Rasy difficulty settings serve to relax the experience for players wanting to experience the game’s story without obstruction. Normal modes blend ease with challenge and are usually the best setting for the majority of gamers. Those up for the challenge can enable hard mode, with some games offering tough insurmountable challenge in their most hardcode of difficulty settings. It’s not all about the challenge though. Players who regularly play hard difficulty settings report a boost to immersion, deeper understandings of a game’s mechanics, a stronger focus on the game’s environments, and altogether a more rewarding experience. This feature highlights ten such hardcore modes playable via games released on PS5.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered
The Last of Us Part II Remastered is a brutal enough experience on its own, even in normal difficulty. Its brutality comes from its oppressive story of revenge and survival against the harsh backdrop of a zombie ravaged post-apocalypse where mutated humans and, indeed, those uninfected enact incredible violence upon each other. Ramping up the brutality further is the game’s Grounded difficulty, ostensibly a merciless survivor mode where enemies are tougher and more unforgiving, capable of highly accurate one-shot kills. Grounded mode reshapes the experience by pushing players into favouring stealth and avoiding encounters, but the dearth of resources and ammo, refined HUD, and lack of listen mode makes even creeping past patrols an overwhelming challenge.
Resident Evil Village
Completing Ethan Winters’ campaign through the eponymous Eastern European village via any of the game’s out-of-the-box difficulty levels unlocks the most hardcore challenge: Village of Shadows. This mode is not for the faint of heart and should only be attempted by seasoned players or those who’re gluttons for punishment. In Resident Evil Village’s Village of Shadows difficulty Ethan encounters fast, resilient, over-numerous enemies which spawn from a variety of new locations whilst bosses prove more impervious to Ethan’s firepower too, with damage dealt high enough to surpass any blocking attempt. Even the game’s lesser enemies – cannon fodder on lower difficulties – can prove deadly for Ethan. Maxing out stats during previous runs and stocking up on medicine give him a fighting chance, but only just.
Metro Exodus Gold Edition
Encompassing the thrilling, country-spanning odyssey through post-apocalyptic Russian wasteland plus vital story expansions The Two Colonels and Sam’s Story, Metro Exodus Gold Edition’s most difficult setting is Ranger Hardcore. Here, you guessed it, enemies are much stronger but additionally their senses are finely tuned, them able to see further and hear sharper. Resources and ammo are scarce, crafting opportunities uncommon. Health teeters on a knife edge. Most challenging, perhaps, is the lack of HUD, meaning every bullet fired must be counted else the game’s brutal encounters will come to a swift end via an empty magazine. Much like The Last of Us Part II’s Grounded mode, the most challenging difficulty for Metro Exodus also serves to boost immersion, forcing players to focus strongly on the environment, to master stealth, to correctly choose when to fight and when to hide.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077’s electrifying espionage expansion Phantom Liberty plunges V into the decrepit lawlessness of walled-off district Dogtown, a place where an ever-present militia patrol with oppression. Where better then to try out the game’s highest difficulty dubbed, inspirationally, Very Hard. In this setting, as has been established by the other game’s already featured on this rundown, enemies will harbour inflated health, be more resilient, and wield more devastating firepower that’s capable of one-shotting V. To get the most out of Very Hard, it’s encouraged that players pay attention to V’s attributes and perks, as a build focused on technical ability, stealth, and heath regeneration will evolve V into an unstoppable merc capable of surviving all the might that Dogtown can muster.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (post-next-gen update)
The most hardcore difficulty setting in CD Projekt Red’s fantasy-action opus is Death March, a challenging mode whereby enemy health and damage bonuses are significantly increased whilst experience gains are low. We’re focusing on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s next-gen update for this feature as within this version dubbed 4.0 are combat rebalances, gameplay fixes, and quality of life improvements alongside high-res sheen. Mechanically, The Witcher 3 is as rich as it ever possibly could be following this update, and its these mechanics which are arguably heightened when the game is played on its hardest difficulty setting. Combat becomes battles of patience and strategy, weapons need maintenance via oiling appropriately, potions, attributes, and buffs need to be carefully considered. Death March is difficult, but its potentially the most rewarding of all the hardcore modes on this rundown as it forces players to master The Witcher 3’s various systems.
Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition
After completing the already excruciatingly difficult main campaign, masochistic Nioh 2 players can load up a new game on the most hardcore of difficulty settings, the horrendously challenging Dream of the Demon. Here, yes, of course, like the other high difficulty settings discussed on this rundown, Dream of the Demon features health stat boosted enemies loaded with devastating attacks delivered more aggressively than on lesser difficulty settings. However, no truer test of skill and mastery exists in the Soulslike sub-genre. Nioh 2 bombards players with a multi-faceted combat system, but there’s immense reward attainable for anyone with the patience to learn it. Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition gives access to three DLC expansions, and with it opportunity to flex those skills across more of the game’s beautiful world.
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 launched with three difficulty settings, with the most challenging Hard mode demanding a familiarity with the game’s mechanics and a requirement to upgrade weapons and abilities to their maximum in order to survive. In the subsequent Final Draft update, a new difficulty setting called Nightmare mode arrived which upped the challenge exponentially, albeit one with difficulty that can be remedied if embarking on a nightmare run via new game plus. Enemy encounters are, of course, more intense in Nightmare mode so combat that can be skipped is always preferential to preserve ammo and health, with light sources – the game’s gimmick to hide from enemies – being more integral to surviving strategies than ever before.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 harbours five difficulty settings, although the hardest of these modes – dubbed Ultimate – is only available to players who’ve already completed the game’s main campaign at least once. Ultimate mode brings enemies with maxed out health, damage potential, and heightened awareness to detect Spidey even when he’s in stealth mode. Intriguingly, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has the option to bolt Ultimate difficulty on an existing save file, perhaps offering players the chance for a trial run before committing to a new campaign run. Whilst it’s not a doddle, Ultimate isn’t up there as the most challenging of hard difficulty settings. Parameters can be finetuned in gameplay settings though, things like stealth awareness, dodge and parry timing, enhanced auto aim, or game speed. Max all these out for the biggest challenge.
Days Gone Remastered
Featuring not one but two Survival modes, Days Gone Remastered outdoes its own hardest difficulty setting with Survival II. Much like Survival mode, Survival II removes fast travel and hides the HUD, but it boosts the challenge with the game’s toughest enemies, dealing immense damage whilst staying resistant to much of Deacon St. John’s attacks. For the ultimate challenge, Days Gone Remastered introduces a Permadeath mode, one which many players will presumably attempt on a lesser difficulty. Set Permadeath to wipe a save file following any death on Survivor II difficulty, and right here is amongst the most hardcore modes available.
Far Cry 6
The most challenging difficulty setting in Far Cry 6 is Guerrilla mode, and in this setting much like all the others on this rundown enemies are at their most powerful, able to dish out high damage with inhuman accuracy whilst withstanding the most punishment. They can spot players from further afield too. The game also ensures access to ammunition and gadgets is at its most limited all whilst removing certain HUD elements such as the radar and mini map. The combination of tough enemies and reduced resources forces players to think efficiently with the sparse equipment they have in their possession.
