10 Video Games That Rewarded You For Losing

6. Secretly Lower The Difficulty By Playing Poorly - Resident Evil 4

Metal gear solid
Capcom

Adaptive difficulty may be a relatively common gameplay mechanic these days, but back when Resident Evil 4 came out it was still relatively niche.

More to the point, while many games loudly broadcast their inclusion of such mechanics, Capcom kept it intentionally hidden below the surface in Resident Evil 4, and it was only made public knowledge through a strategy guide released more than a year after the game itself.

As it turns out, no matter which difficulty you selected at the outset, the game has another internal difficulty scale which is adjusted depending on the player's skill.

The game effectively grades your performance behind-the-scenes from 1 to 10, and so if you find yourself regularly taking damage, missing shots, and getting killed, it will nerf enemies' A.I. and attack power to compensate.

Furthermore, you'll also find more resources (such as ammo) in the environment, and if you get into major trouble, the game will actually make some enemies disappear entirely.

The flip-side, of course, is that the difficulty will ramp back up if you start doing well again, so make sure you don't kick too much ass on the upswing.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.