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[Lightningboalt]

Watergun and non suppressed lethal shotgun load out in mgsv.
No other equipment at all.
Naked Jungle camo only.

One of the best things about MGSV is that there's hundreds of possible challenge runs you can give yourself. My personal favorite is "naked" runs. Variant I like to do is, most you can give yourself is suitable camo for a level. Otherwise, no weapons, no tools, no fultons, no buddies. Just purely fending for yourself and only using what you can find in the levels.

 

[Menitta]

What's the point of that, though? There aren't enemies to shoot.

Gravity gun.

 

[mcz117chief]

insta-gib, jump boots and low gravity in every game mode (Unreal Tournament)

 

[Echoes]

Finishing Mega Man 9 without getting hit once was the most intense experience I've ever had in gaming. Made me really connect with the game and its perfectly executed soundtrack.

Another one I did a few years ago was to play Metroid Prime without looking at the map. I finished it a few times by then, and I was convinced that the world is thoughtfully designed that it's possible to finish it without looking at the map (or very little).

 

[Fbh]

Not as extreme as some examples here.


But I find The Last of Us SO much better playing on some of the harder difficulties and with listening mode disabled.

It fixes so many of the issues people seem to have with the gameplay

 

[Orayn]

Dead Space 1 with only the first gun. It's very tense and awesome.

 

[jroc74]

TLoU on harder difficulties. And playing it more organic, free form instead of over planning.

The longer you sit planning strategy the more the flaws of the game appear.

 

[DKHustlin]

I havent done a Nuzlocke challenge but i like to put my own twist on pokemon games.

The rules are made to enjoy the new stuff in a version as much as possible. I only catch pokemon new to that version of the game. No looking up what pokemon evolve into or hpw to evolve them. The key of the challenge is I can only get exp from required trainer battles. No exp from wild pokemon. X and y i had to live with the small amount of xp you get from catching a pokemon but it was minor. No legendary pokemon either. I also try to avoid battles that are skippable. I was able to get through the fairy gym in x and y by only fighting the gym leader. It really forced you to exploit the battle system. The elite for end up being 20 levels above you so it's fun to try and survive.

 

[Spainkiller]

The longer you sit planning strategy the more the flaws of the game appear.

To be fair: that sounds like inherently bad game design to me. Which is something that often seems to be the case with games that go for a more cinematic, narrative approach. It's why I'm not a big fan of the Uncharted series.

 

[zkorejo]

Can you explain to me why this makes the game different than playing it normally? I haven't played TW3.

Because tbf, combat isnt TW3's strongest suit. Its a bit janky and less responsive, due to which you cant just rely on your swordsmanship. When you add signs (magic) to the mix, you can use signs such as Quen to protect yourself when being swarmed. Yrden to slow down enemies while you either attack to recuperate. Aard if there are 5 enemies rushing at you or Igni to get rid of the shields. And thats just human enemies.

Signs are way more important for monster enemies. Apart from signs, there are potions/decoctions and oils that are very important while dealing with specific enemy types. If you ignore all that and go Rambo, then you are not doing yourself any favors. If you mix and mesh all these things, make a plan on how to take out the enemies and execute it perfectly then you can deal with any challenge the game throws at you regardless of the sluggish combat and maybe even enjoy doing it.

Plus thats what Witchers do, they plan, prepare, meditate and then act. So it also adds to the roleplay.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Limit yourself to one set of weapons and armor along with only a handful of potions in Elder Scrolls or comparable games.

 

[Spainkiller]

Thanks for the explanation! And yeah, the janky swordplay is one of the reasons why (as a Souls fan) TW3 didn't seem appealing to me.

One thing, though: aren't you describing the optimal (and intended) way to play the game, instead of an alternative way?

 

[abracadaver]

Crysis games without the suit powers

 

[zkorejo]

Thanks for the explanation! And yeah, the janky swordplay is one of the reasons why (as a Souls fan) TW3 didn't seem appealing to me.

One thing, though: aren't you describing the optimal (and intended) way to play the game, instead of an alternative way?

That is actually true. I am assuming the majority doesnt do all that stuff because they believe if they are building a swordsman only build, then they shouldn't need to do all that extra work.

 

[cireza]

Shovel Knight on Xbox with the Battletoads armor : game becomes a lot faster and almost a beat'em all. I was really impressed by how much this armor changes the game.

 

[JulianImp]

F-Zero X was fun to play like a destruction derby, making sure to crush as many rival cars as possible without getting your own busted in the process.

Sequence breaking in Metroid Prime 1 (preferably using the v1.00 discs). Breaking the physics and doing all kinds of crazy jumps into little bits of leftover geometry to get to places without the movement upgrades you'd normally need was awesome, and being able to skip bosses or trigger glitchy super-floaty jumps by going outside the level's bounds was even better.

Playing Goldeneye with proximity mines, which made things into a weird game of "whoever moves first loses".

Throwing out green shells down Mario Kart 64's Block Fort stage until there were so many that they stopped being rendered at all, and then jumping down to see who'd lose all their balloons first.

3v1 "juggernaut" Smash Bros Melee games, with the three-player team being humans with a handicap of 1 and the lone player being an AI with maximum handicap, so that the AI can KO everyone in a single hit, and it takes lots of coordination and teamwork to take it down (team attack can be added to make things even harder!). Too bad they replaced handicaps with starting damage in later games, since that doesn't work the same way.

 

[RBIYF]

- Playing Ico with local co-op in the new game mode actually makes it a fun game with a significant other.

- The Last of Us, playing in either Survivor or Grounded mode. There are plenty of gamers that swear that this is the "true" way to play the game.

 

[Unicorn]

Play Armored Core like a pro.

Wait. Wtf. Is this real? This may be the craziest thing.

 

[Aters]

Pokemon:
Don't set up a team. Just use whatever you captured recently. A good way to get underlevel and I can finally lose to NPCs.

 

[Spainkiller]

Shovel Knight on Xbox with the Battletoads armor : game becomes a lot faster and almost a beat'em all. I was really impressed by how much this armor changes the game.

This sounds amazing.

... Shit, I'm going to buy this game for a third time, aren't I?

 

[Whales]

This sounds very interesting!

Can you quickly explain to me what the Sphere Grid is used for and how not using makes the game more fun? What is necessary to beat the game without it?

sphere grid in FFX is basically the way you level up. You get points which allow you to move to nodes that you can activate to get stats + abilities

playing the game without it is basically playing till the end and all your units are level 1

 

[Adam_Vania]

One of the best things about MGSV is that there's hundreds of possible challenge runs you can give yourself. My personal favorite is "naked" runs. Variant I like to do is, most you can give yourself is suitable camo for a level. Otherwise, no weapons, no tools, no fultons, no buddies. Just purely fending for yourself and only using what you can find in the levels.

yes, OSP runs are godlike in this game.

lately i've started using Rocket Punch in my FOB invasions and events. completely changes the game!

MGSV has an almost embarrassing amount of player freedom, there's no excuse for finding it repetitious unless you are just being lazy.

 

[magnetic]

Fighting low rank monsters with the best weapons I have but with no armor and trying to get hit as rarely as possible rather than surviving via items and armor is the way Monster Hunter is the most fun to me.

It's where the intricate monster design and their subtle telegraphed attacks as well as the very deliberate movement and combat design really shines.

Basically, I'm too bad for late game monsters, but love trying to go for a no damage run against easier ones.

 

[Hitlersaurus Christ]

Star Fox Zero is way better in co-op mode. One person steers and can shoot straight, the other uses the cockpit to do precision shooting. Switching off between levels keeps it fresh.

 

[cireza]

This sounds amazing.

... Shit, I'm going to buy this game for a third time, aren't I?

It is pretty great. You might want to try it indeed

 

[sn00zer]

Semi related but Crysis and Kingdom Hearts 2 become vastly different games at the highest difficulty

 

[potatohead]

This... sounds awful.

It's actually incredibly fun especially in Hitman 1 to 3.

 

[Caim]

Kingdom Hearts games on Critical is almost a different game entirely.

 

[Opa-Pa]

How exactly does one beat FFX without the sphere grid? Do you rely heavily on items or something? As someone who dropped it at the endgame due to screwing up my grid and getting stuck against a boss, learning about this is kinda embarrassing haha. I haven't played in a long time so I can't grasp how it's possible at all.

Star Fox Zero is way better in co-op mode. One person steers and can shoot straight, the other uses the cockpit to do precision shooting. Switching off between levels keeps it fresh.

Yeah for a feature I found sounded so stupid before the game came out, it proved pretty damn fun. After finishing the game a couple of times I tried co-op with my girlfriend and we beat it in one sitting and had a blast. Not exactly an "unintended" way to play it but I definitely expected it to suck.

 

[redgetan]

Valkyria Chronicles - use Alicia only, no teammates.

 

[wispsmoke]

Driveclub: heavy precipitation, sunset into night or night into dawn. First person.

Gave the game new life for me.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

One of the best things about MGSV is that there's hundreds of possible challenge runs you can give yourself. My personal favorite is "naked" runs. Variant I like to do is, most you can give yourself is suitable camo for a level. Otherwise, no weapons, no tools, no fultons, no buddies. Just purely fending for yourself and only using what you can find in the levels.

I wish I could have multiple save files for MGSV on PS4.

 

[Luigi87]

Kingdom Hearts games on Critical is almost a different game entirely.

Related to this

Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix, Critical Mode Level 1 run.

While it may only sort of fall into the thread's category (since the game gives you the tools to do this, rather than it being a think outside the box situation), it makes bosses and challenges way more exciting, as nearly every boss is so fined tuned (and admittedly, patterned) that it makes the game's combat vastly more satisfying than your standard run.

 

[MafiaMurderBag]

GTA V - Aim assistance off and no hud

MGS2 - European Extreme

FIFA17 - All manual Controls

 

[Spacejaws]

Anbody familiar with Baldur's Gate will know that quick saves and reloading is fairly bloody common. Especially on the run up to a difficult encounter that you remember from previous playthroughs.

To spice it up there's the No Reload challenge similar to a Nuzlocke. You can save the game to break from play but can never reload to try and get better results. Its a bit more edgy when you actually have to deal with dead team mates, a mountain of loot that they have, continuing on through a dungeonn without them or heading back to a temple. Also getting optional equipment from Greywolf or Kangaax is not taken lightly. If you die then its game over, start again.

I'm a bit of a softy and do the minimal reload challenge which is only reloading on character death or giving an allowance for character death (main character can die and relod 3 times. After that start a new game). It takes a bit of will to flee and not just throw yourself into a death pit when your whole squad is dead by muthafuckin poison wyverns to get a reload but I feel all these challenges are a bit about self restraint.

 

[jdstorm]

Knights of the old republic.

Scoundrel/Sentinal stealth build. Turns KotOR into a turn based Metal Gear solid. That you can practically beat Solo

 

[Samo6106]

Digimon World Championship is absolute trash...unless you use a cheat to be able to control your digimons in fights, that fixes 60% of my problems with the game and it makes it go from a 3.5/10 to a 6.5 or even a 7.

Wait what? If only I knew this before selling the game

 

[Blobbers]

Same question for you

There's no classic leveling in FFX. Instead, when you defeat enemies you get items called "spheres" of various types (Magic Def., Magic, Attack, Defence, HP, MP etc.) which you can then insert into the Sphere Grid to increase your characters stats AND get new spells.

Without the sphere grid you're reduced to using your base spells, limit breaks and items. And later on in the game, you get the option to customize your weapons and armor in a bunch of different ways.

So I guess it's kinda like a Level 1 run.

 

[Kouriozan]

Doubt I'm the only one who came up with this but...

Ingredients:
* 1 friend
* super mario bros 3

How to:
* start a 2 player game
* go to a location the other player is on and choose to battle them instead of doing the level
* if it's anything other than the battle mode based on the original mario bros, get it done
* if you get original mario bros battle mode you are now ready play 'survival bros'

The rules:
* Don't kill any enemies
* If an enemy isn't angry, knock it over so it'll get back up and be furious
* whoever dies loses
* bumping into each other and other such dirty tactics is a-ok :3

It's funny it's exactly what I did with my brother when it was released on the SNES, kinda like Mario Party before Mario Party.

 

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

Onimusha 2 and 3 on the hardest difficulty with critical kills only mode. You will become a real samurai.

 

[MikeyB]

I had to imagine an entirely different storyline to make sense of Gransys enjoyable outside of Bitterblack isle. The sparsely populated settlements, bandits, and copious ruins simply don't make sense with the story they are telling. Like a teeth grinding level of nonsense to me. So I imagined a different story and moved along.

 

[Geminosity]

Ha, my brother and I used to do that all the time in SMB3 Memories <3

It's funny it's exactly what I did with my brother when it was released on the SNES, kinda like Mario Party before Mario Party.

Haha, glad it wasn't just me that enjoyed it this way then. It just seemed so much more interesting than the way you were supposed to play the mario bros battle mode :3
I'm actually kind of tempted to take a stab at making a game based on it.

 

[silva1991]

Most people(if not all) play their first Dark souls with shields, but if you get very good at the game and played shieldless the game gets insanely better imo.

 

[Coriolanus]

Wait. Wtf. Is this real? This may be the craziest thing.

I'm intrigued. Need more info on this.

Due to the number of parts and offensive/defensive options your mech has in Armored Core, playing it competitively with just two thumbs and some fingers on top won't cut it. It will simply be too slow and require you to stop turning/moving sometimes to change equipment/activate some function, which will equal death.

Thus the reverse grip. Quite real.

 

[Spainkiller]

Most people(if not all) play their first Dark souls with shields, but if you get very good at the game and played shieldless the game gets insanely better imo.

I did this with Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin after beating Bloodborne.

Then again, DS2 had that stat that added iFrames to the roll; rolling through attacks became the easiest thing with 30 points into that bad boy.

 

[super-famicom]

Valkyria Chronicles - use Alicia only, no teammates.

You can S Rank practically the whole game by doing this.

 

[Joe Prodigy]

I've seen the FFX Sphere Grid challenge mentioned I'm here. I didn't know that was actually a thing.

Kind of funny story, when I first got the game I was either in elementary or middle school. Basically young and stupid. I had no idea how to use the sphere grid so I just avoided it. I got stuck Soooooo many times because my crew was so weak. Tool me forever but I eventually beat it.

Got the remakes and played it the right way and it was much easier. Haha.