Summary
- RPGs like The Witcher 3, Mount & Blade 2, and Fallout 4 offer intense challenges on their highest difficulties.
- Games like Hades and Mount & Blade 2 have highly customizable difficulty settings that enhance gameplay.
- Battle Brothers is punishingly difficult in Ironman mode where manual saves are disabled.
RPGs are beloved throughout the gaming community for their engaging stories and endearing characters. For long-term RPG fans or those looking for more of a challenge from their games, upping the difficulty is a great way to add some more spice to a new RPG or revitalize passion for an older one. After all, higher difficulties aren't just for players looking to punish themselves; they’re also one of the best ways to make a game's mechanics really shine.
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Nowadays, many RPGs feature unique mechanics and challenges that can only be unlocked on the highest difficulty levels. Other RPGs, meanwhile, are at their best when played on the hardest difficulties, where players are forced to use most of every mechanic at their disposal. No longer do consumables languish in inventories, not if players want to survive the terrors that await them.
This article contains spoilers for Hades.
6 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
High-Leveled Enemies And A Brutal Early-Game
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Play as Geralt, a man hated by most for being a Witcher.
- Four difficulty settings, ranging from Easy to Very Hard.
- Very Hard is especially punishing early on.
In this open-world dark fantasy RPG, players take on the role of Geralt. Reviled by most as a genetically modified monster hunter known as a Witcher, every day is an intense struggle for survival, even with his superhuman abilities. Cranking up the game's difficulty setting to the max is sure to make that struggle all the more challenging.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt boasts four difficulties, ranging from Just the Story (Easy) to Death March (Very Hard). As its name suggests, Death March is indeed punishing, frequently throwing all manner of high-level monsters at the player. This difficulty is at its hardest during the early game, where Geralt has few abilities and even fewer resources at his disposal. This scarcity gives rise to some truly creative plans and thrilling gameplay.
5 Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
Highly Customizable And Punishingly Realistic
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
- Released
- October 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- TaleWorlds Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Strategy
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Explore a medieval land filled with outlaws and ruthless nobles.
- Features no set difficulties, but the difficulty of individual features can be customized.
- Realistic damage and character death make for a brutal challenge.
Set in the land of Calradia, players venture through its breathtaking but unforgiving lands in search of wealth, strength, and glory. Form a kingdom, become a mercenary, or pillage villages - the choice is up to the player, so long as they have a powerful army at their back. This combat-focused strategy game is particularly punishing on higher difficulties, because while Calradia may be beautiful, it is home to an abundance of outlaws, bandits, and disgruntled nobles who are all too fond of preying on the weak.
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That said, Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord doesn't have set difficulties. Instead, its difficulty settings are split into seven areas that can be customized individually. Turning all settings to the highest level makes for a fierce challenge. At its hardest, the player, their soldiers, and their companions will all take realistic damage, meaning that they can be felled in battle in a matter of seconds. With character death enabled, such a wounding could be deadly.
4 Fallout 4
New Mechanics And Tougher Survival
Fallout 4
- Released
- November 10, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Players must survive in a hostile post-apocalyptic wasteland.
- Features a number of difficulties, from Very Easy to Survival.
- Survival gives players a number of new mechanics and restrictions.
Fallout 4 is the newest (though far from new) installment in this post-apocalyptic series. Players emerge from cryogenic sleep into a post-apocalyptic nightmare of a world ravaged by nuclear fallout. No place is truly safe in this land; if outlaws don't kill the player, then ghouls, deadly machines, and hulking mutants will.
Fallout 4 offers a range of difficulty settings for players to choose from, from Very Easy all the way to Survival. Survival difficulty doesn't just up the ante on existing gameplay; it also introduces new mechanics and rules. For one, players now need to keep themselves fed, hydrated, and well-rested, lest they incur increasingly more punishing debuffs. Manual and autosaves are also thrown out the window unless players sleep in a bed. This is just a taste of the punishing mechanics Survival mode introduces.
3 Hades
Intricate Difficulty Settings With Punishing Results
Hades
- Released
- September 17, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Supergiant Games
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Roguelite
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Battle through the dangerous depths of the Underworld as Zagreus, son of Hades.
- The Pact of Punishment lets players customize the difficulty of their run.
- Higher difficulties make for some truly exhilarating gameplay.
In this beloved roguelike, players take on the role of Zagreus, the inquisitive and stubborn son of Hades, on his quest to reach the surface. Hades may have a distinctly more welcoming setting than other punishing RPGs, but even on its baseline difficulty, it's as tough as nails. Players need buckets of determination and skill if they are to win a run, let alone complete the game.
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After defeating Hades for the first time, the player unlocks the Pact of Punishment, the game's difficulty menu. Here, players can place a number of negative modifiers on the run, ranging from buffing the number and strength of enemies to putting time limits on each region. At higher heat levels, Hades transforms into a whirlwind of adrenaline. Most players will be lucky if they even reach the final boss at that difficulty, let alone beat him.
2 Battle Brothers
No Manual Saving And No Second Chances
Battle Brothers
- Released
- April 27, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Overhype Studios
- Genre(s)
- Indie Games, Tactical, RPG, Strategy, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Survive in a brutal world infested by monsters and outlaws.
- Keeping everyone alive is all but impossible at higher difficulties.
- Enabling Ironman mode disables all manual saves.
Players who venture off into the unforgiving world of Battle Brothers won't soon forget their harrowing adventures or the valiant soldiers they lose along the way. Every party crumbles in the end; it's only a matter of time. Even on its default settings, Battle Brother's is a punishingly brutal tactical RPG. A single poor decision can put the survival of the entire party in jeopardy, no matter how well-prepared they are.
Battle Brothers doesn't have universal difficulty settings; instead, its difficulty is split into three categories, along with a handful of tick-box modifiers. On its hardest difficulty, every day is a grueling struggle to simply keep the group fed. Players are forced to make impossible decisions at every turn. Ironman also disables manual saving, meaning every decision, no matter how cataclysmic, cannot be reversed.
1 Oblivion Remastered
So Difficult That It's Downright Unfair
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Released
- April 22, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Players explore the varied and beautiful land of Cyrodiil.
- The hardest difficulty, Master, makes every enemy terrifying.
- Master difficulty forces players to make the most of all the items they have.
In this remastering of the cherished The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, players are set loose in the breathtaking high fantasy lands of Cyrodiil. Of course, adventuring isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a dangerous occupation, a reality that Oblivion Remastered's higher difficulties strike players over the head with time and time again.
Many gamers might have already heard about how brutal this game can be on its harder difficulties. On the hardest difficulty, Master, new players deal a truly pitiful amount of damage even to the weakest of foes, while every enemy, be they a rat or even a mudcrab, can kill the player in just a handful of hits. Master difficulty certainly isn't for everyone, but it can do wonders to enhance tension. Every scroll found and potion crafted is also a treasured resource regardless of its effect, and using it can genuinely be the difference between life and death.
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