In this episode, Sarah and Barnaby dive into difficulty settings. When they're included by game creators, difficulty settings help a game reach a wider audience so that more people can enjoy all aspects of a game from story, to exploration, to combat. But what does that mean for the games intended experience? How do settings enhance or reduce what a player can get out of a game? And why does what difficulty setting you use seem to matter so much?

Please check the podcast chapters below for spoiler warnings. (Not the auto-generated chapters!)

Podcast Chapters:

[00:00 - 06:23] Hello and what are we playing?! (Banishers & Silk Song)

[06:23 - 11:09] Why do games have difficulty settings?

[11:09 - 21:26] Reducing difficulty

[21:26 - 26:53] Increasing difficulty

[26:53 - 30:00] Game play style as difficulty

[30:00 - 33:37] The one time Sarah completed a brutally hard game

[33:37 - 35:12] Flow state and the reward of challenge

[35:12 - 37:20] Why some games don't offer difficulty settings

[37:20 - 41:12] Platformers and difficulty

[41:12 - 43:46] Arcade games & the rise and fall of difficulty in home gaming

[43:46 - 49:20] Vocal opinions on difficulty settings

[49:20 - 53:41] SPOILER Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth anecdote (we discuss the ending)

[53:41 - 55:13] Enjoy your games!

[55:13 - 57:30] Thanks for listening!

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