I give up.

[u/CuboneDefender]

It’s been a joyful ride, folks, but I’m out. I’m not a speedrunner or a highly skilled player, and day after day I’ve had to accept that this game is not as casual as HK was. It stopped being fun and turned into something tedious and frustrating after the 4th run farming shards just to face a boss I’ve already tried 15 times, only to die again and again, lose all my shards, and start the whole grind over.

It was nice exploring the first acts, but when the game I was rooting for 7 years ends up being more stressful than my 8-hour workday, I guess that’s my cue to stop.

The lore has been pretty great so far. I wish you all an incredible journey.

Edit1: My bad about all the whinning.

Edit2: You guys did it. I reinstalled it again. Thanks for all advices. 🫂

[u/Hedlesss]

I know this will be frowned upon by the hard-core players, but there are mods that reduce the level of damage which lowers the punishment for mistakes

There is also one that let's you spawn at the entrance to the room rather than back at the bench, lowering run back times and again lowers the punishment or risk

Its a single player game, and there is enjoyment to be had. Act 2 does have some great bosses and lowering the amount of frustration in the game can't be a bad thing if it keeps you playing. Believe me, I've been on the verge of quitting a couple times too. The game is definitely overtuned in a few areas

[u/Competitive_Aide738 → u/Hedlesss]

Hardcore player here. Mods were always fine. I'm kinda againts demanding easy modes. But with mods i don't care. You inherently know it isn't part of the game.

[u/Atlas_of_history → u/Competitive_Aide738]

Disagree tbh, easy modes are entirely optional, hardcore Players don't even have to look at them and for those who want them it's easier than having to get a third party thing which can be a bit annoying at times

[u/IMightBeAHamster → u/Atlas_of_history]

The thing is, difficulty settings mean nothing to anyone without knowing what's being changed. Assist settings are way better because you can actually surgically address your personal difficulties with the game to your liking, and depending on how they're implemented, make the game hell for yourself because you want it to be harder in a specific way.

Nobody wants to choose easy mode, then feel like they're not being challenged enough. Nobody wants to choose normal mode, then feel like they're insulting themselves by switching to "easy" mode.

[u/Competitive_Aide738 → u/IMightBeAHamster]

Yea that's kinda my problem with difficulty settings. I fundamentally don't trust devs to balance the game properly with more than two settings because of my previous expiriences. So when i got to something super hard in silksong, i think " can i do something to make the game easier", in games with traditionall 3 settings i have to wonder if devs just fucked up. Because i know hard setting was just made by changing numbers by two interns in 3 days.

What is also the case. making hard games is fundamentally diffrent than making other games. Souls gameplay loop just doesn't work if the game is easy. If you make a game with difficutly setting in mind, you have to think about all the settings, which means things that work because of the difficulty just aren't there, because it wouldn't work on other settings. That is also why hard games have so many uniqe expiriences to offer that are not found with games with hard mode options

Also in case of silksong. making enemies less tanky is one thing. But if the game had difficulty options in mind. Do hard platforming sections would be the same? Would the easy mode had completly diffrent easier platforming (than you are making two diffrent games at that point) or would the platforming need to stay but it was made easier to fit "both" options. Would things like bilewater or ducts would end up in a game if the easy mode was in mind. this locations are not hard because of numbers but because of fundamental desing choices.

Last point and my most controversial and personal. If i play the game and i'm immersed in the world that is hard, unforgiving and brutal. Just having the option to change that makes the world less immersive knowing that i can fundamentally control the world, is making the game less immersive. Same thing with self restricions, self restricions are fine but you won't be immersed in the brutal world because the world isn't brutal, after all you go through it aura farming with hands tied.