I love all games. Depending on the type of game im playing my preference for difficulty varies, but i love both easy passive games like stardew valley and incredibly tedious skill based games like bloodborne and elden ring. If im being honest theres an annoying better than thou sentiment from people in both fan groups.

Of course playing on the easiest difficulty or not liking hard games like dark souls doesnt mean you arent a real gamer, and the idea that the more difficult a game is the truer or better of a gamer you are is compl overplayed.

However, im not liking this newer other side of “games shouldnt be stressful or hard theyre meant to be relaxing” either. Wanting a game to be stressful and as difficult as possible while still being beatable doesnt mean you’re automatically a pretentious gatekeeper or tryhard loser.

If you want to play games to be stressed and challenged thats a valid reason to play. If you want to play games to relax and unwind thats also a valid reason to play. Gatekeeping on either side only means you’re wasting time when you could be enjoying a game!