8 Default Settings In Video Games That Drove You MAD

There probably isn't a gamer among us who hasn't started playing a video game and immediately felt like something was totally... off.

Perhaps it took you a minute to realise what was up, but it gave you some instantly irritated vibes right out of the gate, until you went into the game's menu and did some tinkering around.

It goes without saying that most video games should boot up with default settings designed to appeal to the vast majority of players - though to the same token, players should also be able to tweak things to their needs and preferences as soon as humanly possible.

And over the years, these are the typically default settings which have continued to drive many - even most - players mad. From basic accessibility oversights to simple preferences, specific gameplay conditions, and everything else in-between, games as a whole need to ensure these default options aren't the norm.

Or better yet, just launch the game straight into the options menu before anything else, which while hardly the sexiest way to kick off the latest AAA hotness, at least ensures everyone can lock down their preferred settings before starting the adventure...

In the overwhelming majority of video games, subtitles aren't enabled by default, and while for players who don't need subtitles for comprehension it simply requires them to enter the game's menu and turn them on, this becomes decidedly more problematic for players who do require them.

Because of course, it's still maddeningly common for games to boot with a dialogue-filled cinematic before we reach the game menu, ensuring those unable to hear the dialogue are simply left out.

But even beyond the wider accessibility argument, subtitles are being used by a growing number of people across gaming and TV, with a 2019 Ubisoft study indicating that more than half of players would turn subtitles on if they were off by default.

And so, as subtitle users are now in the majority, why aren't all games turning subtitles on from the moment a game boots? 

It's surely far less bothersome for those who don't want subtitles on to turn them off once they reach the game menu, than the other way around.