10 Fan Controversies That Dominated Video Games
4. Returnal's Lack Of An "Easy Mode"
Another year, another debate about the difficulty in gaming. There will always be discourse about either games being hand-held, easy affairs to gatekeeping and "get good" attitudes.
In 2021, it was Returnal's time in the spotlight.
Roguelikes/lites are synonymous with difficulty, with Housemarque making no allusions to Returnal not being a challenge. Yet, outcries were made.
The biggest grumble was the lack of checkpoint/save points, meaning players had to get as far as they could in "one life", as it were. Even Dark Souls/Bloodborne let you save it, for comparison.
Housemarque later relented, offering players some respite and allowing them to suspend runs in an update. But for the longest time, the debate raged on about the game's difficulty.
Was it hard because you couldn't save it, or was it hard and more annoying that it couldn't be saved?
It overshadowed the general consensus of the game, becoming last year's "lightning rod" about the difficulty debate. It didn't hurt the game, mind, as it went on to sell ten million copies.