"The games don't necessarily need to be difficult. But they need to be less in-your-face easy."

Over the years, I've heard many people complain about the low difficulty in the modern Pokémon games. And I agree with them, to some degree. I think it's valid to find the games too easy. But I don't think high difficulty is necessarily worth chasing.I've seen many posts about how making a Pokémon game truly hard for veteran players isn't really feasible given the current battle mechanics (free +100% damage bonus if you can identify the typing of the opponent and have the right move for it being the greatest example), static enemy teams, and the symmetrical design philosophy (anything you can face, you can also use, with the same rules applying for both the player and the AI - although there are some exceptions to this philosophy starting in Gen VII). The player simply has too many advantages, and is given a large array of tools to exploit the foe's weaknesses. High difficulty is hard to create, and it probably wouldn't be very fun all in all either.But people want a step up from a "poke the enemy and it keels over" level of difficulty too. There is something about seeing late-game Gym Leaders carrying three Pokémon with several empty moveslots, a total lack of route Trainers carrying more than two Pokémon, held items almost never being used, or a conspicuous lack of anything resembling strategy from in-game opponents. As a player, you don't feel like you're being challenged on even terms. Instead, the game deliberately restrains itself from battling you on your level. And it's really upfront about it too. The rival deliberately picking the starter weak to yours is a great example of this. It's as if the game bends over to facilitate your victory, and it's being really obvious about it. That's frustrating. It's the difference between being challenged and being led to victory. Of climbing a wall versus going up an escalator. Winning feels less satisfying when you know the challenge is deliberately made more easy than it needs to be. It's similar to how "corridor" routes and dungeons are boring - there's no need to explore, no risk of getting lost.What makes me both frustrated and optimistic is that this is a fairly simple thing to address. Again, making the game hard for veteran players might not be feasible, but patching up the most obvious holes is easy. Adding another Pokémon or two to major battles, letting opponents use all their move slots and item slots, and giving them a few tools to address their most obvious counters. Or in other words, learning from BW2's Challenge Mode.Arguably, the Challenge Mode in BW2 doesn't make the game that much harder for a veteran player. Only a few trainers are affected by the setting, and them having higher-leveled Pokémon even means you're getting more XP to fight the common route trainers with. But still it feels good to see the Gym Leader having an extra Pokémon, with moves to address the glaring weaknesses of their specialty type. Or Elite Four teams full of held Items. It's the game letting itself play a little smarter, letting you face a higher level of challenge. It makes it a lot more satisfying to win. It's still not particularly difficult, but it's not "Oh no, here comes the player, better do everything we can to let them win!" And that makes a world of difference.The games don't have to be hard to be fun. But I'd say they need to be less in-your-face easy. via /r/pokemon https://ift.tt/3aEMrBO