What kind of a gamer you are?

I answered medium, but I would probably split difficulty into different categories for ongoing games vs single playthroughs. Destiny, Diablo, etc are all games that use difficulty levels as part of the overall progression loop, for instance.

For most games, I like my difficulty like I like my ghost whisperers: Medium. But some games (DOOM '16 being a recent example) just don't feel right unless I'm intimately familiar with my own death animation. Those are few and far between, however.

TheFlamingo352: That's true. The poll is just like a picture of whether you like games to be hard, or rather you just want to relax while playing them.

Games with a difficulty setting I'll play on medium most of the time, unless I've gotten good enough at that game/series' gameplay to want a bit more of a challenge.

There are some games I'll play exclusively for the toughness though, mostly old or known-to-be-tough platformers (Mega Man, Castlevania, Super Meat Boy, etc.)

Medium. I want to be easily introduced to the game but not just roll through it.

I usually play default difficulty but if I see 2-3 comments or a staff on the site recommending bumping it up, I do it without hesitation. Whenever I've played on hard or harder setting, I always felt like I got a better experience. It makes me actually think when I'm playing as opposed to the current standard, which tends to be pretty mindless.

I play everything on hard. In my experience games on hard are only difficult for the first 1-2 hours before you gain abilities/health and then the difficulty no longer becomes an issue but the game is still challenging.

I don’t remember the last time I was stuck in a game so I literally don’t know why you would play on an easier difficulty because it is too easy and boring.

I always play on the most difficult option i think i can handle without getting overly frustrated. Varies by genre and series.

Games are too easy these days, so i am trying to play on hard when there is reason for it. Some games prefer to play on highest difficulty, like Witcher series for example or new Shadow of War. No reason to buy a game for 50-60 euros and slide through it without resistance in 2-3 evenings, it is too expensive and too boring really.

I like when game punish me for my mistakes or greed :'D And i like to feel some anger and frustration, when i meet new enemy or boss that i cant bypass in blink of eye.

I've found myself gravitating back towards easy. I don't like seeing stuff unfinished so I'll rather get it done.

Most of the time I pick one below the hardest, so I can re-play the game and bump up the challenge so it's still a "new ground" to break.

It just depends on the game and my mood when starting it.

I don't always pick Hard. I don't always pick Medium. I rarely go for Easy, but sometimes I do.

I am far more likely to play a game on Hard if I feel like it controls really, really well. Half-Life 2 and Doom 2016 are some good examples. Shovel Knight. Halo. I'm also interested in playing and replaying games with great level design, encounter design, and RPG systems - stuff like Shin Megami Tensei games and Dark Souls come to mind here.

But most of the time, my first time through a game I'll just stick to Medium.

Depends on a game. For example I love the souls series and Bloodborne which are fairly difficult, but at the same time I chose easy in AC:Origins. And it does not really have anything to do with relaxing since every game is relaxing to me and I never rage or get angry. It's more like "do I wanna play something that doesn't require a lot of focus or something that does?" Which relates also to whether I'm tired after a long day or not.

The ability to change or customize the difficulty on the fly is also something good. You might decide that a game feels to easy and isn't really fun because of that, and thanks to that option you can switch to a higher difficulty without restarting the whole playthrough, especially if you're really far into a game.

I always go with the default difficulty setting. Typically normal. It seems to me that if it's the default, it's probably the difficulty that's received the most play testing and is the one the devs intended. Not always though: Dust: An Elysian Tale being one I remember where the default difficulty was way too easy and made combat boring.

Usually medium, but halo on Legendary.

I'm hardcore when it comes to my gaming habit. Yes it is a habit. It's not just a game to me. I can't handle people who play games just for fun. Because games have a purpose and that purpose is to achieve the best that you can achieve.

I always try to play on the hardest mode. That's why i played Witcher 3 for only 1 hour and didn't continue since it took like 15 mins to kill a wolf :)

Yo bro, I'm extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeme!

I play games to the max.

Varies of course but usually mid-range. I don't care about being hardcore and bumping the difficulty as far up as I can while still getting through it, but I want it tight enough my choices matter.

It depends entirely on the game. I recently resumed Nier: Automata and bumped it down to Easy because I found that combat kinda boring and I just want to get through it, but in Wildlands I've had the Tier One stuff on, and now it's auto-set to Extreme and I'm fine with that. Granted, Wildlands is pretty easy if you upgrade the support / squad stuff. I only had to turn it off once due to a mission that forces you into open combat with Unidad, and fuuuuck that.

I tend to just play on whatever it defaults to at first, though.

If the game allows to change the difficulty midgame, I go with normal. If not, then I go straight to easy.

I think it is worst to get stuck and frustrated on a game some dozens of hours down the line, than the "shame" of playing on the easiest difficulty.

It really depends what kind of game I'm playing. I generally try to avoid easy mode, as I feel the experience will have been gutted, somehow. It absolutely was the case with Nex Machina. I started the game on veteran, went back to rookie for a few minutes. Two completely different games.

I will also sometimes replay a game and turn the difficulty up. Makes you approach it with a different perspective.

Shooters on hard. Everything else on normal.

I am terrible at video games, so I tend to start on easy.

...No, you don't understand, I am bad at video games. I remember a while ago the crew was talking about how easy Halo games are on normal, and I was like "Man...I played Halo 3 on easy and I still died a lot."

I play on medium or hard most of the time but I am a self defined "filthy casual".

Depends on each specific game I adjust the difficulty accordingly, which I feel is reasonable.

Some games do a higher difficulty well with new mechanics, items and objectives (like Perfect Dark or Golden Eye).

Other games just make the enemies hit harder and have more HP. Zzz...

Medium to hard. I start on medium and if I feel its too easy, go to hard. Wolfenstien went that way. Horizon just got stepped back to medium, but I feel bad for that because I'm starting to connect with the game. Easy I would reserve for when I am out of my genre, so I can learn. Casual is just too embarrassing...

Usually normal, then turn it down if it's too hard. If a game is too easy I'm real bad at adjusting the difficulty so it fits me, I normally go for those options at a New Game + or just a new playthrough.

Like most seem to, I generally enjoy a challenging, by not overly frustrating experience, but tend to bump it up depending on the game and situation. I'll play a good "walking simulator" as readily as I will a Dark Souls and won't be ashamed of lowering the difficulty if the gameplay isn't worth the trouble. (hi, B.J.!)

That said, a really good compliment I can give a game is to go back and beat it on a harder difficulty. RE4, Last of us and 2016's Doom are a few off the top of my head. It's kind of amazing how much ignorance plays a huge part in difficulty, too. When I played through LoU originally for example, I thought that playing through on Grounded would be Hellish. But coming to it after two playthroughs were under my belt and watching a few LPs, I had a relatively easy time, barring more than a few key moments. Being able to remember "oh, the sequence after this sequence is stealth-based, so I shouldn't be shy about using up shotgun ammo on dudes" was incredibly satisfying. I remember this also being applicable in RE4's Pro mode. Information is power.

I answered medium. I enjoy challenge in video games but want the "intended" learning curve my first time through. A game like Devil May Cry I'll eventually go back to replay on harder difficulties, but there are plenty of games I only play through once and thus never see anything above normal.

Default difficulty, its usually how the game was designed and balanced around.

I picked "medium" but to clarify, I use whatever the default difficulty is. If it's really hard, I might bump it down to easy, but I'm just as likely to quit playing. If I replay a game (very rare) I will bump the difficulty up for each playthrough.

Does this answer your question?

I usually play whatever the default option is. Sometimes I'll kick it up (Halo), sometimes I'll kick it down (Woflenstein).

Medium on pretty much everything, but i just started playing Age of Empires 3 and i'm dreadful at RTS's, so i put it down to easy.

I almost always choose normal difficulty

95% of the time I will play through a game on normal difficulty. On rare occasions when the game is showing itself too easy I will bump it up to hard if possible, but I always start out on normal.

Normal for the vast vast majority of games.

Needs more options. Depends on the type of game, my mood, which system and control scheme I'm playing on, etc.