You fire up a new single player game. It's a game you've not played before. What difficulty do you select?

[oni-link]

Personally I always pick Normal or the equivalent if it is an option, so just wondering what everyone else picks

My prediction is most people will pick Normal, followed by Hard, followed by Easy. I'm curious as to what everyone else starts with, and why

Bonus question: Does it annoy anyone else with the difficulty settings are not clear? I'm playing Gears of War (the 360 game) right now and it only has Causal and Hardcore, and neither of them sounds like Normal to me, and as someone who mainly plays Normal, neither seem like a good compromise

What do you think, Era?

 

[Ryuelli]

Easy, normal, or what "story mode" is called, always.

I couldn't care less about difficulty or challenge. Games are all about relaxation to me, I don't want to be challenged during them. I like feeling like a god during combat by destroying things with ease.

 

[Couleurs]

Normal. I don't give a shit about trophies/achievements for harder difficulties, and care even less about being able to brag that I beat the hardest difficulty. I'd rather have fun and not deal with frustration.

 

[Deleted member 13328]

When I was younger I always played on normal, but I've begun playing on easy more and more.

 

[FF Seraphim]

I generally pick normal first unless the game says the higher difficulties are the way it's meant to play.

 

[Shamanoski]

Normal, always. I don't bother with hard/very hard anymore

I just don't have the patience that I had 10 years ago

 

[@TheFriendlyBro]

Normal or easy. Depends what kind of game or genre but if it's something mad long and I'm down for just having a good time, easy is a decent option.

Means no fuss whilst potentially playing a game that could be over 30 hours long.

 

[chronochus]

I was a "normal" player. But lately I find myself choosing "easy" because I usually like to enjoy the story without worrying.

 

[Solid SOAP]

Normal reads to me like "intended difficulty setting," while everything else reads like a modifier of some sort. So yea, I typically stick with normal.

 

[Nugnip]

Default

 

[SPCTRE]

1. First, I quickly scan the descriptions for the individual settings, if there are any.
2. If they contain phrases like "the way game XY is meant to be played", I chuckle sensibly, and still chose "Normal".

 

[JuniperAndSage]

Normal if it's an action game, hard or extra hard if it's a slower paced strategy/tactics game.

 

[C J P]

On first playthrough I pick Normal unless I'm explicitly told not to (ie with Witcher 3 I cranked it up to Blood and Broken Bones because reviewers said normal was too easy. Same with Jedi Fallen Order, I think)

 

[oni-link]

Easy, normal, or what "story mode" is called, always.

I couldn't care less about difficulty or challenge. Games are all about relaxation to me, I don't want to be challenged during them. I like feeling like a god during combat by destroying things with ease.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I think that's a completely valid way to approach games. I don't get why some people get peeved at people who do this

I like normal because I like there to be some challenge, or some reason to have to engage with the mechanics on more than just a basic level, but at the same time I don't want the game to be too hard that it becomes frustrating to play

I do play quite a few harder games anyway, but I don't want to make games harder than their default setting, if that makes sense

 

[zoodoo]

I usually leave it at the default setting on 1st playthrough. In the case where there's only I pick the hardest as it's usually the intended difficulty.

I play games on harder difficulty only if I really like them. And implementation of harder challenges suck in most games. Bullet sponge, lower stamina just make it a slog

 

[The Crystal Exarch]

Normal, and then I can change to Hard during my playthrough if I find the challenge lacking.

 

[Bomaye]

Most of the time I choose normal but if its a game I can tell will be easy, I'll bump it up to hard and throw caution to the wind. I haven't played anything on easy since I was a child.

 

[Pottuvoi]

Normal or hard.
I may drop down if the gameplay is not pleasant with those settings though.

 

[ArmoredArmed]

Personally i always pick hard. I think is the best way to experience the game

 

[Kurtikeya]

If the highest difficulty has a trophy, then that. If not, the difficulty above Normal, usually Hard.

 

[Dennie Dee]

Hard when it's an action, adventure or shooter game.
Normal when it's a genre I'm less familiar with.

 

[Seijuro]

Usually normal, sometimes easy. Depends on the mood and what kind of game really. Never anything above normal.

 

[firstseeker]

Hard.

If the game is too easy my eyes start to water and I start yawning. In less than 30 minutes my eyes will be blood shot and I will have to lay down from the boredom.

 

[gabegabe]

Even if it's a game I've already played, I always play on normal. Don't feel the need to prove anything neither "overcome a challenge" playing on hard mode or anything higher.

 

[kinoki]

Whatever is the recommended. Most of the time I lower it depending on how long it is and if it's playable when I'm tired. Some times I actually increase it. That's not very often these days, though.

 

[Ryuelli]

I haven't played anything on easy since I was a child.

Click to shrink...

Haha, the exact opposite here. The last time I remember playing a game on harder difficulties was Halo 3 for whatever that ninja looking armor was called.

 

[Edge]

Always what the developers intended to be played, which is "normal".

 

[oni-link]

Normal reads to me like "intended difficulty setting," while everything else reads like a modifier of some sort. So yea, I typically stick with normal.

Click to shrink...

This is also something I used to think, that hard was just normal but it gives the enemies more life and makes them hit harder, but I read some articles from game designers and a lot of them seem to imply the game is designed around being viable on harder difficulties and then toned down for normal and easy

That said, since I think most people play on normal, I do expect more attention is put on those modes as it's what most people will experience. No point making your game fun on hard and boring on normal, if most people will only play normal

 

[Patitoloco]

Normal, always.

I don't care if I have played the game 100 times.

Normal.

 

[Hrodulf]

Hard is typically what I go for in games, and most of the time that means "mildly challenging at the very beginning, but the game becomes progressively easier as you progress". Normal difficulty is usually too easy in most games and I have yet to play any game where the difficulty above Hard isn't stupidly unbalanced against you.

 

[Rhaknar]

always normal

funny thing is, I love Souls games, I finished them multiple times (and other similar hard games with no difficulty options)... if they had difficulty options, I would probably still pick normal /shrug

 

[jonathanp]

Very hard/hard depending on the game. Most of the time it's because of achievements/trophies. However I do enjoy a challenge, but it has to to be enjoyable.

God of War difficulty and Jedi Grandmaster difficulty (Fallen Order) wasn't fun at all so I dropped difficulty.

 

[ghostcrew]

Usually hard unless there's been some talk of it being better on a lower difficulty.

I'm largely uninterested in stories in games and it's gameplay that usually keeps me interested. And a bit of challenge is a big part of that for me. Some people get frustrated when they fail multiple times but I enjoy it and I like having something that pushes me to learn a game and improve.

Shooters/action games etc are no fun to me if I can just get through them on a life or two. Experiencing the narrative isn't really enough. I like the feeling of achievement when I finally beat something that was clearly too difficult for me when I first encountered it.

 

[Deleted member 34788]

Always normal first time playing through.

Switch to hard, v.hard etc on my trophy playthroughs if need be.

 

[Wackamole]

Mostly hard. Makes most games and levels more rewarding and memorable.

 

[Sword Familiar]

I used to typically pick normal, but I'm gravitating more and more towards harder settings. Depends on the game and what I get out of it though.

 

[ɣGammaɣ]

I depends on what is changed because of a higher difficult setting. If its just "enemies more health etc." I dont care. If their are substantial differences in gameplay or mood change of a game, i will choose hard. Looking at you TW3 and TLOU.

 

[Paroni]

Usually normal or second hardest if the game allows changing difficulty for later adjustment. If difficulty can't be changed, I google what the difficulty actually affects to.

 

[BassForever]

Normal or hard depending upon the game

 

[GrinWithoutaKat]

Easy, unless it's a series or genre I really enjoy.

 

[taepoppuri]

Whatever default is. I like to play what developers think it's intended to be play for the first time.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

Normal or Hard assuming there are 4-5 options.

Honestly though I typically do a quick Google search to get a sense of how challenging the game is and go from there.

 

[LoveAndBeer]

This has changed quite a bit as I've gotten older.

At my age and this point in my career play time is precious so my days of playing on hardcore or inane or whatever are behind me. For anything with a story is almost always on Easy or Story so I can enjoy the game without stress. Especially as games get so long (TLoU2 I'm looking at you).

Certain 'gameplay' focused games I've been playing for years with my daughter (Halo or Gears) we play on normal but even that is down from a harder level when we were both more willing to put in the time replaying sections.

Funny enough my 'escape' games (where I go to play without thought) (right now WoW, Forza Horizon 4 and Division 2) have no difficulty setting at all.

 

[werezompire]

If there are multiple difficulty levels, then the developer didn't intend you to play "normal," they intended you to pick the difficulty that you'll have the most fun with which may be easier or harder than the middle difficulty.

 

[Grapezard]

Normal's usually the right balance for me.
"What the devs intended" isn't a factor, because the devs intended there to be difficulty settings.

 

[Deleted member 44122]

normal. about 15 years or so ago i wouldve picked easy because ive always been (and still am) more interested in the story

 

[AppleBlade]

If I known nothing about the game I would pick normal. I probably play like 80-90% of my games on normal. The other 10-20% I will play on easy. If a game is known for being very difficult, requires grinding or if a game is narrative driven I will consider easy but I ususally research first because you can ruin some games by playing them on easy.

 

[Zexen]

Depends if it's a Kingdom Hearts game or not, but KH always on hard for the secret ending, other games, normal.

 

[Kalentan]

Normal or Hard. Depending if I'm familiar with the genre.

 

[Pariah]

Harder difficulties, as long as I care about it. For something that I don't intend to see through, I might choose any other level.