Guardian - If a game makes you throw the controller across the room in anger and disgust, is it good or bad?
Hey gang, It’s been a whirlwind few months here at the Larian castle, attending some of the biggest awards ceremonies in our industry, and we are absolutely humbled by the recognition we’ve received from our players and our peers.
Golf With Your Friends gets better again, with the introduction of a Critical Hit DLC pack and the launch of Speed Golf.
Between its innovative puzzles, impressive presentation, and undefeated vibes, Cocoon needs to be experienced on Xbox Game Pass and beyond.
It's bad unless you have the urge to catch the controller another time. And even then, it's risky.
I think it's a matter of preference. Having a good challenge is absolutely necessary, the level of difficulty is the question. As long as the challenge is legitimate and engaging, then somebody out there will crave the challenge, no matter how difficult it is.
Frustration in of itself can be bad or good depending, but it's challenge that games require. Sometimes you face a challenge in a game that makes you want to throw the controller but you pick it back up and overcome the challenge. That is essential, without challenge it's just a mindless distraction.
Frustration can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand it may very well make you want to keep hammering buttons on your controller or keyboard and beat that one goddamn level to prove that game who's boss but equally it might also make you just, well, yeah, throw your mouse/controller at the screen and toss the CD in a furnace.
God Hand is probably my best (and worst) example in my own experiences with frustration related to video games as - on hard difficulty - entering a certain boss fight without the right powerups can pretty much stonewall your progress entirely unless you're an absolutely perfect player. On the other hand, yes I died a lot and in some instances it was pretty frustrating but it rarely quelled my desire to keep playing. Guess it mostly comes down to design, cheap death after cheap death will pretty quickly see you toss a game away and never look back.
If you've gotten to the point where you're just completely annoyed and frustrated, then you just need to take a break for a while.