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[DragoonKain]

A friend of mine recently bought a game, and granted, he's more of a casual gamer, so he's not as good at games as a lot of other people are. But the game was simply too difficult for him to finish so he had to quit and never got to finish the game. I think that sucks especially when you're paying money for a game and you aren't going to be able to complete it.

Now, the counter to this is "Play more, and get better." But IMO that argument doesn't really fly. Not everyone is going to be as coordinated as other gamers and not everyone has the free time to spend to master a game.

If devs want to disable trophies or do something else to "punish" you for playing on easy. Or rather, giving players who beat a game on normal or harder difficulties more rewards, that's fine. But I think accessibility options are something all games should have now. I really don't see any reason to not give gamers an option so they're always given the opportunity to finish a game and get their money's worth in case it's too difficult for them.

 

[feynoob]

Yes.
Levels should be Beginner>Normal>Hard>Hell mode.
This way, everyone can enjoy the game, and not have to complain about anything.

 

[Warablo]

I like when there is no difficulty and the game is balanced that way.

 

[laynelane]

I believe such matters should be a developer choice. It's their game, their vision and that's how we've received some pretty incredible games over the years.

 

[SJRB]

O for sure, either by an option menu toggle or ingame items.

 

[Thabass]

Absolutely. Someone, so where will be someone's first time. Also, some people need extra help due to disabilities. Just put an easy mode in there for people that need it.

 

[ReBurn]

I don't think it should be required, but it would be great if difficulty options and level were clearly communicated in packaging and storefronts for accessibility purposes.

 

[Danjin44]

I personally value devs own choice and freedom, if want include difficultly options thats their choice and at same time if they don’t want to include difficultly options that’s also their choice.

 

[Bragr]

I wish there was less choice. Most of the time I feel the modes I'm playing on is either misbalanced or poorly implemented.

 

[lefty1117]

It would be nice if they did, but they should indicate the difficulty level on the packaging/website etc if they don't.

 

[Guilty_AI]

 

[March Climber]

Yes.
Levels should be Beginner>Normal>Hard>Hell mode.
This way, everyone can enjoy the game, and not have to complain about anything.

I wish there was less choice. Most of the time I feel the modes I'm playing on is either misbalanced or poorly implemented.

The great debate. Taking soulslikes out of the equation, most games have pretty bad difficulty balancing to where you're either killed in one hit by everything that moves and they all have padded health, or you're a walking talking 80s action hero and literally no enemy is safe.

 

[remember_spinal]

Its up to the developers

 

[GHG]

Nope, developers decide. And if they don't want or care about people who require an easy mode in order to play then so be it.

Exclusion can be and is a part of life.

 

[Bragr]

The great debate. Taking soulslikes out of the equation, most games have pretty bad difficulty balancing to where you're either killed in one hit by everything that moves and they all have padded health, or you're a walking talking 80s action hero and literally no enemy is safe.

Yeah, a lot of time the lack of difficulty choices means it's gonna be some sort of Soulsborne. It's a trope at this point.

I think a better example of what sort of difficulty balance I want is Nintendo games, like Zelda or Mario or something. Where you start the game and never really think about it.

 

[plip.plop]

Instead of having different difficulty modes. I would like to see developers create a game that would adjust the difficulty on the fly. If a person is constantly dying in certain areas or against a boss make the hp meter on the character take off less.
I know it won't happen but still another way to allow more people to enjoy the game.

 

[diffusionx]

No game should have difficulty levels, devs should design the game.

 

[Certinty]

Yes.

I’ve never understood people saying a game should only have the option be played like how the developers intended. Give people the option to play it like that but also give others the option to not if they want to ease or harden certain things.

If I remember correctly, Naughty Dog said Uncharted 4 was intended to be played on normal difficulty as the combat promotes variety and new features yet they still included a wide range of other difficulties for people to enjoy the game as they pleased.

I would definitely play through those Souls games if there was an easy mode. Instead, I don’t bother with them because they’re too repetitive and time consuming for me to bother with how difficult they are.

 

[Melfice7]

No game should have difficulty levels, devs should design the game.

Correct

 

[nani17]

No just bring back cheats in video games.

 

[Skelterz]

No I don’t think so it’s down to the creator, and if they choose not to include an easy mode then it’s on the consumer to make a choice after that no good moaning about somebody else’s hard work.

 

[Skelterz]

Yes.

I’ve never understood people saying a game should only have the option be played like how the developers intended. Give people the option to play it like that but also give others the option to not if they want to ease or harden certain things.

If I remember correctly, Naughty Dog said Uncharted 4 was intended to be played on normal difficulty as the combat promotes variety and new features yet they still included a wide range of other difficulties for people to enjoy the game as they pleased.

I would definitely play through those Souls games if there was an easy mode. Instead, I don’t bother with them because they’re too repetitive and time consuming for me to bother with how difficult they are.

But half the draw of beating a souls game is the sense of personal achievement when you overcome the difficulty posed to you, Putting an easy mode in would undermine the game entirely.

I think getting your head around the fact that some things just aren’t for everyone is a fantastic realisation that most people need to wake up to, not saying you specifically but honestly I take great pleasure in finding something I really enjoy that dosent always resonate with other around me.

Play what you like not what you wished you could like.

 

[nkarafo]

"should"?

No.

Only if the dev wants to.

Personally, i prefer no difficulty levels at all. Just the one the developer feels is the most balanced for each game.

 

[hemo memo]

Difficulty option or balanced at Normal.

 

[dano1]

No game should have difficulty levels, devs should design the game.

What if they want it to have difficulty levels…

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Yes they should. It gives different gamers a chance to play. And that's even more important in modern day gaming since there's hardly any demos to try out anymore. So expecting someone to blindly buy it hoping the game is good is silly.

It's no different than giving gamers options for visuals, res/performance, and controller layouts.

Technically, the devs could just make the game with one graphical setting and one gamepad setting, but gamers would go ape shit because it doesn't suit their situation. Difficulty is the same thing IMO.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

The great debate. Taking soulslikes out of the equation

LOL, Souls is the whole reason we keep having this discussion. It's literally the series that sparked the whole debate, and almost nobody would bat an eye at every game having a choice of difficulty level if some people didn't dread the idea of From Software games becoming less punishing.

 

[Guiding Moonlight]

Definitely not.

 

[The Cartographer]

Difficulty setting constrictions are generally awful and I also believe that game design-wise nothing should be mandated on developers, so my answer is a strong no.

 

[March Climber]

LOL, Souls is the whole reason we keep having this discussion. It's literally the series that sparked the whole debate, and almost nobody would bat an eye at every game having a choice of difficulty level if some people didn't dread the idea of From Software games becoming less punishing.

I didn't see OP mention it specifically, which is why I took it out of the equation. There are a ton of people here who are already assuming and answering this question for a soulslike even though OP could be talking about Super Metroid or something. Considering that out of the thousands of games out there soulslike games are the minority, I'd rather discuss the majority. There are non-soulslikes out there that have difficulty modes but the easy mode still isn't easy enough for someone who may not have the time to get good or for others who are disabled, like the OP is discussing.

 

[ungalo]

I would definitely play through those Souls games if there was an easy mode. Instead, I don’t bother with them because they’re too repetitive and time consuming for me to bother with how difficult they are.

Yeah but if you were able to complete them you would make some bad advertisement for them. It's better that way.

From Software prefers to have their games go viral for 3 months with people having discussions about it, giving tips, sharing experiences rather than people going easy mode and blasting through the game in 5 days with no obstacles, without understanding anything about what the game is about, then talking about it on Youtube just for the review like it's any other game forgotten in 2 weeks.

At least on launch you have to give reviewers as few ways of escaping the game as possible or they will absolutely take it and "shit" (that's hyperbolic, they won't shit on it but as i said they will make it look like any other game) on your game for not being a cinematic experience or whatever the fuck. They need to understand it the hard way or they will make absolutely zero effort. And actually that's the same for a lot of players.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

It'd be interesting to see if anyone supporting one difficulty mode/no easy option has the same view on MP games.

The same thinking would be zero MM where the difficulty of the game is simply whatever the random lobby is you join. It could be easy, medium, or you get get lumped into a pro gamer lobby and get smoked.

But it would interesting to hear anyone who supports one difficulty level for SP games, but when it comes to MP they support MM so their online matches suit their stats/performance with similar gamers.

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

No, if a game is too hard for me then it's too hard for me. That's it.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

Yes. There should also be options depending on what type of game it is. For example, im not a souls guy at all but a souls like in Steel Rising included four options which were -

1. Stamina Regeneration Speed
2. Damage received by enemies
3. Cooling Regeneration
4. Keep Anima Essence when death occurs

For me, the first three stayed as is but #4 is why im not a fan of souls games or rogue like games. I'm not wasting my time playing a game, dying and losing all my shit. Fuck that. With Steel Rising, I was able to keep what I gained when I died which made me want to keep playing. Completed the game and for me, it was a great 8.5/10. Really enjoyed the game especially the combat.

There's also at times where I just want to have a relaxed playthrough and beat the game without wasting a massive amount of time on it. For example, when I get Evil West, im just looking to breeze my way through the game and enjoy it for what it is. I'm not looking a massive challenge with the game so I will be playing on easy.

If souls games had the option to keep your souls when dying, I would be much more interested in playing them but since they don't, there's simply no reason for me to waste my time with them.

 

[Saber]

No. Because thats up entirelly to the devs, if they don't wanna then deal with.
Not every game is for everyone, one day people will finally understand that.

 

[Laptop1991]

Yes, people like to enjoy games in different ways, choice is always a good thing, and different skill level's should always be in games, if someone doesn't like easy mode don't use it and use a higher one.

 

[TexMex]

No.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Games should be how the designer’s vision intended them to be.

 

[DragoonKain]

For those who voted no, would you support refunds for players who are unable to complete games because they’re too difficult?

 

[drganon]

As someone who plays everything on the easiest difficulty, I still say its up to the developers. I'll never play Elden ring, but plenty of other people have and will. From soft will do just fine without me.

 

[Knightime_X]

Easy and hard.
Depends on the type of game.

Elden Ring doesn't need it but it also doesn't need to softcap half your levels either.
If I was a dev I'd want to appeal to many.

Normal difficulty IS the intended vision.
Hell, I'd throw in a few cheats for added fun you could use on any difficulty.

Vampire Survivors as of recently nailed it.

 

[Knightime_X]

Yeah but if you were able to complete them you would make some bad advertisement for them. It's better that way.

From Software prefers to have their games go viral for 3 months with people having discussions about it, giving tips, sharing experiences rather than people going easy mode and blasting through the game in 5 days with no obstacles, without understanding anything about what the game is about, then talking about it on Youtube just for the review like it's any other game forgotten in 2 weeks.

At least on launch you have to give reviewers as few ways of escaping the game as possible or they will absolutely take it and "shit" (that's hyperbolic, they won't shit on it but as i said they will make it look like any other game) on your game for not being a cinematic experience or whatever the fuck. They need to understand it the hard way or they will make absolutely zero effort. And actually that's the same for a lot of players.

Zelda games are not hard and those are better remembered than recent souls games.
Not to mention they run circles around the competition in sales.

 

[angrod14]

Depends on the creator's intention. Not everything has to be made for everyone.

 

[Neolombax]

Yes. When I was younger and had the time to "git gud", I would probably say its up to the developer or some shit, but I do not have the luxury of time now and nowadays, I would like to just experience a game. More options are always better I say.

 

[clampzyn]

As a casual gamer, yes. I play games to enjoy, a challenge in difficulty should be optional.

 

[MScarpa]

YES

 

[Deerock71]

If this was a poll, I'd vote no. This is coming from a guy, at 51, I'm more than happy to play on normal. Fuck easy.

 

[TheDreadLord]

I think this should be up to the developers. If the game is too hard for you then find something else to play. I guess that the experience with said game wouldn’t be good anyway… when it comes to accessibility options such as captions, text size, etc…. Then, I vote yes.

 

[diffusionx]

It'd be interesting to see if anyone supporting one difficulty mode/no easy option has the same view on MP games.

The same thinking would be zero MM where the difficulty of the game is simply whatever the random lobby is you join. It could be easy, medium, or you get get lumped into a pro gamer lobby and get smoked.

But it would interesting to hear anyone who supports one difficulty level for SP games, but when it comes to MP they support MM so their online matches suit their stats/performance with similar gamers.

In other words how we played multiplayer games in the 90s? Yea it’s fine, just add a server browser and let us figure it out.

 

[Fredrik]

For those who voted no, would you support refunds for players who are unable to complete games because they’re too difficult?

It’s a kind idea, could refund the amount they never got to see. Reach half way through, get half your money back.
Problem is, developers would start making games easier because they want the money. Then again, as it is I never buy games anyway if I know I’ll probably never finish them, I wait for a sale or Gamepass/PS+ release.