Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

@FawfulsFury Huh I kinda do this too lol! This is unpopular? Kinda crazy if so.

@FawfulsFury I assumed this is what most people do. I play thru on normal the first time because I go with the assumption that 'normal' is how the game was intended to be for the optimum experience, while the other easy/hard modes alter this for players who might need help or want more of a challenge.

@Snatcher

I feel like this is literally what the developers intend for the most part. Some games even say this explicitly in the options menu 'normal — perfect for a first playthrough for typical players'.

Here's a potentially spicy take: I don't consider a game truly beat if it was done on easy mode or used with save states (unless it's a QoL thing to save time loading, skip cutscenes etc). I consider it a matter of authorial intent, which is very important to me (though it seems to have fallen out of vogue...) But also I'm not gonna lecture people who play on easy mode because that's a social media brainworm thing. I'll respectfully debate it but I won't really judge someone's character (besides taking their gaming opinions with less seriousness) because, ultimately, it's just video games.

I generally tend to save the harder modes for replays, when I already master the game in normal. I never tend to use easy personally.

@VoidofLight
I'm the same, except I also choose the harder mode for sequels. Usually the gameplay is similar, so I'm ready for a harder difficulty.

I typically go with whatever difficulty the game is balanced around. Sometimes that's "normal." Sometimes, especially in the case of series that became more user-friendly as they went on, that's a higher difficulty setting. I always play new Fire Emblem games on Hard mode, for example, and opt for the highest difficulty settings in the newer Etrian Odyssey games.

Never easy. Might as well not even play the game at that point. I'll watch it on youtube and save my money.

@moomin I'll never forget the chutzpah WayForward had when Contra 4 cuts you off two missions before the end of the game on easy mode and says: "You'll never see the ending on Easy! Try playing on a higher difficulty for a real Contra experience!"

Some games have like 4 tiers of easy or call the modes something completely different. I occasionally use story mode on rpgs when the combat is simply tedious.

Even spicier take — a game isn't 100% completed until you beat it at every possible difficulty level. 😝

As for authorial intent, plenty of game designers design the game around the easier modes as the way it is meant to be played and just stick in a harder mode to satisfy the people who will complain otherwise. Of course with the best games, every difficulty level was the intent of the developers and are all meant to be a great experience.

And since we're on the subject of difficulty, I've noticed since the mid-2010's...say...like...2013 onward from that point. i've notice a stigma or some kind of mentality among us older gamers ( not all but some) against "Easy" or "Casual" difficulties. First game I've notice was EO 4, when I got into a argument with a "NOT NAMED SOMEBODY" on Siliconera about the subject of "Casual" mode in Etrian Odyssey 4. And I've told this person that even so, you can always play on the hardest difficulty. It wouldn't affect said person, especially when I said that it makes it sound like he's against casual or beginners. This is when before Etrian Odyssey 4 was released.

It got really bad at that point that I gave up with this guy. Anyways, since this is kinda like a unpopular opinion, point blank: I really have no issue with games having Easy/Casual mode. After all, NOT EVERYONE WAS BORN IN THE 80's or 90's, in regards with the newer generation. At some point, you're gonna have to make games more accessible to the casual crowd. Beginners included.

Maybe this is a bad take but really...that kind of mentality bothers me in some way. Maybe it's just me.

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot
Games should have an easy mode and hard modes. At the end of the day, difficulty can influence your enjoyment of the game.

One thing I don't like about easy/normal/hard mode is that they combine arbitrary features. I might want the platforming difficulty from hard mode but the boss difficulty from easy or normal. I love the few games which let you mix and match difficulty settings — Celeste is a good example or Rogue Legacy 2. I kind of wish Mario Wonder had done that rather than forcing Yoshi to be easy mode.

I think Casual mode kind of defeats the purpose of Etrian Odyssey as it's an ode to obtuse, difficult dungeon crawlers while also updating the formula with quality of life features and a sparkly animu coating. I don't particularly mind the existence casual mode - I doubt people are running around pointing rifles saying "you WILL play casual mode and you WILL like it" - but I think at that point just embrace that it's not a game for everyone, you know? But it's all well and good.

@FishyS When normal mode is too easy and hard mode is too hard 🥲

Spider-Man 2 does this as well. For example you can have enemy health at the hardest difficulty while damage is on easy. You can also change the difficulty on stuff like web swinging as well.

@blindsquarel That has raised my respect for spiderman 2. The only thing I knew about the game is that the un-masked faces were kinda ugly and the camera movement made me a bit motion sick to watch in videos so I stopped watching before I saw much. 😝

@FishyS
If you’re interested in the series I would get the game at some point. It’s really good and IMO just barely edged out of game of the year by TOTK.

Not all games should have an easy mode in my opinion. Some creators want a harder difficulty as a part of the experience, and I don’t think they should all have to dumb it down to reach all audiences. I believe if games with only an easy mode can exist, then games that are only difficult are also allowed.

I mean...many games don't actually have difficulty modes at all so, sure, some are easy and some are hard. Generally adding an easier (or a harder or even a medium-er) mode is to increase the target audience and/or make the game more enjoyable for more people. So it's the dev's decision in the end.

Although I like the idea of adding a hard mode to all easy games — animal crossing death match when?? Actually hard mode is just to give the player a deathly allergy to bees and spiders.

That brings up a point — in most games it is usually easy to create your own harder mode (time limit, only certain items, 1 death and reset) but it is much harder to create you own easier mode as a player if it's not built in.

Gold Leaf Galaxy is better than Honeyhive Galaxy.

My thought when I heard about Zelda movie.