Some of the challenging games published by 505 Games for the PS4 may sound downright nightmarish on paper. From the split-second reaction-time requirement of Ghostrunner to the pinpoint accuracy of aim in Sniper Elite 3, there’s an underlying principle of “practice makes perfect” riddled throughout 505 Games’ catalog.

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However, as much as the difficult challenges these games propose at face value, understanding the game mechanics and giving it a go for oneself will yield some rewarding results should the player push through the initial hurdles. Here are some scintillating, fast-paced, skill-based games for those seeking the rush of a real challenge from 505 Games.

5 Bloodstained Ritual of The Night

GameFAQs Difficulty Score: 3.05

Bloodstained Ritual of the Night was launched for PS4 in 2019, and it is often looked at as the spiritual successor of the Castlevania series because both games share the same producer, Koji Igarashi, and his Metroidvania design philosophy. Ritual of the Night has a more RPG-focused spin on it, with loot grinding, item crafting and management, and character upgrades being vital for progression. Staying true to Metroidvanias’ spirit of demanding experiences, the game will constantly question the player's problem-solving and strategic decision-making abilities to endure and push through the many challenges, including the complex map design and the lethal one-hit-killing enemies.

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As if the game wasn’t difficult enough on its Normal difficulty, there is an extremely brutal and punishing difficulty setting, Nightmare, that ramps up the challenge further by severely reducing item drops and player healing, greatly increasing enemies’ damage output and health pool, and putting more environmental hazards in the player’s path.

4 Indivisible

GameFAQs Difficulty Score: 3.13

Indivisible is an action RPG with a memorable, hand-drawn aesthetic to its visuals. However, what makes it more memorable is the intense platforming that is incorporated into many of the game’s environmental puzzles. Some of the intricate levels will often require players to time their wall runs or perform precise jumps to navigate across various hurdles and hazards in the game’s world.

Aside from the platforming challenges, Indivisible, like most RPGs, has a mid-game difficulty spike which compels the player to consider key systems of the game like resource management and character synergies more intensively to progress smoothly. Some of the boss fights can be menacing and can even span up to an hour because of their health pool. In such a case, knowing the enemy’s vulnerabilities and exploiting them with the right skills will offer a sense of reward once players bring down these challenging bosses.

3 Control

GameFAQs Difficulty Score: 3.13

Remedy Entertainment’s huge action-adventure hit of 2019, Control, set in motion their Remedy Connected Universe, which adds a layer of narrative complexity to the company’s interesting catalog of games. Now Control has a richly layered, cryptic narrative that is as hefty as it gets with some enigmatic characters and the mysterious setting of The Oldest House. The constant shifting and restructuring of this surreal building play well into the complex navigation within the game’s bounds, and it prompts the players to analyze their surroundings to uncover secrets and hidden paths. Such an intricate level of exploration is needed to upgrade the main protagonist, Jesse’s, abilities to stand a chance in battle against the horde of enemy troops.

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Speaking of battle, the dynamic nature of Control’s combat prompts players to make use of a combination of different weapons and supernatural abilities, including telekinesis and levitation against enemies that move swiftly. Moreover, because of the small combat arenas and intense fast-paced action encounters, Control almost gives off a Doom-like vibe where constantly switching between weapons and abilities will yield the best result to tackle the challenging combat scenarios.

2 Sniper Elite 3

GameFAQs Difficulty Score: 3.14

Sniper Elite 3 is an outlier in 505 Games’ catalog of action-based games as it has a more methodological, slow-paced approach to encounters. As stealth is the main focus of the game, the challenging AI of the opponents is adapted accordingly with even the slightest movement, missed shots, and or other forms of noise from the player attracting the enemies. While this calls for the player to be extremely cautious at all times, the real challenge still exists in terms of the realistic ballistics of the game.

Without an accurate indicator or trajectory of the bullet fired, players will need to pre-calculate their shot manually to take into account various factors including bullet drop, wind speed, and the target’s movement. Precision and steadiness are critical in Sniper Elite 3 for long-range sniping, where some very tough encounters even force the players to employ a trial-and-error strategy. Lastly, to have the most challenging experience, players are recommended to go with the “Sniper Elite” or “Authentic” difficulty settings as these will make enemies more vigilant, and more aggressive and completely remove any aim assistance indicators.

1 Ghostrunner

GameFAQs Difficulty Score: 4

Ghostrunner is an intense first-person action and platformer, not too different from EA’s popular game, Mirror’s Edge, in its gameplay loop. However, Ghostrunner takes the challenge further by introducing the one-hit kill for both the player and the enemy. This means that every strike is lethal, so both the player and the enemy die in a single hit. Not only does this call for precise movements to dodge enemy attacks, but the players need to be on their toes for any chance they can to strike first to maintain momentum.

The parkour mechanics and level design prompt the player to make split-second decisions or face death. A good spatial awareness of the environment goes well for all the varied enemy types and the different offensive and defensive measures they employ. For instance, as the game progresses, adversaries will use projectile barrages or shields to put additional challenges in the way of the player. With its post-launch update, there is an additional roguelike mode, Wave mode, that pits the main character against procedurally generated hordes of enemies alongside new parkour challenges which will always keep things spicy for the players, to say the least.

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