I honestly don't understand why these games are so beloved. I played Demon's Souls and was so irritated between the difficulty and the incredibly bad multiplayer servers that I didn't get too far....
I honestly don't understand why these games are so beloved. I played Demon's Souls and was so irritated between the difficulty and the incredibly bad multiplayer servers that I didn't get too far. It also had some extremely bad design, IMHO; The open design was akin to having a hallway with 10 doors where two don't go anywhere, one or two lead to another 10-door hallway, and all the other ones kill you.
So I picked up Bloodborne and really tried hard on that one. And sure, it's a better game in every aspect. I think I only managed to get to one other campfire in Demon's Souls, but in Bloodborne I was able to get past three or four areas before I gave up. And I can see exactly the kind of design that the author is talking about in Bloodborne far more than I did in Demon's Souls.
At the same time, I think the better execution in Bloodborne highlights the problems with the game design. Progression in Bloodborne did not feel like I was actually progressing; being able to go to these other areas didn't feel like I was 'clearing' an area because there were so many deathtraps, so I never felt like I was actually accomplishing anything. I just thought to myself, "Is this really a linear design? Am I supposed to be here? Did I just defeat the easiest boss instead of the one I was actually supposed to get? Is there an area or item I missed that I needed to get to progress later?
Beyond that, I don't really like the twitchy nature of the combat in any of these games; you always need to dodge at exactly the right moment, and if you don't it will take so much HP away that it makes it easy to die from common and "weak" enemies. The crazy thing about it is that the twitchy dodge mechanic is common across many action games, and I actually love it in Bayonetta.
I guess everything goes down to the idea of punishment. Like Madigan said in the article, it's not that the game is difficult, it's that it's punishing. The pleasure I get from progressing past difficult areas does not overcome the frustration I get from constantly being punished by the game. And it doesn't help that there is a notable lack of safe or cheery areas in the series, either.
I suppose it takes a specific kind of personality to find those games enjoyable. That is not my case either. I'm of the opinion that the only thing in my life that should feel like work is, well,...
I suppose it takes a specific kind of personality to find those games enjoyable. That is not my case either.
I'm of the opinion that the only thing in my life that should feel like work is, well, work :P
I honestly don't understand why these games are so beloved. I played Demon's Souls and was so irritated between the difficulty and the incredibly bad multiplayer servers that I didn't get too far. It also had some extremely bad design, IMHO; The open design was akin to having a hallway with 10 doors where two don't go anywhere, one or two lead to another 10-door hallway, and all the other ones kill you.
So I picked up Bloodborne and really tried hard on that one. And sure, it's a better game in every aspect. I think I only managed to get to one other campfire in Demon's Souls, but in Bloodborne I was able to get past three or four areas before I gave up. And I can see exactly the kind of design that the author is talking about in Bloodborne far more than I did in Demon's Souls.
At the same time, I think the better execution in Bloodborne highlights the problems with the game design. Progression in Bloodborne did not feel like I was actually progressing; being able to go to these other areas didn't feel like I was 'clearing' an area because there were so many deathtraps, so I never felt like I was actually accomplishing anything. I just thought to myself, "Is this really a linear design? Am I supposed to be here? Did I just defeat the easiest boss instead of the one I was actually supposed to get? Is there an area or item I missed that I needed to get to progress later?
Beyond that, I don't really like the twitchy nature of the combat in any of these games; you always need to dodge at exactly the right moment, and if you don't it will take so much HP away that it makes it easy to die from common and "weak" enemies. The crazy thing about it is that the twitchy dodge mechanic is common across many action games, and I actually love it in Bayonetta.
I guess everything goes down to the idea of punishment. Like Madigan said in the article, it's not that the game is difficult, it's that it's punishing. The pleasure I get from progressing past difficult areas does not overcome the frustration I get from constantly being punished by the game. And it doesn't help that there is a notable lack of safe or cheery areas in the series, either.
I suppose it takes a specific kind of personality to find those games enjoyable. That is not my case either.
I'm of the opinion that the only thing in my life that should feel like work is, well, work :P
There has been a discussion on the subject of high difficulty of some games on Tildes earlier this year.