EyeReaper said:
Does anybody else feel it's wrong for super duper hard games like Ghosts n Goblins or Dark Souls to be called "Masochistic?" Masochism is deriving pleasure (sexual or otherwise, but mostly sexual) from pain, failure, mistreatment, etc, but from what I understand, The fun in Dark Souls isn't dying over and over, but finally overcoming that tough challenge boss or whatever. Shouldn't a game only be called masochistic if there is a distinct pleasurable feeling in losing? If you're getting frustrated and going full rage mode, can you really say you're being pleasured?
No, as Yahtzee so lovelingly refers to games like Dark Souls (I'm paraphrasing mind) :
Dark Souls is repeatedly banging your head against a wall untill you find a way to break through the wall.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/10092-Bloodborne-review
In that sense it's masochistic, there are people, like me, who just went "well fuck it" with Dark Souls.
The reason why : the game isn't "difficult", if you're not using a walkthrough/FAQ it is just simply commiting suicide repeatedly ingame till you finally get past that bloke that's been arbitrarily killing you because you banked left instead of right just a split second too late every time.
Some people may think that is "rewarding" whilst others think of that as Masochistic.
You're frustrating yourself to no end whatsoever to get past something just to fall back in the same routine when you turn around the next corner....
And that's basically the game....
The fact why this is Masochistic?
Because people keep going back despite the frustration and anger that builds up in them to try again and again and again to in the end get the "pleasure" of having broken the wall... with their heads...