Playing Games On Easy Mode Is Absolutely Fine And It’s Time Everyone Accepts That

Video games are designed to be fun, aren’t they? Yet there is a status quo in gaming now, especially online, that you should constantly be challenging yourself on the highest possible difficulty in order to “prove yourself.” Some full games are now even viewed as being more legitimate for the mere fact that they have one difficulty that suits all settings. Gamers are now being looked down upon or are seen as inferior gamers due to the fact they may want to play on an easier difficulty. Why? Well, I am here to explain why this attitude towards gamers is outdated, overused, and well just pathetic really.

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[ajnightcrawler]

I started playing on easy mood when I became a dad. I don’t get a lot of time to play now and when I do I want to just feel empowered and enjoy without having to replay sections over. Gives me more time to enjoy my hobby and be with my family

[WaveForceful]

Remember games are for recreation not a measure of your character.

[erikkarlsson]

If you bought the game its YOUR game=YOUR setings

[CherryPascalle]

Easy mode is here to be played on. To say "Don't play on easy mode" is like saying "You're disabled, don't use your wheelchair."

[renegadesofanarchy]

I’m in the same boat, I don’t play games to be challenged, living in real life is hard enough already. I’m replaying the Mass Effect trilogy and have decided to play all three on casual and even still, the second game especially, it’s still more than challenging enough to keep me engaged.

I hate stress, I suffer from severe anxiety which gave me chronic pain, playing games on hard is bad for my pain management routine so I don’t do it.

[CherryPascalle]

If you're in a wheelchair, you should still be able to enjoy life. If you're not very good at a game, you should still be able to enjoy the game.

[MasterP]

Its 100% fine to play on easy, its also 100% fine to play on hard, what isnt fine is to demand that a dev needs to make a easy or hard mode.

[StuartRobinson]

I always played on normal sometimes hard mode, but recently I've realised who am i trying to impress?? Im married with 3 kids work 12 hour days. Game time is my time to sit relax & lose myself in the game world im playing. Easy mode has made me enjoy it so much more. If there is an option I'm easy mode all the way. Im not out to impress anyone. Work & life is hard mode.

[insertedgynamehere]

For the most part, the complaints about easy mode only come up when someone says that souls games should have one. They simply appeal to a specific demographic, and that demographic also deserves to be catered to, just as much as people who use easy mode.

[ItsDatCajunStuff]

Like others have weighed in, when I was younger and really wanted to master a game, playing on a harder difficulty was a project that was rewarding to tackle and took time. Now, it's a hassle more than anything, and as an older person, the time it takes to devote to clawing through one game on hard with limited time keeps me from enjoying all the other stuff out there. And for a purely single player experience, I can't imagine why anyone would give a damn about playing on easy. And, like you said, people with physical disabilities count as well. The more people playing games, the better.

[zcnaipowered]

I play on easy mode cause I have a freaking day job, that's challenge enough, plus I bought the game to have not add more stress to my life.

[expertgamer]

I'm about to start playing on easy, because I get frustrated on higher difficulties

[cursedalien]

I play on easy because my nervous system is all jacked up. My reaction time is shit (5th percentile of cognitive processing speed) and I have awful spatial awareness and coordination due to dyspraxia.

[Squishmallows]

First off, I’m not a masochist lol. From the beginning I’ve always played games at their default setting. Only game I ever played and beat on its hardest difficulty was the original gears of war. Now that I’m older I still play on normal but sometimes I play on easy when I just wanna relax. I don’t play souls games because again I’m no masochist.

[JDD_MD]

I started playing God of War a year ago on moderate, and that game was kicking my ass! I dreaded firing it up to the point where a year later I probably had only done five hours of the game. By contrast, I finished The Last of Us and The Last of Us II twice each, once on moderate and once on hard. But God of War is just a different animal! So out of frustration, I bumped it down to easy mode to get through one of the bosses. And holy hell! I have not been able to put the controller down since. I love the game so much more and I’m able to just enjoy the story and the lore without dying 800 times. Playing on easy creates a path to sometimes just enjoy the story and I can go to other games to give me a “challenge.” But I’m also starting to feel like I don’t need to be challenged anymore. Video games are supposed to be fun, not stressful. And thankfully, I don’t have any toxic gamers in my life arguing otherwise. You paid for the console you paid for the game do whatever you want with it. 😉

[megasean]

I recently started playing Devil May Cry 3 and holy crap that game is hard on Normal mode. Enemies damage way too hard, you start off with very little weapons or buffs, and when you die, the game tracks your damage so even if you complete it, you get a low score, giving you the lowest possible currency, which impedes you unlocking necessary abilities and items. I started playing on easy mode and it is so much less of a headache to get through.

[bobneal]

Thanks for posting this!!! I'm playing flintlock right now and was playing on normal, was getting my butt handed to me and said you know what... let me switch to easy, in Flintlock you don't garner achievements in easy mode, which is ok with me. As soon as I changed the difficulty, -BAM- having a blast...Having so much fun in fact that I felt like I was cheating and needed to see what others thought about it, which brought me here... I've tried Lies of Pi and Elden ring and the Lords of the fallen, and tired really quickly of dying and making no progress after 2 hours of play... I'm in the same boat as a lot of folks here... I play for fun, I don't need something in my life that's going to piss me off... So again, thanks for posting this and validating my feelings on the subject...
Cheers!!

[SonictheNinja]

I used to have to swat it out for the 'nightmare difficulty' achievements and stuff but then I just asked myself...'why'? Today I get my 'challenge' from other real people in fps games and competitive things..and when it's solo- I dont feel like I have anything to prove anymore, I play easy and even use cheats to enjoy the story and hack about at my adultlife backlog of games

[Astonp]

I'm glad someone finally points out this problem in the gaming community. I perfectly understand why games for example by From Software are always so difficult and how it actually done in order to reflect the bleakness and the unforgiveness of the worlds they created, but I don't understand how some people can feel superior and tell other people to "get gud" simply because they beat the game.
Most of us aren't lucky to have jobs that we enjoy. Some people come home completely exhausted. After coming back from work from a gruelling shift under the management of a boss that acts like a douche, you might not want to play a game where you struggle and get killed 40 times in a row in order to win. Maybe you want to beat, smash, steamroll, crush, rip'n'tear your enemies in the game in order to unwind. Or, on the opposite, you just want to enjoy, the dialogues, the story, the scenery...
As much as I can enjoy a sense of "pride and accomplishment" (lmao) after an intense boss battle, it's also nice just to explore or fuck around, to actually take the time to appreciate what you have on your screen.

[BatmanBurritos]

We all deserve to experience the amazing stories each game has. Easy mode was made for a reason. Let’s just enjoy the story and experience without judging what “level” we played it at.