*Spoiler Free*
Elden Ring isn't my cup of tea. But its difficulty is. My reasoning for not salivating over it is mostly due to what I consider to be slow gaming mechanics. This has been the case since I bought Demon's Souls on PS3 on the first day it came out.
What does this have to do with Horizon, you didnt ask? I'll tell you. Almost nothing. Except the theme of Challenging Difficulty.
You see, I happen to be one of those people that cannot play a game unless it's at least on Hard. Truthfully, if it were solely up to me, a Normal/Easy mode would not exist in any game whatsoever. At first, I assumed this was due to growing up in the unforgiveable NES era, where most games werent completed only enjoyed. At least by me. But, upon further introspection, I realized its entirely due to my unshakeable affinity for role-playing.
In a game like Horizon, where the foundation of the mythos is about ROBOTS vs TRIBAL HUNTERS essentially, I find it increasingly annoying and unbelievable that a woman named Aloy, as talented as she may be, can take down a herd of Snapmaws by herself and living to talk about it. One Snapmaw maybe. Okay, Ill even throw in her taking down two (I personally can defeat three on Very Hard at this point), but Easy mode renders these ferocious mechanical monstrosities, to sheep-like behavior. You dont want to know the anger I feel when I see a fellow gamer on my PSN have the same amount of trophies as me and yet he's skating through the game on anything less than Hard.
Hard difficulty helps make video games much more realistic to me--as odd as that sounds. And strangely, as punishing as FW is on Very Hard, I cannot at all imagine not playing it this way. I also imagine there's a similar sentiment with Soulsborne fans. Which is why I dont understand why most people dont play most games on their Hardest levels.
FW on Very Hard offers the perfect balance of difficulty and fun, something I cant seem to find in pairs in any Soulsborne game besides Sekiro--where the action is fast paced and requires you to master a system of mechanics to slay anything in your path.
Here's to Sekiro 2, and Very Hard modes forever.
Review - If you are a fan of the asymmetric horror games that are already out there, Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game is an easy sell.
CCG writes - "JUSFASLEX is a good first effort for a new developer/storyteller writing visual novels. The voice acting is really good, and the art and music is interesting if not amazing. It's not a bad story for what it is, though I really feel like it could have benefited from a longer narrative. I hope there's a sequel, as I want to know more about what happens in the end. I suppose that means it was good enough to get me invested in the story! I recommend it for visual novel lovers, as long as you have reasonable expectations for a first effort."
Famitsu: "About a month has passed since the release of Stellar Blade It is said that an update including a new mode will be implemented on May 24, 2024, so we interviewed Director Kim Hyung-tae and Technical Director Lee Dong-gi again. We asked him about the future prospects for this work."
***Easy mode renders these ferocious mechanical monstrosities, to sheep-like behavior. You dont want to know the anger I feel when I see a fellow gamer on my PSN have the same amount of trophies as me and yet he's skating through the game on anything less than Hard.***
No one should care about this. No one.
Thank God people like you are the minority.
Yikes
Self righteous gamer here. How dare someone not play a game like them. If you had magic power you would strike down easy mode with the snap of your fingers.
Who cares about young kids that need it easy. Who cares about parents who maybe only have 30 minutes a day to play games. Who cares about gamers who don't have a lot of skill. What right do they have to play video games.
I second the desire to play games on harder difficulties at the outset, and arguably for the same reason (being that I grew up in the unforgiving 8-bit/16-bit era as well).
That said, this is oddly giving me authoritarian vibes, which I didn't think was possible when discussing games.
Play it your way, lad. If you're enjoying the harder difficulty and your experience isn't watered down, it's a win all around.