Summary
- Games like Breath of the Wild and Resident Evil 4 use adaptive difficulty to challenge players as they progress.
- Left 4 Dead 2 and Dishonored adjust enemies based on player performance, creating a dynamic experience.
- Titles like Metal Gear Solid 5 change difficulty based on player choices, offering unique challenges.
Video game difficulty is an important part of any game experience, testing players' knowledge and skills with new challenges that keep the game feeling rewarding throughout. Many games lean far more into the hard side of things, like the soulslike genre that opts for challenging combat to excite the player, compared to other titles where the difficulty is customizable via slider or a setting.
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These indie games are extremely challenging to complete on a 100% basis.
However, there are many games that opt for a different approach in their difficulty, offering systems and mechanics that change the level of challenge over time to mix things up and continue to push players from start to finish. Whether through player actions or dynamic systems that track the current game state, the adaptable difficulties always bring a new level of challenge and joy that isn't seen with typical difficulty settings.
8 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Enemy Evolution That Builds With Every Encounter
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U, Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has players stepping into the glorious open world of Hyrule with the single goal of defeating Ganon as the driving force behind their adventure. Gliding, riding, and sprinting across the landscape never gets old, and the gameplay itself includes several features that keep the difficulty feeling fair throughout.
8 Hardest Open-World Games, Ranked
These open-world games don't hold players' hands, but triumphing over their challenges can be immensely satisfying.
The world level acts as a background check on the player's current level and strength, increasing as they progress through the story and with every enemy slain. Simple foes gain new weapons and higher stats with each blood moon, and the whole world raises the challenge as the player gets stronger, providing a constant challenge no matter how far into the campaign they may be.
7 Resident Evil 4
Accurate Shots Lead To More Aggressive Foes
Resident Evil 4
- Released
- March 24, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Resident Evil 4 is the pinnacle of the survival horror genre, bringing in everything that made the Resident Evil series so great to deliver a challenging and satisfying experience. The difficulty can be adjusted in various ways, but the most interesting aspect comes from the in-game changes that occur based on how well the player is doing in their playthrough.
If players are landing a lot of headshots, enemies will become noticeably more aggressive and tankier. However, if the player needs a helping hand and is missing their shots, the game assists them with an easier set of foes to tackle with lower health pools. The adaptability is great for both new and veteran players, as there will be a greater challenge for the more seasoned players, while still being accessible for beginners.
6 Left 4 Dead 2
Difficulty That Correlates With Player Performance
Left 4 Dead 2
- Released
- November 17, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
Left 4 Dead 2 offers an intense, zombie-killing thrill ride that requires constant attention and never slows down the aggression. The difficulty of the game is tied to the player's performance and current circumstances, with an AI director that tracks a variety of stats like accuracy, health, and stress in order to alter how enemies spawn and function in the game.
If the players are doing particularly well, get ready to face more waves of enemies and more special infected, with fewer resources to help out. On the flip side, in situations where there is a real struggle, the game eases up and provides an easier experience with fewer enemies to face, creating a constant ebb and flow that ties into every core mechanic of the player's gameplay.
5 Dishonored
Chaos Depends On The Player Themselves
Dishonored
- Released
- October 9, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
Dishonored features a reactive difficulty system that ties enemy behavior and world state to the player's actions, particularly their level of stealth and lethality. The game tracks how many enemies are killed versus spared, dynamically altering everything from enemy patrol patterns to narrative expression in a way that feels intuitive and never intrusive.
High chaos leads to more guards, increased plague spread, and darker story outcomes, while low chaos encourages fewer enemies and more stable environments, rewarding stealth and non-lethal solutions. Allowing the player to choose their difficulty based on their actions makes every choice feel meaningful in more ways than just the outcome of the story.
4 Metal Gear Solid 5
Adaptation To Keep The Player Guessing
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Metal Gear Solid V takes the concept of dynamic difficulty scaling and pushes everything to the limit. The game monitors repeated behavior such as frequent use of headshots, nighttime infiltration, or non-lethal tactics, and enemy forces adapt accordingly to counter those patterns in ways that both make sense but are still unexpected.
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These open-world games can feel a little samey after awhile, but not if players crank the difficulty up to its highest setting.
If headshots are common, then enemies begin wearing helmets, or if missions are often completed at night, soldiers start using flashlights, night vision, and tighter patrols to combat the use of darkness. This adaptive response system forces players to constantly change strategies, as the game actively resists repetition. These difficulty changes relate to how smart and flexible the player can be — if they are not willing to adapt, then they will be faced with tougher enemies with smarter AI.
3 Undertale
From Pacifism To Full-On Genocide
Undertale
- Released
- September 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
Undertale is a mesmerizing adventure of magic, monsters, and memories that gifts players with the ability to truly choose how their game plays out. Every choice matters, and those choices tie into how the enemies themselves fight and function, depending on whether the player has decided to be more aggressive or if they have opted for a pacifist approach.
In more chaotic playthroughs, bosses gain new attacks and abilities that make the fights more challenging, whereas in quieter, less bloody runs, the enemies are quite happy to step aside. This creates an interesting dynamic where the difficulty can scale up and down in ways outside of the actual fighting, where the choices become the main difference maker when it comes to how hard the game will be.
2 Sifu
Dying Means Upping The Challenge And Power
Sifu
- Released
- February 8, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Sloclap
- Publisher(s)
- Sloclap
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, Beat 'Em Up
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
In Sifu, dying is no longer an end and instead serves as a method of progression by allowing players to unlock new abilities and skills — at the cost of a lower health pool. This means that players can either choose to die and age to gain access to new moves or to reset to maintain their health pool and to try a different approach.
The difficulty settings themselves are also not just simple health modifiers, and instead serve as a way of raising the challenge with things like enemy aggression and even additional attacks. Combining this with a smaller and smaller health pool, and players are constantly being pushed to learn and master every attack, with no margin for error.
1 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
The Nemesis System That Carries Death Through The World
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
- Released
- October 10, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Monolith
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Middle-earth: Shadow of War scales its difficulty through the iconic Nemesis System, a dynamic AI framework that tracks interactions with enemy orcs across the game world. Each orc captain remembers past encounters, growing stronger if they survive and adapting to the player's tactics by developing new strengths and fighting styles that raise the next encounter's challenge.
Defeated captains may return with scars and vendettas, while promoted enemies gain power and command larger forces, creating a system with personalized rivals that escalate in challenge as players progress, ensuring no two encounters feel the same. Difficulty emerges not from preset levels, but from evolving relationships with enemies shaped by the player’s actions, in a way so innovative that it is still patented to this day.
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