The "What Does a Platinum's or 100% Listed Difficulty Mean To You?" Thread

[B1rvine]

Edit: Clarification: The idea behind this thread is to have fun and come up with clever and witty titles based on how YOU determine a difficulty tier.  A description and game are more so someone else can understand what you mean.  It's not really about nitpicking or discussing where a specific game myself or someone else chose a difficulty.

 

So lately I've been debating various game's platinum or 100% difficulties which inspired me to create this thread. I'd like to know what people are thinking when they see or rate a game's difficulty on how hard it is to achieve a platinum or 100%. What differentiates one tier from the next? And why does one person's rating of 4 mean the exact same thing as someone else's rating of 6. Lets sort it all out here!  

 

To make this more fun, I'll be giving each difficulty tier a title, a description, and an example of a game that would fall in it.  I'll go first.

 

1: “So Easy Your Mom Can Plat It"  (Aabs Animals, The Walking Dead)

This is reserved for games essentially anyone, including non gamers could achieve.  Very few games should get a 1.

 

2: “Casual Gamer Cakewalk” (Minecraft, Journey, Trine 2, Heavy Rain)

As the title suggests, even casual gamers can succeed.  Super easy, but something in this resembles the attempt of a challenge but fails.

 

3: “Tier Three Trouble-Free”  (The Unfinished Swan, Okami)

This is kind of an in between easy and intermediate.  Overall trophies are still easy, but maybe the game is slightly challenging. Or the game is super easy, but there's that ONE trophy thats "slightly annoying."

 

4: “Only Slightly Entry Level” (Assassin's Creed II, Uncharted I)

Games in this tier are the first that a "gamer" may experience any kind of difficulty or there may be any trophy that poses any real challenge with risk of failing, but nothing that can't be accomplished with a few repeated tries.

 

5: “The Middle and the Most” (The Last of Us, Infamous, Red Dead Redemption)

This ranking or below is where probably 60% of the games should fall for "trophy hunters."  While casual or even people that consider themselves "gamers" may have a problem for a few advanced or hard trophies, regular "trophy hunters" will get them, either easily or with enough time and enough attempts.  Another possibility is there may be a few "annoying" online trophies but shouldn't pose too much difficulty.

 

6: “Tip of the Iceberg Advanced” (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil HD Remake, Batman Arkham Asylum)

The first difficulty tier that not all "trophy hunters" will be able to achieve platinum/100 in my opinion.  The game itself should be somewhat challenging. The trophies won't be easy either due to requiring some sort of speed run, or S ranks on challenges requiring various mastery of several levels, or one or two tough online trophies that requires skill.

 

7: “Its Hard, Frustrating, Annoying, But Just Achievable” (Grand Theft Auto IV, Super Stardust HD)

Basically look at 6's description, but has all of the listed traits in one game.  Or said game could have one whopper of a trophy. 

 

8: “OMG Only Master’s Get Insane Trophies Like This”  (Metal Gear Solid 2, Wipeout HD)

Anything in this tier will be a beast of a game or have insane trophies that will frustrate even best trophy hunters.  Games that where you die in one hit.  Games where literally exact perfection is required to meet a goal required to get a trophy.  Games that have that one level you need to navigate just perfectly because its unbelievably cheap.  Or really hard games that have online trophies that aren't easy because it requires coordination or extreme skill vs other humans.

 

9: “The Are. You. Kidding. Me. Ridiculousness.”  (Max Payne 3)

The hardest of hard games.  What separates tier 9 from 8 is that you won't get multiple tries to complete your tasks.  In Max Payne 3 NYMHC if you die, you start over.  Where as in Wipeout or MGS2 listed above, you can try the levels over as many times as needed after failing or dying right where you left off.  Games here will likely have a bunch of online trophies requiring skill vs other humans.

 

10: “This Game Company Is Moronic Because of Their Impossible Trophies” (Fight Night Round 4)

Games in this category basically have online trophies that are not boostable that require godly skills or luck.  It can also have multiple offline trophies instead of a single one with resemblance to tier 9.

 

 

Alright, lets hear yours!

Edited September 26, 2016 by B1rvine

[Normalcy1]

Just stopping by to say I love this thread idea, creative! Looking forward to reading some other responses

[angelgrievous]

I think Heavy Rain is a little more than a casual plat as it requires multiple saves/playthroughs.  I could be wrong and I know i f'ed it on my plat run but... it wasn't the most user friendly plat i've got.  Could be just me though.

 

Edit:  Is the difficulty based on using a guide?

Edited September 25, 2016 by angelgrievous

[jemmie]

The examples used in my list are based off of personal experiences. Besides the game for 10, I have gotten the platinum in all of these games.

 

1: "Telltale Easy" (The Walking Dead)

1's are reserved for games that can be platted with almost no effort. There's no reason why you would need a guide for these games.

 

2: "Small Fry" (Fish of the North Star: Ken's Rage)

These games are very easy but are noticeably tougher than 1's due to things like grinding and collectibles.

 

3: "Only A Minor Annoyance" (Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleased)

3's are usually almost identical to 2's. What sets them apart are 1-3 trophies that are slightly tougher than the rest but are by all means manageable.

 

4: "A Standard Easy Game" (Aquapazza)

4's are pretty common for trophy hunters. They're usually games that are still good for trophies but provide enough of a challenge to make the game more enjoyable. They can involve slightly longer grinds, online trophies, or even difficult bosses (but not too difficult).

 

5: "Long, But Not Too Bad" (Bleach: Soul Resurrection)

5's are a lot like 4's, but unlike 4's, they typically have one or more menacing obstacles keeping inexperienced players from an easy platinum. Some can be long grinds, while others can just include one game mode that's several times more difficult than the rest of the game. A few 5's may even have *gulp* luck-based trophies!

 

6: " The Weird Difficulty" (Lolipop Chainsaw)

6's are strange. They're not hard, but definitely not easy, making them hard to categorize. They typically have frustrating trophies that start to be more skill-dependent instead of just grinds and collectibles. I bet a lot of 6's are mistaken for 7's because when you think of a game being difficult, you don't really think of a 6/10.

 

7: "A Nice, Fun Challenge" (Hyperdimension Neptunia)

Okay, so we're heading into difficult territory now. 7's are games that can still be beaten by most trophy hunters with enough experience. The problem is 7's typically require actual effort to plat, including playing games on max difficulty and multiple playthroughs. Unless you really enjoy the game, getting the plat will be a struggle.

 

8: "I'd Never Do That Again!" (Call of Duty: Black Ops)

To plat an 8 takes skill no matter how you slice it. Even with guides giving helpful tips and showing collectibles, the trophy list will seem like an army of heavens guarding the platinum with their lives. Not everyone can master an 8 well enough to get the plat, so it feels very fulfilling when I get one.

 

9: "How Did I Do That?!" (BlazBlue Calamity Trigger)

9's are games that you never expect to plat, but you just keep whittling away at them, one trophy at a time. 9's are extremely difficult to achieve, so I'm usually left in awe whenever I actually manage to get one. Some 9's may even feel like 10's, but in my opinion, if you can get the platinum, then it can't possibly be a 10.

 

10: "IMPOSSIBLE!" (Arcana Heart 3)

10's are games that you just know you can't get the platinum in. You can try all you want, but the trophies will never come. If you ever do manage to get the plat, then the game was actually a 9 and you just misjudged it. These games can be so hard that you don't even know where to start, or they can be cruel and only have one or two measly trophies that keep you from ever getting the platinum.

Edited September 25, 2016 by jem12345

[TheYuriG]

Oh wow, here I came expecting a thread with a single line which I had found interesting, but would have replied with the same number of lines. Between being amazed and speechless. Think your thread is more like "What each rank in a game difficult represents to you?" because it's all in depth, not a general thing like it appears at first glance. Although I'm too lazy to do another beautiful list like yours, I'm gonna say that they don't represent much to me because as long as it's possible and I'm interested, it will be done eventually.

[DaivRules]

Game difficulty ratings are subjective and stupid. They're utterly meaningless when considering all the variables between the assignor and reader.

Trying to solidify people's perception of exactly what difficulty rating each game gets is as easy as bringing peace in the world. I object, for your examples, that Heavy Rain is rated a 2. The Bear, even with a guide, (which also changes how difficult a game is) was incredibly difficult for me to perfectly complete and deserves at least a 5. Your description of a 2 did not fit my experience of Heavy Rain because we have different skill levels in video games so our difficulty will always be different.

[thegirlruka]

I tend not to pay much attention to others' ratings either because I know that they're usually pretty far from what I would rate them.

Hell, I don't even have a standard way of rating the difficulties of games for myself. I change the way I rate a difficulty pretty often.

I also think it's important to differentiate between being tedious and being difficult. Grinds are tedious. RNG's are tedious. Multiple playthroughs are tedious. Objectively, none of them are difficult. If I see someone mention that a game is difficult for any of those reasons then I stop reading.

Edited September 25, 2016 by kuuhaku

[B1rvine]

Lets hear some more, guys!

 

 

I think Heavy Rain is a little more than a casual plat as it requires multiple saves/playthroughs.  I could be wrong and I know i f'ed it on my plat run but... it wasn't the most user friendly plat i've got.  Could be just me though.

 

Edit:  Is the difficulty based on using a guide?

 

You can rate em however you want.  This is more about making fun responses and giving an example so we understand where you're coming from.  For me, Heavy Rain is more about what a casual can do not necessarily what they will do.  

 

Game difficulty ratings are subjective and stupid. They're utterly meaningless when considering all the variables between the assignor and reader.

Trying to solidify people's perception of exactly what difficulty rating each game gets is as easy as bringing peace in the world. I object, for your examples, that Heavy Rain is rated a 2. The Bear, even with a guide, (which also changes how difficult a game is) was incredibly difficult for me to perfectly complete and deserves at least a 5. Your description of a 2 did not fit my experience of Heavy Rain because we have different skill levels in video games so our difficulty will always be different.

 

I agree, but its fun to see how people classify things and name them.  Using the Heavy Rain as the example again, I personally see it as a "Walking Dead" style game with a few more annoyance trophies thrown in.  Maybe you're right, but if its a 5 then I'm curious what your 1 - 4 is and 6 - 10s are!

[dmsleight]

Game difficulty ratings are subjective and stupid. They're utterly meaningless when considering all the variables between the assignor and reader.

Trying to solidify people's perception of exactly what difficulty rating each game gets is as easy as bringing peace in the world. I object, for your examples, that Heavy Rain is rated a 2. The Bear, even with a guide, (which also changes how difficult a game is) was incredibly difficult for me to perfectly complete and deserves at least a 5. Your description of a 2 did not fit my experience of Heavy Rain because we have different skill levels in video games so our difficulty will always be different.

 

Solidify? Homie is asking an opinion question (which automatically means it will vary).  You take this way too seriously.  Calm down and have some fun.

I'm not inclined to make my own list, but I would say that I'd agree with RDR fitting your '5' category if it didn't have ranked match trophies.  The team trophy is very luck based and the other one requires a ton of skill, because you have to take on 'teams' of people helping each other.  Server issues made it that much harder.   Those 2 trophies made it almost impossible for me.  I even had matches where opponents were connected and not playing for a match or 2 and still couldn't get it.

 

Thanks for the interesting topic.

Edited September 25, 2016 by dmsleight

[skateak]

I think Vanquish could go on either 7-8

 

 

Edit:  Is the difficulty based on using a guide?

I think it is personal difficulty, mixed with a guide and maybe things you have heard. That is how I would interpret it. 

[angelgrievous]

I think Vanquish could go on either 7-8

 

I think it is personal difficulty, mixed with a guide and maybe things you have heard. That is how I would interpret it. 

Oh,okay.  Didn't get that the first time through.  I understand now   Thanks.

[CarryLikeMari-ah]

I see a lot of argument over what a 10 should be in threads like these & I just wanted to say that i fall under the group of people that think 10s should just be really hard, not impossible or broken. An example of a 10 (in my opinion) would be max payne 3 where, to achieve platinum you must master every aspect of the game & do everything achievable in that game. I also think games like the walking dead should be rated a 2 as it has actual gameplay requiring you to actually react to situations unlike some Japanese 'games' where you just press a button to get to the next part. This is all my opinion though & everyone has different thoughts as to what makes a game difficult.

[Sergen]

Hahahaha, using Fight Night Round 4 as your example for a 10/10 plat... It's actually one of the easiest sports games on PSN, it's just impossible because a dickhead hoards the belts, but if that dickhead were to find you in a lobby and ready up then headbutt you a few times, you'd get a belt trophy within seconds. I don't pay attention to most difficulty ratings on websites, solely because they rate very easy games like Far Cry 2 & The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena as 9-10/10 because the online trophies take a long time to get. People still rate Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 as a 10/10 platinum because it's a running trend, it was 10/10 in 2009 when nobody knew how to beat UN1 and three greater fiends spawned on the same map. Now that NGS2 has Rachel's twirl, which allows a noob to use invincibility frames to their advantage to stay invincible for a whole mission and the Ultimate Ninja 02 wall glitch, it doesn't deserve the 10/10 that the noobs rate it. I'm not saying NGS2 is overrated because I'm good at it, throughout my whole first experience of the game, I was thinking "This isn't as hard as everyone was saying it is". It's even funnier that people put Arkham Asylum in the 6-7/10 range, I beat Shock and Awe Extreme on my first try for both versions of the game that I did, the combat is one of the most noob friendly combats I've ever experienced on a game.

 

There's not a platinum for a game that requires you to be a master of the game, every game has something people can exploit, even Persona 4: Arena and Raiden IV that can be paused frequently to help you anticipate your next move. I still consider myself a big noob at racing games, but WipEout HD was my first racing game plat and I did it in around 10 days when I got back to it, I'd still get my ass handed to me by anyone who is a real pro at the game, the Elite AI aren't pros at the game, they never do barrel rolls. I think Assassin's Creed II should fit in the category of "Casual Gamer Cakewalk" because it's the most earned platinum on PSN and it doesn't take a lot of time at all, only getting 100 feathers might be boring for some people but anyone with a brain and a guide can do it.

 

  

[hore]

I see a lot of argument over what a 10 should be in threads like these & I just wanted to say that i fall under the group of people that think 10s should just be really hard, not impossible or broken. An example of a 10 (in my opinion) would be max payne 3 where, to achieve platinum you must master every aspect of the game & do everything achievable in that game. I also think games like the walking dead should be rated a 2 as it has actual gameplay requiring you to actually react to situations unlike some Japanese 'games' where you just press a button to get to the next part. This is all my opinion though & everyone has different thoughts as to what makes a game difficult.

10s should never be assigned, but merely used as a boundary. It makes no sense to rate Max Payne 3 a 10/10, as that implies something like Super Meat Boy would be 11/10 and Crypt of the Necrodancer is 12/10. There can -- and will -- always be harder plats, so it's quite foolish to ever rate one as 10/10.

[PooPooBlast]

Honestly difficulty is subjective and when I saw you had rdr, last of us and infamous 1 easier than Batman asylum, I was like no way! Imo I had very little difficulty with Batman asylum and I platted that game back then before I began trophy hunting since the game was good it compelled me to do it. Rdr had some ridiculous online trophies and let's be honest, if they were to be done legit, itll be near impossible.

To me survivor difficulty in bioshock is a pain in the butt and I'll never attempt it. Some people thought it was less difficult than 1999 mode in infinite which I thought was easier and I've platted that game

Goes to show, it depends on the player, with the exception of some game where we all can come to a consensus that it's hard.

[Dragon-Archon]

Here's my personal rating:

1. Telltale
2. Saints Row Gat out of Hell, Jak 1, Sly 1
3. Ratchet & Clank series, Ys Memories of Celceta
4. Tales of Hearts R, Dragon's Dogma
5. Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment
6. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
7. Duke Nukem Forever, Star Wars The Force Unleashed, Souls games
8. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Dragon Age Inquisition
9. Catherine, Vanquish, Mirror's Edge, Titan Souls
10. OlliOlli 2, Persona 4 Arena

[ProfBambam55]

i like this thread idea...i don't think i've ever looked at the stat for difficulty but here's my take if i had to rate games on a 1-10 scale...
 
1. "So drunk I could barely move and still got the plat" - (Walking Dead, Kung Fu Panda 2)
these games can be platted without a guide and without any effort...just play and ding, ding, ding...
 
2. "My daughter unlocked most of the trophies for me" - (The Godfather, Terminator Salvation)
these games are basically one playthrogh, no guide is needed ones...there might be one or two trophies less than super easy on the way to platinum...
 
3. "That was fun, next" - (The Darkness II, Infamous)
these would be the first level of difficulty where a guide might be required and usually just for collectables...these games are not too grindy, fun to play and over quickly...i won't be expecting any multiplayer trophies aside from "create a character"...

**there is a fine line between 4s, 5s and, 6s for me...most of my games fall in these categories and will vary in number of collectables/playthroughs, co-op/multiplayer trophies, grinds, etc....the only seperating factor will be the overall level of skill and enjoyment... this is also the start of where i know i'll be needing a guide to unlock all of the trophies...

4. "Time to hit up PSNProfiles" - (Dead Island, Far Cry 3)
these games have some not-so-interesting long, grindy trophies and not much skill is needed to acquire all of them...games that have a bad story, lame multiplayer, a lot of travel across a way too large map, or are part of a repetitive series often fall here for me...
 
5. "A bit of this, a bit of that, a decent plat" - (GTA IV, Skyrim)
this is the middle class of games for me...usually the story is great and the gameplay addictive...trophy list has a bit of everything and the skill level seems to be one that most people could handle...i will expect to be spending quite a bit of time on these games both on and offline...
 
6. "It's not as hard as you think" - (DMC, COD Black Ops)
a little bit more difficult than 5s but no less fun...usually one part of the game will stand out as being quite difficult on the way to %100 and i'll be nervous heading into it...a lot of first or third-person shooter titles that have online trophies and hack 'n slash games fall into this category for me...once i finish them i tend to think "that wasn't so bad after all"...
 
7. "If this was cub scouts, I just got my platinum survival badge" - (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Naughty Bear)
7s are usually a good challenge...often these games don't have many complicated multiplayer trophies, are enjoyable, but need some time to build up skill level on the way to %100...i will expect quite a bit of trial and error as i repeat certain parts over and over...

8. "Now this is why I love video games" - (Max Payne 3)
these are about as difficult as they get as far as skill level is concerned and are my favorite type of games...challenging but love the gameplay...8s have a bit of everything: decent story, multiple playthroughs, grinds, collectables, multiplayer...for both these and 9s often a guide is not enough and find myself on youtube searching for tips on how to pass certain parts of the game...the big difference between these and 9's for me is enjoyment level...
 
9. "My kindergarten teacher's voice is echoing in my head 'Never give up, never give up, never give up...'" - (Wipeout HD, Mirror's Edge)
9s are often the same skillwise as 8s except i have next to no enjoyment while playing them and continue to the plat just for the sake of the challenge...i will expect my frustration to keep me motivated in moving forward...both games listed i pretty much hated right from the beginning...the controls, the physics, the repetition, the story (in the case of ME) but saw that there were challenges ahead and played till the end...much like jimi hendrix it would seem most people either love or hate these ones...for the record hendrix is great IMO...

 
10. "I've just checked in to an insane asylum" - (N/A)
these are the just-about-impossible ones...i think fight night round 4 is one of the only games that i've heard of that falls into this category though i've never actually played it...if someone told me that a game has a 10 difficulty rating likely i'd think hard before starting it and see if there's even the slightest bit of fun to be had or not...

[Jak]

As two people have said here, Heavy Rain is not a 2/10. I also love how guides are an automated standard included-factor in trophy difficulties, instead of it being manually listed/included as it should be.

Telltale has one of the most well known game catalogs with 1/10 platinums, however, its quite clear not all of their installments are as simple as play through and earn all trophies. As I argued yrs ago, TWAU is simply not a 1/10 since the alternate events (Fables) either required luck or knowledge on how to get. Going on a first time bases (which every single person will experience), its always going to be luck based without guides, relying on literal wasted attempts and choice of elimination to get all Fables. I tried to get all trophies in this game without a guide but couldnt because some Fables were simply too clever. Even if I got some via luck, theres still others to get that would be impossible to get all on every first try. TWD = TFtB but =/= TWAU; TWAU is not a 1/10 at the very least purely because of the fables execution.

[B1rvine]

As two people have said here, Heavy Rain is not a 2/10. I also love how guides are an automated standard included-factor in trophy difficulties, instead of it being manually listed/included as it should be.

Telltale has one of the most well known game catalogs with 1/10 platinums, however, its quite clear not all of their installments are as simple as play through and earn all trophies. As I argued yrs ago, TWAU is simply not a 1/10 since the alternate events (Fables) either required luck or knowledge on how to get. Going on a first time bases (which every single person will experience), its always going to be luck based without guides, relying on literal wasted attempts and choice of elimination to get all Fables. I tried to get all trophies in this game without a guide but couldnt because some Fables were simply too clever. Even if I got some via luck, theres still others to get that would be impossible to get all on every first try. TWD = TFtB but =/= TWAU; TWAU is not a 1/10 at the very least purely because of the fables execution.

 

I should update my original post since I think most of you are completely missing the point of this thread.  The idea behind this thread is to be fun, and to come up with clever titles about what "makes" your difficulty tier YOUR difficulty tier.  For example, my #1 is "So easy your mom can do it", or ProfBamBam's #2, "My daughter did it".  I opted to include a game simply as a reference to easier understand the description of what I meant.  It's NOT to critique mine or anybody else's choices or to actually nitpick where a specific game someone picked should be.

[Maxximum]

Wow, what an interesting thread

 

Okay, games also applies to these levels:

1. All Telltale games (to be obvious)
2. Common Easy Platinums, like Hannah Montana, Megamind, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, etc...
3. inFAMOUS, Sonic Unleashed, etc...
4. Hitman: Absolution
5. GTA IV (I don't know why so many people think this game is hard)
6. COD MW2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, God of War
7. Mirror's Edge
8. Max Payne 3
9. Gran Turismo 5, Vanquish

There is no "10." If it is "10", then it is a game that you can't platinum. It can be any game (Even the easy ones).

[Jak]

^ Sonic Unleashed as a 3/10? Lol. See its comments like that that are going to cause more disagreements than people making their own list. List should be sentences, not game titles, since it's especially not a list what tiers games are thread....

 

I should update my original post since I think most of you are completely missing the point of this thread.  The idea behind this thread is to be fun, and to come up with clever titles about what "makes" your difficulty tier YOUR difficulty tier.  For example, my #1 is "So easy your mom can do it", or ProfBamBam's #2, "My daughter did it".  I opted to include a game simply as a reference to easier understand the description of what I meant.  It's NOT to critique mine or anybody else's choices or to actually nitpick where a specific game someone picked should be.

 

I didn't miss the point, I just expressed my feelings on what I thought was false information/promotion via an example you used for the purpose of your thread. You used Heavy Rain as a visual (aid) example for your thread, specifically the 2/10 section. Regardless of what anyone thinks of a 2/10, Heavy Rain shouldn't really every be a general 2/10, even if people's list varies, since 2/10 is too limited as a rating to differ greatly via people's perception of it. 2/10 generally is still just about as easy as no effort and arguably no guides needed (via the ?/10 scales). I mean what are you going to expect when you allow the freedom, or will just generally list game examples via opinionated claims of creative difficulty tiers?

 

Games listed should be very accurate or as accurate as possible examples. Heavy Rain as a 2/10 and Sonic Unleashed as a 3/10 are just illogical, regardless. Subjectivity exist, but there is clear evidence when a game is not a certain rating, like The Walking Dead (TT) is not a 7/10 on any scale. Would you really say that is subjective?

Edited September 26, 2016 by Mar

[ProfBambam55]

I second the motion of more creativity and less criticism...i think it's easier to be the latter but not nearly as fun to read...

Creative -10/10...
Critical - 1/10...

read thread title, read post...does it belong here?...there are lots of debates in other threads...apologies for being hypocritically off topic as likely it will just invite more of the same...just a quick note to the critics: if you can criticize then, to me, it means you have an opinion, and if you have an opinion then likely you have your own idea for rating games, and if you have your own idea for ratings then you could write them in this thread, and if you write them in this thread i think you will have gotten the point of what the OP is trying to do, and if you get the point then we all get some pretty interesting reading material which will make us quietly either frown, smile, or be indifferent...if you happen to like a post why not hit the "like" button to express your positive reaction...if not, why not start a thread that says something along the lines of "some people have no idea how to rate games, opinions anyone?" or "platinum difficulty ratings discussed"...i give credit to the OP as i think this is a brilliant thread that has the potential to be light and funny...let the creative juices flow...

 

i hereby declare that i will personally like any post that expresses such a 1-10 list as demonstrated in the original post of this thread and this includes ones that simply have game titles beside the numbers...so if for nothing else, do it for a like from bam...heck, i might even check out your trophy list while i'm at it...haha...

Edited September 27, 2016 by ProfBambam55

[B1rvine]

List should be sentences, not game titles, since it's especially not a list what tiers games are thread....

 

I mean what are you going to expect when you allow the freedom, or will just generally list game examples via opinionated claims of creative difficulty tiers?

 

Games listed should be very accurate or as accurate as possible examples. Heavy Rain as a 2/10 and Sonic Unleashed as a 3/10 are just illogical, regardless. Subjectivity exist, but there is clear evidence when a game is not a certain rating, like The Walking Dead (TT) is not a 7/10 on any scale. Would you really say that is subjective?

 

Yeah, this is the internet so I did expect something to happen. 

 

I sort of wanted a thread to encompass it all.  Sure, it could be just sentences, but with titles and descriptions it puts in in perspective to each other to compare games within a person's list.  Without those, its harder to visualize how someone's difficulty fits together.

 

For "my" list of difficulties, requiring a guide is irrelevant to plat difficulty.  There's always going to be a tricky trophy, or a bad description, prerequisites to tasks, hidden trophies, or just plain things that aren't straight forward, but still easy (or hard), etc.  Anybody can look at a guide and know what to do.  Basically, at some point it's about coordination and being able to accomplish said task.  And in my view, Heavy Rain and TWD are "similarish" enough in gameplay style that almost anyone could do it if they "wanted too", thats the keyword there.  The story and setting is way different, and Heavy Rain requires several play throughs, but the gameplay itself isn't THAT MUCH different. Is Heavy rain more of a chore, more boring, more tedious, time consuming? Yeah, probably.  But its not more difficult if a casual player "wanted" to plat it, since there's nothing that really requires any kind of coordination thats harder than TWD, with the exception of The Bear, hence why "I" put a 2.

 

And that sort of sums up the topic of this thread.  You obviously consider that sort of effort deserving of a higher difficulty, while I don't!  I'd probably find what makes your list of 1's, 2's, and 3's interesting.  And yes, certainly subjectivity exists.  But if someone did actually put a sentence about TWD being a 7, I definitely wouldn't agree, but I'm sure their list would be interesting. 

[AJ_Radio]

Assassins Creed II is easier than Uncharted: Drakes Fortune in that there are no intense gunfights, you mostly have to play the story alongside collecting the feathers around Italy.

 

A lot of people like to say that Crushing isn't all too difficult, but I found myself in two situations in Drakes Fortune where it took a good 25 - 40 retries before I finally moved forward. The Courtyard by the Church is one such area, you're vulnerable to snipers and while you think it's okay to go after them, somebody will sneak up behind you and kill you in one hit. Also the boat where Navarro and his crew fight you can be frustrating, I've heard it's a real pain on Brutal difficulty.

 

Uncharted Drakes Fortune is more around a 4.5 - 5.0 out of 10 difficulty, whereas Assassins Creed II is a 3 out of 10. The first Ezio game is not difficult at all, you simply play through the story, finish it, and sweep up any miscellaneous trophies you are missing. The only trouble you're going to have is those feathers and a video guide is more than enough to help you out.

[NathanielJohn]

One thing that I've absolutely never understood is how a game like Uncharted gets rated so similarly to games like Assassin's Creed 2 (such as in the first post of this thread -- I'm not trying to pick on the first post, but it's just the closest example).

 

In my thinking, AC2 is an absolute cakewalk compared to Uncharted. AC2 has no difficulty trophies, and an average gamer in my estimation would die maybe a handful of times while playing through the game. Uncharted, meanwhile, requires you to beat the game on Crushing difficulty, which kills you in about two shots anywhere in the game. Most people will die dozens and dozens of times playing through the game on this difficulty, no? So why does it get rated so low all the time (e.g., the trophy guide on this site says 3/10, which is absolutely bonkers IMO). And more generally, this seems to be true of difficulty levels in general -- people don't seem to rate games with difficulty setting trophies as much harder than games without difficulty setting trophies and I don't understand why.

 

Anyway, here's my list of "prorotype" games of each difficulty. All plats are games I've actually platted, except for some of the 9's and 10's:

 

1. A game where you get the plat just by playing, and the game itself is also dirt easy (e.g., most recent TellTale games).

 

2. A game that has zero challenge, but maybe has collectibles or multiple playthroughs. Games like Heavy Rain and most walking simulators like Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. I find a lot of indie Vita games fall into this category, like Volume.

 

3. The first category for games that have a tiny bit of challenge. Typically games themselves that are on the easy side, but maybe require some grinding/basic effort for the trophies. Examples are Infamous First Light or most Ratchet and Clank games.

 

4. A game that is about as tough as "most" AAA games, but without difficulty setting trophies. Something like Assassin's Creed 2, Tomb Raider (2013), Dishonored, or Watch Dogs. A lot of RPGs fall in this category too IMO, despite being very long/grindy (e.g., Dragon Age: Origins, Borderlands, or any of the Fallouts).

 

5. A game like 4, but with a less forgiving difficulty curve, or maybe some sort of challenge arenas to complete that are harder than the main game. Examples include Hotline Miami and Rayman Origins/Legends.

 

6. This is where games start to transition from "doable" to "maybe I can't plat this game". Typically 6/10 requires you to beat the game on a hard difficulty setting, but that difficulty setting isn't *too* much harder than the default one, like Guacamelee. This category also includes RPGs with a fair amount of end-game content that is more challenging than the main game content, like Final Fantasy XIII or Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.

 

7. Typically games with a hard difficulty trophy, but this time the hard difficulty setting is actually quite hard. Examples include Uncharted, Mass Effect, or most of the Kingdom Hearts games. Also includes RPGs with particularly brutal post-game content, like Final Fantasy X or (again) the Kingdom Hearts games. Most of the Souls games fall into this category too IMO, since their base difficulty setting is pretty much just what other games would call the "hard" setting.

 

8. This is where things get nasty. Typically these are harder than games even with obnoxiously hard difficulty settings, and instead have really tough challenges or require you to complete some really tough difficulty setting while also under other restrictions. Examples include OlliOlli 2 and the Resogun DLC, 

 

9. Games that sit on my trophy list for years. I come back to them every few months and manage to chip away at them slightly, but no matter how much I try, they're still brutally hard and I'm not convinced I'll ever be good enough to overcome their challenges. Nonetheless, there's something in me that prevents me from completely writing them off 100%. Games like Muramasa Rebirth, Hot Shot's Golf, Wipeout HD, and Dungeon Defenders (I finally recently platted this one!).

 

10. The platinum just doesn't even seem humanly possible to me. Even if I spent a year straight playing the game, I could never do it if my life depended on it. Games like Super Meat Boy, Crypt of the Necrodancer, or Gran Turismo 5.