20 Video Games That Punish You For Being Too Skilled

When The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was just coming out, Bethesda boasted about its dynamic level scaling, where the more your character leveled up, the tougher the opponents in the world would become.

At the time, this mechanic felt like a promise of a fun and balanced experience that would make combat feel challenging at every step of the way. These days, however, most players can barely stand the system, as it feels more like a punishment for skilled gameplay than a balancing feature.

Because Bethesda's idea of a tougher opponent is the same NPC but with higher health and resistances, the enemies that spawn as you progress the game turn into continuously more annoying bullet sponges.

The NPCs take forever to kill, making it hard to look forward to more fights as each one will take up minutes of your life.

What's worse, however, is that the mechanic unintentionally punishes players who are skilled enough to level up their character fast. If you reach higher levels a little too quickly, the enemies will become nigh unlikable as you're still stuck with low-level gear that can hardly damage them, making it impossible to play.

Way to go, Bethesda.