20 Hardest Games Every Player Must Try

The question of difficulty in video games is a hot topic in the gaming community. Points have been made about accessibility, authenticity of experience, and even monetary value, with varying degrees of validity. But the fact remains that conquering a particularly brutal challenge in a game can carry a feeling of satisfaction that’s almost impossible to beat. The best difficult games give you almost insurmountable challenges. However, they also give you everything you need to overcome those challenges, and the faith that you will, eventually, succeed. If you want a truly meaningful struggle, these twenty games will challenge you in a big way.

Super Mario Maker

The Super Mario Maker franchise, which now includes two main series games and an ill-fated 3DS port, might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about difficulty. But by opening the game design doors to Mario fans the world over, Nintendo has indirectly fostered the creation of some truly devilish challenges. The hardest fan-made levels in Super Mario Maker 2 will require you to control Mario better than you can control your own body. These levels also serve as a brilliant case study in game design. And with the full suite of level creation controls at your fingertips, Super Mario Maker offers a much more unique challenge than the other games on this list as well.

Hollow Knight

This intricate 2D adventure was widely acclaimed when it launched in 2017, and with good reason. The game’s beautiful art style and charming insectoid characters belie its fearsome difficulty. The title is on par with the Dark Souls games, which clearly inspired it in terms of challenge. Its fearsome bosses and precise platforming challenges will test even the most hardcore gamer. Hollow Knight’s story and lore have also received huge praise. With versions on just about every major system out there, there’s really no reason not to add Hollow Knight to your gaming catalog.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

The Shin Megami Tensei franchise encompasses a lot of different properties. At this point, even its subseries have subseries. While SMT is most well-known nowadays for the Persona franchise, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is still one of its most iconic titles. This 2003 RPG catapulted the franchise into the mainstream and set a standard for dark, challenging turn-based games. It’s also exceedingly difficult. The boss fights in Nocturne will demand shrewd tactics and very careful use of resources. The gameplay matches the dark tone of this post-apocalyptic fantasy. Of course, it also means this game is not for the faint of heart.

Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels

The complicated history of Super Mario Bros. 2 is a piece of video game history. The game was withheld from American audiences for years because Nintendo feared it would be too difficult. Their fears were well founded. Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, as it eventually came to be known internationally, builds on the controls of its predecessor and pushes them to the extreme. The game’s levels are vastly more difficult than those of the first game, which is already a solidly challenging game in its own right.

Demon’s Souls

FromSoftware is infamous for its difficult games. The legendary developer has produced some of the most iconic action RPGs out there, and each is famed for its steep difficulty curve. Demon’s Souls is where it all began. While this is far from the first game FromSoft ever produced, it is the origin for most of the gameplay hallmarks that would go on to define its iconic “Soulsborne” games. Chief among these is extreme difficulty. Demon’s Souls is a very punishing game. Its bosses and dungeons will obliterate you if you aren’t prepared for the ordeal of struggling through them.

The Witness

Difficulty in video games can take a lot of different forms. The Witness has no boss fights or grueling platforming challenges but this does not stop it from being one of the hardest games on this list. This game takes a relatively simple puzzle setup and iterates on it in increasingly complex ways that can absolutely boggle the mind. If you’re not a dedicated puzzle player, you may find yourself frequently flummoxed by this game’s intellectual challenges. If you persevere, however, you will build up an intimate knowledge of the game’s challenges that will serve you well in getting to the end.

Super Meat Boy

A lot of the most difficult games out there are 2D platformers. Few entries in that genre epitomize the difficulty these games can bring like Super Meat Boy. This bizarre indie game parodies many of the tropes prevalent in platforming games. At the same time, it contributes a healthy dose of absurdism and some truly nightmarish level design. Success in Super Meat Boy requires perfect, split-second timing. One wrong move can see your grotesque little protagonist completely and utterly pulverized.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins

This classic run-n-gun platformer is one of the earliest examples of a game legendary for its brutal difficulty. Ghosts ‘n Goblins pits the protagonist, a knight named Arthur, against an unforgiving horde of fiendish monsters that will stop at nothing to bring him down. Your armor provides scant protection, absorbing one blow before it shatters into dust and leaves you completely vulnerable. Success in this game requires extreme patience and swift reflexes. If you were playing in the old arcade days, you also needed a lot of quarters.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

This action game represents something of a departure from FromSoftware’s classic Soulsborne formula. Sekiro does away with a lot of the RPG mechanics seen in games like Dark Souls. Instead, it places a much heavier emphasis on player skill and reflex. This makes the game’s brutal enemies all the more challenging, as fans can no longer farm to increase their stats. As a result, Sekiro is one of FromSoftware’s hardest games. However, the legendary developer’s brilliant level design, lore, and flawless combat make it no less of a must-play than its RPG counterparts.

Returnal

While the roguelike genre is a staple in the indie game space, it hasn’t had much of an impact on the AAA environment. Returnal is a glorious exception to this rule. This third-person shooter exiles astronaut Selene to an alien planet and forces her to shoot her way out. The game combines traditional third-person shooter sensibilities with hardcore bullet hell gameplay. This forces you to think on your toes, keep moving, and use items aggressively. The roguelike angle means that falling to one of Returnal’s grueling bosses sees you sent all the way back to the start of the game. With a steady flow of new items and upgrades, however, you can eventually prevail.

Cuphead

This action platformer is famous for both of its distinctive presentation and for its extreme difficulty. Cuphead takes direct inspiration from classic cartoons from the ’30s, and the vibrant, high-energy art style lends it unending charm and vivacity. The game’s appealing presentation helps motivate players to overcome its intense difficulty. Cuphead’s long list of bosses demands absolute precision, quick reflexes, and a lot of patience. Once you’ve beaten the base game, you can challenge yourself still further with the title’s recent expansion, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course. Between the two, there will be more than enough challenge for the hardened video game fan.

Lies of P

FromSoftware’s extensive catalog of brutal action RPGs has served as an inspiration to countless developers. One of the strangest things to result from that inspiration is Lies of P. This game borrows liberally from iconic titles like Bloodborne, and uses them in a surreal retelling of the fairy tale of Pinocchio. As the iconic animated puppet himself, you must explore a dystopian steampunk city and overcome a sinister blight that is overtaking its citizens. This odd premise belies the fact that Lies of P is actually an excellent game, which goes a long way toward living up to its lofty inspirations. With nominations for best art direction and best RPG at the Game Awards in 2023, Lies of P is a solid recommendation for any gamer looking for a challenge.

Contra

You can’t talk about difficulty in video games without talking about Contra. This classic arcade shooter virtually defined the run-and-gun genre when it launched back in 1986. The title’s odd mix of American military aesthetics with a far-future alien invasion made it stand out, as did its brutal difficulty. The game is also known for popularizing the Konami Code, arguably the most iconic video game cheat code out there. While the Konami Code didn’t debut in Contra, this brutal platformer did make it common knowledge. This is largely due to the fact that many fans needed to use it if they wanted to stand a chance.

Darkest Dungeon

Darkest Dungeon is very upfront about its difficulty. Every time you launch the game you’re treated to a warning about how punishing and unforgiving it is. The game isn’t about avoiding failure, but about how you cope with the inevitability of failure. You will have quests that you must abandon, and party members who will die despite your best attempts to save them. From the opening minutes of the game you are making decisions that could spell life or death for your heroes. The stakes are at their highest at every moment in Darkest Dungeon, and prevailing against these demoralizing circumstances is an unparalleled feat.

Nioh

One of the most prominent attempts to recapture the runaway success of Dark Souls is Nioh, a brutal soulslike set in 1600s Japan. This devastating soulslike pits you against increasingly intimidating monsters culled from the pages of Japanese mythology and, like in the trilogy that inspired it, death is inevitable. Nioh’s deep gameplay mechanics, engaging setting, and brutal enemy design elevate it above its fellow Dark Souls clones, making it an ideal pickup for fans of the original FromSoft games.

Celeste

If you want a game that will test your platforming chops to the absolute limit, Celeste is the game for you. The game is centered around a character struggling to climb a mountain, and the gameplay is appropriately suited to such a feat. Celeste will set you on nigh-impossible platforming challenges which require absolute pinpoint precision, then tempt you with bonus levels that are even harder. Your reward for enduring this overwhelming challenge is a deeply moving story about identity and overcoming self-doubt, as well as a masterpiece of a soundtrack motivating you to keep climbing.

Castlevania

The Castlevania franchise is one of the cornerstones of the video game industry, and part of the namesake for the metroidvania genre. It debuted in 1986 with an extremely difficult platformer chronicling the now-iconic Simon Belmont’s first adventure into the castle of the evil vampire Dracula. The brutal challenge of the game is on par with the stakes, but if you manage to persevere, you’ll find out why this masterfully challenging game kickstarted one of the most venerable franchises in video game history.

Elden Ring

FromSoft’s most recent Soulsborne title represented a major shakeup for the developer. Elden Ring is a fully open world game, which in turn made it a lot more accessible to fans. It’s a lot harder to get stuck on a boss in Elden Ring, since there’s always more paths you can take to explore as you train and unlock new gear. That said, accessible doesn’t mean easy. Elden Ring still has all the nasty bosses one would expect from a FromSoft title, but the game’s masterful art direction, worldbuilding, and lore make it a genuine thrill to travel the Lands Between and discover more and more dangerous foes.

Dark Souls

The Dark Souls trilogy redefined video game difficulty forever. These games are so hard they’ve forever changed the vocabulary used to define hard games. Fans will routinely see games described as the Dark Souls of their respective genres, all because of the overwhelming impact of these games. You’ve certainly heard of these games before clicking on this list, but their legacy cannot be overstated. If you’re interested in challenging yourself with some of the hardest video games on the market, you owe it to yourself to give Dark Souls and its sequels a try.

Bloodborne

Every FromSoftware fan will have a different favorite title from the legendary developer, as well as a different reason why their preferred game is number one. The title of best Soulsborne game will always be a matter of personal preference, but Bloodborne should not be underestimated. This game is one of the most aesthetically distinct titles in FromSoft’s repertoire, trading the developer’s usual medieval trappings for gothic and Lovecraftian horror. It also majorly revamps the genre’s combat style. By almost completely removing shields, Bloodborne forces the player to play more aggressively, a playstyle the game is all too happy to reward. The twisted beasts of Yharnam are an immense challenge for any hunter, but with patience and skill, you can overcome the night.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Dark Souls Remastered.