How Do You Game? (Gaming Preferences)

To answer the questions
1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?
Normal but for some reason i will sometimes play on a Harder difficulty to test myself to see if i can beat it on a higher difficulty
2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?
That depends hugely on a game genre i am playing. Like Severed Steel is supposed to be played fast but i take my time with it and don't rush around and make sure to play tactically but sometimes i will go faster in a game then i would normally. Like i said it all depends on a genre and the type of games i am playing and that really decides whether i will take my time with a game or not.
3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?
In 2022 i slowly turned into a game critic but in my own little weird way. I have to look at games in a different way then before and i like looking at games in a critical and structured way. Now of course that is my way of looking at things and its very different then most people and their usual criticism since i tackle games in my own weird way that is hard to explain but it works for me and it makes sense for me. I have learned in 2022 that each genres and sub genre needs experience to be judged. So i need to play classics first in the genre and then i can have a better picture on other games in the genre other times i feel like that is not needed. It is its own thing specially when i play a genre i dont like and there is that one little game gem for me to play and check out. 2023 will be an interesting year for me thats for sure.

1. I always play games on normal difficulty except if it's a series I'm used to, then I put it on a higher difficulty.

2. I usually take my time with games and try to do as much as possible. I play games relatively slowly compared to my brother and the completion times on the website. This even happens in completely linear VN. The only exception is if I disliked a game a certain amount or if it was very boring.

3. I have become more critical of games. I used to give out 9/10 ratings just because there wasn't anything I really disliked that much. I've now reserved 9 and 10 for games that have something special to them.

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?
- It depends. I always start on the normal/medium difficulty to test the waters and see, what challenge awaits me. If a game requires to be beaten on the hardest difficulty to earn the Platinum trophy, I usually ignore that right away (with the exception of Crisis Core lately, not really a problem on Hard).

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?
- Usually I like to explore everything in a game and take my time with it. Rushing through it is only an option, if a game needs NG+ for a Platinum trophy.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?
- I guess so? A few years ago I didn't really know much about graphic performance, 30/60 FPS and so on. With that knowledge now I tend to pay a little more attention to those little details.

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?
Ussually the first time the easiest to get through the game on replays i up the difficulty everutime.

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?
This depends on the game, i had games where i go fast and i had games where i check everything, i can also already know very early in the game if i go fast or discover

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?
No, my rating also stays the same gameplay/story/replayable.

Also just noticed the original post was posted 1 year ago

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?
Most of the time I will start on normal. But I don't have any qualms about playing a game on easy if I suck.

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?
I tend to play very long games, so I like to get absorbed in the world and take everything in. So I will generally take my time... unless it's a second playthrough for a trophy or something. In that case, I just play on easy and blow through it as quickly as possible.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?
I've always been very picky. 🤣

Great, post! My answers to your three questions below.

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?
I typically start with the normal or this is the best way to play setting. If I find it too easy then I will change the difficulty to a harder setting. I like to enjoy my games so being frustrated all the time is not why I play video games.

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?
Depends on the game. If it is a large open world game like Fallout, Skyrim, or The Witcher, I slow down and enjoy the lore and side quests. I don't aim to 100% unless I really like the game such as Ghost of Tsushima. That game to me is a masterpiece in art direction, gameplay, and story. I spent so many hours just looking at the landscapes and riding my trusty steed.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?
Now that I have to be an adult in life I have become critical of my reviews and opinions on games. Now, that games are $60+ I don't want to purchase something that doesn't work or is complete garbage. There are exceptions but here recently some games that have released have been absolutely terrible.

I concur, great post!

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?
I like to play on normal, if the choice is there. If I want a more challenging experience I tend to gravitate towards titles that are meant to be challenging in the first place (like Dark Souls and Hades). I find them more balanced and rewarding than just cranking up the difficulty in a game.

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?
My completion times are almost always 1/3 or more longer than the ones that is published on HLTB, which I think is a combination of taking my time, being confused at certain parts, and just being a slow and methodical player.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?
I try to have some concistency in how I personally rate games, and I've definitly become more critical in recent years, even to my own ratings in the past. For me, a good to great game is an 8, an exceptional game (or gaming experience) is a 9, and I reserve 10:s for the rare occations when a 9 also has some more deep and personal meaning to me, then it gets a 10. I don't give 10 to everything I like, because then what would be the point with a rating system 1-10? "Good or Bad" would be just as effective then. Or 1-3 or whatever. I like to use the whole scale :) It's the same thing with the lower ratings, 5 is a failed game, but it doesn't have to be a game I hate, but a game I downright found awful is getting a 2 or 3. I avoid giving out 1:s just as I am very restricted with 10:s.

This also leads to me going through my old ratings like once a year, and maybe adjusting them if I've had time to think more about my impressions and experience, and changed my mind.

Sure, I'll bite!

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?

Normal, about 90% of the time.

I'll sometimes try harder difficulties if I really enjoy the gameplay (e.g Bayonetta). On the other hand, if I'm stuck on something and feel my time is worth more than overcoming the challenge, I don't mind dropping it down to easy to get through something. A good example is where you have a very hard boss at the end of a very long, monotonous level with no checkpoints (and the length doesn't really contribute to the challenge of the boss).

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?

I think my perspective on this has changed with age. When I was young I had few games and lots of time. As an adult, I have lots of games but much less time.

I'll spend a lot of time with something if I really enjoy it, but otherwise I usually get through the main game and do a couple of side missions I like the look of. If going slow and completing everything for one game takes 50+ hours, I might be missing out on a bunch of other compelling experiences I could've used that time for. It all comes down to opportunity cost.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?

Maybe? I'm not sure if 'critical' is the right word, but I'd definitely say I'm more 'aware' of how I critique and review stuff. For example:
-I'm better at articulating what my preferences and foundational assumptions are
-I'm more aware of where my preferences come from, that they're not objective and don't exist in a vacuum.
-In terms of scores specifically, I have a much better idea of what the numbers mean to me personally.
-I'm more interested in hearing and understanding perspectives which are totally different from mine.

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?

Normal or whatever difficulty is intended, otherwise medium. Sometimes I might lower it, like I think Alien Isolation the intended difficulty actually isn't "normal" or medium but instead hard. I had to lower it to medium.

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?

This really depends. If it's a game I like I'll take my time. If it's a game I don't particularly like then I'll go fast. However in some cases if I'm spending quite a lot of time in a game I like I might start to feel fatigued and going faster through the game.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?

I'm not sure if I really changed too much in the rating aspect. I've always just reviewed games on HLTB based on if I enjoyed the game and its merits, and if there were things in the game that hindered that enjoyment. I think earlier perhaps I was a bit too forgiving on some games but other than that there haven't been major changes to my mindset on it.

1. What Difficulty do you usually play games on now?

- I always start on normal difficulty, except for the games that I want 100% achievements on, which requires completion on harder difficulties. I also play Souls-like and metroidvania games which definitely lean on to the more challenging side which I also enjoy.

2. Do you like to take your time or go fast when playing something?

- Depends on the game. Most open-world games tend to take much of my time, since I love exploring and finishing up side activities. On the other hand, I tend to go through JRPGs faster than I thought.

3. Are you more critical of how you rate/review/critique games than you were before?

- Yes, even if just a little bit. I tend to save my 8/10, 9/10, 10/10 ratings to games that really caught my attention. 6/10 and 7/10 ratings for games that are not bad but can be improved. And below that will be just bad in terms of gameplay, performance, design, etc. I usually do not give 1-3/10 since I appreciate the time it takes to develop videogames and the hard work put into it. But I will certainly give a score that low if I encounter a game that bad.