What game(s) have you replayed on a higher difficulty? Did you end up enjoying it?

I'm thinking about replaying the award winning Last of Us 2 on a higher difficulty. I'm in the mood for a true survival horror fix after playing Resident Evil 8, which was like an action game lol. I normally don't do a lot of replays, especially with a higher difficulty, but I think this will be good. Last time I replayed a game on a higher difficulty may have been MGS 4 lol. I don't really remember. How about you, SW? What game(s) have you replayed on a higher difficulty? Did you end up enjoying it?

I play them all on the highest difficulty on the first playthrough and rarely to ever replay them🤷‍♂️

In my opinion, all games are more fun when you feel a sense of progress, which is impossible when played on Normal.

All the time. I usually finish a game on normal-hard. And then on a second playthrough I'd do hard-very hard.

I only bother playing harder difficulties on my favorite series. All the Uncharted games were platinumed. RE5 and RE6 were platinumed. That's about it.

The frustration level increases most and it's not generally more fun so I usually won't bother.

Playing Uncharted 4 on crushing nearly killed me.

Persona 5 is much better on the hardest difficulty.

lol why

Revalations infernal mode dope. The actual way it's intended to play is comparatively boring.

@hardwenzen: Crushing mode in the Uncharted games live up to the name; especially the first and fourth. The others were hard but not nearly as bad as those two.

@Telekill: Yeah, the encounter in one of the founders' mansion after trying to open a door in 4 was rage inducing.

@Telekill: Yup, Uncharted on crushing was frustratingly hard, I think I died nearly 400 times (some of them were to reset the checkpoint to get trophies though), 2 and 3 are relatively easy, and I have yet to try the 4th on crushing.

Donno how do you do it! It's Sado Mazo for me, LoL
I just tried once playing small io games in a PC browser here, it's not so easy as I think before)

I didn't play UC1 on crushing, skipped 3 and 4, but did play UC2 on said difficulty, and the only thing i remember being pretty annoying is the grenades spam. Its been a long time, tho, so i might be forgetting it being rough.

@SolidGame_basic: How does the difficult work in movie games?? I mean how hard can it be to watch cutscenes??

I play and beat almost every game on hard, no matter if it's an RPG, a shooter, etc. Curiously i'm terrible at competitive multiplayer games.

@djoffer123: You've just proven your ignorance. Congrats.

KH2 on Critical mode is some of the most fun I've ever had playing a game.

Bayonetta was fun to do at higher difficulty. The game itself is midly challenging but as you play more you unlock a evole bunch of moves and abilities and trinkets and such. The fun in replaying is mastery of the levels, getting best scores on various engagements and secret engagements and getting the best level score trophy I can get. Just as you can replay any level you please, you can also adjust difficulty. Most games cheapen difficulty by just adjusting hit points dealt and taken. They actually change up enemy engagements with a different mash-up of enemies so it feels fresh. I like this approach. Don't cheapen it by adjusting few base stats, throw a more challenging line-up of enemies at the player instead.

A lot. 😅

For the most part I usually enjoy replaying games on higher difficulties because when I do replay a game I do so because I enjoyed the first playthrough. Some games it’s necessary to play through the game once to unlock higher difficulties. Some games I play at the highest difficulty right from the start but that’s for games in franchises that I’m very accustomed to such Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty.

Very recently, Persona 5 Strikers merciless mode. Bumped the game from a 6/10 to a solid 8/10 for me. It just basically spamming Alice's die for me and bless insta kill but somehow its still quite enjoyable.

On the flip side I also enjoy playing through a game again on the lowest difficulty as well. Sometimes I just like to explore a game’s world a second time at a more leisurely pace looking for any secrets, hidden areas, etc. I especially like it when a game offers a New Game + mode that lets you carry over stuff from a previous playthrough. Had a lot of fun playing through Resident Evil Village multiple times with upgraded weapons and just wrecking ****.

Skyrim on Legendary is the way the game was meant to be played after finishing it on normal. You actually feel a sense of accomplishment when you achieve something, for example become head of the mages guild. I also say it was meant to be played this way because hiring mercenaries actually makes sense.

Hearts of Iron III is a must to try on Very Hard once you’ve tried normal because it makes the game a lot more fun.

RE2 remake hardcore with S rank was tough but fun.

Last of us on grounded mode is also tough as hell

A bunch, most of the sp games I'm really into get cranked up.

But harder isn't always better, just depends on the dev. A lot of them just balance their game around the normal setting and then arbitrarily fvck with some values for higher difficulties. End up with some tedious bullshit rather than interesting changes that lead to satisfying challenges.

For example, BotW master mode. Game is more interesting for the first few hours, but then you gear up and it quickly loses its new teeth. Then it just feels just like normal mode, but with encounters feeling more drawn out than they should be. Moving each enemy up a class leads to sponge fights and the regen health only doubles down on that poor balance. Game isn't challenging at that point, just a bit tedious. Eventually you gear past that too and then it's like, why didn't I just play on normal to begin with?

But yeah, plenty of games are dope at higher difficulties. Anything from Team Ninja or Platinum, DMCs, REs, DOOMs, SoRs, MGS games, (some) Splinter Cells, etc. - Games that remix encounters, retool enemy behavior, make meaningful changes to mechanics/systems/progression and so on. Things that drive the player to improve rather than simply testing the players patience.

The last game I remembered playing at a higher difficulty was Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS. Because I wanted to get as many hearts and obtain better weapons, I played at the highest difficulty. Even though it took me several times, I was able to get the many hearts and better weapons by completing a level at the highest difficulty.

I usually play most games on the hardest difficulty level available. Often times I have every intention of going back and playing through a game again if you have to unlock that difficulty level through beating the game once before, but I rarely if ever go back to lengthy campaigns unless I really enjoyed it the first time through.

Only the games I am very used to like age of empires 2, total war series, and isometric crpgs

I dont usually enjoy difficulty or frustration and play to chill. For me I only rise the difficulty if I know the game so well that the medium difficulty levels are so easy it takes away from the fun.

Does it get grindy?

@me2002: Only in the last chapter. There is a work around where you can kill the secret boss in one hit and get 10 level ups each time, however this method is absolute cheese. If you play tactical you and know when to use buffs/debuffs you can finish the game even under levelled however it is really difficult.

Halo, playing Legendary with friends is how it was always meant to be played.