What are your thoughts on hard videogames?

[Zombie Queen]

Personally my opionion changed over the years, I used to have a big list of never ending games i wantedto complete. but now i just play what i want. and i really do enjoy getting my ass kicked and succeeding in the very end.

Red Riders

 

[PSVitaForever]

It depends; if I can get good enough to succeed, I don't mind a good challenge in games. Otherwise, I play for fun so if it becomes excessively frustrating I give up and play something else.
At the moment I'm tired and I can't come up with examples, but I know it's already happened to me, both cases described.

 

[RomaniMajorasMask]

Difficulty in video games will always be a contentious for me. I don't like when a game is designed for the sole purpose of "you will die 5,000,000 times on the first guy" such as souls-like or whatnot. But the Kirby games where every level is a cakewalk feels unrewarding.

Or when you get into adjusting difficulty settings where the options are
>Default number
>Default number x.5
>Default number x.20

Feels lazy. Just adding higher numbers isn't satisfying in difficulty. It doesn't challenge how I play the game or my fundamentals. Ends up making me beat my head into a wall until something works more often than nor. Or finding exploits. And if the only fun way to play a game is via exploits, it isn't really worth playing in my opinion.
So- I like difficulty! Dying a few times makes the final attempt feel all that much better. But games designed to be "hard" can, more often than not, kiss my ass!

 

[AncientBehemoth]

 

[DunkeyKong]

Ghosts N Goblins, hard as hell and died so many times, but I love it

 

[PrismRed]

Depends, if it's hard yet fair, I'm down.
Different story if it's unfair.

 

[Deleted member 884]

I've always hated them. Years ago when playing I often crushed the PS3 controller and a few Wii remote, especially with Tekken 6 and SOCOM (this one never finished), also the guitat while playing Guitar Hero.
Even though I could play Dark Souls or Elden Ring I know I'd rather put my hand in the shreder than play them. I don't like games that are too easy neither, just a middle way between the two.

 

[KOFXI is peak]

Depends on the genre
A hard FPS like Half Life 1 is mostly comprised of aimbotting, bullet sponge enemies and over-reliance on quick saves. Some weapons feel useless too.
But whenever I recall beating Shin Megami Tensei 3 (JRPG) I'm always like, hell yeah

 

[RomaniMajorasMask]

Depends on the genre
A hard FPS like Half Life 1 is mostly comprised of aimbotting, bullet sponge enemies and over-reliance on quick saves. Some weapons feel useless too.
But whenever I recall beating Shin Megami Tensei 3 (JRPG) I'm always like, hell yeah

SMT3, and SMT4 for that matter, was an amazing experience. Save for the first Amala Network visit lmao.
It always feels like you can sway a battle in your favor with the right fusions and magatamas.

Plus Demi-Fiend is rad, hands-down.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

Depends on how fun and engaging the game is to me. About the right balance between Combat, Story, Soundtrack and Mechanics.

 

[CargoRoms]

Depends on the genre.

Multiplayer games were brutally hard, or way too easy. Depending who you played against. One sided stomps.

The key here, is to personally customize, so it's not too easy or too hard.

There's nothing wrong with playing a more laid back game, like fun platformer, and also enjoy some motor cortex exercise, like with with fast paced shooters.

 

[Graw]

I don't mind hard games but I don't really like games that waste your time. I don't mind needing to repeat a boss a ton of times but I don't want to have to repeat say the entire level leading up to the boss over and over again. I don't really have a lot of patience for NES style bullshit hard anymore.

 

[DanCalibur]

I'm ok playing hard games with unlimited continues but those games where you run out of continues and have to go back to level one is another story. Still play them all the same

 

[Big Finger Jim]

It completely depends on how it is handled in-game. You can either have a true test of your skill built up throughout the entire game like Sword Saint Isshin, or a complete fucking train wreck that clearly didn't get play tested like Munakata in Yakuza 4.

 

[Kamako]

Depends on intention and expectation I reckon. If I'm playing a rage game, I expect it to be unfair, but winnable, that's fun. If the game dev's are just trying to artificially inflate the length of the game by starving you of resources though, that's lame as hell.

 

[Billy M.T.]

Depends on what kind of "hard" are we talking about. There's the challenging kind, where it really boils down to "git gud" and indeed you can have a fun time once you get yourself used to the mechanics. Then there's the unfair kind where no amount of personal skill will save you from the heavily-loaded RNG, the overinflated enemy stats, and the unforgiving caps that burden the player but not the CPU.

In fact, any game that gets listed on TVT's The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard page, can kindly GTFO with their level of "hard", or get the modding lobotomization treatment to balance it out.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

I love hard or even crazy hard games as long as the challenge is fair and creative.
So, Soulsbornes, good shmups: hellyeah.
Most nes games that are famous for their difficulty: no. Same goes for the modern Ninja Gaiden games. Chipping away at endless hordes of samey enemies with even longer healthbars is no fun to me and the least interesting way by far to make a game more difficult.

 

[Bakuma1997]

I hate it when hard mode games just make the enemies damage sponges like Kingdom Rush, never beat them in hard because i suck, i never beat them in hard because THEY SUCK at balancing hard mode

Hard Modes where you get unique stuff that balance the challenge (Like Valkyrie Profile's extra EXP in Hard) I can deal with it

Games preenginered to be hard (Like Souls-like games or challenge platformers) It depends if the challenge is at least bearable or not, i have dropped many games like IWBTG because the gratification was not worth it (Althoug i give IWBTG a pass since the author admitted it was a middle finger at NES games' cheapness) due to being too hard, but i sticked at most known games suck as Blasphemous after figuring you can eventually break them as much as they break you

 

[freebie#47]

I'm ok with Hard games, BUT good Hard games, Not those Janky games where the programming is so bad you die cause it made you die, not your skills. I love the Arcade version of Ghost and Goblins, but despise nes 20 fps atrocious game. Capcom really should of gave it the megaman treatment. Personally, I love Inti create games as they balance the difficulty amazingly. Heck their Card rougelike game is so awesome that it is my personal favorite to play, even good as the megaman.exe games. Its why I buy their games when they come out.

 

[moonbits]

I throughly enjoy games that don't shy away from challenge. It forces players to understand and apply all their knowledge in all situations.

 

[Kremiso]

to play this game, it is recommended to choose 'normal' difficulty, you have selected 'easy';
are you sure you want play on 'easy' setting?

yes, i'm sure that 'easy' is in reality 'hard'

after a couple of hours into the game, i was right

i just hate when this happens :)

 

[KirboDeku]

Depends on how I'm supposed to overcome the challenge. If it's something like I don't have the right strategy or you need to master the game mechanics, sure it won't take that long. But if it's something like I need to walk in circles and mash A for an hour to get my numbers high enough, too bored to bother usually. Or it could be a game where you straight up need to reset and get stuff you missed so the game isn't so brutally difficult, yeah that sucks.

 

[Deleted member 322096]

I usually prefer chill, easier games. Games are supposed to be relaxing imho, and while having a challenge is cool once in a while I like muh vidya chill and easy.

 

[Duke_11037]

If they're hard but fair like Celeste or Garlic I'm fine with it, they actually help me distress a lot of the time. Some kinda zen thing going on

 

[Zombie Queen]

Ghosts N Goblins, hard as hell and died so many times, but I love it
View attachment 44365

i beat this one. hard as nails rly gott say