Summary
RPGs are beloved throughout the gaming community for their engaging stories and endearing characters. For long-term RPG fans or those looking for more of a challenge from their games, upping the difficulty is a great way to add some more spice to a new RPG or revitalize passion for an older one. After all, higher difficulties aren’t just for players looking to punish themselves; they’re also one of the best ways to make a game’s mechanics really shine.
Nowadays, manyRPGs feature unique mechanicsand challenges that can only be unlocked on the highest difficulty levels. Other RPGs, meanwhile, are at their best when played on the hardest difficulties, where players are forced to use most of every mechanic at their disposal. No longer do consumables languish in inventories, not if players want to survive the terrors that await them.
Inthis open-world dark fantasy RPG, players take on the role of Geralt. Reviled by most as a genetically modified monster hunter known as a Witcher, every day is an intense struggle for survival, even with his superhuman abilities. Cranking up the game’s difficulty setting to the max is sure to make that struggle all the more challenging.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntboasts four difficulties, ranging from Just the Story (Easy) to Death March (Very Hard). As its name suggests, Death March is indeed punishing, frequently throwing all manner of high-level monsters at the player. This difficulty is at its hardest during the early game, where Geralt has few abilities and even fewer resources at his disposal. This scarcity gives rise to some truly creative plans and thrilling gameplay.
Set in the land of Calradia, players venture through its breathtaking but unforgiving lands in search of wealth, strength, and glory. Form a kingdom, become a mercenary, or pillage villages - the choice is up to the player, so long as they have a powerful army at their back.This combat-focused strategy gameis particularly punishing on higher difficulties, because while Calradia may be beautiful, it is home to an abundance of outlaws, bandits, and disgruntled nobles who are all too fond of preying on the weak.
That said,Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlorddoesn’t have set difficulties. Instead, its difficulty settings are split into seven areas that can be customized individually. Turning all settings to the highest level makes for a fierce challenge. At its hardest, the player, their soldiers, and their companions will all take realistic damage, meaning that they can be felled in battle in a matter of seconds. With character death enabled, such a wounding could be deadly.
Fallout 4is the newest (though far from new) installment in this post-apocalyptic series. Players emerge from cryogenic sleep intoa post-apocalyptic nightmare of a worldravaged by nuclear fallout. No place is truly safe in this land; if outlaws don’t kill the player, then ghouls, deadly machines, and hulking mutants will.
Fallout 4offers a range of difficulty settings for players to choose from, from Very Easy all the way to Survival.Survival difficulty doesn’t just up the ante on existing gameplay; it also introduces new mechanics and rules. For one, players now need to keep themselves fed, hydrated, and well-rested, lest they incur increasingly more punishing debuffs. Manual and autosaves are also thrown out the window unless players sleep in a bed. This is just a taste of the punishing mechanics Survival mode introduces.
In this beloved roguelike, players take on the role of Zagreus, the inquisitive and stubborn son of Hades, on his quest to reach the surface.Hadesmay have a distinctly more welcoming setting than other punishing RPGs, but even on its baseline difficulty, it’s as tough as nails. Players need buckets of determination and skill if they are to win a run, let alone complete the game.
After defeating Hades for the first time, the player unlocks thePact of Punishment, the game’s difficulty menu. Here, players can place a number of negative modifiers on the run, ranging from buffing the number and strength of enemies to putting time limits on each region. At higher heat levels,Hadestransforms into a whirlwind of adrenaline. Most players will be lucky if they even reach the final boss at that difficulty, let alone beat him.
Players who venture off into the unforgiving world ofBattle Brotherswon’t soon forget their harrowing adventures or the valiant soldiers they lose along the way. Every party crumbles in the end; it’s only a matter of time. Even on its default settings,Battle Brother’s isa punishingly brutal tactical RPG. A single poor decision can put the survival of the entire party in jeopardy, no matter how well-prepared they are.
Battle Brothersdoesn’t have universal difficulty settings; instead, its difficulty is split into three categories, along with a handful of tick-box modifiers. On its hardest difficulty, every day is a grueling struggle to simply keep the group fed. Players are forced to make impossible decisions at every turn. Ironman also disables manual saving, meaning every decision, no matter how cataclysmic, cannot be reversed.
In this remastering of the cherishedThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, players are set loose in the breathtaking high fantasy lands of Cyrodiil. Of course, adventuring isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a dangerous occupation, a reality thatOblivion Remastered’s higher difficulties strike players over the head with time and time again.
Many gamers might have already heard about how brutal this game can be on its harder difficulties. Onthe hardest difficulty, Master, new players deal a truly pitiful amount of damage even to the weakest of foes, while every enemy, be they a rat or even a mudcrab, can kill the player in just a handful of hits. Master difficulty certainly isn’t for everyone, but it can do wonders to enhance tension. Every scroll found and potion crafted is also a treasured resource regardless of its effect, and using it can genuinely be the difference between life and death.
