History YMMV / PaintTheTownRed

** Between all the main scenarios so far, the Pirate Cove can be considered to be the hardest. Some of the enemies start with very powerful weapons, and there are environmental hazards like water, which [[SuperDrowningSkills insta-kills you if you accidentally fall in]]. That said, it's still pretty tame when compared to what's in store in ''Beneath'' and the Arena.

** Out of all the main levels so far, Cutthroat Cove can be considered to be the hardest. Some of the enemies start with very powerful weapons, and there are environmental hazards like water, which insta-kills you if you accidentally fall in. That said, it's still pretty tame when compared to what's in store in ''Beneath'' and the Arena.

** Out of all the "Boss" enemies, the Katana Boss is easily the toughest and most annoying one to deal with. The guy has the durability of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, and hits about as hard. To give an example of how tough he is, it's possible to go into the sandbox mode, take a shotgun, and shoot him until he's down to his goddamn ''skeleton''. Even after that, it'll still take about 2 more shotguns' worth of ammo to take him out. What's more, the Disco level has precious few bladed weapons to use against him, so you better get ready to hurl a ''lot'' of glasses. This status extends to the "Shooter" modifiers as well - while the other Scenario bosses fall quickly to gunfire, he can sustain three whole assault rifles' worth of shots, and he's almost always armed with a powerful gun that can drop you in seconds. The Disco is arguably the hardest Scenario to clear in "Hard Shooter" specifically because of him.

** Out of all the main levels so far, Cutthroat Cove is the hardest. Some of the enemies start with very powerful weapons, and there are environmental hazards like water, which insta-kills you if you accidentally fall in. That said, it's still pretty tame when compared to what's in store in ''Beneath'' and the Arena.

** As a general rule, [[ShieldBearingMook any enemy with a shield]] is guaranteed to be more than a little annoying to deal with. While shields are breakable, hitting a shield rapidly degrades your weapons, and while you can break the wielder's guard with a fully charged kick, you'll only get a brief window to attack before they put their guard back up again. Thankfully, the few shield bearers you fight in the main game aren't armed with particularly dangerous weapons and are vulnerable to being knocked over and disarmed, though some of the versions people have made in custom levels verge on full-on [[DemonicSpider Demonic Spiders]].

* SelfImposedChallenge: While most of the modifiers available for the Scenarios and custom levels make the game considerably easier (Weak Enemies makes all of your attacks a OneHitKill, for example), a couple will make the game much harder, most notably [[OneHitPointWonder Weak Player]], [[GangUpOnTheHuman Everyone Hates Me]] and Hard Shooter. Hard Shooter in particular is a complete GenreShift from a brawler into a frantic shooter with relentlessly aggressive enemy AI with mercilessly precise aim, all the while you still lack a way to heal, so you'll likely camp out in a room hoping the enemies wipe each other out as much as possible before they come for you. If you're a real glutton for punishment, you could then add those other modifiers on top. Like all other modifiers, though, there's no achievement for completing levels in these modes.

* DemonicSpiders: ''Beneath'' includes some tough enemy types to assert its credentials as the NintendoHard experience a RogueLike needs to be.
** The Crystal Crabs have a nasty hitscan laser attack with ridiculously good tracking, making dodging it without taking cover a matter of luck more than anything else. Sure, they die quickly if you attack their legs, but the hitboxes for those are kinda iffy and you'll more often than not hit their NighInvulnerable bodies instead if you don't crouch and position yourself correctly. [[SarcasmMode Even better]], it isn't uncommon to walk into a room and have ''four or more'' of them pop up and mow you down with lasers. Forget the eldritch horrors beneath, chances are most of your deaths will be to these things.
** The Giant Mages can bombard you with magic missiles and have the ability to rip open space itself to [[EnemySummoner summon more enemies]]. Even getting up close is sketchy, because their melee attacks ''hurt'' and they can knock you away with a magic explosion [[spoiler:(which on Blood and Fire, can end your run in an instant if you get blown into the lava)]]. That alone wouldn't be a huge deal; what really gives them clout as Demonic Spiders is that if any Minions are around, they'll grant the Giant Mage an impenetrable shield, letting the latter attack you with impunity until the Minions are dead. [[NPCRoadblock May the Elder Gods help you if this happens in a hallway, and the Minions are on the other side]]. Your only reprieve is that they don't have a whole lot of health. Kill them quick and save yourself the hassle.
** The Chargers on the Islands don't even have to be ''facing you'' nor ''moving'' to send you flying. Since you face them on tiny floating islands surrounded by bottomless pits, getting punted by one of these is an almost guaranteed death.
** ''Any'' enemy with an automatic weapon or a revolver will be this in the "Hard Shooter" modifier or in user-made levels that feature guns. Stand in their line of sight for more than a second and you'll get ventilated without mercy.

** Out of all the main levels so far, Cutthroat Cove is the hardest. Some of the enemies start with very powerful weapons, and there are environmental hazards like water, which insta-kills you if you accidentally fall in. That said, it's still pretty tame when compared to the levels listed below.

*** Funnily enough, the regular pump-action shotgun got nerfed for "Beneath", and now the new double-barreled shotgun has taken its place as the room-clearing beast.
** The Black Katana is basically the standard katana but [[InfinityPlusOneSword better in every way]]. It'll cut down anything short of an Elder God in one or two swings, including the aforementioned DemonicSpiders, and with its excellent durability one could potentially last you an entire level. What's more, if you unlock it as a random weapon spawn, you won't have to search far to find another one laying about if yours breaks.
** The Laser Katana ups the ante by being ''unbreakable''. Getting it in a Beneath playthrough is so [[GuideDangIt obtuse]][[note]]When in the Construct, wait until you get notified of the Pursuer's arrival; kill the Katana Boss wielding this weapon that appears, and if you defeat The Trickster with his Laser Katana the weapon will spawn next to your pod.[[/note]] you're highly unlikely to find it by chance, but if you do get it you can plow through the rest of the playthrough without using anything else. [[spoiler:It will also shorten the length and difficulty of The End's boss fight by deactivating four of the six Shard Lord pillars when you start of the battle.]]
** If you manage to come across it early enough in ''Beneath'', the Wealth upgrade will net you so much money you'll be able to buy almost any upgrade you come across, and still have enough money left over for health and energy. Chances are good your character will have ''much'' better stats with Wealth than any run without.
* GoddamnedBats:
** As a general rule, [[ShieldBearingMook any enemy with a shield]] is guaranteed to be more than a little annoying to deal with. While shields are breakable, hitting a shield rapidly degrades your weapons, and while you can break the wielder's guard with a fully charged kick, you'll only get a brief window to attack before they put their guard back up again. Thankfully, the few shield bearers you fight in the main game aren't armed with particularly dangerous weapons and are vulnerable to being knocked over and disarmed, though some of the versions people have made in custom levels verge on full-on [[DemonicSpider Demonic Spiders]].

** As a general rule, [[ShieldBearingMook any enemy with a shield]] is guaranteed to be more than a little annoying to deal with. While shields are breakable, hitting a shield rapidly degrades your weapons, and while you can break the wielder's guard with a fully charged kick, you'll only get a brief window to attack before they put their guard back up again. Thankfully, the few shield bearers you fight in the main game aren't armed with particularly dangerous weapons and are vulnerable to being knocked over and disarmed, though some of the creations people have made in custom levels verge on full-on [[DemonicSpider Demonic Spiders]].

* CatharsisFactor: Basically the selling point of the game.
** [[spoiler:Swatting away Pursuers with the special weapons in Blood and Fire is ''immensely'' satisfying.]]

** This may change with the addition of multiplayer to "Beneath", as classes that are better suited to support like the Vanguard become viable with a tanky Brawler/Mauler taking and giving the brunt of the damage.
** The only safe-ish way to clear (or rather, ''survive'') any level with the "Hard Shooter" modifier is to take refuge in a back room and blast enemies in the face when they crest the doorway, peeking out only to grab a fresh gun. It ''is'' possible to dodge bullets past a certain range by strafing, since bullets in this game are a fair bit slower than in most shooters and enemies don't lead their shots, which would be great if not for the fact that you're up against dozens of trigger-happy jerks in very tight quarters where you ''can't'' dodge their gunfire.

** The only safe-ish way to clear (or rather, ''survive'') the "Hard Shooter" modifier is to take refuge in a back room and blast enemies in the face when they crest the doorway, peeking out only to grab a fresh gun. It ''is'' possible to dodge bullets past a certain range by strafing since bullets in this game are a fair bit slower than in most shooters and enemies don't lead their shots, which would be great if not for the fact that you're up against dozens of trigger-happy jerks in very tight quarters where you ''can't'' dodge their gunfire.
* DemonicSpiders: "Beneath" added some tough new enemies to assert its credentials as the NintendoHard experience a RogueLike needs to be.

* GoddamnedBats: The Minions. They die in 1 or 2 hits, and they only move about as fast as the emaciated, hobbled old men they are. Their laser attack, however, will force you to either circle strafe around them or get behind cover to avoid taking massive damage. This can get ''really'' annoying when you're trying to fight other enemies. What's more, if a Giant Mage is around, nearby Minions will cast a protective barrier around it, preventing you from attacking the former until you hunt all of the latter down.
** Bore Worms love to pop up behind you and bite you in the ass, and then burrow back into the ground before you can react.
** Hydras qualify chiefly because blunt weapons do jack against them due to their HealingFactor; you'll need a bladed weapon to cut off their heads, or else you'll just be wasting your weapons wailing away at them. While their attacks can be pretty damaging, Hydras are so slow you can easily outrun them - except when they're blocking a vital hallway.
** The spiders in the Ruins are tiny targets that lunge around, throwing off your aim. Plus, they scream.

** If you manage to come across it early enough, the Wealth upgrade will net you so much money you'll be able to buy almost any upgrade you come across, and still have enough money left over for health and energy. Chances are good your character will have ''much'' better stats with Wealth than any run without.

* ArchivePanic: There are, as of February 2022, over 8,000 custom levels on Steam Workshop for this game, offering up hundreds if not thousands of hours of additional content. That said, like most games with an internal level editor, [[SturgeonsLaw only a small fraction of these are worth checking out]].

* GameBreakingBug: Enemies have the annoying habit of clipping into walls when they get knocked down and getting stuck there, which can potentially render the level unbeatable and force you to restart. This can be especially frustrating since this bug occurs most often in huge user-made levels with upwards of 200 enemies, and you won't realize there are missing enemies until you've already killed everyone else.
** Thankfully, this seems have been fixed in one of the many custom level patches. Nowadays you'll only really find it in poorly made maps.

* SelfImposedChallenge: While most of the modifiers available for the Scenarios and custom levels make the game considerably easier (Weak Enemies makes all of your attacks a OneHitKill, for example), a couple will make the game much harder, most notably [[OneHitPointWonder Weak Player]], [[GangUpOnTheHuman Everyone Hates Me]] and Hard Shooter. Hard Shooter in particular is a complete GenreShift from a brawler into a frantic shooter with relentlessly aggressive enemy AI with mercilessly precise aim, all the while you still lack a way to heal, so you'll likely camp out in a room hoping the enemies wipe each other out as much as possible before they come for you. If you're a real glutton for punishment, [[UpToEleven you could then add those other modifiers on top]]. Like all other modifiers, though, there's no achievement for completing levels in these modes.

** ''Any'' enemy with an automatic weapon will be this in the "Hard Shooter" modifier. Stay in their line of sight for more than a second and you'll get shredded without mercy.

** The only safe-ish way to clear (or rather, ''survive'') the "Hard Shooter" modifier is to take refuge in a back room and blast enemies in the face when they crest the doorway, peeking out only to grab a fresh gun. It ''is'' possible to dodge bullets past a certain range by strafing since bullets in this game are a fair bit slower than in most shooters and enemies don't lead their shots, which would be great if not for the fact that you're up against a whole roomful of trigger-happy jerks who will actively close the distance to where you ''can't'' dodge their gunfire.

** The only safe-ish way to clear (or rather, ''survive'') the "Hard Shooter" modifier is to hide in a back room and gun down or melee enemies with a powerful weapon when they crest the door, peeking out only to grab a fresh gun. Bullets in this game are a fair bit slower than in most shooters and enemies don't lead their shots, so it is possible to dodge bullets past a certain range by strafing, which would be great if not for the fact that you're up against a whole roomful of trigger-happy jerks who will actively close the distance to where you ''can't'' dodge their gunfire.

** The only safe-ish way to clear (or rather, ''survive'') the "Hard Shooter" modifier is to hide in a back room and gun down or melee enemies with a powerful weapon when they crest the door, peeking out only to grab a fresh gun. Bullets in this game are a fair bit slower than in most shooters and enemies don't lead their shots, so it is possible to dodge bullets past a certain range by strafing, which would be great if not for the fact that you're up against a whole roomful of trigger-happy jerks who will actively close the distance to a range where you ''can't'' dodge their gunfire.

** Out of all the "Boss" enemies, the Katana Boss is easily the toughest and most annoying one to deal with. The guy has the durability of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, and hits about as hard. To give an example of how tough he is, it's possible to go into the sandbox mode, take a shotgun, and shoot him until he's down to his goddamn ''skeleton''. Even after that, it'll still take about 2 more shotguns' worth of ammo to take him out. What's more, the Disco level has precious few bladed weapons to use against him, so you better get ready to hurl a ''lot'' of glasses.

** The Deceiver is the most dangerous of the Shard Lords, by virtue of its ability to teleport, [[DoppelgangerSpin create copies of itself]], and for being able to do truly ''absurd'' amounts of damage with every attack. Its melee strike alone can kill even a Brawler character with upgraded health in 3 hits or less.

* SelfImposedChallenge: While most of the modifiers available for the Scenarios and custom levels make the game considerably easier (Weak Enemies makes all of your attacks a OneHitKill, for example), a couple will make the game much harder, most notably [[OneHitPointWonder Weak Player]] and Hard Shooter. Hard Shooter in particular is a complete GenreShift from a brawler into a frantic shooter with relentlessly aggressive enemy AI, while you still lack a way to heal, so taking a few too many bullets early on can completely hose your run. Your only reprieve is that the enemies kill each other as quickly as they kill you. Like all other modifiers, though, there's no achievement for completing levels in this mode.

* SelfImposedChallenge: While most of the modifiers available for the Scenarios and custom levels make the game considerably easier (Fragile Enemies makes all of your attacks a OneHitKill, for example), a couple will make the game much harder, most notably [[OneHitPointWonder Fragile Player]] and Hard Shooter. Hard Shooter in particular is a complete GenreShift from a brawler into a frantic shooter with relentlessly aggressive enemy AI, while you still lack a way to heal, so taking a few too many bullets early on can completely hose your run. Your only reprieve is that the enemies kill each other as quickly as they kill you. Like all other modifiers, though, there's no achievement for completing levels in this mode.

* SelfImposedChallenge: While most of the modifiers available for the Scenarios and custom levels make the game considerably easier (Fragile Enemies makes all of your attacks a OneHitKill, for example), a couple will make the game much harder, most notably [[OneHitPointWonder Fragile Player]] and Hard Shooter. Hard Shooter in particular is a complete GenreShift from a brawler into a frantic shooter with relentlessly aggressive enemy AI, while you still lack regenerating health, so taking a few too many bullets early on can completely hose your run. Your only reprieve is that the enemies kill each other as quickly as they kill you. Like all other modifiers, though, there's no achievement for completing levels in this mode.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: Blocking. Even with a weapon in hand blocking merely reduces damage, so trying to block a swing from a katana with a beer bottle will probably kill you regardless. Unless you have a shield, it's almost always a better idea to simply sprint or jump away from incoming attacks. Furthermore, this game lacks anything resembling a parry mechanic, so blocking attacks doesn't stun enemies. Unless you're backed into a corner or have a shield, you're pretty much never going to block attacks.