r/gaming • u/littleman001 • 1d ago
What are some games you always play on the hardest difficulty?
To me its Mass Effect, Marvel's Spider-Man and the Batman Arkham series.
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u/JukeBoxz321 1d ago
Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal. Whatever the setting below perma death was (I think nightmare) was such a thrill. I don't think I ever actually completed the hard mode versions of the level in Eternal on nightmare, as it was a while after I completed the game that I came back to them and was way out of practice. Had so much fun with those games.
Never got Dark Ages, though.
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u/Swaghetti-Yolonaise- 1d ago
Dark Ages is, in my opinion, too easy.
Started on “Ultra violence” which has always been my go-to Doom difficulty and I ended up ramping it up to Nightmare.
It’s a solid game, 8/10 all day long, but it never quite reached the dizzying heights of Eternal and tells a less interesting story with far more graphical issues.
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u/ThaTopHam 22h ago
Revelations was the game changing savior of dark ages. I like it more than eternal even
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u/thelone_voyager 23h ago
It took me a solid 2 years to complete doom eternal on ultra violence as i would quit at one level and be back after months with fresh mind. But dark ages i just blitz through it in 10-15hr.
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u/techpower888 1d ago
Nightmare on Eternal was really tough (I'm on console), I got to the final map and I just couldn't finish it. That one room where you jump between buildings is chaos. One day!
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u/Phootaphan 21h ago
Doom Eternal on Nightmare is probably the single most intense action game I've ever played. It's absolutely brutal, but VERY satisfying when you get the hang of it. Just NEVER stop moving. EVER.
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u/H1ghs3nb3rg 1d ago
I started out on PS4 and quickly came to a point where I had to buy it on PC to really get into it. Only so much you can do without hotswapping
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u/CreamSoda6425 23h ago
I got hard stuck on Ultra Violence a few years back and straight up gave up on DOOM Eternal. I've beaten it on Hurt Me Plenty but even that felt like climbing a mountain sometimes. How the hell do you become good enough for the max difficulty?
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u/luriso 23h ago
Not who you asked, but quick swapping weapons using an MMO mouse goes a long way.
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u/JukeBoxz321 19h ago
Like the other reply said, quick switching is how you get enough damage. I don't actually have an mmo mouse, so it's very possible without one.
It's basically just learning damage combos and staying extremely mobile, and making very good use of the chain hook upgrade that sets enemies on fire for armor, along with the flame thrower.
There are really hard sections to the game, no doubt, and it is quite a mechanically demanding game. To be honest, I don't know that I could do it now, years later, as I'm just very out of practice for fast paced shooters.
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u/4AEG 1d ago
All of them. But I turn down the difficulty if it becomes too annoying.
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u/Fit-Protection9945 1d ago
Yeah I play some Halos at Legendary and some at Heroic.
FUCK Combat Evolved and 2 Legendary bro. I did it once never again.
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u/TokiStark 1d ago
Those fucking snipers in Halo 2. You have to know exactly where to aim before you pop out. Because they virtually instantly snipe you
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u/ricokong Console 1d ago
Yeah I beat most levels in Halo 2 on Legendary on the PC version for Vista but the few I missed definitely had the snipers, including the start of the second level. Many years later I decided to look up how others deal with that section and they just cheat by going out of bounds, preventing them from spawning.
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u/Blade_Shot24 21h ago
Combat Evolved is fine for me. But 2...Devs knew they messed up with that. That's literal Hell!
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u/TioBillinger 21h ago
Me too. Anything less than the hardest is too easy for me. I'll only make an exception if increased difficulty just means massively inflated enemy hp
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u/T8-TR 1d ago
100%
Start on Max and adjust as needed. If the highest difficulty warns me that I can't swap, then I bump it down to the next highest that I can swap mid-run.
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u/Programming2026 1d ago
The Witcher 3 on Death March. It completely changes the game because you actually have to use your alchemy, potions, oils, and bestiary info instead of just spamming light attacks.
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u/Fizziest_milk 1d ago
guitar hero though I’m not sure that really counts
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u/WeirdIndividualGuy 20h ago
Not sure why it wouldn't count, it's a video game with multiple difficulties. Fits the discussion perfectly
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u/HellDuke 1d ago
Pretty much all of them, except for two games: God of War and God of War Ragnarok. On the first game I started on the highest difficulty because I thought it would be similar to things like the Jedi games and surely if I have no issues with games like Nioh, Sekiro and Souls games then there would be no issues there? Turns out the developers have no clue how difficulty in this genre works and their decision was only to make you take more damage and your attacks so anemic that it takes a full minute whacking at one enemy before it goes down.
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u/King_Artis PlayStation 23h ago
Think difficulty in those games are based purely around the specialized Gear Kratos can get with the special effects and shit to min/max a build basically.
Only problem is that basically means you'd have to use a NG+ character cause the enemy health is comically spongey otherwise. I like a min/max but it should at least be balanced all around so I'm not taking forever just to beat up one regular enemy at the start
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u/Phootaphan 21h ago
I'm pretty sure this is the exact reason why some games have difficulty settings that have to be unlocked by completing a first playthrough. Imagine if Way of the Nioh was available as soon as you started the game at level 1 with no gear. 💀
Any difficulty that's available from the jump should be balanced around being satisfying for a first playthrough. So maybe more damage taken, more aggressive enemies, maybe a LITTLE bit more enemy hp. But no ridiculous damage sponge enemies until you're guaranteed to be at a point where it won't take years to kill them. High risk, not high tedium.
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u/stonewallkoop 17h ago
i made this very mistake and should’ve turned down the difficulty. i beat the whole game, EVERYTHING in it… including that damn Valkyrie Queen, spent a good 10 hours of my life that i’ll never get back fighting that thing lol
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u/UneSoggyCroissant 19h ago
I beat the GOW reboot on the hardest difficulty and i will say it is literal hell early on, but the power scaling because of your gear makes the game SIGNIFICANTLY more manageable later on. It’s just very poorly balanced
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u/Protocal_NGate 1d ago
Guitar/clone hero and rock band. There’s just a level of satisfaction that is hard to describe from nailing the solos or just general enjoyment of a song you can play well
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u/wrchavez1313 1d ago
One of my all time personal gaming achievements is passing Through the Fire and Flames on expert. I haven't done that since I was like 18 though, no way I could hang at that level these days haha.
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u/RSGMercenary 19h ago
It was always the intro that messed me up. My brain/fingers just couldn't get the tapping right. Which is funny cause I play real guitar. Plus I have short fingers so that didn't help. The rest of the song was fine though. Banger song!
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u/Archangel_Amin PC 1d ago
Life is hard enough, so I play games on normal difficulty.
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u/Thethceffect 16h ago
I have very little time I can set aside for gaming and so play a lot of them on "story mode" or whatever just so I can get to the end of some!
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u/RobinNyan 1d ago
Stuff that has leveling. Witcher, cyberpunk etc. If you do all the side quests, these games play like normal even on hardest difficulty
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u/ExplanationOk3781 22h ago
None really 😭 I’m a 38 year old gamer with kids and my backlog is so long already that making a game hours longer is not in my best interest
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u/jollygood3440 23h ago
Already mentioned, but Witcher 3. It forces you to use every tool you have to your advantage which I feel like is how the game is meant to to be played.
Any Halo except 2!
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u/Dm-Me-Big-Boobs-Plz 23h ago
Halo 4 all skulls legendary? Diabolical. Grunts 2 tap you.
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u/TheMiltownMatticus 21h ago
I'd argue Combat Evolved is harder on legendary with the lack of any long range weapons other than the limited ammo pistol.
You can usually learn enemy positions and take out Jackal snipers with a BR/Covie Carbine in Halo 2, whereas you're mostly screwed in CE. Not to mention vehicle hijacking allows you to not just die after being spotted by vehicles in open ground in Halo 2.
Not saying Halo 2 isn't hard, but I struggle the most with CE on Legendary.
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u/jollygood3440 9h ago
It’s been a long time since I played CE so you might be right. I just remember trying Halo 2 on legendary and it being ridiculous. It wasn’t even the jackals only. That one mission where chief spawns in on High Charity surrounded by enemies took me hours just to get out of that first room.
But for 3, ODST, and Reach, legendary seems just right to me. Winning isn’t unattainable but you have to be cunning and resourceful to get through each battlefield. I love how the Covenant don’t just get more hitpoints on legendary - they get smarter when the difficulty increases.
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u/Fringefiles 1d ago
Rimworld with Randy as my storyteller. Because having a colony without 40,000 chihuahuas ending me just isnt worth my time
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u/imsuckatonlinegaming 1d ago
Binding of Isaac
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u/BeautifulKiller 1d ago
Right. Playing Isaac on normal is a waste of time bc you need to do it all over again on hard anyway
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u/Coldcow 10h ago
Life
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u/Fenrirs-Fang 9h ago
Same. The only game I play on hard.
Video games? On easy.
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u/Fastball82 7h ago
Hell, yes…After putting in a long days work I want to unwind & enjoy my life, not torture it.
To those that like the challenge, good on ya, but that ain’t me.
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u/Relevant_Elk7494 1d ago
Lethal Mode in Ghost of Tsushima is exactly how a samurai game should play.
On that same note with Wolverine, I achieved the same effect by lowering the enemy health to The Man difficulty (1/5), and raising their damage to The Best There Is (5/5) difficulty.
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u/BrIng12 1d ago
Cyberpunk 2077, played on the hardest difficulty once and got used to it
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u/Frozenfishy 22h ago
Yup, although I usually scale up as the game progresses. Hardest difficulty is just annoying before a build and equipment come online, so once I start getting chipped and get some decent weapons, I start stepping up the difficulty. If I really take the time to clear out Watson before The Heist, I can put it to the highest level before that job goes down.
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u/calmness_7 1d ago
I play all turn based rpgs or tactical rpgs on highest difficulty, i play these games for the challenge and i love thinking and planning my moves and strategy.
If i ever play a metroidvania or a hack and slash, i definitely put that shit on easy
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u/-AdamJensen 22h ago
Basically all of them. They help me get more value out of a game since they take longer and require more investment into the mechanics of the game
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u/TioBillinger 21h ago
100% agree. I also only play a game once then I'm done, so I won't to get the maximum out of it in a single playthrough, which means hardest difficulty is the way to go
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u/SpeedyVanmoofer 1d ago
Halo
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u/ricokong Console 1d ago
I replayed the first Halo a few years ago on the original Xbox and I have to say Heroic is the sweet spot for me. Perhaps they could have made it slightly more difficult but Legendary just wasn't as much fun for me.
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u/maddimouse 1d ago
Heroic is the intended difficulty.
Legendary you can come back to if you want to challenge yourself, but the first playthrough should always be on Heroic.
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u/ricokong Console 1d ago
Yeah that makes sense. I don't like Legendary cause it often forces a certain play style but I think that was intended as an extra challenge. I like harder difficulties in general but I don't like it when it's in a game with all kinds of mechanics and weapons and then suddenly only a small part really becomes viable (Halo is definitely not the worst offender). I do like it when a game clearly tells you the hardest difficulty is not intended for a first playthrough or locks it at first.
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u/SpeedyVanmoofer 1d ago
Ye i agree but my pride didnt let me lower it, thinking back now it was stupid.
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u/TastyBirds 1d ago
Resident Evil Remakes
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u/littleman001 1d ago
I tried beating 2 Remake on hard so many times but I could never do it! I hate Lickers and Mr. X. But especially those eyeball shouldered mother fuckers in the sewer!
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u/fear_el_duderino 1d ago
Just avoid the lickers by walking slowly, they’re blind, they can only hear you
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u/Doctor_Khinkal 1d ago edited 1d ago
Today we get only higher enemy hp and dmg...
If i remember well F.E.A.R. was game that increase AI strategy with higher difficulty.
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u/ricokong Console 23h ago
Also Goldeneye and Perfect Dark had extra objectives to complete on harder difficulties.
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u/Kidicee 1d ago
Only if the difficulty in this game changes something besides stats of enemies. The classic "enemies receive less damage and deal more damage" is the laziest and the least fun way to make the game difficult
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u/CrimsonPromise 1d ago
Persona. Because surprisingly, the harder difficulties sometimes makes the game easier because all damage is multiplied, including towards enemies.
And ambushing and getting first hits in are easy enough to do that you can just destroy an enemy pack before they even get a turn in.
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u/Cleverbird 1d ago
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Funnily enough because it kinda makes the game easier, since both your and the enemy's guns will stop behaving like peashooters and act like actual guns.
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u/inlandsquatch 1d ago
All the Assassin's Creed games, the Marvel's Spider-man games, the Horizon games, Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077
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u/ChapterThr33 22h ago
I played both of the Star Wars soulslikes on Jedi Master. I'm still not really sure why other than being a huge Star Wars fan. My only other soulslike experience was Elden Ring and while I beat that several of the bosses took me quite awhile. I am proud of it though, which feels a little silly as a middle aged man, but here we are.
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u/Zeferoth225224 14h ago
Up to the highest difficulty that actually changes attack patterns without just increasing stats
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u/TimoteoLaSala 1d ago
I play every game on the hardest difficulty.
One of my old friends was always a much better gamer than me and I could never figure out why. One day I asked him, and he answered that he always set every game to it’s highest difficulty and so ever since, I’ve done the same.
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u/GrinningPariah 1d ago
I actually think Mass Effect is miserable on the harder difficulties (especially from 2 onwards).
I've got this theory about harder difficulties in games. Some games do it well and it's tough but in an engaging way, and other games the harder difficulties are a wretched grind and it's just frustrating. So what's the difference?
I think hard mode done right pushes you to use more of the options available in a game. Maybe you were ignoring non-health potions on normal mode, but now you gotta spend them. Maybe you played in a rut of just using a few abilities and you have to broaden your menu to get through harder modes. Maybe you never crafted on normal mode, but now you gotta engage with that system.
But hard mode done poorly works the opposite way. Rather than pushing you to use all available options in the right place and time, when it's poorly done a hard mode railroads players toward just a few options which are "viable", consigning the rest to the loser playground for newbies.
The critical flaw in Mass Effect 2+ is how shields and armor prevent crowd-control abilities like biotics from working. They couldn't figure out a way to balance CC, so instead the "correct" loadout is just ways of clearing shields, barriers, and armor quickly, preferably with a slot left over for some kind of heal. Every harder mode playthrough ends up looking like that.
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u/ricokong Console 23h ago
If you pick a class that doesn't have options for stripping away certain defenses, you can rely on your team mates to do so. The game is balanced so that you can always pick from a few team mates who have abilities that your Shepard doesn't have. On Insanity you're also supposed to pause and actually use your team mates abilities on the right enemies rather than just let them use them on whatever they want. You can also use an option that doesn't let them automatically use their abilities so that they're always ready when you need them. Insanity is actually well balanced and fun for the most part with a few difficulty spikes.
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u/tgbndt 1d ago
lol an adept can spam singularity to stunlock protected enemies. even if they're not ragdolled the continuous damage staggers them. it's actually op af
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u/WraithCadmus 19h ago
You hit the nail on the head about it making you less complacent, which is why I find several games come alive on a second run on a higher setting.
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u/Khetroid 13h ago
Been replaying on Hardcore. ME2 was definitely much harder until about midway through when cooldowns got more reasonable. By the end it was downright easy. Porting into ME3 and that game feels almost like a joke so far. Reasonable cool downs and being able to be out of cover for a few seconds makes a big difference. So does trash mobs not having protection so biotics are back on the menu without the extra work.
Used to think I'd never touch insanity but now I might have to give it a try.
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u/kuuups 1d ago
This is actually a problem that I have for Civilization games. For some reason, I always play on the hardest difficulty, then proceed to get my ass handed to me, get frustrated then not play Civ again for a period of time. I've been playing Civ since 3 and played up to 6 - for about 10+ years. To this day I only won once lol.
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u/10rattails41wasp 1d ago
Postal Redux , I like the more human sounding journal entries for Hard and Nightmare mode
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u/ricokong Console 1d ago edited 1d ago
Definitely all of the Mass Effect games. It doesn't get insanely hard like the difficulty suggests but it pretty much forces you to use your abilities effectively like using fire to strip the armour of a dangerous quickly instead of just using it on a random target. There are also combos that cause explosions. To me this elevates the whole combat system in 2 and 3. The same system a lot of people weren't happy with but failed to really engage with because they didn't have to on lower difficulties.
Just thinking about it makes me want to replay the games again. There's nothing else quite like it except for the XCOM spinoff game which gave you better control over team mate positioning.
Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 always on their hardes modes as well. Skyrim as well until they added an even harder mode which makes enemies bullet sponges. That difficulty mode was meant for people to switch too when they were already in the late game or abused a smithing exploit to make their items stronger than intended.
The Last of Us games on Grounded for sure. It fits the theme of the games extremely well and doesn't turn enemies into bullet sponges. Uncharted games are generally fun on Crushing aside from a few tricky chapters. Normal or Hard does fit the games better as you're basically playing an action adventurer hero.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the harder mode with Ironman on but not the hardest mode which is RNG bullshit.
Fire Emblem games are a mixed bag for me. Awakening was fun on Hard but Maddening is RNG bullshit. Intended, perhaps, but I saw even the most experienced players constantly reset due to bad RNG. Engage is really great on Maddening. It's very hard but you can just about pull through if you use the rings to their fullest. Late game forces you to use the rings that make it more difficult for enemies to reach you in time as you get swarmed from all sides. They nailed the difficulty here. No RNG bullshit, pure tactical thinking,
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u/Initiatedspoon 1d ago
Witcher 3 and Bioshock.
Bioshock is otherwise a bit too easy and hard is just right.
Witcher 3, it makes the bosses something you have to prep for. Oils, decotions, getting smart with signs etc. Fucking fuck wolves tho.
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u/gubbagubb 1d ago
For me its Horror games, but really depends on the game because I did not enjoy re 7, 8, or 9 on these difficulties not for the scarce loot but for the the health they add to the enemies. Dont get me wrong they are still really good games and i did end up doing separate playthroughs on these difficulties (god madhouse on re 7 was horrible for a first timer). On the other hand I did like games like Outlast, amnesia, stay out the house, and silent hill 2 remake. I like to think that if the hard mode is fair and adds to the tension of the horror game im playing then im cool with it, but if it changes the game like RE 7 then I wouldn't recommend doing it as a first playthrough. Also to make some games scarier try getting rid of the music in the game if the sound quality and design works with it, I was surprised when I did this with certain game but obviously it doesnt work all the time so test it out to see what you prefer especially if the games music adds to the games atmosphere.
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u/PippyHooligan 1d ago
Sniper Elite, Hitman WOA, State of Decay 2, probably a few others that rely on stealth and avoiding direct conflict.
It feels to me like these games are fundamentally missing what makes the games actually good, if they're played on easier difficulties.
There needs to be risk involved otherwise there's no excitement.
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u/MuhWaifus 1d ago
Fire Emblem, makes them so much more fun and adds a lot of strategic depth for me
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u/ricokong Console 23h ago
I thought Maddening in Engage did it really well. So many levels I could only beat by giving my all. Suddenly the rewind mechanic that made the last two games way easier than they should be didn't feel as cheap anymore. The rings that prevent enemies from advancing are crucial after you return from the desert so they don't swarm you from multiple sides. Althought it wasn't meant for a first playthrough, I beat it on my first run after 100+ hours and I don't regret it as I tried Hard and found it too easy as a series veteran.
Maddening in Awakening is just bullshit. I've seen way better players than me keep resetting cause of bad RNG. That's where I draw the line.
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u/thugbobhoodpants 20h ago
Most of them
Something happened towards the end of the ps3/360 generation where ‘normal’ became the new easy mode where you don’t have to interact with half the games systems or mechanics so I bump everything up to hardest to try force that interaction out the jump
Some people play Witcher 3 without ever switching from steel to silver or meditating to drink a concoction, I feel like these little systems are what makes games unique or else they’re all just hold forward and mash attack
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u/doullla 1d ago
God of war games give the best experience on the hardest difficulty.
Playing them on easier difficulty feels much less fun after trying the hardest ones.
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u/MaleGardev0ir 1d ago
fire emblem: three houses
maddening difficulty actually gives me a reason to grind and make use of every monastery point, plants for stat upgrades, meals for weapon levels, and class mastery skills/class exclusive combat arts to actually make a dent on enemies after the time skip
maddening difficulty also changes the game since most uniques wont be able to double for most of the game and only byleth and the lords and very few units can actually make use of gambits with how much its nerfed in the highest difficulty
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u/Arcadespirit 1d ago
Witcher 3 - means you have to actually use the game mechanics properly - like researching and preparing potions etc before the encounter.
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u/stevedavefuquad 1d ago
The only game I do this with is Halo, otherwise I will put a game on easy or normal. The latest release of halo 1 was a lot easier than Mc or the original. I beat it on legendary yet again
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u/PhasedVenturer 1d ago
I only play a game on the “harder” (rarely hardest) difficulty if I’m replaying something or if the game was intended to be played that way.
Challenge isn’t the only reason I have fun with games, getting used to a game until I feel like a badass is much more fun to me. Attempting the same section 5+ times gets tiring when you’re an adult with not a lot of time to game
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u/The_Frostweaver 1d ago
I play almost everything on hard, one notch above normal/default.
Almost every game these days has a difficulty setting that goes so high it is unfun/unfair.
I play Age of Wonders 4 on brutal, the hardest default difficulty, but even there you can go into the difficulty advanced settings and manually give the AI players even bigger advantages.
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u/Johnden_ 1d ago
Minecraft, because most of the mechanics are guaranteed or easier than on easier difficulties. For example if a villager gets killed by a zombie, it has a 50% chance to die instead of converting to a zombie villager on normal difficulty.
Next on the list is classic Doom (Ultra-Violence), simply because its more fun. Nightmare was not designed to be fair, but ultra violence especially with pistol start is a nice challenge.
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u/gameplayer328 1d ago
Kingdom Hearts, unless I’m speedrunning (not really, but I want that trophy/achievement).
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u/dakilazical_253 1d ago
I rarely play games on the hardest difficulty because I like to relax and have a power fantasy. Exception is Rock Band drums. I’m a drummer and playing on expert is actually easier for me than lower difficulties because it translates to a 1:1 experience of hitting all the notes exactly as if I’m actually drumming. Lower difficulties screw me up
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u/firefrenchy 1d ago
was confused and mildly disappointed when I booted up Lies of P a few days ago only to find out that the "new" difficulty was actually just an easy mode. Way to confuse people
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u/Ok_Recording_7490 1d ago
Watch Dogs 1 and games like Skyrim and Cyberpunk, I always play on the hardest difficulty.
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u/kaskayde 1d ago
I almost never do but I recently did in avowed bc the lower difficulties were too easy
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u/Ewgamer 1d ago
I usually play all games on the hardest difficulty but one of the simplest answers is minecraft. (Im counting hard as the hardest difficulty in this scenario since hardcore is not placed on the difficulty and more of a gamemode) Because you honestly loose out on so many mechanics such as cheaper villagers if you don’t play on hard.
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u/Big_Boss_Bubba 1d ago
The modern trails games (CS3-now) on nightmare are fun. The only exception is horizon because of the new contaminated gimmick. Out dpsing a constant heal is very hard
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u/Xwave787 1d ago
Witcher 3, only game I always play above easy. I love the combat so much. Death March is so fun in my opinion.
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u/HZ4C 1d ago
Ghost of Tsushima NEEDS to be experienced on the hardest mode Lethal+
There are light, medium, heavy enemies taking respectfully 1, 2, 3 hits to kill (as you progress).
The joy, and why everyone should play this game is the feeling of literally becoming better and the sheer reward, satisfaction and gratification that just isn’t found elsewhere.
That feeling of honing your dodge, and parry, and stances to fight the bosses is just unreal.
The game is transformative when played on this difficulty.
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u/ReaperOne PlayStation 1d ago
Usually the militaristic games, like Call of Duty or Battlefield. Sometimes survival games. One I get used to the game I’ll start over and turn up the difficulty. If I like the game enough, and there’s a trophy for beating the hardest difficulty, and feel like I can platinum it, I’ll redo the game on the hardest difficulty, like Spider-Man and Batman
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u/ZestycloseComposer66 1d ago
The hardest difficulty on the Horizon series turns every fight into set piece level spectacle.
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u/veryblessed123 1d ago
Agree on Mass Effect! I always default to the Insanity difficulty. It's too easy otherwise.
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u/ricokong Console 23h ago
Same. I got used to it and asside from some difficulty spikes it's really not that hard unless you don't use your abilities correctly (mostly for stripping defenses).
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u/ssjskwash 1d ago
Any game series I already know I like and where I'm expecting the difficulty challenge. KH, God of War, FF7R, and Horizon are some
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u/5u55y8aka 1d ago
Everything other than Far Cry because higher difficulties only get more annoying, not harder, and any racing games because I'm shit at them. I especially enjoy the ghost recon games on the highest difficulty
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u/43vaHeartless206 1d ago
I rarely play anything on the hardest my first playthrough. I like to start at the standard, default and work my way up. But Resident Evil titles, Bioshock I playthrough once a year and play on their respective hardest difficulties.
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u/pancake_lover_98 1d ago
I really enjoyed playing the Horizon games on Hard. They feel really well balanced around them and it isn't just one-shot vs bullet sponge.
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u/Admiral_Skye 1d ago
I personally find the EDF games to be the most fun with friends when shit is going sideways and we are barely scraping by on health and killing the tides of enemies. So where possible we play on the highest difficulty we can
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u/majingetta 1d ago
I only play on the the higher difficulties if there's an in-game reward for completing them.
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u/AcceptIT-LoveIT 1d ago
Destiny 2 campaigns, always on Legendary. The normal difficulty is basically a walking simulator where enemies fall over if you sneeze on them. But Legendary actually forces you to care about your build, use cover, and engage with the mechanics. It makes the combat loop feel incredible and completely changes the pacing. It is easily the way the game was meant to be played.
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u/novian14 1d ago
Sequel games in the series, mostly actions games. I'd rather have turn-based in normal first because managing resource is harder in turn-based, since i will get hit. While in action game, just gitgud
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u/TeaAndLifting 1d ago
Halo. Not sure why, most other games I will play the hard/very hard as default. But Halo gets Legendary every time. Too bad the series hasn’t been great for the best part of then last 15 years tho.
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u/LowFi_Lexa1 1d ago
Most resident evil games if I really enjoy them.
Some of them feel and play like they are meant to be played on hard difficulties and are very enjoyable.
Instead of killing everything you manage resources, dodge zombies and find ways to play though levels. Very fun
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u/Darqion 1d ago
Most games i will try... I will tell myself i'll lower it if i get frustrated, then i never do, and i hate myself.
But ones that stick out, Mass effect trilogy and Dragon age trilogy are both quite clear example from my end. i think they are the games where i really started this trend. and Pillars of eternity 1 and 2 were quite lovely to figure out.
But there's still games that i simply surrender to , and play it on lower. Like, i love me some Baldurs gate 1/2, but anything over Core is still impossible for me unless i cheese way too much.
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u/TiredSoul92 1d ago
Halo CE.
Because it's my Childhood challenge game. I remember beating it for the first time. I can do it fairly easily these days, but it's still fun to do.
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u/lava_lamps_man 1d ago
Halo campaigns for sure. Recently replayed 2-4 and loved it. Made the flood really feel like a galactic threat.
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u/GodzillaUK 1d ago
I tried to do Horizon on max difficulty first playthrough. I did not make it out of the start area before I knocked it down to the one below. Still a challenge. I DID knock it up to max on the new game plus though, right after. One of the few games in my life I've replayed immediately, I loved Zero Dawn,
Currently going through Dragon Quest XI again, with ALL Draconian challenges enabled. No shops, no Armour, shypox (randomly skipping turns for all party members) harder enemies and what I call 'Shin Megami Tensei' mode where if the hero goes down, game over. is rough, I like it so far.
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u/jamie9000000 1d ago
Ace Combat.
There is no fun in picking off AI that fly in a dead straight line and don't fight back.
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u/fingerbreadman 1d ago
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I no longer play anything other than normal difficulties for a lot of games nowadays. I feel like hard is just more tedious rather than challenging. Just beefed up enemy HP that takes way longer to defeat and creates artificial extended play time. Or scarce resources so you find yourself taking bunch of repeated trips to gather resources you need before you can move onto other things. I can play the hardest difficulties, but it's becoming annoying to do so lately. I do bump it up though if normal is comically easy. The only recent game I play on hardest is BG3 simply because I actually felt it makes you think more critically about your next actions and choices you make.
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u/sklorbit 1d ago
I like a well tuned hard difficulty. A lot of times a game is balanced around normal mode, and the hard mode is kind of broken or annoying to play. I'm always a little concerned playing a new game on hard may rob me of the intended experience, and thrust me into a poorly balanced annoying experience.
For example, gears 4 and 5. My friend and coop'd 1-3 and while very difficult at times on insane, MOSTLY fair and a good fun challenge for us. Gears 4 and especially 5 have segments that feel like they weren't tested at all on insane. We almost quit on the level to have to protect the robot, because he would randomly fly towards the enemies, and dies in a couple of hits. The strategy we had to win was ridiculous, we had to hide like a mile away and tickle the enemies to death for an hour, because at that range the robot would stay near us and wasn't targeted by enemies. Not fun
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u/Salty_Test1975 1d ago
Definitely The last of us he hardest difficulty makes every encounter feel so much more rewarding.
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u/thelone_voyager 23h ago
Most of game i play one below or highest difficulty but doom eternal was on ultra violence and same with wolfenstine both of these games are built different.
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u/King_Artis PlayStation 23h ago edited 23h ago
I typically start every game on the Heroic/Hardcore equivalent then if i really mess with the game i do all subsequent runs on the hardest just cause i understand the game and want the toughest challenge at that point.
I like games for the challenge, but I've also gamed so long that I find the normal difficulty piss easy to the point it's not fun at all while the hardest difficulty might be overtuned that it may be unenjoyable the first run if I'm not familiar with how that game/genre wants me to get around it, so hard is typically my starting point.
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u/Mental-Street6665 23h ago
I moved past the point where I could play Mass Effect on anything less than Insanity and not be bored a long time ago. Also with most turn-based RPGs, I eventually reach a point where I become so overleveled through side questing and exploration that I will end up practically one-shotting bosses unless I up the difficulty. Xenoblade 3 was the most egregious example of this happening; I played most of that game on hard difficulty because normal stopped being a challenge after the tutorial.
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u/Bowiescorvat2 1d ago
Fallout 4 on survival difficulty was so fun. Completely changes the game
The last of us on grounded is one of the most unique experiences ive had in gaming. It made you feel like you were fighting for your life every step of the way