10 Times Video Games Used Reverse Psychology (And It Totally Worked)

Most of the Wolfenstein games label their easiest difficulty setting under the moderately insulting moniker "Can I play, daddy?", which describes players as "spineless" and comes complete with a mock-up of protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz dressed up like a baby, dummy and all.

While on the surface this might seem like nothing more than the playful ribbing of low-skill players, it really speaks to Bethesda's wider desire to discourage players from picking the difficulty altogether, given that the core experience is primarily designed for the face-melting intensity of higher difficulty levels.

And so, many players will eschew the very easiest difficulty level unless they get really stuck, enough that Bethesda have even been criticised for "difficulty shaming" not only unskilled players but also those who may be physically unable to keep up with higher levels of challenge.

The irony, of course, is that there are many Reddit posts and articles from players who have reported enjoying the game much, much more on the lowest difficulty, once they managed to see through the developers' attempts to not-so-subtly dissuade them from playing the game that way.