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[royox]

Every bungie Halo game.

 

[Anteater]

Vanquish and Uncharted 2 (I think), were just about right for me on hard, feels like normal is just the same stuff but lowering damage curve a bit.

 

[normalmode]

If it is a game I am excited about and if the developer doesn't have a reputation for punishing difficulty spikes, I will play the game with fresh eyes on Hard, which I just did with Uncharted 4.

After all, Hard after beating on Normal isn't the purest version of Hard since you already know the lay of the land, enemy weaknesses, etc.

 

[Kup]

The Evil Within - Akumu difficulty.

If you're hit once it is game over and you must retry from the latest checkpoint. More fun than it sounds and completely changes the game.

 

[thesonovabeach]

I played through the easy difficulty on Uncharted 3 for the trophies (kill 100 ennemies with that weapon etc), and it was pretty damn fun. You're like an unbeatable super hero that destroys his enemies.

I wouldn't play all game like that but it was pretty cool.

 

[Blobbers]

Better question is what game is more fun on the default difficulty mode

Resident Evil 3, probably. Unless the default mode is the one where you get a shitload of ammo for every weapon

 

[barneystuta83]

Bayonetta and/or other games similar.

To play the game 'properly' you have to master combos, chains, counters, etc. On the harder difficulties, you need to master these, or it will be a frustrating experience.

 

[Yawnier]

Musou series (Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, etc.)

I turn it on hard or chaos so that the enemy officers can kill you easily so you gotta be more careful (pick your battles) and conserve your health, and normal mode honestly is just too easy with all the peasants/ground troops standing around the character you control doing nothing and just waiting to be killed.

 

[Deft Beck]

Rhythm games are best on the highest difficulty.

Depends on the Rhythm game. Some of them require savants to play on hardest difficulty. EBA is a good example of 'perfect at hardest difficulty' but there are some bemani or bemani style games that require so much memorization and precision that only the most dedicated players with the craziest reflexes can even manage to play on hardest.

Basically.

If the rhythm game has good charts, it's fun for me. Otherwise, it's a chore.

The Last of Us.

Normal mode pretty quickly ends up robbing the games combat of it's best aspect - the tension.

I would recommend that anybody who hasn't played the game yet does so on Hard mode with listen mode turned off. The sound design is incredible in this game so when you turn off your magic see through walls vision, with the more limited ammo of hard mode is makes it a great, tense and frantic survival experience.

Grounded/Survival mode are even better for that sense of tension but I wouldn't necessarily recommend those modes for a first play through since you don't really get the opportunity to experiment as much as you'd like.

I think that TLOU got such a wide audience because of how easy its Normal mode was. It made it much more accessible. For a "truer experience" Hard mode might be better, but it's not for everybody.

Most Kingdom Hearts games, in my opinion. Really enjoy playing on the hardest difficulty (most of the time). Pretty good balance of challenge without having to grind (at least in the main story).

KH's Proud Mode is often very unbalanced. Try fighting the Birth by Sleep boss

Spoiler

Experiment 221

on Proud Mode and beat it the first time.

 

[Lord Phol]

I honestly think most games are pretty well balanced on default. I used to play games on hard just because but now I usually go with the default. Recently played Halo 3, ODST and 4 from the masters collection on Heroic and found it to be frustrating more often than not. Way too many random explosion and sudden sniper deaths. Normal seemed a bit on the easy side though.

When possible I prefer games with no difficulty selection at all like dark souls. I also hate it when AI is tied to difficulty.

 

[JPS Kai]

Rhythm games are best on the highest difficulty.

This. Especially when each stage gets their own signature gimmick or hook.

 

[potatohead]

Bungie Halo games are great examples (haven't played any 343 ones, but I imagine it's the same deal).

Every game just needs to be played at a difficulty that gives some tension, as much as the player wants, that way the reward is that much sweet.

Doesn't matter if it's Easy or Normal or Hard. Having some tension is the key.

 

[Falchion]

Most Call of Duty's on veteran because you have to hit your shots since you hardly have any time when you peek out before you're lit up.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

Blue Dragon. Downloadable hard mode is mandatory.

Yeah, on Hard mode, it has some of the best combat of any JRPG in the past 10 years. On the default difficulty, it's a complete pushover.

 

[Unaha-Closp]

The Last of Us - I played it on Hard and even then kept hold of the Flamethrower just in case and finished the game without using it once lol

I'm not one to change difficulty really but that one is recommended.

 

[Ghost Slayer]

The Last of Us - I played it on Hard and even then kept hold of the Flamethrower just in case and finished the game without using it once lol

I'm not one to change difficulty really but that one is recommended.

tbf, TLoU stealth is too useful. I saved every ammo on almost every guns to prepare for hard encounters. Funny thing I never used them lol

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I'll go totally opposite here, I have a lot more fun with a lot of WRPGs (especially Bethesda ones and Dragon Age games) won't be difficulty down a notch or dropping dkw. And back to normal as needed.

I don't like the combat, crafting etc. anyway so that lets me focus on exploring and enjoying the world, characters, story and questing.

There's really no games I enjoy more on higher difficulty as I'm just not a big fan of hard games outside of soulsborne anyway.

 

[shark sandwich]

Rhythm games are best on the highest difficulty.

You should turn off "game mode" on your HDTV and crank up all the image "enhancement" options.

Really adds a whole new dimension to rhythm games.

 

[mikefrails]

Halo on normal is not very interesting IMO.

Took me a while to understand why people felt this during Halo's peak. I just hadn't played enough FPS games to notice how easy it was.

 

[Ceadeus]

Diablo, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, Halo...

You know, all those where higher difficulty means new stuff and game mechanic. Change of pace or manage your supply.

 

[shark sandwich]

Ratchet & Clank games are much better with the difficulty cranked up all the way. Those games are trivially easy otherwise.

 

[Castef]

Halo, Blue Dragon.

 

[DrunkShogun]

Last of us. Normal mode makes ammo too easy to find and you never struggle enemies. Most fun occurred when you have a total ammo of 3 and have 6 enemies wandering around.

 

[The_Almighty_Swan]

Gears of War to me is meant to be played on Hardcore difficulty. Hate playing it on normal

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

Any platinum game

 

[balohna]

Halo for sure, I'd say it's best on Heroic.

Also, I played BioShock Infinite on Hard and really enjoyed the combat. Felt like I really had to use my full arsenal and use the environments to my advantage. Then I see harsh criticism of the combat, calling it "braindead" or whatever... My initial assumption is that these people played on Normal.

The only thing that really sucks is the respawning feels cheap. I'd rather just have frequent checkpoints. The whole Boys Of Silence part was also a joke, I was clearing rooms of them in seconds using vigors.

I've never tried 1999 mode, I worry it may be slightly more item management than I want in a shooter.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

since i borrowed all Uncharted games back in the days, i played them in normal or easy cant remember just so i could breeze through them.

it was good but not life changing good, fast forward to the UCC and i played them all three on hard and it felt so good. i enjoyed them more this time (probably the perf improvements helped a lot)

i usually play games on hard most of the time these days because they are too easy

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Bayonetta on non stop infinite climax is fantastic.

 

[Bladelaw]

Vanquish and Uncharted 2 (I think), were just about right for me on hard, feels like normal is just the same stuff but lowering damage curve a bit.

Vanquish is a really interesting game in that each difficulty level dramatically changes the experience.

Easy - You are every action movie unkillable ultimate badass

Normal - You take down hordes of fodder and engage in the occasional tense moment

Hard (or beyond) - The player either becomes the ultimate badass or you become a lead pin cushion.


My choice is Transformers Devastation. I ran through on Normal and was never really challenged, On NG+ I loaded up hard and I'm having a much better time, I actually need to choose my combos carefully, bust out the ranged weapons for specific threats, and get rewarded appropriately. I can't wait to unlock Prime.

 

[darkslayer101]

The Witcher is better played on easy. Combat is mostly a chore and I can't imagine most people really wanting to spend ages trawling for alchemy ingredients.

Yeah I'm having a blast on Death March but that is mainly due to having the right potions, oils and skills etc...

The game has poor difficulty balance. Anything below DM is too easy and does not require any alchemy while DM can't be played without alchemy

 

[ghibli99]

Child of Light is a much better game on hard.

I had a pretty rough go on normal. LOL Some of those late-game battles were very tough IMO!

 

[PotionBleue]

I found Kid Icarus Uprising (3DS) even greater when attempting intensity 9.0 runs.

 

[old manatee]

Halo 1 legendary. Single player or co-op.

 

[MrCunningham]

Metroid: Zero Mission is much better on hard mode than its default mode.

 

[Sakwoff]

Doom (talking about the original of course)

I'm not necessarily talking about the difficulty settings proper. Although that would kind of work as well, as the game defaults to Hurt Me Plenty.

What I mean is pistol starts. In case you're unfamiliar with the concept, that basically means that you begin each map from scratch, no carryovers from the map that came before.

The thing is, the game was actually playtested this way. Sandy Petersen actually said at some point that playing continuously does indeed make the game a little to easy, even though that's the standard way of playing the game. If you play with pistol starts, you get a whole new appreciation for weapon-placement and the like. Good example would be all the weapon secrets. If you already have the thing by carrying it over from the last map, they completely lose their meaning + impact.

Another good example is the boss fight of episode 3. The general opinion is that the Spider Mastermind is kind of underwhelming after fighting the Cyberdemon at the end of 2. And yeah, it kind of is, but only if you waltz in there with a fully loaded BFG, since that completely trivializes the whole thing.

From pistol start, the fight is actually pretty challenging on account of map design and ammo placement. You basically have to make a mad dash for the rocket ammo around the sides, but doing so leaves you totally exposed for the Spider's hitscan attack, forcing you to make use of monster infighting to keep it busy. It's actually kind of awesome that way.

 

[lord_of_flood]

Bayonetta 1 on Hard and Bayonetta 2 on Infinite Climax are great if you took the time to learn the techniques and combos.

 

[ScaryShark]

The Witcher is better played on easy. Combat is mostly a chore and I can't imagine most people really wanting to spend ages trawling for alchemy ingredients.

I feel the opposite. I'm so glad my first experience was on Death March. I literally never had to 'trawl' for anything. I just played the game naturally.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

oh yes, except games like DMC and what not i play them on easy i suck at connecting combos and button smashing can only take you so far (on harder difficulties)