How many times was difficulty in a game the cause of you disliking it or even writting a negative feedback?

[fireflame]

Sometimes you may find the difficulty of a game impossible to overcome or a game-design where the difficulty feels artificial, cheap, or not encouraging you to start over,etc. But how often? I am curious because in general I try to beat games, but sometimes I admit te difficulty can be a factor for disliking a game, the ai of command and conquer general zero hour, the deaths in Altered east, Ghost and Goblins.
The lack of options to restore progress, checkpoints, are part of elements of difficulty I can dislike because I consider them to be a given nowadays. Jumps in difficulty that are not justified are also upsetting(from very easy to very hard, the average, then suddenly very hard again,etc)
Sometimes changes in difficulty balance can make me hate or lie a game(I hated Diablo 3 a lot in the early moths because armageddon felt impossible after act 1 before it was patched....)

 

[SuperFakerBros]

I don't think I've ever disliked a game purely because of how difficult or how easy it is. If I find playing the game fun and there's little to discourage me from continuing to play with at least a little leeway, I'll muscle my way through the game. Higher difficulties would only excarbate my frustrations with a game if I don't playing it

 

[Odeko]

I don't think that's ever happened. There are certainly games I've dropped because of difficulty (sorry Nioh) but that's just because I need to git gud, it's not the game's fault.

 

[Strings]

I don't think I've ever disliked a game purely because of how difficult or how easy it is. If I find playing the game fun and there's little to discourage me from continuing to play with at least a little leeway, I'll muscle my way through the game. Higher difficulties would only excarbate my frustrations with a game if I don't playing it

Click to shrink...

I definitely think I've disliked games because of how easy they were (the original version of Kingdom Hearts 2 for one), but never because they were too hard.

 

[SuperFakerBros]

I definitely think I've disliked games because of how easy they were (the original version of Kingdom Hearts 2 for one), but never because it was too hard.

Click to shrink...

I honestly can't relate with that. I play games to have a good time so easy games are alright with me. Hard games are fine...if I find it fun to play. If not, then it's just a painful experience all throughout

 

[Sartho]

I've quit playing a game that was real difficult, but only for a while. I always go back to a game, unless I don't like it.

 

[Mechaplum]

Difficulty was never the reason for disliking a game, nor should it be.

For example Hollow Knight was too difficult for someone as platform-challenged as myself but I can still appreciate it. My gripes were the map system and generally boss runs.

 

[Deleted member 49319]

Uncharted 4 mummy bombs in crushing, terrible game design.

 

[Morrigan]

Uncharted 4 mummy bombs in crushing, terrible game design.

Click to shrink...

Good thing you can play it on not crushing

 

[J75]

Difficulty causing me to dislike a game has happen a lot (any soulsborne style game and such), writing a negative review though, never. I just move on and i just try to stick with games that include accessibility options now, much happier person playing games with these types of features anyways.

 

[Moist_Owlet]

3 houses at release was awful thanks to the braindead difficulty.

 

[Jotakori]

I can only think of two games where the difficulty negatively factored into my impression of the game, but I've never felt inclined to negatively review them because of that difficulty.
First, Sekiro, but this is less about the difficulty and more because I could never seem to properly get in step with the game's combat tempo. I thoroughly beat it, but I just never got that "click" and so the challenge frequently leaned more towards frustration than accomplishment. So my complaint with this is less about the difficulty and more personally about how the game just didn't properly fit me as a gamer.
And second, Zelda II, which is really the only game I've played that I'd ever talk about and say something like, 'fuck that game, it was way too hard!' I don't think I've ever felt so much pure frustration and rage as with that game lol. But oddly enough, I now look back on the experience fondly because it was so damn frustratingly hard, so I just can't bring myself to hate on it. (Fuck ever playing it again, though, no way! One and done!)

On the contrary of this discussion, I'm actually way more likely to be bothered by and actively complain about a game being too easy than too difficult.

 

[ZSJ]

Yoshi on Switch totally fucking lost me because of the difficulty. I get that it's made for children but my god the game is so brainless there's barely even any platforming at all.

 

[Mad_Rhetoric]

Some enemy combat encounters in Gears 5 can become frustratingly hard on higher difficulties. But thankfully you can switch difficulty so I dont hold it against the game.

And then there's F Zero-GX of course lol, though that's also a great game.

 

[Lant_War]

Good thing you can play it on not crushing

Click to shrink...

That doesn't change that Uncharted is horribly balanced in high difficulties.

 

[Weiss]

Yooka-Laylee & The Impossible Lair is a platforming masterpiece that ends with a shitty Super Mario World romhack.

 

[Alex2DX]

Only one time that I can remember actually complaining and that was that trial shit in GOW Ascension. I ended up dropping it and never went back sadly. For whatever reason that had me raging harder than any other game ive had difficulty with. I guess I just didn't expect that, cause ive died over and over to souls bosses but I expect to so I accept it.

 

[Sanctuary]

Sometimes you may find the difficulty of a game impossible to overcome or a game-design where the difficulty feels artificial, cheap, or not encouraging you to start over,etc. But how often? I am curious because in general I try to beat games, but sometimes I admit te difficulty can be a factor for disliking a game, the ai of command and conquer general zero hour, the deaths in Altered east, Ghost and Goblins.
The lack of options to restore progress, checkpoints, are part of elements of difficulty I can dislike because I consider them to be a given nowadays. Jumps in difficulty that are not justified are also upsetting(from very easy to very hard, the average, then suddenly very hard again,etc)
Sometimes changes in difficulty balance can make me hate or lie a game(I hated Diablo 3 a lot in the early moths because armageddon felt impossible after act 1 before it was patched....)

Click to shrink...

The only time where I can say that I really disliked a game because I thought it was too difficult would have been the first incarnation of Torment within the first few months of Diablo 3. That shit wasn't balanced in the slightest. Or rather, it was balanced around pay to win mechanics.

There have been way more games that I've disliked for being way too easy though and not having a thoughtful, balanced design behind them aside from making sure everyone can finish them.

That doesn't change that Uncharted is horribly balanced in high difficulties.

Click to shrink...

I don't get the argument, unless it's just "at what point did you start to dislike a game because of your own restrictions". Was every difficulty below that too easy to be enjoyed, and it was only enjoyable on crushing until that point?

 

[Tatsu91]

I've only quit 1 game because of it being to easy or hard. And that's Sekiro the final boss Isshin was just to much for me i could beat the first round with Genichiro like clock work but realizing I would dedicate hours to the final boss I couldn't justify it

 

[DontHateTheBacon]

Probably 1-20, but in the opposite way you describe.

When I play a game, I assume the developer would default the game to the difficulty it's "supposed to be played on" if it has a difficulty setting. I've had multiple games where playing on "Normal" was so boringly easy that it ruined a lot of the fun in the game; Fire Emblem Three Houses comes time mind here most recently, and it is sounding like The Outer Worlds May also be a candidate as well.

The worst part is when you can't change difficulty on the fly and would have to throw out all your progress for a challenging experience.

 

[MajesticSoup]

I dont get how phantom is the 'normal' speed class when you play online. Im convinced if rapier was the highest speed level available then Wipeout wouldnt be a dead franchise.

 

[decoyplatypus]

Hmm... I can think of plenty of older games (Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Battletoads) that were maddeningly difficult. I never finished Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.

But I'm struggling to think of a modern game I've played that had (a) frustratingly high difficulty and (b) no difficulty settings. I do just fine with Sekiro and Souls and all that. I'm sure there are some roguelikes and shmups out there that would frustrate the hell out of me, but I don't play a lot of them.

The more common occurence these days is that the normal difficulty setting is not challenging enough to require real engagement with the game. But this is only really a problem if the higher difficulties don't do any better (see Three Houses at launch).

 

[jroc74]

The few times were GI Joe, last gen game. Normal was kicking my ass, and I hate playing on easy.

Souls games, lol. I think they are good, but damn. I did do on with Demons Souls. Blood Borne?


...............

 

[Tolby]

Can't say that this happened before, but there are entire genres that are so notoriously difficult they keep me away by default.
Rhythm and bullet-hell games seem impossible.

 

[monmagman]

Never....I've actually just had a good example of why I wouldn't do this the other day finishing off the Dark Souls III dlc's.....I got totally burnt out with the formula for a few of the final bosses,I just didn't have the patience right at the end for them so summoned to get them over with...but it wasn't the games fault,it was me.....they were spectacular fights and in a different mood I would have stuck with them for as long as it would have taken.
Game was fantastic from start to finish!

 

[seroun]

Absolutely. I honestly don't really want to play overly difficult games. Usually I don't drop them because they are simply too hard/can't go through a section, but instead because I just find some other game that feels more appealing.. and then 2 months pass and I just uninstall. I played like 8 hours of Dark Souls III and then.. I don't know what happened; same with the other games of the saga.

 

[Violet]

I mostly appreciate challenge in games. Even the more humorous freeware IWBTG clones, I see value in.

The only think I don't enjoy is when the difficulty is more about wasting time then it is challenging the player.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

What are those options? 1-20 games and then 21-50 games? I play like 3 games a year lol.

 

[NeverWas]

I've never done this with difficult games. I will rag on a game for being too easy, though. Like going from Yoshi's Island to Yoshi's Story. Ugh.

 

[Bedameister]

If I really enjoy a game but at some point the difficulty spikes and I can not continue playing them this gets me very frustrated and sometimes even devastated. But it's not like I'm going around then shitting on those games. It just makes me sad I can't play them anymore.

 

[Aexact]

What are those options? 1-20 games and then 21-50 games? I play like 3 games a year lol.

Click to shrink...

Hah, I was gonna say.

Most games have an easy mode option these days so that's my solution if a game is giving me grief.

 

[Perzeval]

I have done it once. When

What are those options? 1-20 games and then 21-50 games? I play like 3 games a year lol.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this! The average ResetEra user plays 1 game per year and critiques +50 games.

 

[LavaBadger]

For me personally it's mainly when a game feels brain-dead easy on the "normal" setting, that can be frustrating if it ends up just feeling like I'm on autopilot (I think it's a real problem in for DQ11 and Fire Emblem 3H). Ends up feeling like wasted time if you can't adjust the difficulty mid stream.

But, in the last 5-10 years, I've also become very empathetic to people who need easier difficulties to enjoy games. Not everyone has been playing videogames for the last two decades+, or inherently understands many game mechanics or controller inputs. My wife would probably enjoy a lot more games if she could turn down the difficulty, but ultimately ends up feeling alienated by many if not most games that don't offer a lot in this area. Would love to see a world where people were allowed to play games in the way that fit their enjoyment rather than requiring one specific method of playing.

 

[HellforLeather]

Ehhh maybe CTR? I bought the remake thinking it would be a fun goofy kart racer....which it is, but its also pretty damn hardcore in that you need to learn the mechanics backwards and forwards to stand a chance. It just ended up being not quite what I was expecting or wanted.

 

[TigerBrownie]

I don't mind difficult games but if I get stuck on a boss or level for more than a few hours I start thinking about all the time I could be spending playing something I enjoy instead.

it don't quit on games because of difficulty often though. Last time was when I was playing the later half of Hollow Knight, just got tired of figuring out the onslaught of bosses.

 

[Druffmaul]

There have definitely been moments of rage where I've vividly fantasized about tracking down the one responsible designer or the team lead who approved whatever bullshit was currently causing me grief and tying them to a chair and forcing them to watch as I suffered through their shitty game section, and punching them in the head periodically whenever I felt jabbed by a bullshit spike.

Is that bad?

 

[Deleted member 17184]

I haven't bought some games because difficulty doesn't interest me that much. I love experiencing different stories, but the trial and error gameplay isn't my cup of tea. So I wouldn't say they're bad, just not for me.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

Was going to say never, and while that's probably accurate anyway, there are probably one or two where I just said to myself "this is too hard, eff it" and stopped. Definitely never from pure difficult, probably a few times for cheap/poor design difficulty.

 

[Nameless]

Not exactly what OP is talking about, but God of War turned me off, in part, due to poorly tuned difficulty settings. Normal felt kind of mindlessly easy. I never felt in danger unless I was fighting Valkyries or some suped up side quests reskin, and hard, while not too difficult to progress by any stretch, just wasn't fun.

 

[Perzeval]

I sent an angry letter to Nintendo of Europe because of Super Mario Odyssey. How dare they?

 

[laxu]

It's nearly always enemies or bosses with instakill attacks. Those can sour an experience quickly.

I also still haven't played Shovel Knight's DLCs because I did not have a fun time with the main game due to its difficulty. I constantly felt my jumps were just a little bit too short for comfort and that it required quite precise execution. Super Meat Boy was dropped for similar reasons. I'm generally pretty bad at platformers though. I know these are good games but if I feel like I am grinding my teeth playing them then I might just play something else.

On the flipside I love the Souls series. Despite being punishing I feel the mistakes are nearly always of my making rather than RNG or lack of pixel perfect execution. Doesn't mean I haven't had some frustrating times with those too.

 

[ghibli99]

I've quit games before because I hit a wall (FF4 DS comes to mind), but I don't think it made me write negative feedback or flat-out hate it. I know it's likely because I didn't do enough prep before going in or my setup/synergy sucked. I just didn't want to put any more time into it is what it basically comes down to. I'm more likely to write something negative due to poor controls, major bugs, or other things that are objectively bad.

 

[Doober]

There was a lot of things about Wolfenstein: The New Colossus that I didn't particularly like, but the final straw was the courtroom sequence.

I COULD have just lowered the difficulty but by that point I had accepted that I wasn't having any fun playing that piece-of-shit game.

 

[Barn]

Shit, I'm a the point where if a game is described as "tough as nails" or "punishing" or whatnot, I'm already out the door. That's just not enjoyable to me these days.

 

[bell wood's jet cola]

Difficulty in NiOH was enough to make me quit playing it, but I've seen more than a few people say they've spent thousands of hours on the game. In other words, it's not a bad game; it's just not for me.

 

[higemaru]

There are games that left a sour taste in my mouth due to their difficulty despite being otherwise fine. Drill Dozer is the first that comes to mind as I really enjoyed the bulk of it, but the end of the game ramps up the difficulty considerably and I could feel my shoulder buttons breaking as I desperately tried to finish the game. It just didn't feel like a game like that should be on a system with shoulder buttons as flimsy as the GBA SP.

 

[jotun?]

Sure, plenty of times.

- If the difficulty is gratuitous or feels too unfair, like the level designer just wants to make people mad.
- If the difficulty is too uneven, with weird difficulty spikes that just seem poorly designed.
- If the game is simply not challenging enough to remain interesting.

The last one is the most common difficulty-related dislike that I tend to have with games.

Some of the recent Mario games have annoyed me by not being challenging at all until you reach extra end-game content. What's the point of all those cool movement techniques if you never need them for 95% of the game?

RPGs, especially non-linear or open world types, often have negative difficulty curve problems where the game seems to be balanced toward players who do zero side content and are terrible at stat/skill/equipment optimization. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was a big one for this, where the most difficult part of the game was trying to avoid over-leveling and making the game trivially easy.

 

[unicornKnight]

A lot. I hate it when a certain point of a game won't allow me to proceed further.

 

[FFNB]

Probably Kingdom Come: Deliverance has been the only one in recent memory. The lock-picking in that game is so unnecessarily difficult that I stopped playing the game. Even after they "improved it" it was still just so obnoxious. I was glad I got the game as a gift, or I'd have returned it. I've debated going back to it, but I honestly have very precious few hours to play games, so I try not to waste them on games where I'm not having run.

 

[Gilver]

I only hate it when its not balanced at all like with God of War 2018 that the max difficulty doesn't suit the gameplay style at all leading to frustration. Also Nier Automata's last difficulty is a 1 hit mode difficulty and I hate that shit, more so when the 2 second hardest is not that difficult when you break the game with all your rpg chips.