I am not looking at this from the perspective of the player. Perhaps that's where our disconnect comes from. I am looking at games as a work of art with an intended audience. And the artist, the devs, should have some allowance to make the experience they want to make.

When I talk about this, I am talking about games like Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. Games that are intentionally made for the experience of frustration followed by triumph. I am not defending "my" experience.

You are misunderstanding my statement by taking it out of its intended context. It does not undermine the experience for "me". It undermines the intended experience of the game for ALL players based on what the DEVS intended. Even then, I admitted that this does not apply to every difficult game.

But that's not what I was arguing at all. Why do you guys keep trying to make it seem like that was what my comment was about? My comment had nothing to do about an easy mode making the experience worse for players. You guys are fighting phantoms.

You figure out what you want. You shop around. You try things, certainly. And if you realise the thing you tried doesn't work for you, you go in search of what does. If the game has an easier mode, play it! If it doesn't, move on. [2]

That too! But since you are replying to this comment thread I assume you are demanding an easy mode be provided to you so you can do that. But that's not how life works. You don't go into a bicycle store and demand that the bike be made into a car. [1]

Yes. You are. But the game also had people who made it. Who wanted to provide a specific type of experience. That experience might not be for you. You are 100% in charge of your fun, and so can choose to have fun playing/doing other things.

The argument for an easy mode can be made in a lot of cases, but there are exceptions. [2]

But that's not my argument at all. Take Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy as an example. That game was designed specifically to have jank controls that make it hard to play. Putting in a mode that makes it easier to control defeats the entire purpose of the game. [1]

Like a story or whatever, I go watch a video playthrough. I'm not saying every hard game should only have one mode, or should never have an easier setting. There's plenty of times where that is warranted. But some games really are designed for a difficult experience, and that's fine. [2]

But a game is not something you need to play. It's not a necessary life experience. There are plenty of games that are too hard for me, and that's fine. I don't want to grind them out, and I accept that it's not a game for me and go play something else. If I really want to see the other content [1]

Sometimes overcoming a challenge is part of the intended fun of a game, and giving players an easy way out can undermine that experience. Sure that will alienate some buyers, but that's what having a target audience means. But if the game is targeting a wider audience then yea, I agree with you. [2]

Eh. Depends on the game. And I don't mean that in an elitist kind of way. Some games are intended to be hard, or have specific ways of playing that will only appeal to specific people. I think it's perfectly okay for games to want the "challenge" to be part of the gameplay. [1]

What are you talking about? Hoyo isn't "all in" on AI.

Maybe if Bethesda was BioWare or Larian...

I can do both. But I modded the hell out of my Skyrim years ago....