Hard Games = Bad Stress Relief?

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Whenever a game has a selection of difficulty levels, I almost always play on the easiest, since hard games can really grate on me, and their flaws tend to be most apparent on highest difficulty levels. I'm also sick of one-size-fits-all difficulty, and while people say games can be stress relief, I find that if they're incredibly cheap or overly difficult, that they just cause stress instead. Anyone agree?

It depends on what you call stress relief, I suppose.

I personally get no value whatsoever out of an easy win; all I get is enemies that died in my general direction. Considering that they put up no fight and were no threat, I also get no satisfaction out of that victory. AKA, for me, bloody pointless and boring, and usually cant even hold my attention. But give me a high level of challenge.... usually REALLY high, in my case.... and I can really vent some steam. Stress or anger gets channelled into the effort needed to overcome tough challenges, and that allows me to cool off. Usually.

Other players though just want to turn into Godzilla and stomp on things with great ease.

Just depends on the individual.

I don't have the greatest frustration tolerance in the world, so games with high difficulty can send my stress and anxiety through the roof. If I'm playing a platform game like SMB or Sonic I will often bounce around in my seat and yell and stuff. That used to make people barge into my room thinking something was wrong. 3D games especially can make it difficult to time jumps and stuff, and I die constantly just because I missed the platform by millionth of an inch so I don't play them much any more.

On the other hand, if I finally do get through a really difficult part of a game, the feeling of accomplishment is exhilarating. It makes me wonder, as it makes many non-gamer parents do, why I never had such gumption when it came to doing school tests, chores and homework.

I like having a game difficult, so that I can fight against it, transposing my real problems into it.

I like to play games on difficult, particularly games that are heavily story based as I rarely ever play them a second time and it extends their life and improves the challenge.

However sometimes this backfires on me and I later have to restart on an easier setting. XCOM Enemy Unknown for example made me feel like I was terrible at videogames for a while until I swallowed my pride and restarted (for maybe the tenth time) on normal. Also Resident Evil 6, but that was for another reason, it's a crappy game with cheap difficulty.

One thing that really annoys me is when games lock harder difficulties until you complete them. That is the worst thing ever. Especially on games that have entirely new gameplay or new mechanics on the harder difficulties. ie. The Last of Us is a completely different game on its hardest setting because you don't get wallhacks, but you need to finish the game first.

I think the best games to relieve stress are ones that are easy, slow paced, and repetitive. Something like Pokemon or Animal Crossing does well here. Fast paced games like first person shooters, while fun and enjoyable, are more likely to increase my level of stress if I'm already stressed out.

I think the worst game you could possibly play for stress relief is Z. The game is a really hard game to begin with, but if you're losing, you get insulted. And not in a mild or playful way, proper insulted. The game is literally telling you're crap. That's one of the insults "You're crap". I was quite shocked the first time. I've never encountered another game that does this. There are some games that insult you for playing on the bottom difficulty.

Depends on my mood, I suppose I do tend to player on lower difficulties or take less chances when I am stressed. I always do the hardest difficulty when I am depressed because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Either way I normally either play on the hardest or the second hardest difficulty. I am more of a risk taker and challenge seeker when depressed and more casual in my approach when stressed.

Depression = Prepare to die edition
Stress = Lets kill something

I agree that hard games are good games but I don't play games for stress relief. For stress relief there's reading, music, walking or talking to people. Not games.

I tend to use games to stress relief, but then my ability to play the game well is decreased, so it generally doesn't work and seems almost impossible to play 'clearly', getting it very hard. In case, I prefer to play more 'basic' and easy games to relief wire.

I don't play games nearly as much as I used to just because I find gaming itself to be a lot of work. This doesn't really include mindless games like Tetris, Jezzball, or Flappy Bird for me though. I play those all the time.

Games have been a large part of my life and yeah, i use them for relief stress regularly.

I prefer games like American Truck Simulator. Just drive, relax, move cargo from A to B and listen to music while doing it. At times i feel i need more stimulation and i play games like Creeper World 3 or 7 Days to Die, they both require my concentration, but i can pause or exit them if i need to but most of the time i play straight for 5-6 hours.

I haven't played much recently because of too much stress in my life, but i try to get some quality gaming time every day. Now when on vacation i try to just relax and do as little as possible and i serial-watch shows instead of playing games which allows me to relax and even fall asleep if i want to.

As others have indicated, people find stress relief in video games through different channels.

I prefer something that absorbs my brain; it's not necessarily easy, but the difficulty more deals with my ability to process information rather than the game's inherent challenge curve. As such, "Minecraft" usually fills this void wonderfully. Classic games that I am incredibly familiar and have a "favorite book" feel to them also do well, such as classics from the SNES catalogue that I played in my childhood.

I know other people who play stuff like Dark Souls because the challenge doesn't frustrate them, but distract them; when they overcome the challenge, the feeling of agency and victory gives them a little boost over whatever issue was stressing them in the first place. Also the mini-adrenaline rush can be a good way to force your brain to change gears by playing a brain chemistry switheroo.

Still others will play stuff like Tetris until their brain just completely relaxes into the infinite simplicity of such a classic puzzler. Rhythm/music games are also good for this, I suspect...though I always found them a bit too stimuli-laden to work as "stress relief".

I actually find it fascinating how much play styles, points of engagement, and such can differ from player to player.

I always play on Easy/Normal mode if there is one, and I generally prefer games that are about strategy and relatively peaceful concepts. This is why I mainly play Pokemon X, Omega Ruby, Pearl, Explorers of Sky; Radiant Historia, Fire Emblem Fates, Rune Factory 4, Final Fantasy VII, and the Final Fantasy rhythm game. Actually, that's most of the games that I even own! Other than that, there's just The Last Story, Metroid Zero Mission, Super Smash Bros. Brawl/SSB 4, and...Wii Sports [which I hardly play at all anymore, if ever].

WoW = stressful for me, hopefully quit for good now, the novelty has worn off, but the lore is still interesting

I'm going to give FFXIV a try now. See how "stressful" or not that game is. It's had plenty of good things said about it. I'm thinking about Pokemon Sun/Moon as well, but am reserving judgement for the moment. The character count will go above 721, so collecting THAT many is gonna be a challenge!

I play Overwatch sometimes too. Sometimes against AI, other times against actual players. I wouldn't call it stressful as such, but that's just me.

Look games should be stress-relieving, not stress-inducing. If a game is the latter for you, consider not playing it.

EDIT: FFXIV....I dunno. Right from the start I have no idea where the F to go. The starting area already has me confused. Might not be for me. I wanted to get into the action right from the start. Maybe give Tera Online another shot?