10 Video Games That Must Be Played On The Hardest Difficulty

Sometimes, it’s best to do things the hard way.

The Last Of Us
Naughty Dog

Although there are many different types of video games, the fundamental reason of why never changes: we want to break away from the cruel reality of the world by losing ourselves in a virtual reality of escapist fun.

Yet, while effortlessly gunning down enemies or virtually dating men and women may be fun for some, the success of games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls and Super Meat Boy show that there are a host of players who get high off of cruel and sadistic punishment.

These are “hardcore” gamers - the people you’ll often see on forums complaining about how new releases "are becoming too easy". But you know what?

Sometimes they’re right.

Regardless of if the intent is to prevent combat from being too simple by having the redshirts actually fight back (rather than accept their fate as cannon fodder), or to prove your skill as a gamer by conquering a punishing bonus mode of insanity, there are many games that demand being played on hardest difficulty, ensuring you get the best experience possible.

10. Batman Arkham Series - Hard Mode

The Last Of Us
Rocksteady

To play the Batman Arkham series on anything less than Hard mode is shameful. True, even on its hardest difficulty the games aren’t super challenging, but at least battering brutes isn’t so easy that even your video game-hating mother could effortlessly “be the Batman”.

Unlike Normal and Easy mode, you can’t just walk up to the typical swarm of Blackgate escapees and break them with your fists while pouncing about rooms like The Flash. You must be smarter and wiser, actually utilising Batman’s gadgets in combos to crush every 'roided-up fiend.

When swinging from the gargoyles above nervous prey, everything is a lot more tense due to a single error being enough to have Vicki Vale print headlines about the Bat being dead. Alienating foes by distracting them with Sonic Batarangs, giving them a free bungee jump experience and blowing up several smartly selected walls at once is key. If you ignore Batman’s utility belt and try to take down enemies on the floor, then you’ll only be successful in earning game over screens in which villains gleefully mock you.

If you enjoy having a Spidey Sense telling you when to reverse and dodge, then continue being Peter Parker dressed up as Batman on Easy and Normal difficulty. But, if you truly want to be the strategic and intelligent Dark Knight who makes criminals cower under the moon, then play the game on Hard.

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