Crash Bandicoot 4’s Modern Difficulty Was A Necessary Addition

Developer Toys for Bob’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time does an outstanding job bringing the series back to its roots and simultaneously elevates it to new heights with the addition of the Modern difficulty setting. When starting a new game, players are presented with a choice: Modern or Retro. If players select Retro, the Crash Bandicoot 4 will play exactly like the original Crash Bandicoot games and other old-school platformers. Crash will start with three lives and have the potential to earn up to 99 lives, and players will reach a game over screen, requiring them to restart the level if all of their lives are used. Retro mode is there for old-school Crash fans, but there’s a reason games generally do not contain live-based systems anymore.

There is certainly an argument to be made that many games have become easier over time. But while the concept of appealing to a more casual audience can get in the way at times, the general idea is that gaming should be accessible to anyone. The lives systems of old-school games didn’t really impact the core gameplay at all and only served as an unnecessary frustration. With the inclusion of two different difficulties, old-school players lusting for that nostalgic experience can have it, while players looking for something a little more enjoyable aren’t shut out of the game by outdated mechanics.

The Modern difficulty plays the exact same way as Retro. There are no fundamental differences to the gameplay. All of the jumping patterns, enemies and obstructions are the exact same. Every challenge and unlockable cosmetic is still available to the player. But Modern mode removes the lives mechanic entirely. Regardless of how many times the player may die in a single level, they will go back to the most recent checkpoint and never receive a game over.

Why Crash Bandicoot 4’s Modern Difficulty is Great

Looking back at the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, as great a remaster as it was, some of the old levels players remember from their childhoods were obnoxious to play. The cycle of struggling on a level, receiving a game over because Crash ran out of lives and then having to start over again could be incredibly aggravating (looking at you, Crash Bandicoot bridge levels). There’s nothing inherently wrong with these levels, but they can be needlessly frustrating because there’s a limit on attempts before being forced to start over entirely. Crash Bandicoot’s trial and error system is great, but the same goal can be achieved without limiting the player’s chances to successfully complete a level.

It’s perfectly acceptable to get stuck on a level, and it happens to everyone. But with the Modern difficulty, players can just focus on completing the part they’re stuck on. Nothing feels worse than being stuck on a section, getting a game over and having to do the entire level again (and probably losing more lives in the process), just to reach that section and get another game over. It’s just a needless aggravation that the Modern difficulty completely removes from the equation. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is an excellent game that gets the series back to its roots and, because of its difficulty settings, is enjoyable for both old school players and newcomers alike.

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