Why Hard Games? Because They're Worth It

So, I recently beat Demon's Souls, as mentioned on a previous podcast, and am now playing through Bloodrayne: Betrayal, a downloadable title I picked up from PSN. Both of these games boast extraordinary difficulty, the former in the player's attempt to learn from death, and the latter to overcome hectic enemies and bosses, and hopefully score above F-Worm Chow for the level (which i was only able to accomplish once). This brings me to the topic of the day. How do you feel about really difficult games, at least the ones you or others consider to be good?

As for me, I love them. I think the more difficult a game, as long as it is enjoyable enough to keep the player interested, the better for the most part. It gives the player a greater sense of accomplishment that easier games simply do not. For example, I was left with a rush of adrenaline and a feeling of greatness after coming out of the multi-part Dr. Wily battle at the end of the absurdly hard Mega Man 10. I felt the same way after finally conquering Flamelurker, a boss in Demon's Souls, after the 7 to 10 deaths that were the result of my own failure and miscalculation.

However, despite the best efforts of the previously mentioned titles in this paragraph, most modern games do not attempt to challenge the player on their average difficulty level. Finishing a level in Uncharted or Super Mario Galaxy, although these fantastic games, just do not give me that same satisfaction of overcoming a seemingly impossible task. What really bothers me is that modern games simply expect the player to win and explore all of the content, so developers simply lay out a streamlined experience to allow all players to get through a game to completion with relative ease.

Why should you just be expected to win with no effort put in? This added effort is what causes the triumphant feeling of conquering an overwhelmingly difficult game. Most modern games can't recreate the feeling of getting through the Valley of Bowser in Super Mario World, or even simply completing a level in the notoriously difficult Ninja Gaiden for NES. Modern games such as Demon's Souls and Bloodrayne: Betrayal have shown that this formula of extreme difficulty can work successfully on both the 2D and 3D planes. I just wish there were more modern games out there that offered a similar level of challenge and reward.

What do you think? Comment or e-mail me at andy@averageplayerradio.com

-Andy