Have Games Gotten Too Easy?

Have games gotten too easy in recent years? Jordan Sounds Off on why this is a bad trend, and that difficult games give more value to the player.

[Bansai]

Broader audience means lowered difficulty curve in order to not scare them away. Sad truth.

[TheLyonKing]

I don't think games have gotten easier rather programming games have gotten more sophisticated. Things like hit detection, saves and smart Ai couldn't be done properly. Ghost and goblins on the Nes was hard but that's cause saving wasn't a thing, the hit dection was cruel and to save memory they just repeated all the levels again.

[ChickeyCantor]

" Things like hit detection, saves and smart Ai couldn't be done properly."

You don't just slap sophisticated software in there and have no regard towards design.

It's called balancing.

[luckytrouble]

Old games weren't just designed with more arcade-like mechanics because that was the only reference point. It was also the only way to expand the experience. There is a lot on TV Tropes about Nintendo Hard and Artificial Difficulty if you're looking for a nice read for the next four weeks as you get sucked into TV Tropes and lose sight of the path out. It wasn't that they couldn't make the games easier. Hell, I'm sure the suggestion got kicked around from time to time. Until hardware was less limited though, it was a necessity to make games stupidly hard either via bad mechanics or insultingly cruel level design to keep people coming back.

I mean, a guy just set a new world record for beating the NES Super Mario Bros. The amount of time it took? Less than five minutes. It's understandable that, with completion times like that, perhaps measures needed to be taken to extend enjoyment, or prolong suffering depending on who you are.

That said, I do agree that Nintendo titles in particular have gotten a little too easy. I don't need them to be ball breakingly hard, but I also don't need it saying "well, we see you suck dick at this level, so just take this suit, don't improve, and inevitably need this free pass again later because we are facilitating your lack of improvement". Sure, you can just say no, but if you just tried the level 15 times and are somehow still failing, you may just give into temptation out of frustration.

I think a good solution to this is offering two difficulty modes in Nintendo platforming titles in particular. One difficulty is experiencing the game as-is. If you die a lot, you can keep dying to game over and the game will just let you suffer. No prompts to change difficulty. No prompts to activate a cheat suit. The other difficulty can hold your hand and offer the super suit. I mean, they already transitioned Fire Emblem to offer multiple difficulties but didn't wipe the permadeath mode of the other games, so why not do a similar system with their platforming titles?

[Spotie]

Don't forget the money factor.

They needed that difficulty to kill you and keep you spending change in the arcade.

[marloc_x]

Gauntlet was ruthless in it's lust for quarters..

[GhostTurtle]

Not to sound like a negative nancey, but remember when journalism had some teeth? I'm not saying I disagree with you, but why not just give me something to read? Article could of been just as entertaining without the crappy music and gameplay vids. This seems to becoming a trend in a lot of old resourceful websites.

It seems your complaints are more towards Nintendo games. The old games you show in the vid are 2d, action/platformers, and the ones that are recent that you showed, The last of Us and, Fallout 4 (which inst even out yet)? Just completely different gaming experiences from way back when. Its like comparing Scarface to Citizen Kane.

[WeAreLegion]

No...

No, they haven't. There are dozens of games released across multiple platforms every single week.

The picture here is of Yoshi's Woolly World. You know what's just as easy as Yoshi's Woolly World? Yoshi's Island. Excellent game, but still easy enough that I can 100% every level.

We've always had easy and hard games. If you want harder games, you can GET harder games or change difficulties. There are tons of difficult games out there.

Contra and Battletoads were hard, weren't they? Well, so are Bloodborne, Titan Souls, Super Meat Boy, Cloudberry Kingdom, I Wanna Be The Guy, Vanquish, any Devil May Cry on Dante Must Die/Heaven or Hell/Hell or Hell, Bayonetta 1/2, Rocket League on Unfair mode. GOD DANG IT! WHY CAN'T I BEAT JUST ONE ROUND OF UNFAIR MODE ON ROCKET LEAGUE?!? I'M LOSING IT, PEOPLE! LOSING IT!

[Gigglefist]

Games have become more VARIED.
There ARE easier games, but also much more difficult games. This only broadens the audience as a whole.

For every Kirby's Epic Yarn there's a Dark Souls or Witcher

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I think the issue with this statement, is that a lot of people judge how easy or hard a game is off of either short previews that are from demos sent out early, or the first few levels of the full game.

It severely hampers a legitimate criticism of the overall difficulty of any game, when you judge based off of the early game stuff.

It's even more flawed a judgement when you base it off of how the game LOOKS...

We also need to keep in mind that difficulty, at any point in the game, doesn't necessarily determine how fun the game is as a whole.

I mean, look at Smash; it's not exactly hard to learn [hard to master, but I digress], but it's definitely fun even during the learning period.

The same can be said for quite a few other games; ME3 on any mode below insanity? Not hard for anyone experienced, but it can still be fun.
Bayonetta 1 and 2? Oh heck yeah. Fun on everything, maybe even on Infinite Climax if you've got a bit of a masochist streak.XD [Except Rodin. Because **** that guy and his BS no-stun super-armored shenanigans.XD]
Ratchet & Clank? Jak & Daxter? Ar Tonelico?

I could go on for hours, but I think I've made my point, and it's just the honest truth; not all games need to be hair-pulling, lung-shredding, rage-inducingly hard to be entertaining enough to come back to again and again.

I've found that a moderate difficulty level lets me have the most fun with a game, in fact.
If I'm striving for something more challenging, then 100%-ing a game usually provides enough of a challenge for me to be happy with, even if a game is easy outside of that.

[PygmelionHunter]

I got "Gracious and Glorious" PTSD from your Bayonetta reference.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

And now you've revived the horrible memories of them that I sealed away.XD
There's only one real way of countering those two; air combos.
Lots and LOTS of air combos.
That or the accessory that allows you to use Witch Time at any time at the cost of magic.

[benji101]

Collecting everything in Yoshi is hardcore.. just finishing a level is not the challenge!

[Germany7]

I heard the same thing about the game, i still need to play it.
That happens with Super Mario 3D World, If you want to finish 100% it's challenging, like the last world.

[PlatinumGX]

There's this thing called difficulty setting. Also, just finishing a game for the sake of it can make most games look easy and fast.

[Razayn]

While a few games have a difficulty setting, even hard mode isn't that challenging in most of them.

I'm currently playing through the recent strider on hard mode and its been a breeze so far.

[contradictory]

Difficulty settings? Welcome to 2015, we have options!

[mamotte]

Well... if you play Nintendo games just to beat the game, they're usually easy. In the other hand, trying to get a 100% is a real challenge, in Mario 3D world (Hell, the extra levels are a nightmare) and the latest Yoshi's game.

Also, I see some trend between the "hardcore" gamer. They usually think they're the only kind of gamer, but forget that there are younger ones, hell, even kids (awesome, isn't it?) who are not "hardcore" and need a not so mature challenge, or just want to have fun.

If you think some games are "too easy" you just have the option not to play them. Easy as that.

PD: I used Nintendo games as an example, but in general, yes, I think games have become easier. We have regenerative health, checkpoints every second, we can reverse time and... stuff like that. Maybe enemies still are challenging and all, but it has become so easy to try again, that the sense of danger and loss has become extinct. That's why Demon and Dark Souls series has become so popular, they're not "new", they're just as before. If you see it in a simple way, if you die, you have to restart the level, do it all again, and you have to find again all the times you lost. It doesn't matter if you lost to the first enemy, or the level's boss.

Same as Contra, Mario bros, and all the old age games. Difficulty is there (maybe) but we're not afraid of losing. We just have to try again, without a punishment.

[blawren4]

People complained about super mario galaxy being easy. Anyone that got all 121 stars can attest to the challenge.

On the other hand wonderful 101 caught flack for being difficult. We need all kinds of games and all games should have multiple levels of difficulty to achieve optimal sales.

Forms of difficulty can be done in many ways

[blawren4]

Occasionally I get to a point when the game is no longer fun if it is too difficult. Not often but it happens. When that happens, I'm no longer having fun. Arcades are hard for good reason, but paying $60 for a game is pushing it.