868-Hack solves the problem of clumsy difficulty options by putting the player directly in control of the difficulty themselves.
Tom Francis looks at player-driven risk/reward tradeoffs (which he calls “betting on yourself”) in roguelike 868-HACK, explaining their advantages over traditional difficulty modes and designer-driven difficulty spikes.
Slay the Spire lets you stack abilities and buffs without fiddly maths, and it feels good.
Tom Francis takes a look at Slay the Spire, pointing out that because it’s a roguelike and individual games don’t last that long, bonuses and abilities can safely make huge differences rather than tiny incremental ones. The results are a lot easier for players to conceptualize and can make things much more fun. (And as Shamus Young has pointed out there are implications for QA as well.)