What difficulty do you prefer your games to be?

I like it when the game challenges me to think, but I don't want the game to be brutally difficult or require intense grinding. I'm not a grinder! How about you, SW? What difficulty do you prefer your games to be?

These dayzzz...

Okay, not too easy tho. lol :P

Max on first playthrough. Something Maroxad has never done in any game he has played in the last 50 years.

This really depends on a variety of factors, and I don't think it's a simple question at all. I think more and more games are going away from the choice of difficulty, choosing rather to have a set difficulty. And this is what I mostly prefer when it comes to my games. I like it when games don't even give me a difficulty option, but have the games difficulty set on what they believe gives you the full experience they've envisioned. A good example of this is Alien: Isolation. While the game does provide you with multiple options for difficulty, the games recommended setting is hard mode, stating that it is the intended difficulty of the devs. It shouldn't have even been an option to go any lower.

I go hard mode on first playthrough. It keeps me focus on game. If i can breeze through the game il stop playing and get bored after few hours.

Always opt for hard. Most modern games are too easy by default.

Most of the time my initial playthrough of a game is done on the Normal or default difficulty. Sometimes I’ll go with a harder or easier difficulty right out of the gate though. Just depends on the game really.

Normal.

If I really like the game but it's extremely hard, i will lower the difficulty, but those cases are far and between.

The default setting. I admit that I've gotten worse at video games over the years. When I played Mega Man 9 and 10, I got my ass handed to me. Part of that is the fact that I have a hard time controlling my anger when I continually lose at a video game. I wish I wasn't like that.

Normal setting. I don't have time to sit there and be on the struggle bus forever.

Usually normal setting. Moderate challenge is all I really want. Don't have enough time to grind or git gud these days.

Same as Archangel3371 said here. Just depends on the game itself. Of course, learning how to actually play Sifu was brutally challenging but rewarding when you learned to master the controls.

Always normal on first playthrough. If I love the game I go back on harder difficulty. Not always though. Still haven't on metal gear rising revengence but aim to.

I like to make progress in my games given the abundance of quality titles we have these days, so I tend to favor easier difficulties.

I also dislike trial-and-error, which tends to increase with difficulty.

With that said, I don't want to have too easy of a time because then the game is boring.

So to answer the question, I like my difficulty to be juuuuusssst right. 😋

I always pick the hardest mode first.

I do like the occasional easygoing game. RPGs or other narrative games fill this need. But usually I require sweat and stress.

I usually do my first playthrough on normal/medium difficulty, and if I really enjoyed it or want to get the trophies for a higher difficulty I’ll up it on a following play through.

I'm a a dirty, filthy casual player when it comes to difficulty in games. I play everything on the easiest settings and then I might increase the difficulty later on. If a game feels too hard I lose interest. I would never launch a new game on the hardest difficulty to start, it's just not me.

I would prefer the developer figure that out. Different approaches to difficulty make sense for different types of games.

If there are different settings then I will pick Normal the first time because that is how the developer has chosen to present the default way their game would presumably be played.

Usually play 1 below max, seems good to me.

Don't care much as long as it's fun. Fun can range from easy to hard.

Many games are too easy to be fun, some are too hard. Love playing games like Ikaruga, Super Meat Boy, Sekiro, but I also love me some easy games, like Mario. However, while I do like modern Mario games, I much prefer the harder ones like 64 or SMB3.

In games with several difficulty levels, the option above normal is usually good for me to start with. Depends on the game, though. I wouldn't start a japanese shmup on Hard if there are only 2 or 3 options, that'd be suicide.

First play through on normal if I enjoy the game I might run through it on hard.

Depends on the game.

I do prefer things to be difficult. But I also prefer the difficulty to be intelligently designed.

I used to like hard games when I was a teenager without much to do in my life.

Now as a dad and main provider of a family I favor games I can play with my kids, so, easy.

I will increase the difficulty in games I enjoy by some means or another.

Where do Elden Ring's prolonged windups, sudden quick attacks as soon as you attack and attacks that change direction at the last part of a second fall?

@warm_gun: Sounds like you're describing what people who play fighting games are working with

Falls under git gud, same as all souls games.

I play most games on the hardest difficulty level you can from the start and hate when games lock harder difficulties behind additional playthroughs (unless it's an mmo). That said, there are some genres that I really enjoy like turn based strategy that are absolutely unfair and brutal on the hardest levels and I just pick the normal setting if I get to a point where it's no longer fun. I want to play my way and not look up guides and follow in the footsteps of someone else, so if it's too much I adjust down a bit from time to time, and the same can be said in reverse as well. For example I started Unicorn Overlord on normal but about an hour or two in I changed it to hard and never switched back. I loved that game by the way, over 100 hours played and the platinum. Still my goty to this point.

Depends on the game. If its a long game that is story driven, I don't need to be losing progress constantly by dying so I'll go with the default/normal difficulty.

If its a genre I'm good at/gameplay is the focus, i'll usually go one up from the default setting, then adjust as needed.

Couldn’t have written it as eloquently. This exactly, not every game needs to be hard, just fun.

As for shooters or RTS I’ll try and turn it up a notch.

Depends. If I can see what I did wrong when I die, I can repeat ad infinium until I get it right…as was the case with games like cuphead or Ori. If there’s no rhyme or reason things just get frustrating and I feel it becomes a chore…as in Elden Ring.

On the other end of the scale, games like Dragons Dogma bore me to tears as I found myself just mashing a single move repeatedly. Too easy.

Elden Ring was boring to you because you don't understand what's good gameplay and what isn't. Next time, instead of bitchin, you can ask me any question, and i will guide you to an enjoyment of video games.

🤣His elderly reflexes can't handle these games anymore, so lets trauma dump your frustration on others.

Depends on the genre, but usually I play on hard, unless it is a game I am only mildly interested in and just want to play through without too much hassle.

Shooters I generally just wanna ... shoot and not think too much, so I don't go looking for a challenge in them ( any shooter that has regen health is less fun the harder it is)

On the opposite side, I enjoy beating tough boss fights in stuff like Nioh or the souls games. I also enjoyed challenging 2d platformers like Super Meat Boy, Ori, DKC returns and tropical freeze.

I don't really like old school 8 bit / 16 bit difficulty that comes from having limited lives and having to beat several levels in a row w/o a game over between.

I'm stupid so I don't want my puzzles to be too hard.

Still appreciate a good challenge. Four months ago:

But FromSoftware's games have just gotten stupid.

Even though was not that into Sekiro, have to agree with this post:

I had lots of fun with Sekiro but I'm wondering if it would be a great idea to continue it. They probably would just come up with annoying ways to make combat harder, because their sequel always has to remain challenging for veterans of series. Though I guess a second game might still be decent enough. If they'd actually expand the combat to allow of larger variety of playstyles, could even be great. Just doesn't seem likely given the "evolution" of Souls combat.

@warm_gun: You posted Street Of Rage 2, a 87 years old game that you most certainly have already played a billion times over the years. That's not challenge, that's just replaying what you've already played. Challenge is something new and unknown, and i can clearly tell you cannot adapt to new.

Nah, haven't played it many times. In fact, played it so little over the years that I only learned two months ago about the upward and downward attacks.

New FromSoftware games aren't new, they're same game from fifteen years ago, only with ridiculous animations now because the system has nothing more to offer.

If they were old, and no evolution of the genre was a thing, you wouldn't have any issues playing it, just like you had no problems with simpleton boss animations game like Demon's Souls. But that's not the case, is it? And complex animations is the right progression of the genre. If these game had the same demon's souls/dark souls boss animations, the difficulty would vanish, and they'd compared to Ubisoft titles. Instead, their games are more popular than ever before, so i really don't need to tell you how wrong you are on your criticism.

@warm_gun: Might as well complain about having to look for an opening in a fighting game by watching the animations and strategies of your opponents.

Not every game is for everyone. There are probably people out there that don't like fighting games too, or belt scrollers like Streets of Rage 2 either.

Their games are more popular than ever because they went (boring) open world. That's the main reason. The sales of Elden Ring tell all. But plenty of fans have become disenchanted. See them all the time now. Weird animations that punish intuition are the wrong progression, especially when the AI is too stupid and the moveset too limited for the player to trick THEM with feints, prolonged windups and redirection. Should come up with new controls that aren't so clunky. That will provide new challenge without feeling played out. Biggest additions they came up with was a generic crouch that's pressed down by accident and a dedicated jump button that forced the alternate weapon mode to become a clunky two-button action. Try not to accidentally attack.

I just stick to normal and will increase difficulty or lower it based on how engaged I am. I have no issues lowering the difficulty just to get by a tough section or boss if I feel it is being cheap and unfair. I am not going to suffer through bullshit if I am not having fun.

Honestly I like to go with the default difficulty first just to get a taste of what the game has to offer without being so easy that it's boring ... if I really like it bump it up a notch and maybe see what I can do too change up the experience on further playthroughs

Like lock-on not on shit button R3.