Normal is Easy, Hard is Normal, etc.

Looks like I’m not alone in thinking games are getting easier. One of the guys over at ExtremeTech seems to have discovered this trend as well. From the article:

“This is something I’ve noticed recently with PC games, too. Either games are getting easier, or I’m becoming a better gamer in my old age. As recently as three years ago, I often had to find walkthroughs to puzzle out a few aspects of a game. Usually, that meant I couldn’t find the way out, had a problem with a difficult mission or had to figure out exactly how to defeat some infinitely powerful level boss.

In the past couple of years, though, I’ve been able to figure these things out without outside help. Well, to be fair, my 13-year old daughter, Emily, sat with me during a few of the Tomb Raider sessions and offered up very useful suggestions. But I never had to resort to cheats or walkthroughs. The one exception in the past two years is Doom 3, but only because ennui set in, and I turned on God mode just so I could finish the damned thing and put it away.”

The rest of the article is mostly just about what new games the author is playing, but I found it interesting that someone else has noticed the same thing I did, and actually said something about it.