Tillerman wrote:You're right that difficulty has to be considered more carefully in a game with saving limitations... but I think if the challenge is balanced correctly, it's a lot more rewarding. It allows the game to have tension, which I think is good for most types of games, and awesome for horror games.
Right. In the archetypical survival-horror games, the challenge isn't in the individual enemy, but in sustainability. Sure, you can blast that Licker to kingdom come with the grenade launcher, but you won't have enough grenades to last until your next resupply (if one even exists).
One of
Shattered Memories's faults is that sustainability is never a problem: Either you make it to the end of a nightmare sequence, or you don't, and there's no supply (even in health, as Harry regenerates) to worry about.
Homecoming, meanwhile, goes the other way. It's too focused on bringing the difficulty in each enemy encounter, which bogs the game down and tends to lead to frustration. Also, supply is never really a problem unless you're getting your ass handed to you in each and every fight... and if that's happening, you'll probably quit the game out of frustration before supply really becomes an issue.
Here, the issue isn't really a happy medium (though that helps), but one of focus.