I’m finally playing most single-player games on easy mode, and I couldn’t be happier about it

My epiphany first happened while playing Metaphor: ReFantazio. I was many hours into the game, completely gripped by the story, art design, characters, and banger soundtrack, when it was time to fight Sogne the Icebound, an ice dragon that appears well-past Metaphor’s halfway mark. Sogne is the single biggest difficulty spike for a mandatory boss in the campaign, and I was struggling – failing repeatedly, and getting frustrated with a game I had, so far, been extremely invested in. 

So I gave up. I put the game down, thinking I wouldn’t return, like I’d done with so many other story-driven, single-player games that intrigued me before I dropped them after a frustrating experience. But, a week later, the game’s world and characters still had a hold on me, so I ventured back to face the dragon.