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The dead ends are a valid point (http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Dead_end), just frustrating and feel cheap. But do they not add to the challenge?

Would the games be as difficult without dead ends? If you can't step off the track, you can just run around trying every possibility until something works.

I still remember, as no doubt many here do, getting relentlessly stuck as a kid on the original Kings Quest/Sierra games etc, but it's always something I enjoyed and learned from, and the experiences stick in your head for decades (may just be nostalgia, but more notable than others).

But revisiting the games again now after decades (having forgotten what to do, and resisting the use of a walk-through)... I can't believe how subtle and difficult some of the challenges are? As in, cannot believe a broad range of people could figure them out. Isn't that, well, terrible?

I mean it goes to show how ridiculously dumbed down a lot of titles are now. When I moved away from adventure games, friends would always point out how other genres held 'clever' aspects also: here you have to align some blocks, here you rotate this object until it fits in the key hole, here you need to activate two switches to make the water start pumping.

These 'puzzles' withstood the test of time, and the problems everyone solved as 8 year olds, are still being thrown at 30+ players today. They never pose themselves as: "here's something you may or may not be able to solve", instead it's always: "this will take you a moment or two to figure out, apologies if it takes longer".

What's the point? Just leave it out if it's not supposed to challenge you. I miss the days I'd get stuck on something for hours, days, or even weeks. But I've been simplified for some many years now, I'm not convinced my mind would even tolerate it?

I'd love to see some works on this forum that have the courage to test their audience like the originals did. I tried the new Kings Quest, and it didn't come close in my opinion.

Hopefully there can be more games with actual challenges, rather than toys/puzzles.

If none of that made sense, this video illustrates the point further: https://youtu.be/G59Iwi7_Cp0

_{Edited by Andail: Added GTD to title}