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Psychonauts 2 to Feature an Invincibility Toggle as 'All People Should Be Able to Enjoy Games'

Double Fine has revealed that Psychonauts 2 will feature an invincibility toggle as it believes that "all people should be able to enjoy games."

SullysCigar813d ago

That's great - maybe you could move the character for us too?!

strayanalog813d ago

As interesting as that would be, this seems like a welcome variation to PS5's Game Help feature, assuming it was widely implemented.
Besides, adding more accessibility for players with slower reaction times or disabilities is a great thing. In the end, at least it's a toggle and doesn't need to be on.

CobraKai813d ago

That’s the thing I don’t understand. It’s an option and people act like they can’t change it.

812d ago
neutralgamer1992812d ago

CobraKai

Because don't you know everybody's a macho man on this side and every game inside everybody plays souls like games and are masters at them and are pros at speed runs

I never understand how a game having easy difficulty or story difficulty affects another gamers experience

812d ago
monkey602812d ago

It's not cheating @Hollow!

Someone else experiencing this game differently to you has no effect what so ever on your experience. It doesn't impede you. There's no gain for them over you, other than they get to play something they might not have been able to otherwise.

If the developer has a vision to make such a feature work then they absolutely should be encouraged. It has nothing but a positive effect.

Knushwood Butt812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

I take Sully's comment to mean, 'but where do you draw the line?'.

I beat Ratchet. My 8 year old son beat it before I did, using the default difficulty level. I saw there was an invincibility toggle but I personally had no interest in it. To be honest I thought it was unlocked by collecting golden bolts, but whatever. If my son or anyone wants to use that option, then fine, enjoy,

Then last weekend I was playing GT Sport challenges where the goal is to compete against times set by Lewis Hamilton. It's hard. Should there be a toggle to enable an AI driver that can beat Lewis for you? Personally I don't want that. Thanks.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 812d ago
ThinkThink813d ago

I love this! My daughter is just getting into videogames so the toggle is much appreciated.

CobraKai813d ago

Same here. I like these options, especially for our young’uns. My 4 yo son is able to play Rift Apart and enjoy himself.

812d ago
Kerppamaister812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

@knighted yeah when your kid wants to learn how to ride a bike just get the training wheels off right away and wish them good luck. Some people...

NotoriousWhiz812d ago

^ I know you're being facetious but kids actually do learn to ride better, and quicker without training wheels. I taught my youngest how to ride on two wheels when he was 3 and no training wheels were used.

That said my kids like to play minecraft on creative, which is effectively the same thing as this invincibility mode referred to here.

However, I also give them the opportunity to learn reflexes, etc by trying other games, but it doesn't hurt to have an easy / invulnerable mode as an option to just relax and enjoy the story.

Kerppamaister812d ago

@whiz you mean to tell me you just put him/her on a bike without holding them up at first? How did they get on it? Of course you learn faster when all the restrictions come off but we all need help to get started or we need to start at really basic level stuff.

The Wood812d ago

Some act like they never used cheat codes back in the day.... its an option....chill

NotoriousWhiz811d ago (Edited 811d ago )

@Kerppamaister

I did not hold them. I simply had them coast down a grassy hill until they learned to balance. They fell a few times, but it was grass so no harm done. Afterwards I had them pedaling while going down the hill, and then they were good. Total time from never riding to riding on two wheels was about 4 hours.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 811d ago
Orchard813d ago

How inclusive of you.

Just because you can play 'normally' doesn't mean everyone else can, lots of kids struggle with games, people with disabilities etc. - that doesn't meant they should be excluded from enjoying the same games we do.

Dark_Overlord813d ago (Edited 813d ago )

And I can't play any sports due to medical reasons, does that mean I should demand they all cater to me now? Not everything has to include everyone.

Orchard813d ago

@Dark_Overlord If there was something they could reasonably do to make it so you could play sports, without affecting others, they should do it, yes.

The above does not affect anyone negatively - so why does it matter?

More people playing games is a good thing, for everyone.

neutralgamer1992813d ago

Dark_Overlord

How is that the same thing? Physical sports compared to video games? Seriously why would it bother you me or anyone if developers found ways to make it easy for everyone to be able to enjoy. ND and insomniac recently have done a nice job of giving a lot of accessibility options (and I am sure many other developers are doing the same)

This is something I just don't get it. Even gamer is a macho man when it comes time to talk about difficulty in games.

HackFraud813d ago

@Dark_Overlord But you can post your 4 IQ opinions on the internet for free so maybe you shouldn't criticize inclusivity so much :-)

CobraKai813d ago

@Dark_Lord
No. No one should cater to you. But they should make physical sports available to those with disabilities who actually want to play and cater to them. Everything should include everyone as long as it’s age appropriate. A disability shouldn’t be an inability to enjoy something you love.

812d ago
victorMaje812d ago

People with disabilities should definitely get an option to help them enjoy the game, but if you have no disability and are just struggling with a game that toggle is the wrong option to have.

100% agree with knightedHollow on this.
Genuinely interested to read counter arguments instead of just disagrees.

Orchard812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

@victorMaje The simple counter here is, if someone wants to spend $60-70 on a game, which is single player only - let them play it however they want. It’s their money and experience.

Them enabling this option does not detract from your experience.

And this whole mentality that you must finish every game on max difficulty and 100% it or you aren’t a gamer is complete garbage - if you buy the game and play it by any means - you are a gamer.

Popsicle812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

“Lots of kids struggle with games.”

Spare me. I was 6 years of age when I first played Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. I spent about a year moving up and down the Minor, Major, and World circuit before finally facing Mike Tyson.

I remember my parents huddling in my bedroom with real excitement to see the dream match between myself (Little Mac) and The Dynamite Kid himself. It was a big deal and they understood the determination it took for me to get there as neither of them could last a single round with the Minor Circuit Champion Piston Honda.

I was KO’d in the first round and the game over screen came shortly after, but just the fact that we all got to see what the digitized prodigy even looked like was a treat. No one else we knew had ever faced him or seen him in game in the pre-internet days.

Then I (Little Mac) got up off the mat again and again and at the age of 7 I finally TKO’d Tyson in his undefeated prime. It was such a rewarding feeling to win the match and retain the World Circuit title I had previously won from many bouts with Super Macho Man.

I learned a lot from that experience. I learned to believe in myself, perseverance, tenacity, and that I could accomplish most anything if I give it my all. Many games on the NES were unrelenting if not unfair in their difficulty and I cannot help but think I was shaped positively through this experience and many like it.

Life comes at you hard as an adult and unfortunately there is no invincibility mode.

victorMaje812d ago

@Orchard
To me cost is not the point here, even if a game is gotten for free the invincibility toggle from the start still changes what you get from the experience.
Of course you're free to play a game however way you want but it's about what the experience of the medium brings you & teaches you, because there is a teaching experience in overcoming obstacles by understanding the difficulty & adjusting your behaviour.
Remove the need to understand the obstacle & overcome it & you remove the learning experience. I'm not saying all games have to have a learning experience, but in the ones that do have some form of difficulty to overcome, there is a learning opportunity, wouldn't you want them to want to overcome it? or at least try?
Story mode, easy, very easy difficulty are one thing, invincibility toggle from the start? That's a whole other thing. No triumph without peril. I may be taking it a bit far but it's true.

"And this whole mentality that you must finish every game on max difficulty and 100% it or you aren’t a gamer" I never said that & would never be an advocate of this line of thinking. You love the medium? You're a gamer, period. We're all gamers here, except maybe mobile gamers, ok I'm joking you guys are ok :)

dbcoops812d ago

Why does a person with disabilities need an invincibility toggle, that has nothing to do with accessibility and really just seems kind of insulting.

Orchard812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

@dbcoops Lots of people with disabilities don’t have the physical capabilities to do button mashing for combat or timed combat, moving while attacking etc. They still want to play games so why artificially restrict them from doing so if we can make the game more inclusive for them?

But please do tell us how making the game more accessible somehow detracts from your experience…

Also Ratchet did the same, yet you were praising that game and I didn’t see you complain once about the god mode?

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 812d ago
JTShiny813d ago

Or maybe automatically complete the game for us lol

812d ago
1Victor812d ago (Edited 812d ago )

@ Sully
Don’t forget to have it come with a assistant to spoon feed you crushed Cheetos and Mountain Dew / S

brewin812d ago

It's better than having people just watch others play it on YouTube or Twitch. Theres a while subculture out there that doesn't even play, they watch others play. And you want to bash on this?! I think it's a good thing to make games more accessible and easier to complete for more people. That's good for gaming

anubusgold812d ago

Some people are handicap and cant use a controller how clueless can you be.