Game:

Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992)

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Some weeks ago, I revisited a classic from my childhood: Contra III: The Alien Wars. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Contra is a run and gun game.

There is no mercy in this game. No hand-holding, if you loose you have to start from the beginning.

Even though this concept sounds punishing beyond belief, especially if you are not used to it,
but there is something absurdly satisfying about getting kocked out repeatedly and building up the muscle memory until you are finally able to see the pattern in the chaos and then. dance within it. That moment when you take down the boss that gave you hell, without losing a single life is such a rewarding experience. And when you pull it off on hard mode? Unlocking the real ending of the game? That's a whole new level of triumph.


And after I finished this game I started to wonder... because basically, Elden Ring is the same.


Even though Contra and Elden Ring are 30 years apart and do not share the same genre, graphics, style, music, or lenght, one thing unites them.

They share a core philosophy, and that is: No victory comes without effort.

Everyone will agree, there are countless games which would be long forgotten if it wasn't for that little extra pinch of challenge.
At its best, difficulty transforms a game into something unforgettable.

But with only some exceptions like Elden Ring it seems like games have gotten.... easier over time.
Not that this is a bad thing. There are also countless examples which don't have an iota of challenge in their veins and are incredibly successful.

Still, there's a visible trend going on right now.
I remember certain 8 and 16 and even 64-bit pieces that were so rage inducing you had to buy a new gamepad monthly.
It's undeniable... modern games favor accessibility over difficulty.

And this trend raises some interesting questions.

The first one is of course, why have games become easier over time? Followed by which games actually profit from difficulty and where is it unnecessary?
And what happens now? Will games stay that way or will we enter another evolutionary step anytime soon?

To answer these questions we must set off on a journey to explore the highs and lows of gaming difficulty, we’ll see how it has shaped our medium, our experiences, and even ourselves. Welcome to the history of difficulty, a story of grit, growth, and the joy of earning every hard-fought victory

0:00 Intro
2:59 The 80s: Difficulty as necessity
9:51 The 90s: Difficulty as gatekeeper
17:21 The 90s: to 00: Difficulty as a tool
26:19 The 10s: Missing Difficulty
44:01 Reviving Difficulty


#eldenring #Contra #easy