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Most difficult single player PC RPGs?
fivetigers
Member UncommonPosts: 208
Title says it all. I'm looking for titles released in the past 10 years.
Let me try to further explain what I'm looking for. I want something where the game is inherently difficult, not something that I have to max out the difficulty setting. Most modern games are designed to let players win, I want a game that forces the player to use skill and tactics to win. I want a game that doesn't let the player become ridiculously overpowered without time, effort, and careful thought put into their character or party.
No need to suggest Dark Souls. I am aware of the series, and I enjoyed what I played of them, but they are a little bit more actioney that what I am in the mood for at the moment.
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Xcom enemy unknown
Shadowrun Dragonfall
I think they have some RPG elements and are difficult. I havent played Xcom but Dragonfall gave me a headache in the first 2 encounters on normal mode.... maybe i just suck at turn based tactical games. I stopped playing because i dont like point and click games but i do recommend Shadowrun Dragonfall to anyone who doesnt mind point and click games.
Also the classic YS games on steam are difficult too. Awesome RPG franchise.
Divinity Original Sin is definitely on my radar. Just waiting for a steam sale.
I beat Shadowrun Returns (loved the old school Sega Genesis game), but I never picked up Dragonfall even thought I heard it's better than Shadowrun Returns. Returns let me down a little with how linear and short it was.
The YS games look like fast-paced Zelda games, and they just don't appeal to me for whatever reason.
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Divinity OS is pretty hard.
From old games Icewind Dale 2 is very though , Temple of Elemental evil is pretty hard as well.
Any roguelike is very hard (due to permanent death) .
I would recommend Darkest Dungeon or FTL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_Fortress
http://www.nethack.org/
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
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LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Well , any roguelike for that mater
I really enjoyed Neverwinter 1 and 2, but they aren't difficult by any stretch of imagination. Your character soon becomes godlike and you don't even need the rest of the party to beat every challenge.
Divinity: Original Sin as others pointed out is quite challenging in its highest difficulty setting, and on top of that is a very great game. Also, in 8 days will be released Pillars of Eternity, which was funded by hardcore CRPG fans and I've personally tried the beta in the highest difficulty setting (Path of the Damned) and every random monster is very, very challenging to beat, and fun too, due to the positioning and tactics that you need to use during combats.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
If you are looking along the lines of the suggested X com, you may want to try Jagged Alliance 2 with the 1.12 patch.
Also like Xcom is Xenonaughts
Divinity:OS is a really awesome game and a bargain even at full price considering the depth of it, and besides Larian Studios is a real gamer studio and deserving of support.
You should really narrow down more what you are looking for in a SPRPG
Single protagonist
Multi Protag?
Real Time with Pause (Baldurs gate style)
Turn based (X com)
Action (Dark Souls)
Open world
Classic/Retro
Are you a graphics whore?
There are plenty of difficult games out there... (Wizardry Series, old school ultimas) You just really need to narrow down your wishes.
What are your other Hobbies?
Gaming is Dirt Cheap compared to this...
If you are going to try XCOM, then install The Long War mod, available on Nexus. It's a much deeper game than the original Foraxis XCOM, much closer to the original.
T
In general I heavily favor Fantasy settings to SciFi ones.
To answer all of your questions, I guess I'll go from the "I wish this game existed" point of view, haha.
Here are the features that I prefer: Party based, real time w/pause, open world.
I'm not a graphics whore, but I can't get into stuff like dwarf fortress. I've played and loved all the old infinity engine DnD games. The original Baldur's Gate is one of my favorite games and a good example of a decently difficult game. I've also played ToEE and the NWN series. Just finishing up Dragon Age: Origins (my 1st and only playthrough, which is on hard, has been overall way too easy) right now and trying to decide what to play next.
I forgot Pillars of Eternity was coming out this month. I've definitely been looking forward to that. I think my top two options are Pillars of Eternity and Divinity: Original Sin. Does anyone here know the main differences between the two games and how they compare together? Does Pillars of Eternity have multi-classing?
I like being able to build my character and class from the ground up as much as possible. I like games that will allow a player to gimp their character with poor choices, or make cool class combinations if desired. I always prefer non-linear gameplay and open worlds. I especially like playing party-based games and attempting to solo them (I've soloed BG1, BG2, BG2: ToB, IWD (not sure if I've soloed IWD2, maybe that's what I should try next)).
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Both Pillars of Eternity and Divinity: Original Sin play very similarly, and they allow for full customization of your characters. A peculiarity of D:OS is that you get to create two main characters, and they are both equally important to the game's plot. But I think the main difference between the two games is that D:OS has a hard turn-based combat in that PCs and monsters act in a turn order one after another in combat, while Pillars of Eternity is more like BG/IWD sagas in that turns do exist, and you can do a limited amount of things per turn with each character, but it all happens simultaneously (and so you'll find yourself often pausing combat to issue orders and micromanage your characters).
Pillars of Eternity doesn't allow for hard multiclassing (meaning you can't do Rogue5/Fighter3/Monk7 kind of builds) but every few levels you are allowed to pick a cross-class feat or skill if you wish (so a rogue could take a fighter ability, for example) which allows you to mix and match skills and feats to get some nice build combinations.
If you can afford it, pick both, they are both essential to me. If you have to choose just one... you're in for a tough choice.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
They will both be in my library eventually. I've read that D:OS is an open world, but that the enemy difficulty pretty much funnels you onto 1 path for most of the game. Do you know how linear/open world PoE is?
In PoE, do you get to create your entire party, or just the main character?
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Although this is not an RPG, if you like Side scroller games then i highly recommend you play I Wanna be the Guy Gaiden.
It is probably the most difficult game in history. Its just a mash up of different games like mario and bionic commando. Its fun but its so frustrating that im sure most people quit before beating it. And its free so all you have to lose is little time trying it.
official download site if interested http://gamejolt.com/games/action/i-wanna-be-the-guy-gaiden/8598/
its only like 45mb big lol
DrakenSang: Dark Eye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQlPjuNTKfw
1080p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC4WucS8_JE
I have the Drakensang games, and maybe I should give them another chance. I got to the main city where I'm trying to solve the murder and it's getting a little boring to me. I've read that River of Time is better.
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PoE is similar to Divinity in that aspect too. The main storyline will lead you down one path with increasing difficulty, but I believe PoE has more optional/side missions, some of which are the most difficult of the game. Josh Sawyer (lproject director of PoE) said that 2/3 of the game's content is optional, and designed to challenge players and allow for free roam/exploration through the world. In PoE there is also the Endless Dungeon, an entirely optional dungeon of 14 levels with increasing difficulty and rewards per level, and you can add to that numerous caves/dungeons/forts to conquer that are not required at all for the main plot and you can pick in any order you want.
You can create your whole party, yes. In PoE you'll gain access to a stronghold where you can "park" any pre-scripted followers you recruit, along with your own custom created followers. It's recommended that you play with the pre-scripted followers because they have interesting party banter, their own story and side-missions, as well as they help you as player to understand the world's lore (being a new setting, not many people are familiar with it), but you're entirely free to create your whole party from scratch, give them classes, stats, names, appearances, equipment, and roll with them. You can even go solo with your main character alone if you want to, but expect it to be extremely challenging.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
I've got a few more question about Divinity: Original Sin and Pillars of Eternity.
Can you attack NPCs and villagers in either game? It may seem silly, but it's something that I enjoy.
What is the max level in both games?
Can characters in Pillars of Eternity be saved/exported for use in future play-throughs?
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You can attack even plot NPCs in both PoE and D:OS. Do so at your own risk.
The hard cap in PoE is level 12, you stop getting XP at that point. In D:OS there is no hard cap, but the endgame encounters are designed for a level 20 party and the XP needed for PCs to level after 20 grows exponentially. You can progress to level 22-23 in a full completionist playthrough however.
I'm not sure what you mean with the third question. If you're asking if your character from PoE will be saved to carry on to future DLC/expansions, the answer is not clear yet, though it appears it will be so. If you're asking about a Game+ mode with your already beefed up character, that's an option that doesn't exist in PoE, not the character export, nor the Game+ feature.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
I found Dragon Age: Origins and the Baldur's Gate games challenging, and XCOM old-school difficult (super hard).
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
If you've ever played any of the Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights games, at pretty much any point in the game you had the option to "Export" your character. When you start a new game, you can then "Import" a character file that you had previously exported. So you would be able to start at the beginning of the game with a lvl 10 (or whatever level your exported character is) and geared character.
II saw a screen shot from Pillars of Eternity that showed an Export button on the Character screen.
http://media.obsidian.net/eternity/media/updates/0070/pe-ui-character-sheet.jpg
I don't know how old that picture is or if there is an Import option yet.
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My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
Me
Her