Best difficulty mode structuring in games

[StaceyPowers]

We've been discussing whether or not all games should have an "easy" mode on this thread.

Separately, I wanted to ask those of you who have been participating in that discussion another question. What games have you played which you feel have done a particularly good job handling the structuring of difficulty modes or levels?

@UleTheVee @DylanC @The Blackangel @LadyDay @killamch89 @Executor Akamia @skyfire @kingpotato (I hope I didn't miss anyone, but I probably did)

[UleTheVee]

18 minutes ago, StaceyPowers said:

We've been discussing whether or not all games should have an "easy" mode on this thread.

Separately, I wanted to ask those of you who have been participating in that discussion another question. What games have you played which you feel have done a particularly good job handling the structuring of difficulty modes or levels?

Well, I suppose I could say that Silent Hill 2 and 3 managed to do difficulties just right by separating them into two categories (Action + Puzzle). Do you like to play a horror game and be challenged with complicated puzzles but cannot bear the combat mechanics brought by Tank controls? You choose Hard Puzzle and Easy Action mode. This sort of feature hasn't been brought back in future Silent Hill entries and it's such a shame because it allowed for a higher demographic to enjoy the game while allowing players to pick their own way to play it. It especially helped the fact that it helps players who weren't too invested into the game's mechanics and are there for the engaging plots and symbolism. (AKA they satisfied the niche they were pandering to without the need of coddling anyone or making the overall experience suffer for it).

[Executor Akamia]

5 minutes ago, StaceyPowers said:

We've been discussing whether or not all games should have an "easy" mode on this thread.

Separately, I wanted to ask those of you who have been participating in that discussion another question. What games have you played which you feel have done a particularly good job handling the structuring of difficulty modes or levels?

@UleTheVee @DylanC @The Blackangel @LadyDay @killamch89 @Executor Akamia @skyfire @kingpotato (I hope I didn't miss anyone, but I probably did)

I'd say Stellaris, which is a grand strategy game I've been playing for the last few weeks, but honestly, the difficulty is mostly artificial in that game. AI empires are dumb as rocks, but fast as Sonic the Hedgehog on a good day, and difficulty settings don't really improve their intelligence at all; they just give them bonuses that more easily compensate for their stupidity. Human players are the real threats, though for obvious reasons, they aren't a factor in single-player mode.

Honestly, I think in general terms, the Halo series has done a good job about this. I mean, I never noticed the AI getting smarter there either, but in the FPS genre, this matters less. The higher difficulty you play, the more you get punished for being out of position. This doesn't fully translate to the multiplayer, as human players are less predictable than AI under most circumstances and most multiplayer maps aren't structured in the same way campaign maps are, but you will definitely learn to appreciate cover after it has kept you from getting your face blown off by a deadeye Jackal sniper or three.

[UleTheVee]

3 minutes ago, Executor Akamia said:

I'd say Stellaris, which is a grand strategy game I've been playing for the last few weeks, but honestly, the difficulty is mostly artificial in that game. AI empires are dumb as rocks, but fast as Sonic the Hedgehog on a good day, and difficulty settings don't really improve their intelligence at all; they just give them bonuses that more easily compensate for their stupidity. Human players are the real threats, though for obvious reasons, they aren't a factor in single-player mode.

Honestly, I think in general terms, the Halo series has done a good job about this. I mean, I never noticed the AI getting smarter there either, but in the FPS genre, this matters less. The higher difficulty you play, the more you get punished for being out of position. This doesn't fully translate to the multiplayer, as human players are less predictable than AI under most circumstances and most multiplayer maps aren't structured in the same way campaign maps are, but you will definitely learn to appreciate cover after it has kept you from getting your face blown off by a deadeye Jackal sniper or three.

At this point I picture someone's face being hit by three sniper shots at the same time.

[killamch89]

My pick would be the DMC series where it starts you off at a very manageable level and then you have the option of playing it on way harder levels or in DMC terms "Dante must die" which makes the game harder than Dark Souls - I'm not even exaggerating.

[UleTheVee]

4 minutes ago, killamch89 said:

My pick would be the DMC series where it starts you off at a very manageable level and then you have the option of playing it on way harder levels or in DMC terms "Dante must die" which makes the game harder than Dark Souls - I'm not even exaggerating.

As a DMC fan..

No you're not.

[killamch89]

11 minutes ago, UleTheVee said:

As a DMC fan..

No you're not.

Huge DMC and Dark Souls fan myself so my analysis would be quite accurate.

[kingpotato]

God of War PS4 does a very good job managing the difficulty. The appeal of the game is the story so one can choose the difficulty level that goes with your style, I played a semi high difficulty and it was very enjoyable.

 

[jonbones]

Resident Evil 4 was famously well-paced, and part of that was the excellent difficulty management.  You slowly ramping up from feeling vulnerable to being an action movie hero - and the set pieces grew to match.

[UleTheVee]

2 hours ago, jonbones said:

Resident Evil 4 was famously well-paced, and part of that was the excellent difficulty management.  You slowly ramping up from feeling vulnerable to being an action movie hero - and the set pieces grew to match.

Actually, let's insult your intelligence and talk about some bullshit decisions!

 

Did you know that Resi 4 has adaptive difficulty? What I mean by that is that the difficulty ramps up or lowers as you beat the game or get killed. AKA if you get killed enough times, the game will very subtly take you to the Easy mode until you can pass through the sequences.

[The Blackangel]

Diablo 2 was good about this. It had 3 settings. Normal, Nightmare, and Hell. You had to beat the previous setting to unlock the next one. It also had another difficulty feature. Hardcore. In that, no matter where you are in the game, If you die, that's it. You have to start from the very beginning of the entire game, with nothing that you had previously found. Obviously that part is entirely optional, and I never chose that option. I pretty much sucked at the game without creating my own items, but you always have the choices. Also if you want to make it extra hard, you can stick with the equipment you have at the beginning of the game and never upgrade anything. But you can do that in pretty much any game, so I don't know if that one really counts.

[StaceyPowers]

@The Blackangel Hahah, I would never be able to get through any single player game with a "you're dead, you're dead," type of setting (both for lack of skill and because of performance anxiety). Though that does remind me of a MUD I played once where if you died, you died, and had to start a new character. I actually liked that concept a lot, because in a multiplayer environment, it forces people to be much more cautious and rational in how they deal with conflict.

@Executor Akamia I love your detailed responses. It's a good point to bring up not just how difficult different settings are, but what makes them that way in terms of enemy AI, bullet sponge qualities, etc.

 

[skyfire]

Structuring? I'd say those strategy games usually have much better structure than the games out there. You can see that games like age of empires, rise of nation, mythology, those games are pretty much detailed stuff.