Definitly not Vanquish's hardest difficulty. It actually limits the mechanics of the game and forces you to play it slow and safe like a cover shooter which is the antithesis of what the game was designed to be.
The roguelike on Grounded difficulty is tense af too, best way to play it imo.The Last of Us
It's a game made for hard difficulties. It's not just the classic "you're extremely weak and enemies are fucking terminators", it balances everything out and makes a single shot of a gun being lethal for everyone.
It basically makes it "real" and super scary for both sides, and the AI is so damn good it's incredibly exciting.
Yeah I hate this as well, mainly enemy health.The classic "buffing enemy damage and health pools" generally sucks.
I feel like until ai improves substantially there can never be a true difficulty modeSo, I just quit playing Horizon: Zero Dawn & I probably won't play it for a good while. I was doing an Ultra Hard run on the first playthrough on the Steam version (already beat the game on PS4). And I gotta say, it's honestly one of the worst "impossible difficulty" experiences I've had overall.
I always try to play on the hardest difficulty right away not just because I like beating games at their hardest, but also to test the design a bit. You have some games where the hardest difficulty is the preferred experience either because the devs intended it to be that way, or simply because the default difficulty is simply too easy. Then you have other games that have increased difficulty modes that deliberately breaks the game's mechanics & AI in the name of difficulty. And then you have those in which the highest difficulty simply increases the tedium. Horizon somehow manages to have the worst aspects of the last two.
Firstly, the machines in the overworld are tuned in a way that makes investing in more action-focused combat styles unappealing. Hitboxes are suddenly given more forgiveness when it comes to enemy attacks, and are brutal when it comes to you shooting arrows at them. Hitting them with melee attacks works on machines like Striders & Watchers, but anything medium sized requires many more strikes to take down, even if you invested in the Brave skill tree which gives you the perk of boosting your heavy attack power against medium & large machines. Even stuff like Tearblast Arrows have a diminished effect against enemies like Thunderjaw in UH mode, even though you're supposed to be able to blast off machine components with those arrows & be able to use them against em.
Now all of that is... somewhat fine, considering I prefer a stealth playstyle anyways. But not only does the enemy scaling in UH mode essentially force a stealthy approach to combat unless you're just straight overpowered (more on that later), but it also breaks certain encounters. For instance, the last quest I played before quitting was the one where you have to scale the mountain after a Glinthawk attack to eventually take on a Stormbird. Stormbirds are already one of the hardest machines to go against & it'll likely take all your resources to beat one. That's fine, tho... the problem is the five Glinthawks along the way you can't avoid because they can fly & have increased detection range, and there's no cover on the way to the mountain for you to avoid em. So, right before a pretty big boss fight, you have this overtuned section of mini-bosses that consume all your resources if you do manage to kill them all.
Then there's the tedium. UH mode nerfs the shard economy (as well as the loot drops) & drastically increases the merchant pricing to the point to where you can't reasonably pick up newer, better gear at a decent enough clip to keep up with the more dangerous machines as you progress. I suppose if you didn't bother to use arrows at all, it's possible... but you need shards to make arrows, so you'd have to use more of an action-focused playstyle for it to be feasible - which I've already outlined the issues with that above. There's a specific reason why it's designed this way which I'll get into in a second, but as it stands, even devoting dozens of hours to outright farming shards won't get you where you need to be because you need both an extreme amount of shards & rare loot drops to get the best equipment - both of which are nerfed in UH.
The thing about hard modes is that you can't just crank everything up to 11 & think it would be enough. Things still have to be balanced in a way that makes the experience enjoyable. And that's all about how hard the enemies are, where you place them in the progression, and is the player able to get the necessary tools so that the only obstacle between success & failure is the ability & preparedness of the player. The only time in this entire run where I felt the game was legitimately difficult was during the infiltration of Cauldron Zeta, where you fight a Thunderjaw. You get there & there's three Stalkers & a Redmaw Watcher guarding the entrance, but you don't actually have to take them on. If you're smart, you avoid the Stalkers entirely & just either sneak pass or silently take out the Watcher on the cliff to the left because that's where the real entrance to the cauldron is always. You go in & realize there's no gauntlet of machines you have to get passed in order to reach the core room because of what's in the core room: a Thunderjaw with increased resistance to Tearblast Arrows. That fight, taking place in the same tiny room the other cauldron boss fights take place in - this time with a massive 20ft tall robot dinosaur to take on - is going to take every resource you have (which is why the game gives you a bunch of extra materials to forage on the way to the core room) and will test your reflexes, your aiming, you're efficiency with your tools and your preparedness. I got my ass kicked a bunch & I eventually had to stop & go "I'm not ready for this fight. My gear isn't great, I'm probably underleveled, and I'm running out of resources early. So let me do some gains & farming, then I'll come back." I love having experiences like that. The rest of the run has either been "I have to go full stealth because that's the only way I'll reasonably get through this encounter"; or "Why the fuck would you put this encounter right here?"; or "WHY THE FUCK DOES THIS WEAPON COST 7000 SHARDS & A SNAPMAW HEART???"
The reason for all of this is because Ultra Hard mode is actually tuned for New Game+ runs, where not only would you have most or all of the upgraded weapons with extra powerful mods (thus negating the need to purchase the gear at significantly higher prices), but you'd also have the overpowered Shield-Weaver outfit as well. Usually though, difficulties tied to NG+ runs would be locked away & only be accessible after you beat the story. I believe that was the case in the initial release of Zero Dawn. But for the Complete Edition, you can access UH from the start & it's just not meant for first-run playthroughs.
Anyways... I'm curious what other "impossible difficulty" modes are out there that people recommend. Or what are some ones that you didn't enjoy. Either or is fine to discuss.
And to answer your question - I'd nominate Baldur's Gate 3 honor mode as a good example of well-designed hard difficulty. Bosses gain extra abilities and you cannot savescum at any point.
The first reboot for example I found a total pushover on normal but just kind of obnoxious in a lot of places on hard due to it doing so much stuff.
When was the last time you played fallout 4 survival without mods? Because i did it recently to get achievements and unless you have a super powered legendary enemies definitely dont die in one go
Lethal Mode elevates Ghost of Tsushima to much greater heights
Oh god this reminds me of Resident Evil 5 on hard. IIRC you have to beat the game on easy to unlock hard mode, and doing so forces you into NG+. Of course at that point you're fully stocked and upgraded so hard mode ends up easier than normal...The reason for all of this is because Ultra Hard mode is actually tuned for New Game+ runs
Kingdom Hearts 2 FM Critical is still my favorite hard mode since it makes you a glass cannon. Not even other games in the series understood what made KH2 critical so much fun.
Couldn't disagree more. I played on Give Me a Challenge and it was already kind of tedious at times (unfortunately, anything below that was too easy and really boring). Can't even imagine how much of a slog Give Me God of War would be. Enemies are just sponges and Kratos is super squishy, it's the antithesis of a well-balanced and well-designed hard mode.I thought God of War 2018 and Ragnarok were pretty good in the last difficulty, with enemies having more aggro and different attack patterns. Felt satisfying killing the secret bosses in Give me God of War.
Yeah, it feels like the criticism should be more about how that difficulty mode should have remain gated behind NG+, rather than the mode being bad on itself.I don't exactly get the premise of the OP. It is a crique of Horizon's difficulty which is intended to be a new game plus mode but the OP played it using a fresh save.
Surely the examination of the Horizon's difficulty should be based on how it was originally intended to be played, i.e via new game plus.
If it is available in New Game, the critique is perfectly valid. The game is designed to give players many options to create their perfect experience along with all the accessibility options, so I understand why they didn't lock it to NG+.I don't exactly get the premise of the OP. It is a crique of Horizon's difficulty which is intended to be a new game plus mode but the OP played it using a fresh save.
Surely the examination of the Horizon's difficulty should be based on how it was originally intended to be played, i.e via new game plus.
The Last of Us
It's a game made for hard difficulties. It's not just the classic "you're extremely weak and enemies are fucking terminators", it balances everything out and makes a single shot of a gun being lethal for everyone.
It basically makes it "real" and super scary for both sides, and the AI is so damn good it's incredibly exciting.
Lethal Mode elevates Ghost of Tsushima to much greater heights
Glass cannon hard difficulties in action games are really great and incredibly thrilling when properly designed/balanced/playtested/etc.Kingdom Hearts 2 FM Critical is still my favorite hard mode since it makes you a glass cannon. Not even other games in the series understood what made KH2 critical so much fun.
I wish more games had this TBH.Glass cannon hard difficulties in action games are really great and incredibly thrilling when properly designed/balanced/playtested/etc.
Normal on many modern games can be on the easier side these days. Going for at least Hard is ideal for most of them. Hardest is sometimes the best(depending on the game) but can have problems with balance for many of them(even though I beaten many games on hardest difficulties).This is actually why I generally DO NOT play games on anything but normal. Games generally are designed to be played on normal (with notable exceptions)
Yup. TLOU and TLOU2 Grounded modes are the pinnacle of this. They completely change not only how you play, but what the game is. It basically makes each combat section into a puzzle.The Last of Us
It's a game made for hard difficulties. It's not just the classic "you're extremely weak and enemies are fucking terminators", it balances everything out and makes a single shot of a gun being lethal for everyone.
It basically makes it "real" and super scary for both sides, and the AI is so damn good it's incredibly exciting.
2 did. I forget if it was a difficulty setting or a mode, but it was absolutely nuts... Only one character could see the enemies, and they are the one who cant attack, so its a pain.Didn't RE Revelations have something with invisible enemies?
The idea alone was a turn off.
Now that I see this I really don't like critical mode in Kingdom Hearts games. I always feel like early game is especially tedious in these games and it limits you more than it does help you overcome situations. Also I never get this RPG feeling, where you see your character getting actually stronger. E.g. you don't see how your healthbar actually gets huge when you finished the mainstory and reached lvl 99.Kingdom Hearts 2 FM Critical is still my favorite hard mode since it makes you a glass cannon. Not even other games in the series understood what made KH2 critical so much fun.
There are no changes between the re-relases, except maybe remake where it is more difficult I would say. What did you found tedious? If you liked the harder second part, then I am really interested what you found tediousI see a lot of people talking about the last of us with this but I assume not talking about the first one? At least not the original release? Not sure about re-releases but I found the original game already extremely tedious on even normal difficulty and ended up just turning the difficulty down to the lowest just to get through it faster.
There are no changes between the re-relases, except maybe remake where it is more difficult I would say. What did you found tedious? If you liked the harder second part, then I am really interested what you found tedious
came to say this. Bayonetta's use of difficulty is god-tier. each difficulty seamlessly rolls into the next. Bayonetta 2, a bit less so (enemies become a bit spongy for my taste in climax).bayonetta difficulty modes are the GOAT
completely remixed enemy placement
faster attack speeds
i don't remember if they unlock new movesets or not but they well might
i think some enemies only spawn on hard or above (gracious and glorious maybe?)
highest difficulty rating reveals a central game mechanic was actually a crutch the whole time and the game is completely playable without it
god tier shit
I really got to try them in Nightmare(as I played them on Ultra Violence).Doom 2016 and Eternal on Nightmare are incredible experiences.
I really got to try them in Nightmare(as I played them on Ultra Violence).
Ultra Nightmare would be nuts though, lol.
Does Hades count? Someone finally did it but I just don't see how these kinds of options where your options are extremely limited and it took years for someone to beat is pillar of a good design by that community.
Why Max Heat in Hades is Nearly Impossible | Haelian
8/2/23 Update: Congratulations to AngeL1C for proving me dead wrong! They destroyed 64 heat without mods or seeds just 8 days after this video was posted. A ...youtu.be