For most of the two decades (or so) that I’ve been playing video games, most of the games I’ve played looked fairly similar. You would find I played many monster battling RPGs (mostly Pokémon) and farming sims.

While these are some of my favorite games to play, there was a reason that I gravitated toward them in the first place.

I have a complete and utter lack of hand eye coordination. These two genres don’t rely on me pressing an exact button at an exact moment with a precision that I just don’t possess.

My brother and I had bought a PlayStation 4 so that we could play Spyro’s Reignited Trilogy.

As fans of the Spider-Man GameCube games, he picked up Marvel’s Spider-Man and he immediately told me I should play it. But I was hesitant. I remember the old games being dependent on timing and coordination, and those are two things I wasn’t the best at.

But, I discovered the easiest difficulty in the game let me explore and experiment with a safety net. Once I got the hang of the system, I found myself having fun.

My next adventure was Horizon Zero Dawn. Just as Horizon Forbidden West was released, a bunch of my coworkers at the time were talking about it. One realized I’d love the story and wanted me to play.

I agreed to give it a try and I was almost instantly hooked. I played through and had a blast.

Not long after, I started playing through again. This time, I bumped up the difficulty.

And I am still having fun. Being familiar with the mechanics of the game has empowered me to try new things and be willing to work a bit harder. I think it’s helped me to be a better gamer.

I love that some developers have built these modes into their games (games are art; and not every developer needs to, if it goes against their intention – but I appreciate having it at this stage of my gaming journey). I think it serves as training wheels for people like me who need a little help getting to the level the developers intended. It’s a way to welcome new gamers into the community. 

For me, I also notice that it provides a great experience to play through the games multiple times. Each level provides a new take on the a game, a different experience despite the story itself staying the same. 

While the training wheels may still be on for me, I do look forward to slowly improving and maybe getting to the point where I can one day take them off.

What about you? Did you use an easier mode to help you improve as a gamer and now find yourself playing harder modes? I’d love to hear your stories on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.

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The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord. 

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