For decades now many players have found themselves drawn to the genre of “challenging games”. These games can range from your typical Dark Souls, Hollow Knight and Cuphead to really just an endless array of games to list.
However, many have always questioned, “Why do players enjoy these types of games?” and so we here at Inviox thought we would investigate the reasoning behind why players enjoy such challenging games!

The love for the challenge!

The love for the thrill of the challenge is such a big reason why so many gamers find themselves flocking to the "next big challenge". Whilst many play to relax and unwind from their long, hard day, these specific types of gamers, even after a long, hard day, enjoy the hard grind and challenge that comes from playing challenging games, but why

• The sense of accomplishment said players get when they beat a level, area, boss, enemy or section in a game for many is the entire reason they play these games.

• Similarly, the thrill of overcoming an obstacle in a game for many of these players is actually the entire reason they play. It's not just about the sense of accomplishment; it's about the journey and trials they go through to overcome these obstacles put before them.

• The mastery of skill and growth is another big reason why so many of these types of

  players love the games they flock to. Getting better, and the feeling of growing better at a game for many is actually even more enjoyable than beating the game or beating certain areas. The mastering of a game for many of these players is also a big reason why they play these games.

The hard shared struggles

Now whilst we have talked about the love for the challenge, a big reason many of these players enjoy these games is the community and hard shared struggles that stem from these games themselves.

• The community side of these games often makes these games and the hardships even more enjoyable. Everyone has their own stories with hard bosses and personal triumphs, and so many of these players enjoy sharing and even bonding over so many of these stories and games. Every gamer has a story of a time they struggled with a hard section, boss or enemy, and telling these stories always makes the community side of gaming better, and that's why so many of these types of gamers flock to these types of games, as the community can make these challenging types of games all the better.

• The emotional side of winning or playing games like this may sound like a minor detail, but for many, overcoming an obstacle or overcoming a tough boss in a game, or even just beating a challenging game, full stop, can mean so much to an individual, and for many, especially these types of gamers, beating these challenging games usually ends up being an emotional tale in and of itself.

• The flow state and focus are often something that doesn't always get talked about in gaming; however, for many of the enjoyers of challenging games, a big part of the hard shared struggle is also the shared enjoyment of entering the flow state and the focus you get with these games. The focus and flow state is one aspect of why challenging game enthusiasts love these games, but also, again, going back to the community side, so many gamers can relate to having to really lock in and focus in certain areas of the game, which many relate to and therefore really makes for some great community interactions and reactions even.

Something to leave with…

So it's abundantly clear that after everything we have dived into, there are just so many reasons why gamers flock to the "challenging genre of games", and whether the reasons be for the community side, the love of the challenge or just the feeling of getting better at these games, no matter what their or even your reasons may be for playing these types of games, we here at Inviox love these genres of games because you really get to hear and see so many beautiful aspects of the medium due to these games.

Gamers bonding over hard struggles, laughing (maybe even crying) over certain bosses and really just getting to see gamers interact with games in such a beautiful yet determined way is such a beautiful thing to see.