What difficulty do you play games on? Does it vary game to game? Why?

Will usually play on normal for a first play through and then play on hard for a second one.

As says though, hard can sometimes be completely unbalanced and unfun.

An example of a good hard mode is critical mode in Kingdom Hearts 2. That game is best played on that difficulty.

normal the first time (unless that's boring easy), If I really like the game I come back and play on the hardest setting I think I can manage. usually like variable difficulty is a weird thing though, if I really want a challenge I'd rather play a game designed around being more challenging.

So right on! What games do you not have to choose it? Only one I can think of is one I played recently, red dead 2 and found it to be frustratingly easy and dumb.. I liked the story ok, hated that almost every mission was "go to the location marked on your map and shoot" but was most excited about the exploring and the treasure maps-- not things that constitute difficulty.

Ideally, the mode that challenges me the most without resorting to absolutely horrid difficulty adjustments or unforgivable A.I. I want to feel powerful and skillful through the development of my own growth and not just my stats or equipment.

I just stopped playing Smash Brothers Ultimate after fighting the retarded CPU in that game. Reading my inputs and reacting in a completely mechanical and inhuman way with perfect reaction time and precision is really disgusting. Conversely, I hate dumb computers that kill themselves better than I can kill them. The middle ground of artificial difficulty which ranges from buffed health, increased numbers, and gimping the player's damage are just as bad as either of the previous two things I mentioned.

I quit more games for being easy mode bore tests than I ever have from them being too difficult or unfair.

>normal to hard for action games
>easiest difficulty for turn-based stuff because nothing changes besides how often you have to go through a certain cycle of moves

The New Colossus was probably the first time since I was a kid 25 years ago in which I decided to say fuck it and tone the difficulty down from normal to easy after a few hours of playing. The game is just shit in terms of damage indication, map design, and flow of combat. It a fucking cover shooter, in a series that has always been about running and gunning (aside from the original adventure game and the RPG). Why even have dual wielding when it's only viable on the easiest difficulty?

I usually just play whatever the default is, (which is also funny in TNC, since it doesn't default to normal). Only series I turn the difficulty up right away is Ace Combat, since I've been playing the series since the second game and the core gameplay hasn't changed at all.

I usually start a game on Normal. After all, the developer made the game a certain way (normal) and then added the other two (at least) difficulty modes to appeal to people who like it casual or those who want a bigger challenge.

I feel like Normal is the game's intended mode. You get the most accurate representation of the developer's vision of the game if you play Normal first. Although Normal ends up usually being on the easy side for me, it helps me get a better idea of how "Good" the game is if I play it the way it was intended.

I think if a developer strongly advertises it's easy or hard modes (the latter being advertised more often than the former) then they are trying to draw attention away from the quality of the core game in favor of capitalizing on a gimmick.

Games that have "Nightmare" difficulties and proceed to boast about it in their advertising or campaigning come to mind.

After I finish Normal mode, I'll challenge myself with Hard mode and usually won't touch Easy mode. I get bored too easily if I do.

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There's a number of games where they don't shine until you play on higher difficulties. Hell; STALKER was made to play on the hardest difficulty, as told by the devs, but people assume normal is the dev's default.
Even DMC games strip the game of elements and enemies for playing on lower difficulties.

Varies from game to game but, generally speaking, in games with
>Easy
>Normal
>Hard
I'll choose Normal and in games with
>Easiest
>Easier
>Normal
>Harder
>Hardest
I'll go with Harder.

I usually find that the hardest skills are pretty bullshit/unfun (Nightmare in Doom, Extra Crispy in Blood, etc) while the medium skill level is a tad to easy. I don't want to have to savescum/cheese to live but at the same time I want to be punished/killed if I play bad or stupidly.

Hardest unless the game has a respectable difficulty. Then I go to normal.

On that note, wouldn't it be great if Devs published what difficulty they were designing the game around? That way people like me would be able to play the game as intended without having to do what you propose as some guesswork?

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Typically the highest. In 4X and related games I stick to normal or whatever the highest difficulty is before the AI starts to cheat.

This
Far too many games treat difficulty options as an afterthought, with bloated enemy health and damage that makes for more tedious rather than challenging gameplay

that is interesting
absolutely. that would be awesome

Generally for the first playthrough the second hardest difficulty. You usually aren't pressured in the easy mode of most games but at the same time the hardest difficulty tends to make it too annoying to learn the game or lends itself to reducing your viable playstyles and tedium.

I play on other difficulties on recommendation though. For example, if I hear that a game is best enjoyed on X difficulty or that Y difficulty locks away content or that Z difficulty and above basically requires grinding or cheese to progress then I adjust accordingly.

In the case of mechanically similar sequels to games I'm already familiar with I generally play on the hardest difficulty for the first playthrough. This has bit me in the ass before however when I went into a sequel without knowledge. For example, I didn't derive maximum enjoyment from Halo 2's campaign because I played it on legendary as opposed to heroic.

Usually a difficulty above normal, but that's so that I can stay engaged with the game. It makes the experience more interesting and fun imo.

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Generally I start any new game on the default "normal" difficulty setting. That was the developer's intended first time experience, and if I find the game is too easy it's usually simple to increase the difficulty mid-game.

Always one above the default, because I feel developers underestimate the skills of the average gamer. I've only had problems on a handful of games with this method (particularly Bethesda games), but nothing I couldn't overcome with a little extra time learning the controls or getting better gear..

Generally Hard, because i like a good challenge in general. Action RPGs i generally play on normal because most have bullshit combat systems where every enemy soaks damage like a sponge and you die in a hit or two. [Spoiler]Looking at you, witcher 3.[/spoiler]

I feel you, but often the games with three difficulties have an unlockable Nightmare mode, and in such cases I'll pick the highest available.