So while playing a cool little Indie game that I am in the process of critiquing (review will be at some point soon on highrezgaming by the way) I found myself struggling at the later levels of the game which brought to light all the things I learned about and tested me on my skills alone. The game was incredibly difficult but after coming out on top at around 2AM last night I felt wonderful, and my fingers hurt a little bit.
It got me thinking though, aside from the occasional Dark Souls a lot of gaming these days really doesn’t challenge people anymore. Most games that are released these days that are incredibly difficult or challenging are actually basing themselves or borrow heavily from old games in terms of mechanics or even licenses. There are not many actually new IP’s or games in general that still provide a challenge. Maybe it’s something to do with accessibility with the general mass of people as many people may not buy a game if they cannot beat it due to the fact they just want to get a quick thrill or something to keep them occupied. Games don’t really become timesinks now unless you can feel unstoppable by the end which really makes games like Dark Souls only really appealing to those who deliberately like difficult games and the general public just leaves it alone.
Maybe that’s how it should be. Difficult games do provide a certain type of enjoyment that general games can’t seem to match or at least they try to accomplish different things. Beating a difficult game involves a hugely frustrating period of time and may put many people off continuing however by getting to the end you get a huge rush of excitement and Endorphins that many easier games don’t match. The easier ones however tend to provide a nicer overall experience to many. You don’t go to games to become stressed and throw your controller across the screen (unless you’re into that, in which case what is wrong with you!?) you play games to get our of reality for a little while, de-stress and have a little fun after a hard day of work. Maybe your experience of fun is toppling a massive effort that took you ages to complete in which case hard games make sense but to me personally I just see it as a challenge to beat and then forget, maybe I’m just desensitized.
Anyway what are your opinions on all of this? Do you agree with me and if you don’t why do you like hard games? Be sure to comment below! That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.