Right – let me start this article by exposing my biases. Namely, one of the first games I played to the point of obsession was The Sims, and as everyone knows, The Sims is a highly modular game. Since the very beginning, the Sims series has featured masses of extra content that even requires extra payment, such as expansion packs and, later, the Stuff packs. This kind of spoiled me for other games, where the pathway was more linear and the player's experience was kept on a tight leash by the developers.
I started to think more about my highly customisable, "optional" experience of games when I read some of the backlash surrounding the re-release of SOMA for the Xbox One. On one of the posts I read, I saw a lot of complaints about the "safe mode" that is being sold with the game, which allows you to traverse the underwater research base without so much as a whiff of a nasty beastie. There are no deaths to side-step – just untapped potential for exploration. According to some, it was watering down the game (heh), changing it into something limper and less worthy of respect.
I have to admit, this view baffled me somewhat. As I said while chatting to other Destructoid writers, this gripe feels like going into a restaurant and complaining that they sell pasta, which you don't like, even though you can just order a pizza, which you do like, instead. While tacking on random options that have nothing at all to do with the purpose and plot of the game can feel cheap and unfocused, I strongly feel that this kind of addition should be welcomed as a way to experience the game from another angle.
Mmm, now I want pizza. Time for a pizza interlude.
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