Games with demanding difficulty aren’t always everyone’s cup of tea – a lot of the times, people just want to play to relax and escape – but there’s there’s no shortage of gamers out there who are very much looking for that sort of thing in their games. Some games, of course, are designed around that notion to the exclusion of almost everything else, but there are also other experiences out there that offer something along those lines as an option. Here, we’re going to take a look at a few games that do just that, by offering harder difficulty modes that are really balanced and that, if you want your games to push back, should definitely be checked out.
THE LAST OF US PART 2
The Last of Us Part 2’s standout higher difficulty settings didn’t arrive until after the game’s launch, but anyone who enjoyed the game’s mechanics and wants to engage with them on a deeper level should go back and experience it that way at least once. With harder enemies, scarcer resources, Listen mode and several HUD elements being disabled, and more, Grounded mode is a grueling trek through The Last of Us Part 2’s post-apocalypse- while the option to turn permadeath on brings even more intensity to an already intense experience.
