Hard modern single player games

[nimateb]

I have a hard time staying focused on games that don't challenge me enough so, which modern single player games from any genre that are difficult have you enjoyed lately?

The FromSoft catalogue would qualify IMO, KOTC I & II too. DMC5, Nioh too maybe? Ninja Gaiden for sure. Underrail on hard is pretty engaging for me.

 

[Silverfish]

For DMC, if you have the hardware, try the original PS2 releases of the first game or DMC3. Both had their difficulties tweaked to be a bit more punishing for the US side. As best as I can remember, DMC1 adds about 15-20% to enemy HP and damage output compared to the Japanese release or the HD version. DMC3 was even better, just using the Japanese hard mode as the US normal.

One off-beat suggestion would be Bound By Flame. The game isn't very difficult throughout, but spikes to absurd degrees at certain times and just by virtue of that, can keep you on your toes.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Conan Exiles

 

[Sunri]

Pathfinder

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Hollow Knight (platforming is more difficult than combat)

There are a number of good, recent tactics games with RPG elements that have difficulty settings and will offer an immense challenge at the topmost level, such as Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children (2020), Dungeon of Naheulbeuk (2020), Urtuk (2021), and King Arthur: Knight's Tale (2022)

 

[Zenithsan]

Simulation
Dwarf Fortress
Aurora 4X (help me god!)
A Legionary's Life
The Long Dark

Action rpg
Shadow Tower (Easy when you figure out the layout of the tower and core mechanics, so don't look guides)
Elex (Play on ultra, it's like DS, If you are careless you can die in 1 hit, but once mastered, you are a god)
Baroque (Ps1 version is more difficult than the remake)

Tower defense
Blizzard's Tower Defense (official custom map for warcraft 3)

Arcade (short sessions but both have rpg mechanics)
P.N. 03
Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight

 

[Hobknobling]

Crypt of the NecroDancer. I bet vast majority of the people who like that game never played more than 5 hours.

 

[Hag]

Rain World is really hard in its own way. Hard to describe but really worth of a try if you enjoy exploration.
I'm now playing Besiege and it quickly gets you thinking and experimenting a lot.

 

[Sjukob]

Nioh definitely. Never felt so much ass pain in my life. What you see here took me about 20 attempts to do:

You also can give Streets of Rage Remake a go. As far as I am concerned it's the best 2D beat'em'up ever made, it's completely free too. It's also very customizable, you have your usual easy, normal, hard etc difficulty modes, but you can also add additional shit on top of it, like tweaking enemy AI, making everything explode on death, restricting running, tuning up damage and much more. I even wrote a big review about it.

 

[†††]

Dungeon Rats

 

[Zarniwoop]

If you want to twitch, Doom Eternal on Nightmare or Ultra-Nightmare or Turbo-Nighmare or whatever the hardest mode is called.

 

[d1r]

God Hand

"It's hard, but fair!"

 

[Lim-Dûl]

WazHack

 

[forumvisitor#451]

Pursuit Force and Pursuit Force Extreme Force for PSP, plays very well on PPSSPP if you do not have HW. Cheesy story and art but awesome high-octane gameplay. Unforgiving but fun.

Arma 3 and/or Reforger are definitely worth taking a look - you have to cheese your way as much as possible as anything can be deadly and if you are not aware enough, you get to checkmate situation. Trust me, you will fear a tank when you see it as an infantry. That said, you can get around it and even beat it. Highly moddable, almost limitless possibilites for scenarios, both SP and MP.

 

[Catacombs]

Dark Souls

 

[anvi]

KOTC2 wants to stamp on your balls. No mercy. Although it's a lot easier than it was, each patch makes it a lot easier.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Severance - Blade of Darkness with any class except Amazon, iirc Dwarf is the hardest.

 

[racofer]

 

[luj1]

Heart of Darkness

 

[anvi]

MTG Arena, play for free.

 

[†††]

Severance - Blade of Darkness with any class except Amazon, iirc Dwarf is the hardest.

Heart of Darkness

Modern games, grandpas.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Severance - Blade of Darkness with any class except Amazon, iirc Dwarf is the hardest.

Heart of Darkness

Modern games, grandpas.

BoD got new version which plays very well even today

 

[luj1]

Severance - Blade of Darkness with any class except Amazon, iirc Dwarf is the hardest.

Heart of Darkness

Modern games, grandpas.

they are modern games


what you meant, and what the OP meant, are postmodern games

 

[udm]

Highfleet is one of the hardest games I've ever played.

 

[7h30n]

Fight 'n Rage
One of the best beat em ups (or brawlers) and it was made by 2 people! The music is awesome, the combat can get quite technical, and the game does not pull any punches.

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Resurrection
It's a new Ghosts 'n Goblins game, need I say more? Well, I guess I should, the title is a bit misleading, as the game is not a remake. The new levels are inspired by the old ones, and the level design is rather interesting as they've added some dynamic elements which are either scripted or can be influenced by the player. The art style looks strange on screenshots, but during play is actually nice and clear.

SaGa: Scarlet Grace
JRPG made by a team that really likes old school D&D. The story is kept to a minimum, and the game provides you with a pretty big world to explore with both serious and lighthearted content. It plays a lot like a D&D campaign. The hard part comes in the form of battles, there are no random encounters, and the battle system is one of the most interesting takes on the classic turn based (Wizardry-like) combat.