Summary
Much like beauty, difficulty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because one person finds a game difficult doesn’t mean someone else will. There are some games, however, that stand out as being especially difficult. Every genre has itsDark SoulsorSekiro.
Management simulation games are no different.These games come with a lot of moving partsand even the easiest entries in the genre can be daunting. Of course, that’s half the fun. Management sims are all about being the boss and nobody ever said being in charge was easy.
Taken at face value,The Sims 4might not seem all that difficult. But beneath the game’s casual exterior lies a surprisingly complex heart.Success inThe Sims 4requires juggling a not-insignificant number of systems.
Yet that’s not what makes the Sims games difficult -that’s the Sims themselves. Sims have some semblance of free will, and it often feels like they’re taking the player’s commands as “suggestions”. Sims often make dubious decisions (like swimming when chronically tired) which can lead to progress-consuming consequences.
PlayingSurviving Marsis like spinning plates during an earthquake. Part of its difficulty lay in the sheer act of survival in the harsh Martian environment and players will spend much of their time simply making sure their colonists have enough food and water.
That’s rarely an easy task in and of itself, but then the game will throw curveballs at gamers in the form of some of the most brutal random events in management simulation history. Depending on the split-second decision the player makes, these events can make or break their settlement.
InBanishedthe player must help a group of medieval exiles build a new life. Gamers must strike the perfect balance between growing their fledgling city while providing for its residents (the player’s primary resource) with everything they need.
That might sound likeevery other city-builderout there butBanishedstands out thanks to its intense focus on resource management (which its devs based on real-world economic theories). There’s never enough to go around and the next depression or starvation event is always just around the corner.
With its cartoon graphics and slow-paced beginning, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security byTwo Point Hospital. That would be a mistake. This is a hospital sim, and in a hospital, death lurks around every corner.
It’s around the time the game has introduced the last of its systems that players will realize there aren’t enough hours in the day. Budget prioritization and time management are key and players must decide who lives and who dies. Let too many patients expire and watch as everything collapses. Try and save everyone and go bust.
It doesn’t take that long to learn the basics ofRimWorldand coming out of the tutorial, players will be feeling confident. That’s until the raids start and their colonists either start dying or losing their minds. To succeed inRimWorldit’s important not to get too attached to anything or anyone.
The game features difficulty levels that adapt to how one plays. Play badly early on and the difficulty will adjust slightly to verify the gameisn’t too difficult for newcomers. Start playing like a pro though and the game becomes brutal.
5Cities: Skylines II
A Lesson In Complexity
The originalCities: Skylineswas an immensely complicated management simulation but its sequel dials everything up to 11. Players must attempt to build a metropolis while also managing the day-to-day difficulties of running a city. This means providing for their residents' every need and the kinds of services many of us in the real world take for granted.
The sequel has more systems than ever before and it can be a lot to take in. Running a successful citygets pretty stressfuland takes a lot of micromanagement/busy work. Those of us who can’t multitask will quickly find they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
Factoriois a game that doesn’t do much hand-holding and things can get complicated extremely quickly. It’s all too easy to see the impressive factories other players have come up with and try to jump straight into the deep.
Success inFactoriomeans taking things one step at a time. If players start out focusing on resource gathering and then on automation, they’ll gradually learn the game’s quirks. If they rush into things they’ll walk away with a migraine and a factory about to burst into flames.
Dwarf Fortresswas in development for a famously long time. Not because it’s thebest-looking game on PC(it’s not) but because it’s a complex one. Gamers looking to get the most out ofDwarf Fortresswill spend as much time reading wikis as they will building their fortresses.
To do well in Dwarf Fortress fans will need two things. The game demands an almost encyclopedic knowledge of its systems and superhuman patience. Two things that, for many, make it incredibly difficult.
Most management sims don’t require fans to actually know anything.Cities: Skylinesdoesn’t require a civil engineering degree and someone doesn’t need to have had a career in hospital administration to playTwo Point Hospital. However,Oxygen Not Includedworks a little differently.
Its difficulty stems not just from the game’s deep and complex systems. Players will also need to bring (or learn) some science knowledge to the table. Failure to do so will see colonists dying unpleasant deaths and progress stalling.
IsFrostpunktheDark Soulsof the management sim world? A look at online forums will show players either bemoaning its difficulty and stating they gave up on it or arguing that its difficulty is the whole point. It’s one of those games where much of the advice out there amounts to"Git Gud" memes.
Frostpunkis almost like a puzzle game - look for the problem a settlement is facing and find the solution. That solution is usually more resources, but getting them will mean making morally dubious decisions that leave players feeling dirty. It’s unapologetically hard, and most fans love it for it.
