Bonus Episode 253: What Even IS a Hardcore Game? Tarkov, Elden Ring & Wardogs

Raz said on 603 that there are only two hardcore games — Dark Souls/Elden Ring and Tarkov. The Instagram comments disagreed. So this is the audit.

We start with the least hardcore thing in all of video games (Call of Duty hardcore mode, and it isn't close), then try to actually build the rule. Is hard the same as hardcore? Getting Over It is punishing and we still won't call it hardcore — so what's missing? Does the loss have to be gear, progress, time, or the character itself? Classic WoW hardcore servers, Malenia, Tarkov's secure container, and why a hardcore game punishes small mistakes rather than big ones.

Then the answer we land on: the less a game holds your hand, the more hardcore it is. Elden Ring's hidden walls, Inscryption, Tarkov's terrible onboarding versus its good mysteries, difficulty sliders, Diablo's permadeath mode, and Darkest Dungeon breaking the rule we just made.

Plus the rulings — Hell Let Loose, Wardogs, Tarkov PvE, Kingdom Come, Project Zomboid, Rust, Hunt, Ready or Not — and the question underneath all of it: can a game be hardcore and popular at the same time, or does getting big always make it easier?

Let us know what a hardcore game is and isn't.

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Patron topic suggestions and what's coming

2:21 - Why we're doing this: the Instagram comments

4:37 - The least hardcore thing in video games

6:39 - The 603 claim, and an addendum to it

9:31 - Most hardcore game you've personally played

10:57 - Hard vs. hardcore — are they the same word?

15:15 - What do you actually have to lose?

18:06 - Depth is part of it too

20:03 - What Tarkov gets right about losing everything

23:11 - Hardcore punishes small mistakes

24:49 - Does it count if you can get it back?

25:15 - Tarkov PvE vs. Elden Ring

28:09 - The game not telling you everything

31:36 - When withholding helps — and when it's just bad onboarding

33:42 - Tarkov vs. Arena Breakout, and Ragman's SUV

36:17 - Inscryption

39:53 - The rule: lack of hand-holding

42:30 - Difficulty sliders and Diablo's hardcore mode

45:03 - Darkest Dungeon breaks the rule

48:00 - Hardcore isn't binary, it's a gradient

50:02 - Nuzlockes, no-hit runs and self-imposed rules

53:39 - The people beating every Souls game without getting hit

56:38 - Does it have to be multiplayer?

1:02:10 - Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

1:04:41 - Locking in the rule

1:07:15 - The rulings begin

1:11:25 - Wardogs vs. Hell Let Loose

1:13:24 - Kingdom Come, Project Zomboid, Rust, DayZ

1:16:04 - Hunt Showdown and Ready or Not

1:17:25 - Welcome to the Game and the indie horror pile

1:22:16 - Why does any of this matter?

1:29:56 - Knowing whether you have the time for it

1:30:48 - The appeal — and "emptiness"

1:33:01 - Can a game be hardcore and popular?

1:39:48 - The Shutter Island analogy

1:43:34 - Is there less hardcore now, or did it move?

1:45:46 - Publisher problem or audience problem?

1:52:01 - Why every hobby drifts hardcore

1:57:04 - Outro