man I had the same experience with bloodborne. it just kicked my ass over and over and over again and then suddenly something just clicked and now I can beat it with my eyes closed on a Logitech PS2 steering wheel
One of the most creative ways I've seen a game do difficulty settings is Perfect Dark on the N64. Upping the difficulty didn't just boost enemy health and damage--it did to a degree, but it wasn't that noticeable and headshotting enemies still instakilled them. But what it did was cause the level itself to change in a variety of ways. Every level had at least one new mission objective added per level of difficulty. And in addition to that, depending on the level, raising the difficulty could do things like add new enemy spawns, add new puzzles, lock doors that were previously open, add new areas to explore, place new obstacles, add new scripted events, change the player's spawn point, and in the case of the Cetan Ship level change the map entirely. Sometimes it would even make it so the things you did in previous levels affected the current level. Increasing the difficulty setting in Perfect Dark was almost like playing a whole new game.
Thief 2 is also great in that regard. Higher difficulties not only reduce the tools you have at your disposal to do a mission, it also adds objectives that will change your experience of a level altogether.
This idea was first in Goldeneye 007, with the agent, secret agent, and 00 agent difficulties. Perfect Dark is ostensibly a spiritual successor to Goldeneye 007.
That's pretty interesting. Opening new sections of the level could encourage me more to play on higher difficulties instead of just increasing enemy health and damage. Because in instances like that I find the fights tend to get dragged for too long. I haven't played that game but it sounds interesting.
@@enlightenmentdoesntcomeeas5337 What's more interesting is, if you are a small dev or studio then instead of releasing a DLC or a sequel, you can just release a new difficulty for the game. It doesn't take as much effort, practically changes the entire game so people can do NG and not feel like doing the same thing, and can keep the game fresh. Given, the game is already at a stable and mostly positive review state.
Terraria Expert mode is amazing cause it isnt just enemies having more health and taking more damage they have new AIS and you get new items and rewards Master mode on the other hand sucks. It takes everything bad about too hard games and somehow makes it worse, Its complete horseshit For the worthy is the same as Expert mode but its also so hard you are probably never gonna get through it without cheesing everything
(I know this is old but) Too true. The actual cerebal aspects of OW are not hard. Don't use 5 ultimates to win a single teamfight that isn't the last one. Don't shoot sleeping enemies, shoot hacked enemies. The thing that makes it hard is room-temperature-IQ teammates that don't understand the simplest of things without being told it and-worse- arguing you down about it when you tell them (nicely).
@@chuggaa100 It is that simple. Sleeping enemies are not high -priority targets. Why? Because pose no threat at all to you while asleep, so shooting them is a waste of time. Instead of shooting sleeping enemies, you shoot their very-much-awake teammates. Then you collapse on the now-awake enemy that is now surrounded.
4:24 back then when developing games it was hard to code the game to start at a specific mission or part of the game which is why a lot of games just sent you back to the beginning despite what stage you were on. This is actually why cheat codes were invented, so the developers can just skip past levels super fast and then untoggle once they got to the stage they wanted. Obviously we don’t need cheat codes anymore because of advanced coding now but I think it’s an interesting history lesson for gaming :)
Really interesting to think that cheat codes are just debugging tools left over. I always felt like I had some divine underground knowledge whenever I found one. Like I was changing the game/hacking it. It wasn't until I started to think how I could implement certain cheats that I was told that the cheats are just debugging tools left in by the developers.
Just glad we have save states, fast forward and rewind nowadays, with most collections having at least save states (or auto save). 3:28 lol mega man 11 thankful for newcomer mode
Those spikes had me so fucking butthurt. I wouldn't have minded if it wasn't a 5 minute trip back to the spikes only to fail again. Watching those lives tick down to the inevitability of you just buying the item that lets survive spikes.
A Person With a Name I’ll never understand why spikes kill you instantly in Megaman games. I’m a reploid who’s made out of metal, why do metal spikes affect me?
A Person With a Name I mean just in Megaman games when you step on spikes. I know metal can cut metal, but only if enough force if applied. Zero or Megaman just taking a step shouldn’t be enough to hurt them when you think about it
1:20 Gigguk just took inspiration from this one part for his "The Manga was better" Video. It's cool how Dunkey's videos to this day, still manages to inspire these kinds of jokes in other videos
I played bloodborne but towards the end meeting the old enemies I thought to myself: "How the fuck were these hard to me back then?". I come back a year later and the game is almost just as hard as when I first played it, and I wonder: "How the fuck were these easy for me back then?".
@@a-ha4940 Chalice dungeons were a mistake. I didn't fight the final boss because "I want to do everything" and lost interest in the game in the dungeons.
@@WhiteZet1 To each their own. Chalice dungeons were what prolonged my love of the game. The basic pre-set ones are pretty boring, but the higher level ones have some really unique layouts, enemies and traps. They easily scale until your character is lvl 200+
All memes aside, masterful video that touches on a lot of things wrong with the industry. You're one of the most relevant figures in gaming. Never change Dunkpac!
"For Silent Hill 2, the easier difficulties cause the puzzles to make 4% more sense." "This is where the game goes from 'tough, but fair' to 'tough, but fuck you'" "I died so many times I thought I'll run out of infinite lives... " This video is so quotable, I swear to God
Thanks to this video, I learned of Ikaruga's difficulty options and finally gave the game a chance recently It is now one of my favorite shooting games ever, and I'm eternally grateful Thank you, Dunkey 🙏
The fact that you somehow can balance actual insightful and thoughtful remarks on video games and other material and still maintain a solid level of humour shows why you are one of the best content creators on this site.
I really think the solution to checkpoints lays in Dark Souls where the checkpoints themselves become a dedicated mechanic that interacts with the level design and stuff
they arent friends anymore apparently. dunkey and leah unfollowed him and he did the same. sky mentioned it in a video. hope the band gets back together though
Man dunkey usually acts like such a meme lord it takes me a while to appreciate just how much time and though has gone into these videos, and how well considered and well comminuted all his lines are Seriously respect man. I don’t appreciate this channel enough. It takes a lot to be this funny and meme-y but also present stuff so well and talk about and present meaningful arguments/views/opinions on stuff so well
I love games with difficulty spikes. The more crushingly demoralizing that the game is, the better, because when you finally beat it the feeling is like nothing else you can get from games.
That's a mere illusion. You're not necessarily "mastering" a game so much as "dragging you dick and balls across a mile of gravel and broken glass." Yeah. You'll get there, but you won't necessarily enjoy it except by contrast of comparison. It's like taking a huge shit after being constipated for a week. It's "relief" you're probably feeling. Not enjoyment.
Welcome to every fighting game ever, and I totally agree with this statement. Sucks at first but once you learn the right mindset and improve they become easily the most fun and strategic games.
These game design analysis videos are my favorite things from your channel. They've got that good ol' Dunkey humor all the way through, and they leave something for future game designers to think about. I'd definitely have to say both the challenge and artistry of difficult games makes them exciting, as well as how compelling the gameplay is. One immediate example that excels in all of these attributes is Super Monkey Ball; it's tough to master, its character and scenery style is memorable, and it's so unique in its demand for precise analog movements just to roll a monkey in a ball to the goal strip.
Makes me so happy that dunkey talks about the important of accessibility. Nothing is more annoying than people who rail against easier modes as if that'd somehow affect them
Yes! As someone who absolutely sucks at anything but stealth and has very little patience, games that are incredibly difficult and offer no easier options make me so angry, and much more inclined to drop the game:/
i still will always say this - metro 2033 had the best difficulty system by far for me. you want to casually experience the story? play on easy difficulty. but if you want to have a challenge and actually master the game and accomplish something, play on ranger mode and it takes away the hud and makes things scarce such as bullets to make it truly force you to survive, and gunfights are more "take cover plan your fights have quick reaction" than "just walk in and shoot everything that moves".
Underratedly, MarioKart is kinda like that. (Although it’s not a particularly hard game) Example: 1st place for the whole race, ur 20 ft from the finish and then your get hit with the Blue Shell from Hell. Two guys pass u and ur thinking “well I can still make 3rd” Nope! “ITSA ME DA TRIPLE REDAH SHELL!!!” And next thing y’know ur in last place.
"Even the titles that were directed specifically to younger children make Dark Souls look like fucking Duck Tales, except that Duck Tales is probably harder" I scream internally when I hear a clever joke. And let me tell you, I screamed and creamed.
Randy Hanna it is a brief analysis of a broad spectrum of video games, which is not only a nice summary but a tribute to those who have seen the difficulty of games progress as their developers have
I can proudly state that I did beat *one* NES game when I was a kid. Some batman beat-em-up of which I don't remember the name, but the last boss is Penguin
1:14 When I was a kid I used a Game Genie to give myself god mode so I could see past the first couple levels of Contra for the NES. When I was using cheats the game only took around 20 minutes to complete, so making the game without cheats super difficult effectively extends the life of the game, which is exactly Dunkey's point. The problem was is I'm not that patient or determined, I just wanted to see everything the game had to offer.
I don't know how someone can be as well rounded as the dunkster, he's so funny and silly while also so smart and serious when he wants to be. great analysis. 0/5
Dunkey, wtf. ive been watching you consistently for the past two four years and so much effort is put in every single one of youre videos. The ideas, the strong mindset, your consistency (very important in my opinion), your creativity. You might know that in the bottom of your heart but you have inspired many people (including me) to become a better person not just related to videogames but in general. I just want to thank you for being the person that u are and doing what your doing the way you do it. Your my favorite content creator by far and will always will be.
Aye! It's Ayres I was referring to the elevator repair man that you can find by falling down the elevator shaft at the start of each level. Although I suppose it’s still not a traditional checkpoint.
Donkeykong music is so nostalgic. Still remember when i would sneak out to play dkcountry at my friends house and when he got bored he'll masacre me at mk3 lol.
I always love these editorial style videos you do on the game industry as an art form. Always insightful and biting in a genuine, "un-pretentious" way. In this age of lootboxes and dlc, it's important to remember why we even play these things in the first place.
I’ve had a few drinks tonight, and when I read “dlc” in your comment, I thought it read “dick.” Then I reread your comment, and I realized I wasn’t wrong.
Allen Rubin there was a business insider article that had the link to it. I had it bookmarked but for some reason neither of those return in my search anymore which is weird. I showed it to a bunch of people.
I really love when dunked throws a binding of Isaac reference in his videos he does it surprisingly often but doesn’t ever name drop the game or do a one-off video on it and I appreciate that for some reason more
its slightly different than arcade machines. back when you physically couldn't fit much onto hardware, the best way to make an engaging experience was to make a fast paced, addictive, and challenging game. and people loved them because of it. (you also did not have to pay $25 to go into the arcade if i do remember correctly) Now, the games are specifically designed to be so *edit: tedious* and manipulative to the point where you do not want to finish them without paying more money. See the difference? one is a result of limitation, while the other is a result of exploitation of the medium and customers. They 100% could be making amazing experiences people want to pay to be able to experience. But their greed and bad business philosophies lead to them making yearly cash-grabs using bland games and manipulative practices to suck as much money out of the industry as possible.
@@MrBrimstone nope, you're completely wrong. Most games are fun, very rarely do i see a "boring" game. They lock things behind VERY long grinds so you pay for them to get them FASTER. your logic is entirely flawed. Why would anyone pay to progress in a game they find inherently boring?
man, you really make me feel good about life sometimes. you have a great way with words, and are an artist when it comes to conveying your point. Thank you for making my night a lot better than it could have been
Some days, you just want to chill and play something easy. But god fucking DAMN do I love a hard as shit but well controlling, snappy challenge. Which is why I nutted my jorts when you brought up Ikaruga. I've had that game for about an hour and I've fallen in love with games all over again.
(5:40) Although I agree with the statement, you could make that point for any game. All 2D Mario games consist of running and jumping, with some minor things added in for a few of them (such as different power-ups, game mechanics, etc), but nothing ground breaking.
Even though that after stage 19 in Pac-Man no longer affects the ghosts after eating the Power Pellets, it still is beneficial to get them since it changes their pattern, giving you an easier route to figure out
Can we get a moment of recognition to all the epic gamers who beat Mile High Club on Veteran in COD 4? Shit took me an hour and a half for a minute long mission.
The trick to beating Mile High Club on Veteran is binding the flashbang to a mouse button or trigger, and to never reload just pick up guns. Regardless it still took an hour but damn did it feel good to beat.
Despite it giving me an hour of grief I always feel proud I completed it and got the Achievement. Especially since I figured out it takes Flashbang Timing and using the pistol when you spend an MP5 magazine. Just like Gaz said "Remember, switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading."
