Games where you were woefully wrong in your choice of difficulty?

[CaptainToad]

You ever choose a difficulty that was way too high or low and it at least partially ruined the game or that run of it? Or maybe you missed some items by picking too low a difficulty by accident or something. Not sure if I've ever done this, was just thinking about it. I did a Halo 3 Legendary playthrough as a teen, which I remember being tedious though I don't think it ruined it for me because I finished the game and liked it. I've probably missed some true endings somewhere since I almost always go normal/medium difficulty in games.

 

[MasterEn]

i don't think that has happen to me, but i was playing infamous for the first time, and i think it was at the end of the tutorial or something, but the game said i was doing so good, it suggested that i play hard mode.
no idea why, but i felt; i don't quite know. weirdly proud or something. i was thinking: "oh, play on hard mode? oh, well; i, i... well, if you think i'll enjoy the game more, then yeah; lock me in."
probably the first game that i beat on hard where you could select the difficulty level. almost gave up on the final battle, but i remembered that the game gave me this choice, and i did every side quest in the game up to that point; and i was getting fairly good at the game, so i toughed it out and beat it.

 

[trickybus]

Persona 4. I was not prepared for the boss gauntlet at the beginning of the game, holy shit

 

[RageBurner]

Honestly I feel this happens a lot to me regarding roguelikes that have more than one difficulty setting. Normal always feels more steep than it should be, and when you set it down to easy it starts to feel somewhat patronizing, and as such there is no happy medium.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

In the Doom modding community, it's fairly standard for Ultra-Violence (Hard) to be considered the "standard" difficulty for Wads, however some creators design around Hurt Me Plenty (Normal) instead and make Ultra-Violence a super hard "Kaizo" difficulty instead. If you've played a lot of Doom Wads then you've probably stumbled into one at some point.

Hell Revealed and Sunlust are two fairly famous examples of this.

 

[Glimbo]

The Evil Within.
Choosing to attempt Akumu mode (1 hit = death). It was the complete opposite of fun but I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I think my total deaths was around 250 after completing it. I never want to play that game again but I enjoy watching other people suffer through it since I know the pain.

 

[DunkeyKong]

I've played Ninja Five-O and I think the Normal difficulty isn't what I should start with, the difficulty spike is noticeable. But again, I just like to challenge myself and don't mind dying a lot if it can make me improve myself

 

[prnzo x BOOZE-o ka-BEER-o]

Tekken 8 (or 5, 6, 7 also for sure... arguably 3 or 4 n Tag 1 & 2... ok maybe the entire series) - the difficulty at most Tekken games' highest setting - especially moreso with each modern installment... is such a borderline-insulting pushover most of the time other than maybe a lil unexpected follow-up chain rush-down here n there - n certainly doesn't prepare a casual or unseasoned player for online comp. the single-player 'Arcade Quest' is so charming, nostalgic, n well-implemented - that it's a frustrating caveat having difficulty throughout it that's no real challenge at aLL. I didn't even lose a single round playin through it with randomly-selected Raven. I'll admit it was a fun lil experience that brought a smile to my face as I was deep into the Vegas NV/Costa Mesa CA fight scenes in the 90's n it truly was a pleasant experience but kind of an empty one cuz of the creampuff challenge lvls. idk if anyone disagrees that Tekken CPU is laughably scrubtastic - I'm not some ego-ballooned asshole like quite a few I came across in those days (especially many of the pros) but Alex Valle is a cool, easygoing dude n his gf at the time was a bit flirty but intelligent n cool. n Mike Watson was a good sport about me makin an ass of him sayin he'll never be as good as (long-retired Super Turbo champ) Tomo Ohira was while drunk at a kickback party at Joey's (Mr. Wizard) townhouse apt lol oh c'mon Watson I was just drunk af n trolling you like you did at SHGL arcade earlier to me with your rushdown 'Rog! xD

 

[RageBurner]

Tekken 8 (or 5, 6, 7 also for sure... arguably 3 or 4 n Tag 1 & 2... ok maybe the entire series) - the difficulty at most Tekken games' highest setting - especially moreso with each modern installment... is such a borderline-insulting pushover most of the time other than maybe a lil unexpected follow-up chain rush-down here n there - n certainly doesn't prepare a casual or unseasoned player for online comp.

Yeah most fighting games are like that, I'm sure, but I had no idea Tekken was on the easier side of the spectrum.

 

[Capricorn_is_Goat]

Kirby's Adventure for the NES

That platform spring jump at the end of each level was literally impossible for me to reach the top, and knowing which specific enemy to utilize in order to uncover bonus stages was like searching in the dark for something you know is close by but can't find.

 

[Cu-Neo]

Mass Effect 2: the first time I tried, it was on Insanity using the bonus from 1 and the game destroyed me, specially the mission where you have to go inside the Collector ship, that part for me is the one that decides if you can complete the game or not.

 

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

I've done certain things that made games easier than they were meant to be entirely by accident, through like balance issues and stuff, but I can't think of a time when I actively chose a woefully inappropriate setting in this sense.

 

[MasterEn]

took me a while, but i do remember making a choice to make botw harder on master mode on my most recent playthrough, and i carried this over to my first play though of totk.
played through the whole game with out upper body armor. only head gear and pants.
lots of deaths in both games.
beat them both.

 

[Nidstang]

Jedi Survivor on Jedi Grand Master (hardest difficulty) - I am not good at parrying in games, and having a game with near Sekiro (another game I couldnt beat) levels of parry focused combat resulted in an unfinished game.

God Of War 2018 on Give Me God Of War (hardest difficulty). I DID beat this one, including all the Valkyries. But it was incredibly frustrating and tedious. It was abundantly apparent the game was not designed around that difficulty, and was probably untested. It was so unbalanced. I didnt even like that game, so I suffered for nothing.

Wings Of Vi on the hardest difficulties. They were designed to be more challenge levels after you finished the game in easier difficulties, and I wasn't aware. Never went back to play it. I should...

 

[CaptainToad]

Kirby's Adventure for the NESView attachment 26195
That platform spring jump at the end of each level was literally impossible for me to reach the top, and knowing which specific enemy to utilize in order to uncover bonus stages was like searching in the dark for something you know is close by but can't find.

Were you emulating it? I got pretty good at that spring but I don't know if I could do it with any input lag. Also, I had no idea that game had bonus stages. I gotta' play it again and do those. I really liked Kirby 64 since it was structured in a similar way although I found it more obvious which powers to use to unlock everything.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Everytime a game let me choose highest difficulty I went with that even if im playing for the first time beaten metal gear solid without radar and mine sweeper through trial and error in mine areas.

It unlocked me another harder game mode haven't played it yet but on hard 2 shots and you dead early on quite difficult I say.

But yeah I tried call of duty 1 , 2 and United offensive all on veteran and managed to beat them although cod 2 was really hard due to saving being auto only.

Yet to regret choosing highest difficulty in a game...

 

[Capricorn_is_Goat]

Were you emulating it? I got pretty good at that spring but I don't know if I could do it with any input lag. Also, I had no idea that game had bonus stages. I gotta' play it again and do those. I really liked Kirby 64 since it was structured in a similar way although I found it more obvious which powers to use to unlock everything.

I played it on original NES hardware- owned an official copy. The space background of the final boss area was almost too much for me to handle. It made that fight quite a challenge. I really loved that game though- one of my all time favorites.

 

[Vesthal]

The Evil Within.
Choosing to attempt Akumu mode (1 hit = death). It was the complete opposite of fun but I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I think my total deaths was around 250 after completing it. I never want to play that game again but I enjoy watching other people suffer through it since I know the pain.

I've played Akumu on ps3. i didn't find it unfun but mostly tedius if you don't plan. Literally before playing a chapter i see videos to make a strategy

Post automatically merged: Feb 15, 2025

Well first run i've done in all 3 routes of Fire Emblem Fates was in hard and i was in blindrun. It was tedius in many occasion but literally teached me wich unit were good or bad

 

[Prism_Red]

Usually I just play on normal difficulty, the only exception are for games that has stealth elements, I will do the most tedious, challenging thing they got in a first single run, blind play, no guide. even better if there are achievements associated with it.

Finished Dishonored 2 last December, on Very Hard but it doesn't have achievement for that.

 

[Johnson81]

Halo Combat Evolved. Played it on normal and did not see what the whole fuss about as I found it really boring just sitting wave after wave. Upped to legendary, completely different game. Played all on legendary after that, but could not do halo 5 solo due to the rechargeable health of the enemies.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Usually I just play on normal difficulty, the only exception are for games that has stealth elements, I will do the most tedious, challenging thing they got in a first single run, blind play, no guide. even better if there are achievements associated with it.

Finished Dishonored 2 last December, on Very Hard but it doesn't have achievement for that.
View attachment 26244

You've done the impossible, something that is worth more than an achievement

 

[Prism_Red]

You've done the impossible, something that is worth more than an achievement

I dunno I think it's doable for most people.

Also particularly proud of this one, Taiga level in Metro Exodus is a bitch.

 

[Ikagura]

In the Doom modding community, it's fairly standard for Ultra-Violence (Hard) to be considered the "standard" difficulty for Wads, however some creators design around Hurt Me Plenty (Normal) instead and make Ultra-Violence a super hard "Kaizo" difficulty instead. If you've played a lot of Doom Wads then you've probably stumbled into one at some point.

Hell Revealed and Sunlust are two fairly famous examples of this.

I did Sigil 1&2 in HMP because I couldn't care about having to handle a Cyberdemon each maps.

 

[DunkeyKong]

I dunno I think it's doable for most people.

Also particularly proud of this one, Taiga level in Metro Exodus is a bitch.
View attachment 26313

For some, maybe. Also, great job man!

 

[Ezri_Muldoon]

Behold my cycle of pain:
I can play Ace Combat on Hard, I own flight sticks for a reason!
Easy mode is far more enjoyable but I always struggle through 10-ish missions before admitting this to myself.

And I've been playing since Electrosphere,

<<Yo buddy, why am I so stubborn?>>