What's Your Go-to Difficulty Level in Games?

[FluffyAssassin64]

With the recent release/tease of TLoU Grounded Difficulty and the supposed "hardest challenge you'll ever face", it got me thinking as to why people make such a fuss about difficulty in games.

 

Difficulty is, to me, a way of choosing how you wish to experience the game; are you in it for the long haul and keen to work out all the intricacies of a game in order to survive? Or do you simply prefer to blast through it, having fun, but mainly experiencing the story?

 

The standard options for games tend to be: Very easy, Easy, Medium/Normal, Hard, Very Hard and/or Extreme.

 

For me, personally, I try to pick the difficulty that offers me some stiff challenge, without being the 'ultimate, crazy' difficulty; the 2nd top option in a 4-tier difficulty, for example, or a hard/very hard equivalent.

 

Some examples:

• God of War - For me, you're not playing this game/series properly unless you play on hard (it's called different things in each game)... i.e. the hardest possible on the first play through. I'm not saying I'm a GOW expert (although I have gotten much better!), and some encounters have taken me >2hrs to complete, but I believe this is perfect; the enemies are a stiff challenge, you need to be very careful with blocking/health/magic, etc., and it's a lot more fun
• Dead Space - Hard (equivalent) is also the only way to go here in my opinion; resource management becomes much more of an issue (and the game is crap-loads scarier) if you can't just waste your ammo willy-nilly. I still have nightmares about one particular section were I had hardly any ammo left and had to get through a crazy hard part haha.
• Skyrim/FO3 - Normal --> Hard as you progress is, I found, the best way to do this. After about 20 hours or so, it starts to get easier with your 'current' weapons, and really requires you to think about what you are doing + move stealthily if you switch it up. Maybe I'm just scared, but switching up to Master/Very Hard gets me obliterated haha

So, how about you? Are you completely narcissistic and prefer to go for ultimate/crazy difficulty? Or do you wimp out (haha) and go very easy (like one of my friends in every single game )? Let me/us know, and give some examples!

 

Also, Happy Easter from here in Australia

Edited April 19, 2014 by FluffyAssassin64

[Xxleonardo97xX]

I don't understand your description for Very easy ''Why are you even playing the game ahah''

 

I'm playing the game to have fun, understand the controls and the FULL story, and finish as quickly as possible

 

If I like the story and gameplay I will play it on harder difficulties to get the plat

[FluffyAssassin64]

I don't understand your description for Very easy ''Why are you even playing the game ahah''

 

I'm playing the game to have fun, understand the controls and the FULL story, and finish as quickly as possible

 

If I like the story and gameplay I will play it on harder difficulties to get the plat

 

Hey mate, sorry if I offended you; I was making a joke based on the whole "game even your grandma can play" thing. I'll change it now though

 

Edit: Changed it for ya mate, thanks for the tip

Edited April 19, 2014 by FluffyAssassin64

[Scorpiio93]

I usually go for Normal. (Sometimes it can depend on the genre, and if it's one I've played before. If not, then I go for Easy)

I play Normal so that I can enjoy the game first time around and try to understand the story and how the controls work. I'd rather it not to too difficult, because I know I'd end up hating it and start thinking "Why did I waste my money?!" Once I'm ready to play the game again, I'll play on a harder difficulty, which I then take my time with.

[Goro]

Usually I would pick the middle difficulty, though if there's 4 difficulties i would choose the 2nd easiest.

[Sunflower]

Normal for most games unless the developers are naughty dog. I died countless times on normal on uncharted 3 when I was first introduced to the series and had to switch to easy for most of the game. I like a bit of a challenge though but not to the point where I don't enjoy playing a game anymore!

[Vacio_Luna]

Normal/Easy first always (One exception was The Last of US where I did my first playthrough on Hard) then harder difficulties if I enjoyed the game enough. 

[FluffyAssassin64]

I usually go for Normal. (Sometimes it can depend on the genre, and if it's one I've played before. If not, then I go for Easy)

I play Normal so that I can enjoy the game first time around and try to understand the story and how the controls work. I'd rather it not to too difficult, because I know I'd end up hating it and start thinking "Why did I waste my money?!" Once I'm ready to play the game again, I'll play on a harder difficulty, which I then take my time with.

 

Yeah mate, that was my view with TLOU; I purposefully played it on Normal first with the knowledge that I would be playing it on Survivor later

[Hemiak]

I usually start on normal. If it's a series I've played a few if I'll start on hard

[Wdjat Prinny Doods]

I always go for the hardest difficulty in a game on my 1st playthrough even if there isnt a trophy for it. I find games to be more when my skills are being tested and Im presented with a challenge although as Remember Me recently taught me the hardest difficulty in a game can be really easy sometimes.

[Mr_AlphaAstro]

To be honest, when I first play the campaign of any game, I always put it on Easy so I can enjoy the story and role-play the hell out of it without the threat of death. If I'm trying to enjoy a story, death breaks the immersion for me. After I finish the game's campaign on easy, I switch it to the hardest difficulty and enjoy the gameplay aspect of the game. Maybe I'm just weird but that's how I enjoy the campaigns of games

[supersurvive1345]

It really depends on the game, but I usually go on normal difficulty just to try it out. If it is too hard, I may go for easier difficulty instead. When i am comfortable with the gameplay and like the game a lot to go for all the trophies I may up the difficulty to hard or higher. 

[Ala-Arska]

I choose the middle ground and pick Normal.

I do like to concentrate on the story, but I don't necessarily have to massacre enemies with ease, all Schwarzenegger-in-Commando style 

 

But there are times when I just wanna release my inner demon and annihilate everything in sight (BLOOD! GUTS! OVERKILL!). Then it's Easy peesy for me.

 

Oh, and Happy Easter to Down Under, and to everyone else 

[xZoneHunter]

If there is no trophy for a harder diff, i'd just go with normal.

[ExHaseo]

For the most part, I go for Normal mode, but it changes depending on the game.

 

Like, some games that I'm playing mainly for trophies, I'll play on easy if I just want to play through once and be done(like I did with Modern Warfare 3). Or if you have to play through once to unlock the hardest difficulty, and all the difficulty trophies stack, I'll sometimes play through on easy my first playthrough to make it quicker, then the hardest difficulty(like I'm doing with Bioshock Infinite). I especially do that when I'm replaying a game I played on another system first. And every once in a while I'll go for the hardest mode first, if I know the game is going to be easy(like I did with God of War III).

 

I very rarely go for hard mode first though, because hard modes wildly vary in difficulty from game to game. In some games, Hard mode is a bit of a challenge, but just enough to be rewarding to play through (like Bayonetta), other times hard mode is ridiculously unfair and forces you to rely on luck more than skill (like in Mass Effect 2). So, playing through the first time on hard can easily make me hate a game and not want to play it anymore. So, it's just safer to play through an easier mode first. It saves me from getting unnecessary headaches, and having no fun.

[Matthew_Banfield]

I put normal, but if there are no difficulty related trophies for a game I will usually choose the easiest difficulty as I just like to enjoy gaming...

 

Only exception is sport based games, for example Fifa, where I like to challenge myself because I am good at the game

[TheIncinerator1]

I usually go with the highest default difficulty setting first, then proceed on to next ones if it's a game that has unlockable difficulties after a playthrough or two.

 

If the game has an extreme or impossible type mode I usually wait until my second or third playthrough so that way I at least have a feel for the game and understand the mechanics.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Incinerator

[Gotakibono]

I always go for the hard difficulty straight out of the gate. Personally, I like the challenge and I feel as if it adds tension to the overall experience. Moreover, I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck, and that I don't just fly through the game on my first play-through. 

[Swar00]

I go for the very hard or highest available difficult first.  This way I would have to learn and figure out how to win the tasks & missions.  Playing on normal or easy poses no challenge and I don't get my money's worth.  I think comparing to older games from past generations, today's hard or very hard difficulty equals normal difficulty in the past.  

[DaScorpio_]

I always make my first playthrough on easy/normal just to enjoy story, then after I finish story I would play game on harder difficulty (Hard or worse)

while my bro just jumps to hardest difficulty and I hear him swearing at night and after he finishes he usually shows off 

[Royalredpanda]

Usually I'll pick normal or hard for a first playthrough for the story and to learn how the game works then if I play again I work on the hardest difficulty.

[dodgedoors]

I'm old so I don't have a ton of time. I go for normal so I can enjoy the story without too many deaths.  If I love the game my next playthrough always the hardest.

[JoJoBelfast]

Hard. Then if I suck at the game or its a bad game i'll drop to easy and get some trophies.

[spazza136]

I'll usually play Easy or Normal depending on the type of game, if I finish the play-through and am close to plat I will try and do a harder playthrough.

[Beyondthegrave07]

Most games I do normal unless I have a lot of experience with previous games in the series (EX: For Kingdom Hearts, I go straight for Proud, U3 I started with hard since I played the previous 2, CoD Blops I did Veteran, etc.).