Daniel Saner (3503) on 9/9/2008 4:44 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

I am currently starting to play Two Worlds, and so far enjoying it very, very much. However, what I found odd was that before playing the game, every article or review I read about the game that mentioned the difficulty of the game, came to the conclusion that it was exceptionally hard, and some even suggested that all players play the game on the easy level.

I started out playing it on the medium level. The battles seemed to be quite normal in difficulty - somehow challenging but nothing to be too worried about. But for me, the fact that after death you always get resurrected and not even penalised took away all the challenge. What's the use of healing potions if resurrection points are always nearby, you get resurrected instantly, with full health, and could just return to the fight and finish the job? I had to restart the game on the hard setting now to get a real sense of accomplishment.

Everybody seems to have warned others about the hard setting. But I don't think it's that hard at all. The fact that you can die just gives you an incentive to survive, choose your fights wisely, and think about your moves. And the battles became harder, but with the way enemy behaviour and combat system works in this game, I enjoy it a lot more than in medium setting. You have to time you attacks, know your retreats, switch weapons, and run away every now and then. It is a challenge, but a good one, and it never seems unfair or unbeatable, unless you're in an area where you're not supposed to be yet.

Although RPGs are my favourite genre, I do not consider myself an experienced player, especially not action RPGs. I think Gothic is the only one I ever finished. So I doubt that I have better skills than all those other people.

What did other MobyGamers think about the difficulty of this game? Is it just that most people today think that the goal is to reach the closing cutscene as fast and smoothly as possible, forgetting that the real fun lies in the journey and the challenge to get there? Or did so many people really get frustrated with the Hard or even Normal setting?