Have you ever tried playing a game with self imposed rules?

[Paroni]

I sometimes like to play strategy games with roleplaying, sacrificing optimal decisions to thinking what my faction or even it's individual characters would do according to their personal principles or faction lore. Crusader Kings especially has been quite fun like that, it creates unpredictable situations and variation for long playthroughs.

 

[julia crawford]

Yes. Most recently I played The Witcher 3 with no fast travel or horse riding.

Also when I was a kid me and my friends would play Midtown Madness and role play all transit rules.

 

[.exe]

Not really. Unless not using OP pre-order gear/items counts.

Edit: ah, I didn't summon Souls games until I had beaten a boss once myself.

 

[Bushido]

Finished all the Dishonoreds and the last two Deus Ex games without using lethal force (if not required by the game) and without getting detected. Was quite a challenge and I had to savescum a lot, but I really enjoyed it and it made me appreciate these games and the freedom/possibilities they offer even more.

 

[K' Dash]

Metal Gear Solid is the only one, I restarted the last checkpoint/save is I was discovered.

 

[BordyDogue]

I tried a pacifist run for GTA V, just try to kill as little people as possible and commit the least amount of unscripted crimes. Gave up during the 3rd mission

 

[gdt]

I disliked that TLOU2 forced you to spend XP on the listening ability, as I play without it.

 

[sirap]

I do this all the time during my yearly Deus Ex playthroughs.

 

[JoeNut]

Played pokemon sword and shield with no potions, that's pretty much it really

 

[Sanctuary]

Yes, and depending on the game...sometimes it's mandatory to have any kind of challenge. The first game I did this with was the original God of War playing God Mode with no upgrades. In TLOU and TLOU2 I absolutely *never used "detective mode" because it entirely removed all tension, and stealth games were not new to me. More recently, I finally did my first SL1 Souls run on NG+.

*except the fucking dogs when following my trail.

Also, not sure if this specifically counts, but I usually don't do NG+ in games that have it. I would rather just start over with a new build (if that's an option) than keep playing, starting overpowered most of the time out of the gates.

Stuff that I think vibes better with the game, but not super frequently:

Plasma Cutter only in Dead Space

Click to shrink...

In the first game at least, there wasn't any real reason to use anything else aside from the random mine every now and then. The PC was hands down the best weapon in that game.

 

[mrgoomba]

Usually with Zelda games..
Finished OoT and MM with 3 hearts

Botw
- Finished the game in different divine beast orders
- go straigh to ganon challege

 

[Spine Crawler]

Big Game Hunter, 10 minutes, No rush!

 

[mrgoomba]

Remembered I also do it a lot with pokemon games to increase the difficult.. like disabling the exp share (when possible), only battling with lower or equal level than the trainers and changing the pokemons a lot

 

[TeeKoo]

Almost always. Zelda without hearts, Metroid without energy tanks, Elder Scroll's without fast-travel etc. Link to the Past and Super Metroid were much better experience with low health. You have to actually to try and prepare for bosses.

 

[Jonathan Lanza]

I do it quite a bit. It's unique for each game but a general one I do is no healing items in games that don't have a hard limit on them (that isn't like 100 or something ridiculous)

 

[Sanctuary]

Big Game Hunter, 10 minutes, No rush!

Click to shrink...

Admit it, you were Protoss.

 

[Skade]

I never ever use buff potions or equivalent items. Never. I usually start collecting them thinking "i'll use them eventually", and when i'm alway through the game and i still didn't need them, i just sell everything. Maybe that count ?

I also almost never use magic. Dunno why, just not my thing i guess.

 

[Red Liquorice]

That's the only way I play Souls games after the first playthrough.

 

[Spine Crawler]

Admit it, you were Protoss.

Click to shrink...

Were? My Life IS for Aiur!

 

[Kurtikeya]

Level 1 Critical is a tradition for Kingdom Hearts fans. It can be frustrating, but really rewarding.

For Pokemon I would have an RNG draw six numbers (starters and legendaries excluded) and the corresponding Pokemon would be my team.

 

[trugs26]

I usually do it with any rpg with a leveling up system. I don't have a specific rule, but the guideline is to make sure I don't over level (e.g., don't grind, avoid battles, etc.).

 

[Starlatine]

Several times. Pokemon is unplayable to me without nuzlocking for instance

 

[Xiao Hu]

Open world/sandbox/immersive sim games are perfect for such approach and often accommodate individual playstyles from the get-go, e.g. no kill/pacifist runs.

For example, in TES I would sometimes artificially limit my inventory by allowing only one set of armour + plain cloths + one main weapon set. Even when an enemy dropped a whole Ebony armour set I wouldn't pick it up to sell because it's unrealistic for my character to pull such heavy items through the Tundra. A weapon, gold, or ingredients on the other hand would find some space in my backpack.

Also, using the horse pulled carts to travel long distances. There is a mod that allows you to experience all the routes between towns with occasional cut commentary (depending on the location) from your coachman that had been restored to the game.

 

[n00bp]

I love playing Worms with 'nades only

 

[Aerial51]

I love to roleplay the Characters in Games i play.
For example i am playing Ghost of Tsushima right now and my goal is it to play the first Act mostly as a Samurai that is going to defy his Code of Honour but only when he sees no other way, in the second act i want a mix of both while in the 3rd Act i want to play mostly as the Ghost and nothing else. I feel this makes the most sense with Jin as a Character and the Development he goes through.
I do things like that all the time in Games.

 

[Mbolibombo]

Multiple times, as a kid when I only had the NES and got 2-3 games a year it definitely made the purchase more worthwhile.I was like 10-12 at the time so we made up some weird shit me and the friends.

Stuff like - Playing SMB 3 upside down, Beating Duck Tales twice in the shortest amount of time, a gazillion of different rule sets for Track & Field and so on

As an adult.. I guess deciding beforehand how to play in multiplayer games no matter counts..

 

[Luigi87]

After completing level 1 Critical of KH2FM, I tried it again, but with Kingdom Key only, no armor run.
Made it to 1000 Heartless fight before losing interest, lol

Did no armor in my first KH3 playthrough on Proud at launch, just to make it somewhat more challenging, as it was pretty easy on Proud otherwise.

 

[Kinketsu]

When I was a little kid this was pretty much the only way to get extra value out of games in the NES era. You could also turn stuff into multiplayer games by making up conditions. 30 years later, I can hardly find time to finish the normal campaign, sadly

 

[kitler53]

not often.

...but coming off of demon's souls (original) I quickly learned that dark souls was too easy for me. I capped my lvl around 9-12 to increase difficulty.

I nearly finished ng+ at that lvl cap but didn't have the dps for the bottomless pit boss.

 

[TechMetalRules]

I'm playing Cyberpunk with pistols and blades only, because it would seem weird to be walking around town with weapons that couldn't be concealed.

 

[Nameless]

In the name of role playing I try to avoid activities or questlines that don't mesh with the character I'm imagining. I'll even intentionally fail quests when it makes more sense for my character to do so.

I also limit or restrict fast travelling in any open world worth its salt.

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

Zelda with 3 hearts only.

Link between worlds in hero mode with 3 hearts was something else. Prob closest to souls game lol.

Links awakening Knightmare mode 3 hearts without death was also tough too because it auto saves so u basically need to exit game if you die right away.

 

[brawndolicious]

Usually if a game encourages you to take on an extra challenge, I'll do it.

For the last two Deus Ex games, I finished them with no alarms and no lethal kills other than boss fights where they're mandatory.

In Mirror's Edge 1, not using any guns.

The Halo series has a bunch of skulls that are fun. Halo 2 definitely didn't need any skulls when playing on Legendary though lol.

I don't know why I'm only listing fps games.

 

[Sande]

I've completed most Souls games without dying and I usually limit shield and ranged usage and items for pulling enemies etc. Pure melee runs, essentially. Bloodborne guns are an exception of course.

I'm pretty sure I've never used a vita chamber in Bioshock 1-2.

 

[jsnepo]

Yes, GTA following traffic rules (except in chases).

 

[Urishizu]

RE4. Handguns only. It's a thrill ride and I cannot recommend it enough.

 

[TradedHats]

Mine is the same as some others here. After hearing Huber of EZA talk about playing through The Last of Us 2 without Listen Mode, I switched over to doing that. Made it a lot more tense.

 

[ClearMetal]

No fast-traveling in Skyrim and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, no summoning (players or AI) in Soulsborne games, no character deaths in Fire Emblem games... But I don't know if I would consider these 'rules', since they are how I prefer to play these games in general and not self-imposed challenges.

 

[jotun?]

Breath of the Wild is a popular one for this. I did a run with a few self-imposed rules like no food during battle, no using cheap yellow heart food for full heals, no switching armor during battle, always use my strongest weapons, etc. It was partly to make the game a bit more challenging, but also to stop myself from trying to over-optimize my gameplay with tedious actions. It made it significantly more fun for me


Then there have been multiplayer games where I'd handicap myself, like playing Mario Kart with my controller upside down, or Soul Calibur with my eyes closed

 

[ghostcrew]

Definitely, and Skyrim is a great example. I've absolutely done a playthrough before where I banned myself from fast travel.

When I was a kid we used to do this with Super Mario Kart. Used to make the TV black and white or super dark and try to play Battle Mode like that.

 

[Arithmetician]

Resident Evil 4 no merchant run is a classic of the genre. RE4 really hit a sweet spot for video games where it had a lot of customization but it also didn't become super dependent on getting better gear.

 

[ChemicalWorld]

I played through Dark Souls 3 with the mindset of not increasing my health bar too much to add to the level of challenge. My friend at the time of our first play throughs couldn't understand how I was struggling with certain bosses/levels but when I explained to him that I was self imposing my health bar to a set level he laughed at me. Tbh though I enjoyed the challenge so I won in the end :P

 

[LordBaztion]

Most of the time I impose my own rules. Currently I'm playing watch dogs and I'm, either, full stealth or John Wick, no middle ground.

 

[Shrikey]

I never used listen mode in TLOU after the opening hour or so regardless of difficulty. It just broke immersion for me. And I think the gameplay is way better off with the added tension. The sound design in Tlou2 in particular makes it pointless as anything but an accessibility feature (which, admittedly is a great thing). But I think it should always have been optional and opt-in. The core gameplay works so well without it, I can't imagine it was designed around it.

 

[Yossarian]

Yeah, all the time. Even on first playthroughs 😄

 

[The Archon]

Kind of? Does "no summoning players to help with boss fights in Souls games" count?

Click to shrink...

Yes, summoning is an option and you delibarety chose not to use it.

I do the same on my first playthrough of any soulsborne game.

 

[Deleted member 51248]

I initially tried to play Halo 5 multiplayer without utilising the spartan abilities and mobility additions... think i lasted maybe a week or two before deciding I would probably have a better time with the game using the tools that the maps have been built around.

 

[Chopchop]

I did SL1 Dark Souls stuff before. I also generally refuse to summon for bosses.

 

[The Albatross]

"House rules" is basically a necessity for all madden games for the last 20 years. If you play the game as a sim you basically have to adopt your own set of house rules to hamstring the player against the brutally dumb cpu AI.

Back in the CS days, we'd normally ban AWP from our server and competitive matches. Probably shouldn't have in retrospect but it was a common thing to do.

 

[DPT120]

Yeah, Pokemon nuzlocke (although I haven't done one in a while)