That being said, I dont think souls games do a great job at portraying the voyage as dreary or sad. In my experience is more of an annoyance. No souls has ever made me feel what shadow of the colossus did and that game didnt do that by mining the players patience. Another example, TLoU...
Or, to be more specific, I dont think souls game combat and difficulty adds towards that feel. I think its mostly the world, the lore and the way its crafted and presented that does that. And thats why other games can achieve this feel too while being easy.
I dunno. I think it evokes the idea of a hopeless situation. Difficulty is its own art, in a way, and accessibility for its own sake is always something I am ambivalent about.
That's fair. I will rephrase. You are right that as an art form, the artist should be able to do whatever they feel is right. I think that if they plan to make the game appeal to a larger audience then having different difficulty presets or settings will help achieve that.
Oh MY goodness. As sad as it seems, this is the mostly personally relevant post I’ve ever seen . I just want to escape and play for a while. Leave me alone.
I get the reasoning but I need a challenge so I always go with the difficulty above normal. Currently doing this on Indiana Jones and difficulty hasn't really stopped the story flow. Such a great game!
All games should come with difficulty options (although I cannot think of too many that don't). I enjoy a good challenge in games but sometimes I just want to chill, get through it and earn achievements.
AGREED. I suck at combat but I still really enjoy some games for the story. I am currently playing (and falling in love) with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered in story mode and it’s so relaxing and fun for me this way.
I also appreciate games like Alan Wake II that let you have more fine-grained control over the difficulty. I really enjoy the combat, for instance, but do not enjoy resource-management, so being able to set unlimited ammo with an otherwise higher difficulty gives me the best of both worlds.
frankly there should be choices.
i personally value story and gameplay the most in games. a brilliant story with mediocre and boring gameplay is worsened.
accessibility is important though so having easier/harder difficulty options is the best solution
What if part of the story is the difficulty of the gameplay or just the gameplay in general?
If the game on story mode doesn't really make you engage with aspects of the gameplay it might make the story feel hollow if the game play recontextualizes the story in some way
An interesting point. We definitely need some examples because I believe that as long as the story is well told if someone doesn't want the challenge it's alright.
God of war 2018 is a good one
That feeling of losing control of boy wouldn't hit as hard if you didn't even need to engage with the systems that require him in combat through the length of the game
Pretty much every horror game wouldn't work if there was no tense brought on from gameplay
Dark souls I know it's clique to say but half of that games narrative is self told from its gameplay from you as the player
Even tlou Ellie being lost in the moments it happens is part of the narrative and feels worse because of the gameplay moments having her provides that I feel is lost with a
Story mode. Games are aN interactive medium and while yes you are still technically interacting if you don't need to engage with systems that help amplify the story being told I feel it makes you miss parts of the games story regardless.
Dead space has the moment of you protecting Nicole
While many know the twist now at the time part of the pain we feel for Isaac when we find out she's dead is that it fooled us too and not just visually we actually fell for it. The twist still works but it works better imo because of the tension that if you mess up she "dies".
Let's not forget
This is why I choose easy on The Witcher 1. I'm normally not someone that does this but for the witcher 1 I really just wanted to chill and enjoy the story without much stress. I want to have that option whenever I feel like doing that.
It became really easy at that point or atleast a little into it for me. tho the tentacle things can suck it. I'm just glad I didn't play the game on hard
Lmao really talk tho. Sometimes I pick easy on a game and as I'm playing i go like.. This is suppose to be "easy?" It feels like normal / hard lmao. Def had some games be like that.
Haha yeah I mean I do feel like games overall have softened their difficulty, hence the massive appeal of Elden Ring, but then you have games like Control that are punishing, but thankfully give it a God Mode to be able to enjoy the story.
Agreed. All games should come with an option of difficulty modes. There's lots of reasons people might not able to or desire to be challenged in a video game, and that's okay, everyone's got a different playstyle. Should be far more choices for everyone.
I play Story Mode on the easiest settings possible. However, as my skills grow, *THEN* I can consider growing my difficulty a little bit as I get accustomed to the game.
Most games I will play on story mode first time out because I want to enjoy it, I want the story and i don't want to get frustrated and not pick it up again. Replays are for more challenging modes 🙂
The new Dragon Age game lets you toggle Death off. Which I appreciate. I still sometimes fail a tougher boss battle but at least I don’t die. It just feels different for me.
Crash Bandicoot 4 has an unlimited lives mode. You still die, but it’ll start you at the last checkpoint each time instead of the beginning of the level.
Yeah they did a great job with so many difficulty levels and then further customization for no death etc. They did a great job with accessibility period.
Thank you for this topic! Thanks to you all, we just had a brainstorm with the design team regarding story mode for Barkour. It will not be easy to minimize all potentially frustrating moments (e.g. we have parkour/platforming sections), but god mode is potentially a good match for our dog game 😉
All games should have invincibility Cheat imo.We are All going to get old/have some sort of disablility at some point so we can't play the way we once did anymore.But We can experience bosses,the world,music. with cheats.
Sure it's not the ment to be played this way,but it would be nice to have.
I wish. It's an interesting point because I wanted that for Returnal, yet I persevered and beat the game. That feeling of success was great. Though I know not everyone will get there. A god mode could aid some folks. It was implemented in Control and nobody said anything.
Well maybe they are i just don't know, i think I would be more receptive of your take if let's plays weren't a thing, in my experience the type of people that need games to be THAT easy get stressed over things that aren't related to difficulty too like completion requirements and stuff like that
And personally i find games that ask very little of you to be just as enjoyable when watching them so i think let's plays are a good middle ground for them imo
Nope. That idea of just watching someone play does not work as some have suggested. A sense of agency and interactivity make all the difference to get you invested in a story.
I am just really confused every time I see stuff like this, the game industry already agrees with them, games aren't hard anymore, difficulty is profoundly undervalued if something
I guess fromsoft fans are so annoying that they feel the need to defend themselves over this kind of stuff idk
They can be pretty obnoxious but I think there's a massive difference between "gitgud" and "maybe persevere a bit so you learn to appreciate some degree of friction in your core gameplay loop" lol, like cheat codes and trainers and console commands exist, these people should just use those.
Yeah, i feel like they are advocating for videogame degeneracy in a way, we should strive for accessibility but making easy modes so easy that you start questioning what's even the point of the game it's not it XD
We are making games accessible to people that don't even like games at that point
Bare min if they're gonna do that is to include at least a lot of difficulty differences or multiple varieties of difficulty like the system shock remake or the silent Hill two remake. But asserting that the easy mode of most current AAA titles is too hard is fucking insane right?
I mean it's a reasonable opinion i think, it's not like he wants easy mode in all games like some people do
I just think it's a weird thing to be passionate enough about to make a statement about it, like, honey, y'all are eating so well, the industry has so many problems why are you making them up
As I’ve gotten older I just don’t have the time like I used to so story mode is always my go to. I do wish Story Mode was the same across the board because it really carries. Control had the best where you basically choose your own settings and more games should be like that
Control with the godmode was amazing. Had such an enthralling narrative that I'm glad I didn't have to bother with the intense shooting and still enjoy myself.
That’s how I think games should be, customisable for each persons experience. You want to play a game where you can’t die, sure no problem and the opposite would allow people who want a challenge to have that opportunity as well
Without going into too much detail, the game that my brother and I are trying to make is basically about reading, resource management, and it being literally impossible to die. The goal is to make it super fun/addictive with little bursts of dopamine.
Why? Like this is the most consumerist mindset. Everything must be exactly the way I want it, because I’m the purchaser? That leads to boring slop designed to appeal to the most possible consumers possible.
If that’s what the designers want, then sure. But you’re essentially asking the impossible because you want a game that’s Easy For You. Which is impossible to calibrate for every player. If you want to just “experience” a story and ignore all the game aspects then visual novel games exist for that.
As I already said there's playtesting, accessibility settings and difficulty sliders to cater to different players without being dismissive to just "play a visual novel".
I think it's funny when people worry about how you play an rpg. I had a guy tell me i was destroying the game economy stealing from merchants. One larian made it possible, 2 its my economy 😂🤣😅 what is wrong with people?
That is why it should be possible to have mutiple saves or change the difficulty. Like I do with Skyrim/Fallout, I'll do a easy or normal run, but occasionally do survival/legendary, even add mods that make the game more difficult just to see how far I can get. It's choices.
Soulslike games won't. There's a few that don't really have a lower setting under normal (Or even "easy" as it says it is, Immortals of Averum for example). A few games don't allow more then one save like Dragon's Dogma. (I wish they all had the choices tbh, but that's just my thoughts)
The main appeal of souls like games is the difficulty though. The challenge, getting good at the game and finally being able to beat That Boss. At least that's my opinion lmao
Sometimes I do like challenging myself with Soulslike game, I just wish it was a tad easier for me so I can see the story (Elden Ring is fun to run around in, and thankfully, you can become OP if you put some hours in it)
The game should be enjoyable for everyone, and stuff shouldn't be left out just because you didn't play it on the harder difficulties, nor should you be ridiculed for playing on Easy.
And you shouldn't leave the final boss be exclusive to Hard Mode, Sonic Frontiers. That's just a dick move.
the game should be enjoyable to the target demographic. The game is not required to cater to those, who cant play it. Difficulty mightve been a narrative consideration
I don't agree with that theory, as it felt pretty jarring to have so much build-up only for it to instantly cut to the end.
From a story perspective, you're getting blueballed on the final confrontation. From a gameplay perspective, you're getting blueballed on the final boss to cap the game off.
Yes, a game is not there to please everyone. You go to the game for what it offers.
I bring up Sonic Frontiers because it's the first time I've felt seriously blue-balled by a game pulling a fast one on me because of the difficulty I was playing on.
Yeah, I mean I love Dark Souls and Bloodborne but Story Games like Dragon Age and Mass effect etc I'm really happy when I just can enjoy the world and Story . As much as I liked DD2 nut sometimes it was just too much while you try to explore 🫠🙈
I agree. Depending on the game, if I really connect with the combat, I increase the difficulty and spend more time in that aspect of the game. But just lower the difficulty if not.
Same. I have so much respect for everyone who plays on hard difficulty but mostly I just want to dive into the Story. I have to be in the right mood for Souls games ,especially at the beginning I've got alot of times my ass beated in Bloodborne.🤣
Oh, the same feeling I had when I change to Easy in FFXIII 😐 but it’s old, so there’s nothing i can do about it 😅
Also yes, story mode in BG Enhanced Edition is one of the best example - like even if you breeze through the game, the last boss is still difficult because that’s how it should be!
On my first playthrough of games, I always choose the easiest setting to focus on the story. Then in repeat playthroughs I might go higher difficulty levels.
It’s not my bag, but I wish it was more common. There are so many games with great stories that people won’t complete if the game is too hard.
I don’t want a games’ difficulty to prevent me from being able to talk to other people about the story because the game was too hard for them.
That's what I'm saying! Like in my personal case I've been able to beat some games that I've found extremely challenging, like Sekiro, Metroid Dread or Returnal, but some others might simply not even try them because of it.
personally i prefer easier games but i want a challenge so i normally play on normal unless normal Is too hard for me I'll admit i suck on games so yeah I'll play on easy when i get frustrated but it's my game so who really cares
And that's a key important word. Maybe I don't want to feel like a weakling always struggling to survive, maybe I want to feel powerful and breeze through fights. Just as legit.
True. Also because I recently just finished a gme that I found frustrating but finished it in the end. It wouldn't have been the case if the combat was indeed easier.
Can't agree more. One of the reasons I barely play souls-like games - I want to experience the story, not to lose 100500 brain cells due to stress from constant dyi g
Yeah it happened to me recently with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. Even in the easiest mode I was struggling a bit. And Borderlands! Oh man that game has an easier mode but it's a lie lol I always struggle with those games until I get a gun that melts everything.
Comments
I only died because of my skill issues.
Played Stellar Blade and Kena Bridge of Spirits on story,I'm a big advocate
Kirby is a very good example of how to do this well
i personally value story and gameplay the most in games. a brilliant story with mediocre and boring gameplay is worsened.
accessibility is important though so having easier/harder difficulty options is the best solution
If the game on story mode doesn't really make you engage with aspects of the gameplay it might make the story feel hollow if the game play recontextualizes the story in some way
That feeling of losing control of boy wouldn't hit as hard if you didn't even need to engage with the systems that require him in combat through the length of the game
Pretty much every horror game wouldn't work if there was no tense brought on from gameplay
Even tlou Ellie being lost in the moments it happens is part of the narrative and feels worse because of the gameplay moments having her provides that I feel is lost with a
Dead space has the moment of you protecting Nicole
Let's not forget
Full achievements too idc
Sure it's not the ment to be played this way,but it would be nice to have.
Never knew control had god mode. i can only see that as a good thing for all gamers/games.
but isn't this already the case? I don't play games on the easiest difficulty but i am under the impression that most AAA games already do this no?
I mean you are right, if easy modes aren't easy enough for their target they should be easier
The bear fight early on, a notable spike.
I guess fromsoft fans are so annoying that they feel the need to defend themselves over this kind of stuff idk
We are making games accessible to people that don't even like games at that point
I just think it's a weird thing to be passionate enough about to make a statement about it, like, honey, y'all are eating so well, the industry has so many problems why are you making them up
And you shouldn't leave the final boss be exclusive to Hard Mode, Sonic Frontiers. That's just a dick move.
From a story perspective, you're getting blueballed on the final confrontation. From a gameplay perspective, you're getting blueballed on the final boss to cap the game off.
I bring up Sonic Frontiers because it's the first time I've felt seriously blue-balled by a game pulling a fast one on me because of the difficulty I was playing on.
Also yes, story mode in BG Enhanced Edition is one of the best example - like even if you breeze through the game, the last boss is still difficult because that’s how it should be!
I don’t want a games’ difficulty to prevent me from being able to talk to other people about the story because the game was too hard for them.
@andresplays.bsky.social wants me to tell you that we don't wanna die and struggle on Story Mode Difficulty!! GOT IT?!
#indiedevs
I'll defend you to the end, Andres
There’s nothing more annoying than playing a game on story mode and you keep dying in combat for example.
If I select story mode I want it to remove most of the challenge from the game. I want to sit back and relax and enjoy the ride.