Best Fan Challenges That Make Familiar Games Feel New

by

I absolutely love games like Bloodborne, and it’s easy to see why so many others do! Developers put a ton of work into crafting these experiences, carefully balancing everything to make sure it plays just right. But what’s really cool is what happens after the game is released. Players are so creative! They start figuring out ways to break or bend the rules, finding new strategies and challenges. It’s especially fun to see what people come up with on repeat playthroughs, like these crazy self-imposed challenges – they totally change how you experience the game.

These challenges usually involve finishing the game with extra rules or limitations. Some are incredibly difficult, even for experienced players, due to roadblocks or extremely tough bosses. But that doesn’t deter players from trying! As someone who enjoys exploring games and setting personal goals, I think these challenges are fantastic. Are you brave enough to try them?

Bloodborne Sprint Challenge

Ducking and Weaving

The rules:

  • No attacks
  • No kills
  • All running

Okay, so after spending hours in Bloodborne, you really learn the maps, right? Places like the Forbidden Woods…ugh, those winding paths and tough enemies! You die a ton and end up running the same routes over and over. I was thinking, what if we took all that memorization and actually used it? I’m setting myself a challenge: I’m going to try and hit every shortcut and get to the boss without killing a single NPC. It’s gonna be tough, but I already know where everything is, so why not?

I often find images for Bloodborne and the Souls games, so I was surprised to see people intentionally making the games harder for fun. Unless you’re a very skilled player, you’ll likely need to spend a lot of time leveling up to beat the boss. It’s possible to beat the game only sprinting and fighting bosses, but it takes a lot of skill.

All Ducks Hitman Challenge

Not So Silent Assassin

The rules:

  • Just explosive duck kills
  • No witnesses (including security cameras)
  • No non-target kills

Explosive ducks are a memorable and often hilarious part of the Hitman game series. They’re a popular choice for players who prefer a more direct approach, and come in three types: remote-detonated, proximity-triggered, and throwable grenade ducks. These ducks are especially favored by players who enjoy a chaotic playstyle – those who like to be a ‘grim reaper’ or ‘black cat’.

Explosive ducks are powerful, but they don’t really fit the style of a silent assassin. This challenge, however, requires you to eliminate all targets using these ducks. You can subdue enemies with other methods, but any other kill will force you to restart the level. A helpful tip: triggering a target evacuation can make things much easier.

The Spiffing Brit’s Elder Scrolls Oblivion Dirty Hoe Challenge

Who Can Resist an Insulting Pun?

The rules:

  • No Magic
  • No advanced weapons
  • Just hoe

This unusual gaming challenge started as a joke. A commenter playfully suggested that YouTuber The Spiffing Brit could beat the game Oblivion using only his mom as a character. This led to the ‘dirty hoe challenge,’ which is a spin on the popular trend of gamers completing games using only one specific character or item. In this case, that character was the commenter’s mother – referred to as a ‘dirty hoe’ within the challenge.

Actually, Spiff uses a broken, diseased hoe that gives enemies diseases. True to his style, he exploits the game in a clever way. He starts as an Orc for a combat boost, then uses surprisingly skillful item manipulation. Spiff is known for his incredibly silly Elder Scrolls challenges, like his recent ‘Biblically Accurate Skyrim Challenge’.

Nuzlocke Pokémon

Thank You For Your Service, My Friend

The rules:

  • You may only catch the first Pokémon you encounter in an area.
  • All Pokémon must be renamed.
  • Once a Pokémon has fainted, it is considered dead.

Okay, so the Nuzlocke challenge isn’t anything new – people have been doing it for ages as a way to make Pokémon playthroughs way harder. There are tons of different ways to play, but the basic idea is this: you can only catch the first Pokémon you run into in each area, and you have to give it a nickname. It sounds simple, but it’s designed to make you really connect with your Pokémon. Every new team member feels special, because you know they could be gone for good if you’re not careful. It’s surprisingly emotional!

Who’s That Character? Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
5.0s
0/10

Results

0

High Score: 0 —

More Games

Players continue battling with their Pokémon until one is defeated. In a Nuzlocke challenge, a fainted Pokémon is permanently removed from the team. These rules are meant to increase the game’s difficulty and make players more emotionally attached to their Pokémon, as they try to prevent them from being defeated.

World of Warcraft Pacifist Run

Tolstoy Could Never…

The rules:

  • See how far you can get in a major quest line without killing ANYTHING.
  • No teaming or grouping with non-pacifist players

There’s an incredible amount to do in World of Warcraft. You can be a classic warrior, battling enemies with sword and shield, or simply enjoy a peaceful life as a fisherman, ignoring all the adventures. But what happens if you want to complete an important story quest without fighting? That’s where things get complicated.

This challenge is all about progressing as far as possible in a game without fighting any enemies. I first learned about it around ten years ago through Griffin McElroy’s Peacecraft series, but it’s been around even longer than that. Similar to the popular Nuzlocke challenge in Pokémon, completing Warcraft as a pacifist has become a common way for players to enjoy a fresh experience or play the game differently on an alternate account.

Anti-capitalist No Merchant Resident Evil Run

What Aren’t You Buying, Stranger?

The rules:

  • Pick a Resident Evil game with some kind of merchant.
  • Don’t buy anything from the merchant or the Duke.
  • Panic!

Want to make a scary game even harder? A surprising way to do it is to remove features that actually help players feel capable. The Resident Evil series is known for being challenging, but Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village are unique because they let you trade with a vendor. While characters like the Duke and the Merchant might seem a little unsettling, they’re practically the only allies Leon and Ethan have while fighting through waves of enemies.

Resident Evil Village is a particularly enjoyable and difficult game to master when it comes to managing your inventory. The Duke, the game’s merchant, offers a wider variety of items, and Ethan, the player character, actually requires more help than Leon did in previous games. However, this also means you’ll often find your inventory filled with random fish!

Fallout 4 Vegan Challenge

Even Mirelurk Meat is Murder

The rules:

  • Don’t eat meat or animal by-products
  • Don’t craft with any meat or animal by-products.
  • Only kill animals in self-defense

Now that the new Fallout TV show has brought many players back to Fallout 4, it’s fun to consider different ways to play. A core part of the Fallout experience involves hunting animals and using their parts to craft items. But what if your character chose a vegan lifestyle while exploring the dangerous, ruined world?

Many vegan playthroughs of games allow you to finish without harming any creatures, aside from enemies like humans or aliens. However, Fallout 4 requires some flexibility. While it’s sometimes impossible to avoid killing animals, a true vegan challenge means only fighting back when your life is in danger. This effectively forces players to be durable enough to survive at least one hit from a powerful enemy like a Deathclaw before retaliating – a difficult feat when the core strategy is usually avoiding fights altogether.

Read More

2026-04-07 03:11