10 Video Games That Punish You For Playing Well
6. The Difficulty Meter Makes Combat Harder As You Perform Better - God Hand
Cult classic PS2 beat 'em up God Hand features a rather unusual riff on typical dynamic difficulty mechanics, because unlike the overwhelming majority of games the calculations aren't hidden behind the scenes in the game's code.
Rather, there's literally a meter in the bottom-left corner of the screen which displays your level, this level changing depending on how well or poorly you're handling combat.
As you land attacks without being hit, the meter will fill up from level 1 to a potential fourth level called "Die," while receiving damage will cause it to drop.
Earlier levels won't allow enemies to attack unless they're in your line-of-sight, while later on they can attack from any vantage point and are also strong enough to defeat players in just a few hits.
It's an interesting mechanic because, despite being a level meter, it does nothing to elevate the player's own stats as they rise through the ranks, instead simply attempting to balance the difficulty in a bizarrely upfront way.
Players are so used to being manipulated by invisible "difficulty adjustment" that seeing it so blatantly implemented right in the player's face has been a source of both fascination and infuriation.