Easy/er mode in this?

[Shadrach]

I absolutely loved Guacamelee, the world, the music and humor, but some of the gameplay elements were very frustrating to me. I am not a huge platform-player but I like fun games as long as they are not overly tough. Let's just say, Super Meat Boy ... is not for me :)

Some of the boss fights were incredibly frustrating, and in the end it was some of the platforming where you had to change world at the same time as jumping that made me quit playing.

Any ideas whether this will include an easy(ier) game mode and (hopefully) some gameplay tweaks for those frustrating gameplay sections?

Btw, please respect my opinion on gameplay, do not make this an "Guacamelee was suuuuper-easy you just suck" thread. Just a simple question needs answering.

[Melodia]

I got through the whole game but never actually beat the final boss. I only had really huge trouble with one other boss IIRC.Though the worst is a couple of the bonus areas, which I never completed.
I'd certainly enjoy an easy mode if it meant actually beating the game, especially everything...

[himmatsj]

I can't remember...were there difficulty settings to begin with in Gold Edition?

I agree though that the boss fights were IMMENSELY frustrating. Personally, I found Guacamelee to be a challenging game. Certainly was no walk in the park.

[SeansShow]

Don't mean to be that guy but I thought the difficulty curve was just right. Used the code to unlock the hardest difficulty setting and went through it for the 100% on my first playthrough.

Every other boss battle is challenging until you start to see the patterns, a couple of them you can take massive amounts off their health by juggling them, some you need to watch animations to know if there winding up for an unavoidable attack, if you're patient the final boss can be beaten without getting hit etc.

As Metroidvania's go its not too bad. Looking for collectibles, upgrading health and what not helps if you're really struggling prior to starting a boss fight. Think the massive climb up to the top of one of the bonus areas was the only platforming area which got truly frustrating and even then compare the dimension switching and speed required to something like Slip and it puts it into context.

Unsure If I'll pick up STCE as I own the original on a console and Gold on PC, this practice of buying games 3 and 4 times is every bit as stupid as companies releasing 3 versions of their games. Also the one feature that I thought would have been in it isn't, that is online co-op....but yeah whatever.

[kaos]

Originally posted by SeansShow:

Don't mean to be that guy but I thought the difficulty curve was just right.

You know, I think Killing Floor's Hell on Earth difficulty is just right, but some ppl struggle on Hard (which is two levels of difficulty below), so it's completely personal.
I (like the previous commenter) struggle with every platformer/brawler - it's just not my genre and I would love to see even easy difficulty. Not everyone seeks for challenge. Not everyone enjoys the standard difficulty.

[Melodia]

Indeed, I absolutely love the game play, but I'm not great at video games. I wouldn't ask for a walk in the park (like some people have in a certain other game I can think of) but even something as simple as enemies doing a bit less damage would probably go a long way.

Again, though, I did make it to the final boss, so it's clearly not THAT hard.

[SeansShow]

Originally posted by KaoS:

Originally posted by SeansShow:

Don't mean to be that guy but I thought the difficulty curve was just right.

You know, I think Killing Floor's Hell on Earth difficulty is just right, but some ppl struggle on Hard (which is two levels of difficulty below), so it's completely personal.
I (like the previous commenter) struggle with every platformer/brawler - it's just not my genre and I would love to see even easy difficulty. Not everyone seeks for challenge. Not everyone enjoys the standard difficulty.

Exactly, which is why I didn't post a "OMFG THIS GAME IS EASY!!!!1111111" comment. In context as an above average player I found the game fair is all I was saying and offering up the OP some tips. Guacamelee doesn't force an inventory on you, no weapons to mess about with/buy or choose between, no grinding or levelling required and it has a learning curve for introducing you to the moves inbetween sections where as alot of these style of games just mash your face into the ground.

Boot up Slip or watch the youtube videos of switching in that or even Giana Sisters compared to the dimension switching in this, compare this to some of the older Castlevania games which aren't holding your hand in the way that Guacamelee does. All im saying really is that this has a learning curve and the boss fights which are the hardest areas of the standard game can be strategised by watching other players on Youtube if you're really struggling.

I thought La-Mulana was supposed to be considered the much harder game?

None of the above a dig at other people's gaming abilities btw, I play all sorts of games on easy too regardless of perceieved level of skill, sometimes I just like to enjoy the story etc.

[76561198144382114]

I can comment about the game's difficulty.

While an "Easy" mode was not added to the game, many of the game's features have been added to smooth out the difficulty curve a little more.

The new INTENSO ability is designed specifically to make you extra strong during combat (you can't use it all of the time, you have you build it up first). And a lot of the parts that were considered "cheap" were fixed up.

As for bosses: they got a pass to make them "friendlier"... and by that, I mean that they are more "fair". For example, Javier Jaguar won't dodge-cancel his way through your punches and then strike while in the middle of switching dimensions. He is a much more clear and deliberate fight now! (as are many of the other bosses).

That's not to say that the game has been toned down too much. Overall, things are much more "manageable", and instead we've made Hard Mode MUCH Harder (for those who want to seek out challenge!). Hard Mode has new parts added to the levels, even! (but it's all optional, once again, for those who want to SEEK OUT the challenge).

Overall, the point of the new STCE edition was to make it more enjoyable for all!

[Shadrach]

Thanks for the reply Jason, clears things up a bit for me.

I guess the worst part for me was some place in the tree where you had to get past a really hard jumping puzzle and then a boss fight, with no save, so you had to start over again. That was just stupid game design and I hope you've remedied this.

I don't really mind tricky boss fights as much as the combination of extremely tricky jumping, controls not always up to par, and lack of save points.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to give it another go anyway, the new version looks just stunning and is surely worth paying a little extra for.

[GrumpyArab]

I enjoyed the difficulty of the game. Finally got an excuse to replay it on hard to get the final 2 achievements.

[Alayric]

Is hard mode going to be available from the get go this time?
I hope so...

[SeansShow]

Originally posted by Alayric:

Is hard mode going to be available from the get go this time?
I hope so...

it always was? you just had to use a code at the main menu to unlock it. Variant on the Konami code if I recollect as thats what I used to unlock Hard mode for my first playthrough on console.

[Alayric]

Yeah but how are you supposed to know this? I don't read guides before or while playing games. :/
Difficulty locks should be banned from every games. :p

[SeansShow]

Most likely you'd see it mentioned from just being active on a Guacamelee games forum or the steam hub. I didn't read a guide for Metal Gear Rising Revengeance but upon visiting the steam hub a week ago on the very first page even many months of release there are still many threads about the Konami code to unlock the DLC, codecs, movies and difficulty settings.

Now you know anyway, if you didn't prior to my post.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by Shadrach:

I absolutely loved Guacamelee, the world, the music and humor, but some of the gameplay elements were very frustrating to me. I am not a huge platform-player but I like fun games as long as they are not overly tough.

Yeah well, that's why I don't consider upgrading my gold edition. I really liked Guacamelee -- until I got into aome room with the girl in a cage. There's just too much stuff spawning and respawning, with different shield colors and planes, hitting me or throwing stuff at me. I never managed to clear that.

So, no point to upgrade. I'll still be stuck :-) In fact, I'm probably stuck-ier now as I'm not longer used to playing the game.

[YipYapYoup (QC)]

Originally posted by himmatsj:

I can't remember...were there difficulty settings to begin with in Gold Edition?

I agree though that the boss fights were IMMENSELY frustrating. Personally, I found Guacamelee to be a challenging game. Certainly was no walk in the park.

From my point of view this isn't a hard game by any mean. It just doesn't have an easy mode, but the normal mode is just like any other game's normal mode. Just make sure to pick up those health upgrades as you get more abilities and you should be able to just tank everything.