• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

What are those games so hard on Normal Mode that grown men justify turning down the difficulty to Easy?

Who are these gaf users who try and shame, berate and bully grown men about how others play their games, and how do they justify their silly rants on a gaming forum which is for every level of gamer, not just " hardcore gaming gods" like themselves?
 

nbkicker

Member
It depends which game, working and having kids to run after and getting older i dont have the time and spoils the enjoyment in some games if i find difficulty to hard, im not ashamed to have gone from starting games on there hardest difficulty when i was in my teens to now starting on normal and switching to easy if gets to hard as im approaching my 50s. Although i can remember playing through spiderman remastered on easy then again on medium then on hard
 
Not sure if it was different in different versions of the game, but when I was younger I had the GC Resident Evil ports. RE3 always bugged me because it had an easy mode and a hard mode; and Easy was way too easy with ammo and guns given to you at the beginning, and Hard was way too hard in the beginning with almost no ammo.

Disliked 3 for a while because there wasn’t a normal mode to play first.
 

anthraticus

Banned
Nothing I've tried. Can't remember the last tims I played a game on easy. Maybe when I was playing soms co-op game with my 5 year old nephew or something.
 
Certain genres tend to have normal modes that assume a certain level of competence and knowledge. Playing something like Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous on a lower difficulty is understandable if not necessary for someone new.
 

UnNamed

Banned
Doom (2016) is pretty difficult.

I was eventually able to play it on Nightmare, but initially I had to turn the difficulty on normal.
I often play games on hard, but Doom is very difficult.
 

GenericUser

Member
Don't belittle people for playing on easy mode. Let everyone enjoy games how they see fit. I hate this form of gamer elitism. "If you can't finish dark souls with your feet only, you are not a real gamer" - fuck this attitude.
 

Ultra Donny

Member
I don't play to get a challenge. I play games to get immersed in the ambience of another world. Some games like Eden ring the atmosphere makes the difficulty worth it and it becomes a part of the experience. Witcher 3 is also a great game but I'm replaying that one now on easy just to enjoy the story, I don't want any hurdles so easy it is.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
This thread. Playing games on Normal is bragging now lmao? Mainstream games are made to appeal to the lowest common denominator and Normal mode won't hold you back 99% of the time so this saving time excuse is hogwash unless playing video games is a waste of time for you.

Enjoy the games the way you want to. Just don't make up lame excuses.
 

Sorcerer

Member
Loved this one and I can proudly say that I managed to complete it on C64. And yes, that underwater section was absolutely infuriating.
I see many say this section of the Turtles game was infuriating. I found the end section of the game impossible, but for this part I quickly figured out you really just needed to feather the controls with very light tapping and almost make the Turtle do the work for you, take it easy and not rushing in like a madman, despite the timer. I absolutely aced that part. This coming from a mostly shit gamer.
 
Last edited:
  • Praise the Sun
Reactions: Fuz

Majormaxxx

Member
I am playing GRID on series x and a few of the races are way too difficult to get first place on medium. I'm not a newbie but some of the races are unbalanced.

On easy, it's way too easy on the other hand. So they needed to make something between easy and medium

They even made very easy which is probably insulting.
 
Why does one need "justification" to play on an easier difficulty? The purpose of playing a game is to have fun, if difficulty isn't fun for you why would you needlessly play on a harder difficulty? Also most games the harder difficulty usually just makes enemies have more health and do more damage, rarely any interesting differences that actually make a game more fun or unique on harder difficulties
 

Soodanim

Gold Member
This thread. Playing games on Normal is bragging now lmao? Mainstream games are made to appeal to the lowest common denominator and Normal mode won't hold you back 99% of the time so this saving time excuse is hogwash unless playing video games is a waste of time for you.

Enjoy the games the way you want to. Just don't make up lame excuses.
You have issues mate. If someone chooses to play any given game on easy as opposed to normal and you don't like their reasoning, that's your problem--not theirs. No one owes you an explanation you find acceptable, and from how you're going about it I doubt there's much you do find acceptable. So what's the point of the thread? You're not talking to people, you're talking at them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shh

Dutchy

Member
No, no it can't be that. These so called grown men must actually be wimps. There's no challenge in real life that compares to the challenge that video games provide, and these wimps can't even face a regular challenge.

Imagine calling yourself a grown man and playing video games on easy mode. Get a load of this guy.
I could get on Halo 3 right now and beat 99% of players with zero effort. I have a 4k20 on Apex and solo'd myself to Diamond last split. I beat all the From games and I've probably done a bunch of other shit that puts me in the higher segment of epic g4m3rz.

But when I get home from a long day of work? I just wanna unwind, kick my feet up and don't even bother to play MnK in the games that absolutely require it. With my music being louder than the in-game audio, and my feet covering like 20% of my screen. Sometimes even with a load of THC in my system. This is when I put most single player games on easy mode. It's not a neccesity but rather a convenience.
 

Drake

Member
I had to turn down to Easy in Jedi Survivor’s final bossfight because it was just bullshit. Came close the same during two boss fights before but then just somewhat managed in the end after all.
I haven't played Survivor, but I did the exact same thing in Fallen Order. I just wanted to be done with the game at that point and I was getting frustrated, so I turned that shit down to finish it.
 

Robb

Gold Member
The purpose of playing a game is to have fun
Stop with the excuses! The reason we play games is to not be considered wimps by society. Be a real man, like the OP;
hnIZadl.jpg
 
Last edited:

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
I haven't played Survivor, but I did the exact same thing in Fallen Order. I just wanted to be done with the game at that point and I was getting frustrated, so I turned that shit down to finish it.
Same. Nothing worse than you just wanting to see the end but the devs thinking... Well mate, here is the most bullshit boss of the game. Have fun.
 
As long as you aren't cheating who cares. Play whatever you want. I always do normal unless I get stuck for too long. I do have time constraints as an adult, and a huge backlog.

I recently applied a patch to one of my old portable systems (3ds) and looking at the guide and forums people were asking for cheats menu so they could power through their nes/snes/fba backlogs. Why? Is that even playing if you have to cheat?
I get lowering difficulty but not that. The fact that some do that is surprising. Why would those people even be into retro games if they are just going to cheat.

As for difficulty, who cares they are single player games, not affecting any one else.
 

D-ray

Member
Can't help but mention Mafia 1 (original, not Definitive Edition).

I played the game on Normal difficulty, but I wouldn't mind someone toning down to Easy or Very Easy. That game in terms of game play was a cesspit of unfair fights, bullshit mechanics and just overall tedious missions. Making it atrociously hard in "Normal" mode, just adds salt to injury.
 

The Stig

Member
Games from the NES/SNES/Genesis and PS1/N64/Saturn generations that were still tuned to 'arcade difficulty' to make you waste as many lives as possible. This especially applies to beat em ups.

Edit: Just look at old AVGN videos to see how ridiculous some of those games were during those gens. It was hair-pulling cheapness.

sddefault.jpg

0338d4b9e7c0b687d8b0b8efe511c8bb.jpg
i have horrible memories of both of these.

in modern times i turned the difficulty down for the valkyrie queen in GoW 2018. I came very close to beating her on normal but found myself actively getting ANNOYED. which is not normal for me at all so decided it wasnt worth the stress.
 

Lupin3

Targeting terrorists with a D-Pad
well the point OP is making is that that's already what Normal difficulty modes are these days

It's truly fascinating this problem some people have with easy difficulty. Talking about "excuses" and such. Just wow.

My post just got deleted. So it's OK to question someone's manhood and how they enjoy playing their games, but my comment which was clearly sarcasm was deleted. OK that's how it is? Cool

You're not alone. Sad.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
The OP has that feeling of "I studied the blade!". It's ok, OP, video game achievements are not that important.

286.jpg
I can never quite comprehend how skinny that guys left arm is. It reminds me of a chicken wing once you’ve taken the meat off.
 

Quantum253

Member
I'm curious. Do people question the mode journalist and reviewers play the game on or whether that's a determining factor of how the game is scored? I'm trying to think if this is even discussed in the process or made known somewhere in the review.
I do like a challenge in some games (if it's inherently made to be difficult). However, cheap tactics to make a game difficult to extend playability is annoying and I'll turn down the difficulty to pass the section or if the challenge no longer is fun. A good example is playing GOW: Ragnarok on the hardest difficulty and after-game content. Challenging, but not designed to continuously cheat you into dying.
Most games nowadays Normal (standard) and Easy are fairly close, so normal is the go-to. If a Platinum requires the hardest, I'll usually go for it as long as it's within reason.
 

Raven117

Member
Dude, I'm too old to mess around with a GAME that is frustrating (unless that is the point...like Souls games). I use just enough difficulty to engage with the systems...but not enough to piss me off.

Take Yakuza...i play for the story...not the combat. I drop that difficulty and don't look back.
 
Last edited:

anthraticus

Banned
I played Assassin's Creed Odyssey on Easy, not because it was hard on Normal, but because combat felt incredibly tedious on Normal.
And how did it feel on easy ?

hint: combat/gameplay is shit in these games any way you cut it. As is the mission design, writing, etc...
They're pretty much glorified sightseeing sims.
 
Last edited:

madanth

Neo Member
It's truly fascinating this problem some people have with easy difficulty. Talking about "excuses" and such. Just wow.



You're not alone. Sad.
Ya, my deleted comment which was sarcastic must of struck a nerve with the truth lol. All good tho.
 

Nankatsu

Gold Member
I turned the difficulty down to easy on Ishin's Final Boss sequence.

That shit was completely insane for me, even with my inventory packed with health items.

No No No GIF
 

AGRacing

Member
We've all seen this excuse. It tends to go a little something like this; I'm a 40-year-old man with a full time job of 80 hours a week and 12 kids. I don't have much time to game so I prefer avoiding frustration and as such, I play on Easy Mode.

My question is, what game is so hard on Normal Mode that you cannot just breeze through it? Most games in Normal Mode are braindead easy so what are those challenging games that excuse a grown man playing on Easy? Games like Dark Souls and Nioh don't have difficulty levels (unless you mod them), exactly to weed out those who don't wanna bother learning and improving. God of War? In the default mode, it's fairly forgiving. It does become quite challenging on Give Me God of War, but that's the highest difficulty level and you probably shouldn't pick it as a noob. Even Ninja Gaiden Black/II, which are considered quit difficult, are only really hard games when you reach the higher difficulty levels. Ninja mode is incredibly forgiving compared to Dark Souls. Master Ninja is a different ballgame, but why would you choose that if you don't enjoy a challenge? Same for Bayonetta and Devil May Cry.

If this were the 90s, I might agree. Games like Final Fight or TMNT even on Normal could prove quite challenging but modern games on Normal Mode are almost an insult. Horizon, Uncharted, GTA (no difficulty level), Halo, DOOM, the Ori games, modern platformers, etc. None of those games are even challenging unless you up the difficulty (and even then, most still aren't).

So what are those games with a Normal Mode so challenging that they frustrate you to the point you gotta turn them down to easy
Wow. I bet this guy is a huge hit at parties. YIKES.
 

RobRSG

Member
The normal difficulty on Metro 2033 waaayyy too difficult, but Easy was way too easy.. I agree, normal difficulty is usually pretty easy, but Metro 2033 was the only game I can remember where I had to turn it down.
I don’t know how the hell I’ve managed to finish this one in normal mode.
 

WoJ

Member
Depends on the game. I am not particularly great at video games. Normal modes aren't hard, but it's not uncommon for me to run into an encounter with a game in normal mode that turns into a pain in the ass. Depending on how big of a pain in the ass it is I may turn the difficult down.

More likely, a game has a gameplay system that I don't feel like taking the time to learn and instead just want to experience the IP and world its in without being bogged down by its systems.

Another example is Mass Effect 1. It's probably my favorite game of all time. I've played through it probably 15 times or so. After a while I just started playing it on the easiest setting. I've beaten it on insanity multiple times. I could do it now with ease if I wanted to. But it would make the experience more tedious and less fun. So I play it on easy. The combat is janky (and I love it), but I don't feel like dealing with the jank and bullet-spongeyness of enemies on higher difficulties anymore. I just want to experience being in the world of Mass Effect.

Some other games are just hard on normal (looking at you Witcher 2).
 

NickFire

Member
This thread. Playing games on Normal is bragging now lmao? Mainstream games are made to appeal to the lowest common denominator and Normal mode won't hold you back 99% of the time so this saving time excuse is hogwash unless playing video games is a waste of time for you.

Enjoy the games the way you want to. Just don't make up lame excuses.
What's the term for Hardo Dork?
 

Poplin

Member
jedi outcast, mostly because the load times and souls death penalty and backtracking were agonizing.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
I turned the difficulty down to easy on Ishin's Final Boss sequence.

That shit was completely insane for me, even with my inventory packed with health items.
You mean you modded it?

And Isshin is legit bullshit. That bitchass Genichiro fight is just a formality but he can ruin your day if you ain't careful.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Another example is Mass Effect 1. It's probably my favorite game of all time. I've played through it probably 15 times or so. After a while I just started playing it on the easiest setting. I've beaten it on insanity multiple times. I could do it now with ease if I wanted to. But it would make the experience more tedious and less fun. So I play it on easy. The combat is janky (and I love it), but I don't feel like dealing with the jank and bullet-spongeyness of enemies on higher difficulties anymore. I just want to experience being in the world of Mass Effect.
The jank made it more fun. It was hilarious maxing out Lift or Throw and send enemies off-screen lol.
 
Top Bottom