Top 10 Hardest Video Games Ever Made

Difficulty in video games is slowly becoming a trivial thing. Developers are making games more and more accessible to many people who might not enjoy them otherwise. But one noticeable aspect in game difficulty is that some developers are forgetting to keep the hard mode what it is supposed to be: being hard.

But there are still a bunch of developers who pride themselves on making games that actually challenge the players. Developers like FromSoftware and Team Cherry are two such game makers. There are a lot more developers and a lot more games in the market that still take more than just following the story to finish. And here are 10 such games that will truly test a gamer in every possible.

1. Hollow Knight

The concept of Metroidvania games is pretty straightforward: players are dropped onto a map, which they have to explore. It keeps on unlocking as they explore it more. There would be bosses that players had to defeat. And each boss would give players a new ability after dying. This game implies all these features perfectly. A very good-looking 2D side scroller with a bunch of tough bosses and a Dark Souls-like currency system.

It would not disappoint the fans of metroidvanias, soulslikes, and side scrollers, as it has a little of all of them.

1. Sekiro

FromSoftware is the master of creating very challenging experiences for their fans. In fact, they started a whole genre called soulsborne, which is built around these hard-as-nails games. But they do not like being typecast, it seems. That’s why they went ahead and developed Sekiro, a game set in feudal Japan. Players control Sekiro, a shinobi. He has to protect his lord, a small child, from a host of mysterious powers and some dangerous forces.

The game is a mix of stealth and action. Like any other FromSoft game, this one has swordplay at its center, but this time players have one single weapon, and technique is the master. This makes it miles harder than any other of their games, as players cannot just go away, level up beyond the boss they were fighting, and come back to defeat it. They have to defeat it with their own prowess.

1. Ikaruga

What’s with Japanese developers making these hard games? Do they like punishing their fans? This one is yet another hard game. But Ikaruga is a shoot-’em-up. Yes, a fast-paced shooter is now on the list of one of the hardest games ever made.

It is mostly an old-school vertical-scrolling bullet hell shooter. Bullet hell shooters are games where players have to defeat hard enemies while dodging thousands of bullets being fired by those enemies. This one is for the tough sort.

1. Kingdom Come Deliverance

Fans saw this game as a realistic Skyrim, but it turned out to be something unique. Set in Europe, this game lets players go and explore the countryside the moment it starts. Some would say that this is indeed very Skyrim-like. But this game literally shows people who are the boss when they go around messing with high-level enemies. They literally clean the floor with the player character because it’s a realistic game, and the player character needs to first get better at fighting by practicing.

It’s not in Skyrim where punching a person again and again makes the player’s character stronger. This one requires technique and real effort, and those who did not realize this found themselves leaving this game behind after playing a mere 10–15 minutes of it.

1. Doom Eternal

Shooting demons in the face has got to be fun. That fun increases tenfold when paired with hard metal music. In Doom Eternal, players control Doom Slayer, a character whom the scariest of demons fear. But no matter how awesome developers make a character, they are only as good as the player controlling them. Doom Eternal makes sure players have a hard time being efficient.

This game literally starts with throwing a bunch of new types of enemies at players. Moreover, every enemy has a weakness, and if players overlook it and do not consider exploiting that weakness, they will find themselves with low health and no ammo surrounded by scary enemies in no time.

1. Bloodborne

There was bound to be a soulsborne game on this list, and it had to be one developed by FromSoftwware themselves. This horror-action RPG has everything to entice players. Its story is unique, its setting is one that invites people, and its environment is such that horror fans would find themselves getting startled every now and then. But the developers top it all off with its bosses. While the smallest of enemies in this game can give newcomers a very hard time, fighting the bosses is on another level.

Each one of them is a challenge on its own, and players better be ready for that challenge. I assure you that FromSoftware actually makes players face a very tough enemy even before they leave the starting area, but then again, that’s exactly what they do with all of their games.

1. Ghost ‘n Goblins Resurrection

Years after the first game’s launch, Capcom decided to bring back their hardest game to the fans of the side-scrolling genre. But this game is not for everyone. Yes, it looks all cartoonish, and the character sheds his armor upon getting hit, but he gets hot more times than one would like. Some say Capcom has somehow made this game even harder than the original.

It might even be a knight in search of his princess, going through forbidden lands. He has to face a lot of undead and supernatural enemies to get her, but the problem is, they keep coming. Players would struggle to get a breather in this game, and that’s what developers might be going for. Only play this game if you want to punish yourself; it’s no child’s play.

1. Fury

Anyone looking for a bunch of hard games to punish themselves would know what bullet hell shooters are. Now combine bullet hell shooters with a Souls-like game where players only have bosses to fight. Boss fighter after the boss fights, and each gets increasingly harder.

Playing Fury is not a child’s play; it looks fancy, yes, but it will not let you pass until you prove your worth.

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1. Nioh 2

Team Ninja decided that they would make games even harder than FromSoftware’s games, and fans got themselves Nioh. Now the original Nioh was hard enough with its bosses and other hard enemies. But Nioh 2 kicks it all up a notch; it features larger levels, harder enemies to fight, and bosses that are now somewhat impossible to cheese.

For those unaware, cheesing is a technique that players use to defeat bosses without facing them in a normal way. Different bosses have different cheese in different games. But Nioh 2 does away with it; players cannot cheese, and that’s why they have to finish this game the hard way.

1. Celeste

Finishing this list off with a very beautiful indie game where the main character, Madeline, decides she will climb the Celeste Mountain. And it’s easier said than done. Run, jump, wall jump, and dash through the difficult areas, and this game will throw even harder challenges at you.

Eventually, the game would become a mix of puzzles and platforming that would make players engage both their motor skills and brains at the same time. Play it if you are ready to push yourself very hard.

These are some of the hardest games ever made. No doubt there are more out there, but everyone’s choices differ. So just enjoy the ones you like and comment on the ones that this list has excluded.

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