10 Self-Imposed CHALLENGES in Games

10 Self Imposed Challenges in Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are looking at achievements and rules created by the rule followers. From the dawn of gaming, players have developed self-inflicted parameters to increase the difficulty of games, often so infamously that they spread like wild fire, and suddenly we’re all burning! These are 10 Self Imposed Challenges in Games. Let’s go.

Arsene Only

“Persona 5” (2016)

One of the most brutal self-imposed runs in "Persona 5" is sticking with Arsène for the entire game and refusing to swap him out. Obviously you can try a challenge like this in other "Persona" games, but it became infamous among fans with the fifth entry because "Persona 5" makes it especially rough. The story is SO long and your starter Persona falls off pretty fast if you use him normally. Arsène looks cool, but let’s be honest, the game really does not want him to stay your main guy forever. That’s what makes the run so tough. If you commit to using only Arsène, you have to squeeze every bit of value out of the game’s systems. And you have to be a proper fan to make this work.

No Upgrades Or Boss Weapons

“Mega Man X” (1993)

One of the most classic self-imposed challenges across the Mega Man games is the “buster-only” run. The idea is simple: you ignore every weapon and upgrade the game gives you and stick with the basic shot you start with. This is one of those challenges that feels achievable early in the games, you actually get way over-confident, but it gets brutal pretty quickly, especially in games like Mega Man X where upgrades are a huge part of how you’re meant to play. Normally, beating bosses gives you new weapons that exploit enemy weaknesses, making later fights much easier. But with this challenge, you’re throwing all of that out the window. No special weapons, no upgrades, just your standard buster the entire time. There is zero room for mistakes, and trust me, you’ll make a few.

100 Baby Challenge

“The Sims 2” (2004)

One of the most infamous fan made challenges comes from the humble, but awesome Sims series. First starting in “The Sims 2”, and lasting right up until the current “The Sims 4”, the challenge is simple. Make 100 babies, as quickly as simply possible. The records come down to 2 factors, how few generations you managed to get the 100, and how quickly overall. There’s a bunch of other rules to make sure the game isn’t being exploited, so make sure to look it up before you do the 100 Baby Challenge, or as we call it in Melbourne, Australia: the Frankston challenge.

Three Heart Challenge

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” (1998)

The Three-Heart Challenge in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of the most well-known self-imposed runs, and it completely changes how the game feels. The rule is simple: don’t pick up any extra Heart Containers or Pieces of Heart. That means Link stays at just three hearts for the entire adventure, which (if you didn’t know) is the lowest health you can possibly have. Because of that, even basic enemies become a threat. Getting hit once or twice can be enough to end your run, and boss fights become way more intense since attacks that normally feel minor suddenly become deadly. This is well before we even talk about hazards and traps. With most players reaching 15-20 hearts casually, finishing the game with 3 is unheard of.

The Chuck Norris Challenge

“The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” (2006)

One of the funniest self-imposed runs you can try in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is the classic “fists only” challenge. The idea is simple: no weapons, no spells, just your bare hands for the entire game. Whether you’re fighting bandits, monsters, or even assassins, it’s all about throwing punches and hoping for the best. At first, it sounds kind of easy, especially early on when enemies aren’t too tough. But it quickly becomes clear how rough this can get. Without weapons, fights take way longer, and you’re constantly putting yourself in danger just to deal damage. You can’t punch from a distance after all. But, this is where the challenge comes into play. The challenge leads to a lot of chaotic and genuinely funny moments, especially when you’re squaring up against enemies that were definitely not designed to be punched to death. Raise your dukes, dragon, I’m swinging regardless.

No Fast Travel

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

Although this challenge could technically be completed in any modern Fallout game, it was popularised in “Fallout: New Vegas”. A No Fast Travel run completely changes how the game feels, and honestly it’s at the benefit of some serious immersion. Normally, you can just teleport between locations you’ve already discovered, which saves a ton of time. But with this challenge, that’s gone, you have to walk everywhere across the Mojave. That means every quest turns into an actual journey. You’re constantly running into enemies, dangerous areas, and random encounters that you’d usually skip right past. Suddenly, the world feels way bigger and a lot more threatening. This is the only challenge on this list I’ve completed, and I LOVED it.

Four White Mages

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

One of the oldest and most famous challenge runs in gaming history comes from 1987’s “Final Fantasy”: The Four White Mages challenge. The idea is simple: you build your entire party using only White Mages and try to beat the whole game like that. Typically you build a combination of fighters, monks, black mages, red mages, thieves, whatever combo you want, traditionally with a white mage to support the party. So, using four supporting white mages is a recipe for disaster. It sounds like a terrible idea at first, no heavy damage dealers, no real offense, but it actually works better than you’d expect. The challenge ends up being more about patience than pure difficulty. Since your damage output is lower, fights take longer, and you’ll spend a lot of time slowly chipping away at enemies while keeping your team alive with constant healing. It’s not impossible, just a bit of a grind.

The No-Pause Challenge

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild” (2017)

Another Legend of Zelda entry, and it’s a good one. In “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” players can take part in the “no pausing” run, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. You’re not allowed to pause. Sure, I could do that. Trust me, it’s harder than you think. No pausing ALSO means no opening menus, not for healing, not for cooking, not even to check your map. The only things you can use are quick-swaps for weapons and items, and even changing armor becomes a whole process, usually needing the dye shop instead of just doing it on the fly. It completely changes how the game plays. You can’t rely on healing mid-fight, so every mistake actually matters, and you have to think ahead way more than usual. Cooking becomes basically useless, and navigating the world without checking your map adds another layer of difficulty. It’s not for a first playthrough, but can be tackled by veterans.

No-Hit

“Dark Souls” (2011)

The no-hit run in Dark Souls is easily one of the most brutal challenges in gaming. The goal is simple in theory: beat the entire game without getting hit a single time. In reality, it’s absolutely insane. One mistake, just one, and the whole run is over, meaning you’re starting from scratch again. I make mistakes multiple times a minute in “Dark Souls”! To even have a chance, you need to know the game inside and out. And not “inside out” in a cute way, I mean every enemy pattern, every boss attack, every timing window, every pixel of the game, it all has to be perfect. Boss fights are where it really gets ridiculous. Taking on fights like Ornstein and Smough without getting touched once is as stressful as it sounds. Something that 99% of players can’t achieve as an isolated challenge.

Nuzlocke

“Pokemon” Series (1996-)

This challenge is a classic of the Pokemon franchise and is available for you to do in some form in every game from the main series. The rules change a bit from person to person, and you can choose whichever ones to follow to make it as hard or easy as you’d like. Some of the most common rules are that you only have one chance to catch a single Pokemon per route, you must give them a nickname, and when they faint, you have to release them immediately. The run can be utterly crushing, but it adds a new layer of challenge to relatively easy games.