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I keep putting off Elden Ring for this reason. It looks great, I’m sure it’s fun, but I don’t want to be stressed out.
Elden Ring and souls-like games really take a certain mindset to enjoy, and if you get stressed too much from failures, you’re probably not going to have fun.
Alternatively, if you’re someone who craves the challenge and can laugh off losing, it’s the best thing ever.
Me playing Returnal: This game is impossible!! Stupid devs! I buy games to have fun! Not to get stressed out!
throws the controller
…
picks up the controller, keeps playing
I think this is valid criticism. We buy games to have fun, not to have some more work outside of work. If the game forces you to “git gud” in order to have fun, it’s not doing its job.
Of course some people like the experience of honing a skill in order to overcome the obstacles posed by a game. But a developer cannot expect that of every gamer and not provide any means to reduce the challenge.
Counter-example: I badly suck at Sekiro, but it might be one of the best games I’ve ever played. It’s too stressful to play it unless I’m in the right headspace. Like trying to listen to Dark Side of the Moon during Thanksgiving dinner with your funny uncle, it doesn’t hit.
If you judge any art purely based on its entertainment value or the mere pleasure it gives you, the only value in art will be its market value. That’s just empty to me.
The difference is that I judge games on how I view the meaning and execution behind creative choices I noticed during play. Some will call that pompous or elitist, but it’s really just that I need to be seeking meaning in life. Otherwise why live?
Not joking. Meaninglessness feels worse than just being dead to me, sorry to the anti-intellectuals who are going to laugh at me or call this a new copypasta.
