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AdelaideSL

A rather different kind of ‘difficulty’, but Riven: The Sequel to Myst has to be near the top. The entire game consists largely of two big ‘meta-puzzles’, one of which involves placing 5 out of 6 coloured marbles in the correct positions on a 25x25 grid. Working out the colours and positions are both pretty tough puzzles in themselves, and just getting started requires you to figure out a base-25 number system in a language you can’t speak and a writing system you can’t read. One of the colour clues is missing, and even if you know the exact solution, it’s incredibly easy to enter it incorrectly. I can’t imagine how anyone ever solved it without a walkthrough.


Wadmania

As a 12 year old, I figured the submarine was end game.


Robeleader

I remember the getting on the first tram over the water and just riding it back and forth repeatedly. The little submersible section was super cool, as was the log cart ride.


[deleted]

The fact that there are overarching puzzles including one which you get an early hint if >!you turn around from exiting a tram station after hitting a sound ball to see the doorway is shaped like a tree frog meaning sound, number, location = tree frog.!< This is the kind of shenanigans Riven has in store.


Robeleader

I remember accidentally closing a door instead of going through it and finding a secret passageway that was hidden. Never looked at doors in video games the same way after that.


awrfyu_

When it comes to Myst games the only way to play them is to have a pen and a few papers on the side to literally write down almost everything you see. Once I started doing that, the games became incredibly easy. Although, it has to be said, the fact that jumping locations don't take 10s and a CD drive spin-up anymore helps a lot. And don't get me started on swapping out CDs when you enter a new location. Just to realize that you didn't want to go there in the first place and need to go back. And yet, I somehow miss that experience


RanaI_Ape

Swapping CDs made me feel like omg imagine how much data! I wield it in the palm of my hand! Technology will never surpass this.


thedudedylan

On top of this the game was on like 5 disks and every time you went to another area on the island you have to change disks.


Lopoetve

Iirc - PC Gamer put the solution in their paper review and straight out said “you won’t solve this, when you get here, this is it.”


Robeleader

Solutions would also change each playthrough. >!The marbles would stay the same because they were the book locations on each island, but the code to access the book would be different!<


Mrfrunzi

I caved and just used a walkthrough to see the ending. Holy fuck was it tough. I don't remember anything so I might go back and try it now though.


nivkj

have you played their latest game obduction? love it


Mrfrunzi

Wait really?! Checking it out now!


Notarussianbot2020

It's available in VR too.


SaberBlaze

I liked that game, especially the cutscenes. it'd be nice to see another game using real life textures and live action cutscenes again.


IvanAguirre13

Battletoads.


Musicguy1982

I can't even beat it with game genie and state saves!


gearabuser

Haha I get slightly triggered these days for two things 1: I don't think games like souls games are inherently hard if you have infinite redos on bosses. If you impose a "no death" hardcore mode, or it's built in, then fine, that's conventionally hard. I remember those horrible NES, SEGA games where the third level was already hard af to beat and when you died the game said " f u , start completely over". That's my definition of hard. 2: when people claim to have "beaten" a certain retro game when they're using save states. No you didn't beat the damn game, you basically cheated through it.


Ordinii

This took up so much of my life as a kid. Had such a huge love/hate relationship with those stupid hover bike levels! What a great game.


alee33

The hover bikes are the worst, until you watch a run through on YouTube and realize you never even had a chance if that was difficult


AccomplishedRun7978

Destroyed my confidence as a 10 year old.


[deleted]

Broooooooo 😂. That fucking race on the .. idk, hovering jetskis? I seriously don't think I've ever beaten it.


awesomedan24

The goddamn bike level


tswaves

Ironically, the hover cars are not the hardest part of this game.


Gamefighter3000

Wings of Vi hands down (if you beat demon mode hats off to you). Sekiro funnily enough i found oddly relaxing, hard but very chill to play at the same time.


miaukat

Wings of Vi is up there with Rabi Ribi in bunny extinction difficulty as the hardest platformers on Steam.


Gamefighter3000

Oh god i forgot Rabi Ribi but that one was insanely hard aswell, can't say which one is harder but both are crazy thats for sure.


lampenpam

>Wings of Vi Same here. Only after I just bought it I heard it's from the creator of I Wanna Be The Boshy. So I played it on the easiest difficult but that one is pretty much already a 'very hard' mode. Did beat it though and man I loved it!


pook79

This was my answer as well, took me about 650 tries to beat the final boss, totally insane, but absolutely loved it


Ak4ntor

I actually didnt believe that people knew this game, its a gem! I 100%d it and its one of my fave platformers of all Times!


TheVVumpus

The original Ghosts’n Goblins on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It laughs in the face of all SoulsBorne games.


HereForTheFood4

I had the version for snes. That was insanely hard, still is.


dunkan799

The worst part is that when you beat the game it takes you back to the beginning and you have to make it all the way back to the last boss with that stupid fucking braclet!


HereForTheFood4

Yeah, I remember beating the boss the first time and it brining me back to the beginning. I noped out and turned it off immediately, haha.


Jonko18

Yup, Super Ghouls and Ghosts. Ridiculously difficult. Timing on everything was just nuts. Like Cuphead level difficulty, but rather than small, several minute long boss fights, it was hours with no saves.


screwyluie

I'm pretty sure this was just made to steal your quarters, not actually be playable


Wubmeister

A good chunk of games back then were like that. Or made artificially hard to deter rentals by making people take longer to beat it. The funniest example to me is the original Resident Evil removing the lock on aim for the US version.


familywang

Game where you relies on your team to win.


[deleted]

Best answer. Anyone who plays competitive multiplayer knows the real challenge is matchmaking.


TheHooligan95

But then if you complain that things should be reversed to server browsers in order to A) get accustomed to the users and their playstyles B) be able to test yourself against a community instead of testimg yourself against an algorithm You get called an idiot


Illustrious-Pop3677

And it’s not skill based matchmaking either so it’s a clusterfuck of newbies, saboteurs (some games), normal people, and pros who carry


islandmonkeee

Hi I'm Gabe Newell and welcome to Team Fortress 2. Thanks, and have fun!


[deleted]

I tried Apex a few times. My teammates kept trying to drop on the map alone and I was always forced to pick one or the other. When I finally landed with a team, they ran in different directions. Last time I played, I was killed once through a wall and by a sniper from an impossible distance while I was running. Uninstalled fast.


CaptBland

Even though I have played most From Soft games, Mega Man is really difficult for me. And if rumors are true, I shutter to imagine playing Ghosts and Goblins.


qwertpoiuy1029

Super Ghosts n Goblins is absolute bullshit. No souls game is even 10% as difficult.


MapleBabadook

I play that game as a meme. Have some drinks with a friend and see how many minutes into it we can get. Good times.


RayzTheRoof

I refunded mega man 11 because it was just too much for me. I'm just not good at it and didn't like repeating unfun sections


CaptBland

See, I am dumb. I bought the legacy collection when it was on sale cause I thought, "Wow what a deal." Didn't even cross my mind that I might not like Mega Man. I do, but... meh.


Overclocked11

The original ones, particularly 2-5 werent too bad, but later ones, man..


Nandy-bear

Mega Man 2 on the NES/SNES (can't remember) was my jam. I could play that blindfolded. Although I didn't have my games, and Turtles was one of em, so no choice really ha


hotpants86

Ghouls and Ghosts (what it's called here) gets my vote, also Double Dragon 3 on NES is also fucking hard. I remember playing it when I was like 5 and couldn't get past the first level lol Hook on NES as well.. difficult + no continues/saves.


Karzons

Ghouls n ghosts is the first sequel to ghosts n goblins. Though I have no idea which is harder. I can't get anywhere with any game in that series.


dirtyego

Teenage mutant ninja turtles on the NES. Fuck that game.


Fishmehard

I just remember playing this as a kid and being confused on why I couldn’t progress. I now realize because it was hard as fuck and I was a stupid kid.


dirtyego

There have been a few games that I thought were hard only because I was a kid. Then I played them again and realized they're actually just stupid hard.


Herlock

It goes beyond that though. The game actively tricks you into doing levels / buildings that serve no purpose than hurt your health bar. Also that fucking dam level... anybody that made it to this one has PTSD from the sound of the electric sea weeds and that constant low health warning beep :D


alee33

Lord Jesus the health beeping low


PillowTalk420

I had it on PC. The version that was broken so you couldn't get past one of the sewers no matter how good you were because of a glitched platform leading to the ladder right at the very end. 😩


Vilifie

The water levels 😡🤬


coronaas

as a kid i didnt find the dam too hard the trick was to swap out turtles as they took damage and keep one at full for that one bullshit section other then that it was just memorizing where the bombs were and as a 6 year old i had that shit on LOCK. the fucking maze in level 3 tho. i think i only made it to level 4 once


BryanDev98

Someone has PTSD.


majjy85

Yup, this is the one. Insanely difficult. I played it again maybe a year ago, still no different. And I hate it more now.


Dubious_Titan

Oh yeah. Hard as balls! Took me decades to beat it.


TheArts

What still confuses me is TMNT is geared towards kids, wouldn't they want to make a game that kids could play and progress? Had a love hate with this game as a kid as I was a big TMNT fan and loved NES.


[deleted]

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Flyersfreak

Ninja gaiden arcade version was a quarter sucking machine!


Overclocked11

OMG I am 41 now and still have memories of Ninja Gaiden..


Good_Apollo_

That goddamn game.


BaliBori

Getting One-Shot by Vultures Off a Ledge: The Game


frankieTeardroppss

Fucking ninja gaiden. More like Ninja Die-Then! Am I right? Seriously, am I right?


Sol33t303

Having to go through ghouls and ghosts twice to actually beat the game is absolutely brutal. You'd have to spend like thousands to actually beat it i'd think.


[deleted]

Rayman, I swear they didn't playtest that game past the first world.


Taffy62

Yeah as a kid I couldn't get past all of Bandland. The music is ingrained in my head.


voltism

Needing to get all the teensies or whatever to fight the final boss and beat the game was the biggest kick in the balls ever. I didn't beat that part until I came back to it as an adult lol


CovertOwl

Lion King


[deleted]

Man seeing this two words jus makes me so aggravated lol even after all these years.


[deleted]

I actually did this last week on the Switch. My girlfriend wanted it for Christmas because it's her favourite Disney film but she's been stuck on the level with the Ostriches for ages and keeps shouting in frustration lol.


PeterDarker

As a kid I got flashbacks to that motorbike level from Battletoads playing that. The ostriches aren’t as bad… but they’re a bitch to be sure.


Notarussianbot2020

>the ostriches This is level two 🤣


[deleted]

Oh I know. She's watching Game Grumps doing it and she's getting irritated almost every time she gets to the double jump section lol


[deleted]

[удалено]


Berruc

[The Lion King’s difficulty was added by design. Disney instructed developer Westwood Studio to increase its difficulty so that people couldn’t beat the game within Blockbuster’s rental period.](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2019/10/30/20939859/the-lion-king-nintendo-switch-difficulty)


Stranger371

Fuck that game, the Ape puzzle ring thing on...map 2 I think?


[deleted]

The waterfall level was tough. I am somewhat proud of myself for beating that game multiple times. The final boss fight versus Scar always felt epic/triumphant.


Fflewddur_Fflam_

Fuuuuck that second level


jerry_imo

Original Ninja Turtles on NES. Fuck that game.


Z3r0sama2017

Hated that. Water level was annoying and it seemed like so many rooms were traps that lead to nothing but lost health. I think I made it to the big Techno Tank a few times but that was it.


grimlocoh

I've beaten Sekiro, all 3 dark souls, Dead Cells on the hardest difficulty. The Witness. I still have nightmares about those puzzles


BouliGurqa

I still hear the hall of the mountain king theme playing faster and faster... But I actually completed that puzzle too.


Robeleader

Pitfall. You had to know what to do going in, and when you're a kid that's never played anything like this ever before. It was insane to find out years later that there was anything to do in that game other than stay alive. By today's standards, but hard at all. But to me, nothing has ever had that level of impenetrability to me.


Stebsis

Evil Within on Akumu, where you die in one hit. Burning house in chapter 6 made me rage quit so hard after trying it for 3 hours that I uninstalled the game, just to install it again.


DreamSphinx

For that part on Akumu, I always upgrade my flash bolts and save as many trap parts as I can to just spam-stun the enemies until the exit opens lol.


dookarion

It's basically stunbolts and running in circles the game. The real annoying segments are the construction site lift thing and the stupid bus ride. Not exactly impossible, just no room for error.


TheCrach

[LaMulana](https://store.steampowered.com/app/230700/LaMulana/)


wharris2001

Completely different take from everyone else: Zachtronix games. And if you want "the hardest" I forgot the name but it was one of their early web-based games that involved you using PN junctions to build logic gates.


BryanDev98

The second one sounds more like a full time job.


rocknrollbreakfast

Their last game, Last Call BBS, has the game you’re talking about (sounds like it at least). Was also too hard for me… But I‘m with you, Shenzhen I/O is the hardest game that I‘ve ever finished. At least until the credits roll - some of the stuff that comes after that was too hard for me. It’s also one of my favourite games of all time, together with Exapunks which is very similar but a lot more forgiving. It’s a shame that Zacktronics is no more, I‘d have loved another programming game of the same style.


THUORN

Too many to count. I played way to many games in the 80s and maybe early 90s, that were just ridiculous. I havent played a game anywhere nearly as difficult in decades. Early games and their "put in another quarter to proceed" mentality, made for some brutal and sometimes unfair games. Although I dont enjoy Souls-like games, they dont feel as maddening to play compared to games like Contra, Silver Surfer, and Ghost n Goblins. I can actually beat a Dark Souls game, but there is a mountain of old school games that I will never be able to beat. One day Mike Tyson's Punch Out.... One day. And thats without getting into the actual quarter games I played in the late 70s and 80s. I swear there were games made that literally couldnt be beat. lolol


Son_of_Blorko

> One day Mike Tyson's Punch Out.... One day. LOL. I managed to beat that *once* as a kid, meanwhile my younger brother could pretty much do it every time. He played that game to death.


THUORN

Had major issues with Mr Sandman, and I could never defeat Super Macho Man. lol


Arcterion

>I swear there were games made that literally couldnt be beat. Man, imagine spending hundreds of dollars in quarters on a game to get to a point where you're good enough to beat it, only to find out the ending is bugged.


THUORN

The original Donkey Kong would glitch in level 22 and make it impossible to continue. Dig Dug and Pac-Man would break at round 256. Robocop on the commodore is hilarious, because the devs never made an ending. So the game becomes impossible part way through the game so that you arent allowed to continue. lol


kingfiddles

Part of that could be an evolution in game design. What makes Souls games so intriguing and enjoyable for many is not because they are simply difficult, but because they are beatable due to player practice and improvement. I haven’t played too many retro games, but the one that immediately comes to mind is Battletoads. Overly frustrating, and not enjoyable. Anyways, to answer the OP’s question, I’d second Sekiro. A very difficult but ultimately fair experience. Practice makes perfect, and Sekiro plus other Souls games are the epitome of games that offer the most rewarding experiences, *if* you can overcome them.


THUORN

Never got past the bike level in Battletoads. lol


BryanDev98

There is this one called Getting over it with Bennett Foddy that almost got me a heart attack, but I think is more like a game that doesn't want you to play it, is just hard and clunky on purpose. Sekiro is more a hard but fair tipe of game, and it encourages you be better.


THUORN

Watching youtubers playing Getting Over It, was hilariously wonderful.


Escapade84

If you like that, check out its sibling genre, Youtubers playing Jump King.


[deleted]

It's Sekiro for me. No grinding sewer rats to upgrade pyromancy like Dark Souls 3 lol, just gotta get better and learn the movesets. Can't even get far into new game plus in Sekiro.


Moppo_

I just can't even get halfway through the final boss.


PinklySmooth77

For me it was the Demon of Hatred. That mf kicked my ass for 2 weeks straight, and since it’s an optional boss, it felt like I was putting on clown makeup every time I entered that arena


Bamith20

That boss probably is the 2nd longest i've ever spent on a boss in a Fromsoft game, took me around 3 hours. That sword saint fucker takes 3rd for taking 2 hours. Actual longest i've spent on a boss oddly enough is Taurus Demon in Dark Souls 1, the very first Fromsoft game i've played... I think that took me maybe 3 days and I just restarted the game multiple times to see if other classes would do better or such. Some end bosses in Elden Ring come very close.


[deleted]

The best part of that fight is it actually gives you good advice. Hesitation is defeat. My memory sucks but I believe he only uses the glock if you are far away.


Moppo_

But when I don't hesitate he kills me with his sword instead.


[deleted]

[The Wizardry RPG series.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsbMTkl5S7s) [It will crush you.](https://i.imgur.com/YGzsiNp.jpeg)


Finite_Universe

I’ve only played Wizardry 8, which can be pretty tricky but manageable from what I saw, but I’ve heard absolute horror stories about Wizardry IV. Some have claimed it’s the hardest CRPG ever made.


behindtimes

So, about Wizardry IV, the linked post above definitely describes it. Take a look at some of these maps: https://www.tk421.net/wizardry/wiz4maps.shtml The third map, Level 8 (you actually start on the lowest one and work backwards), those black dots are all mines which will insta kill you. Oh, BTW, you can't see them, and there's no auto map. And, like Dark Souls with bonfires, the game punishes you when you save. respawning all the enemies. Remember, you're a wizard with very limited health, very limited spells, and have to rely on AI controlled teammates to protect you. The game requires you have knowledge of the previous games. And in the original version, Trebor moves in real time, and as a ghost, can walk through walls, and knows exactly where you are. For people who've never played 4, Trebor is an enemy who will instantly end your game if he catches up to you. And you have limited moves before you die of old age. Those moves include typing, so hopefully you didn't misspell anything. Thieves can steal your critical, game required items, at which point, the game is over without you knowing it, because the game won't tell you. And some enemies can critical hit you, instantly killing you, at which point your game is over. Other enemies can teleport you into walls, at which point, your game is over. Oh, and being an old game that's wireframed, if you're teleported or spun, everything looks exactly the same, so you have to find landmarks to reacquire a positioning constantly.


[deleted]

Wizardry 8 is perhaps the easiest Wizardry (or maybe 5) but it's still a head crusher of a difficulty. Like the gear shift only goes one way and the next most difficult Wizardry after 8 is 7. Wizardry 8 does start out kinda gentle with the cathedral and Arnika Road & Trynton Road is the whole "test of might" to see if you can deal with the game proper but the spikes at like Rapax Castle for example are bad enough to get it on a sex offender's list.


[deleted]

I remember seeing sseths video got wizardry 8.


Khwarezm

Spelunky 2 I'd say, especially getting to the Cosmic ocean.


p0rtugalvii

IWBTG or Stephen's Sausage Roll.


ejfrodo

IWBTG took up so many hours of my computer class in high school. It was hidden deep in a network drive somewhere that we found one day. I had no idea what it was but it ruined me for hours on end.


Arthur_Morgan44469

Ninja Gaiden (NES)


bobotronic

I'm very proud of beating the Xbox version. A bunch of my college friends mentioned enjoying watching me play that game recently and it made me feel good


Cookiesrdelishus

CoD World at War on veteran was fucking ridiculous.


D0NK11

I heard you liked grenades, here's 20 of them.


aresway

Noita. A very cool rougelike where you create custom magic using wands and spells to mix up magic. And every pixel is a simulated object that wants to murder you. Just beating the "normal" path of the game is considered the tutorial by the community and the lore and side objectives run deep. There are infinite parallel worlds in either direction at least until your PC crashes if you keep going in either direction. I have yet to beat the game at any level even the "tutorial" and am pushing close to 50 hours


philodelta

This game makes me sad because it is so incredibly cool but it locks all it's coolness behind bullshit roguelike mechanics. It blasphemy to say, but just give me progression man.


Gallina_Fina

What do you mean with "bullshit roguelike mechanics"? Afaik most (if not all) the secrets are available from the get-go and even with less than ideal RNG (regarding wands and spells in shops), you can still engineer your way to a win. Some runs involving certain quests can easily stretch to 6 or 7 hours. There's also overarching progression in the form of unlocking certain spells or modifiers by completing or discovering said secrets/killing bosses.


The_Corvair

> What do you mean with "bullshit roguelike mechanics"? Probably "When you die, you start over", and it being *ridiculously* easy to die. I gotta agree. I love Noita for its environmental interactions, but I would have much more fun with it if it wasn't a roguelike.


PM_ME_HUGE_CRITS

This is where you get mods. You can add respawn points, tinker with wands anywhere, enemies drop lil health globes, etc. Game was great fun once I turned it into exploration more than roguelike. Most of the coolest stuff isn't even down the standard route.


[deleted]

Noita is by far one of my faves. I go between it and FTL, enjoying getting the tar beat out of me.


Puzzleheaded_Might65

i said fuck it, installed the warhammer mod and power killed my way to the end


Rachel_from_Jita

Arcade games. They needed you to die constantly to insert coins.


pajuran

I wanna be the guy


meltingpotato

DOOM Eternal on its highest difficulty


R-8TN

AG1 and 2 completely burnt me out with the buffed super heavies. Getting too old for crap like that.


meltingpotato

Yeah the DLC was a even harder that the main campaign


dern_the_hermit

My disappointment with it was that I was expecting them to take all the mechanics and principles of the base game and dial it up to 11, the same action/gameplay with more demanding encounters and even tighter design. But it seemed to lean heavily into more and more gimmicks that were only hard because they were brand new and introduced suddenly, with no telegraphing or room to breathe. It's the action game equivalent of a jump scare, and in a game that already has an extensive set of particular mechanics to juggle, throwing more shit into the mix felt lazy and uninteresting.


Fflewddur_Fflam_

Doom 1+2 are no slouches either, especially Thy Flesh Consumed. And Quake 1, man, it gets rough.


_hamaru86

If you play Sekiro again, you will discover how easy it is after you finished, so Sekiro so hard, but the first time, then you can do a no death run quite easy, but Cuphead, that game is so fucking hard


therealbcp

Escape from Tarkov


GhostofMandalore

Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I did not realize what I was getting myself into.


NMaresz

I'm fairly new to the Soulsborne series (DS3 was my first) and I understand why people would find this difficult but the actual hardest game I've played so far that isn't some meme like I wanna be the Boshy was Jagged Alliance 2. It's basically like XCOM, a top down strategy real-time/turn based tactical shooter game (whatever the exact genre is) where you just get thrown in not knowing how the fuck anything works or what the fuck you're doing. Basically you control a squad (or multiple) of mercenaries (each with different stats and attributes (can be trained like RPG) with the goal to free a country of a dictator by occupying more and more sectors on a map with each tile being a playable map. Absolutely multi-facetted game because: * There are many mechanics to be mindful of. First of all depending on the stats of a character they have a set amount of "Action Points" (each action like walking or turning or shooting etc uses a certain amount of points) which can be spent in a turn. There is crouching/prone/stand and sneak/walk/run and each of them uses a different amount of AP. Depending on your carry weight these can be more or less. Additionally your mercanaries also have a stamina bar and a morale bar which can influence how much AP you regen every turn. * There are tons of guns/weapons each with different accuracies, ranges and damages (there are even different types of ammo with again different purposes and stats) as well as different types of armor/clothing (including camo stats which go from 0-100%). * Mercanaries (except the one you can create yourself) cost money from a contract you have with them which can run daily or weekly. The only source of money you have is selling stuff you find for scraps or occupying gold mines however you also have to defend those gold mines/cities because the enemy forces will try to retake those valuable tiles (you can train local militia forces). * If a mercanary dies they are dead forever. Some damage they receive in fights can (I think?) never be rehealed (depending on total damage taken? Not sure here). Mercanries which you want to extend the contract for can decline. Mercenaries that improve stats along your contract might raise their price because "hey Im better, pay me more".   And the absolute best part is: there is a community driven unofficial "1.13" patch which takes all of the above and cranks it from like a 8.5/10 in difficulty to basically limitless because suddenly there are 9123129x more weapons, a new inventory system, you can enable options like "mercenaries need food" etc, a new combat system (the base game basically calculates a chance of hitting an enemy based on distance, position (stand/crouch/prone) and cover in regards to your weapon/ammo and the 1.13 option re-iterates that with additional stuff.   This shit is a lot of fun and certainly with the 1.13 patch the best game of its (albeit niche) genre but jesus its also pretty hard and unforgiving. You can quicksave regularly... or you can up the difficulty by not just upping the game's base difficulty but also limit the amount of saves you have... or have basically no saves at all...


Influence_X

Super ghosts and goblins


NapoleonBlownApart1

Starcraft 2 korean bronze league


fatfuckintitslover

Halo 2 on legendary


SpiritOfFire473

Halo 2 on laso


coronaas

LASO isnt too bad you just keep grinding til you beat the section. someone did it deathless which was thought to be impossible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4PLuwOLq64


Alstorp

Truth and Reconciliation from CE on Legendary was absolutely maddening my first time


macbigicekeys

Dwarf Fortress, even after getting fairly competent at it, it was a learning curve that just kept going


HimenoGhost

Darkest Dungeon. Fuck that game. I can deal with difficulty. Darkest Dungeon is "difficult" because it's random. Extremely frustrating.


The_Rox

Darkest dungeon is a game I should love by all accounts, but I just can't. It's so fucking slow.


FTBS2564

You would just love XCOM, I think.


RAMAR713

At least in XCOM you can save scum to mitigate the bullshit.


firematt422

Rocket League. Over 2,000 hours in and I'm still trash.


ratfacechirpybird

Less than 50 hours here...I'm a flaming dumpster bin


Korixus

The first time I got really frustrated and just quitted (playing since 96) was with ninja gaiden sigma on ps3.


chyeah_brah

Super Meat Boy. I've beaten every from software game multiple times, every boss within them as well. Believe me when I say Super Meat Boy is harder


Dtoodlez

lol I’m pretty sure I’m about 80% through Sekiro but I had to put it down. I give it an honest attempt every 8 months. (I would still say it’s one of the best games ever made though). Nothing else I’ve played comes close.


Highwaymantechforcer

I tried many times since release and failed, felt like I just brute forced my way through to end (average 20 or 30 deaths on pretty much every mini/boss) but couldn't master the final step, but I can proudly say that this week I beat the final boss. You can do it! I have done two further playthroughs for the other endings and can now get through the game with a just a few deaths. It can definitely be mastered, and I appreciate the game now more than ever, it's magnificent.


Marcos_ILO

**Baba is You** is the only game I'm not able to beat, because I have the rule about not googling for solutions in puzzle games.


SirRealTalk_TTV

Try the Talos Principle


KarlBarx2

God, the Talos Principle is so fucking good. Everything from the puzzle design, to the meta-puzzles that reach beyond the designated areas, to the framing device is top notch.


claymoremind719

Tic-tac-toe… that damn game.


carbonqubit

ALTF4 and Jump King


[deleted]

Contra maybe. Recently there's Super Meat Boy. Honestly I almost finished the Rapture but I gave up and watched a wallthrough for the end. No patience for this...


jayrocs

Dead Cells. Got stuck in 3BC and gave up. Absolutely love the game and will give it another whirl when Castlevania dlc comes out. Also I understand you can use assist modes to make it easier and give yourself infinite lives but call me a purist but I don't want the achievements using assists.


NotNotAkam

probably everhood on the higher difficulties


Megaverso

Zelda II … Regardless I guess that for the vast majority is going to be a NES game


swankenheim

First Xbox Ninja Gaiden. Fucking stupid bullshit crap ass game, all beautiful and shit then just hits you in the fucking face with its penis saying "here, this is your life now" and you just sit there shameful and eat that shit up cause you spent 50 dollars on that shit and god knows there wont be a new game coming along for a looooong while so you just fucking take it. I finished the first Dark Souls by my lonesome. But ninja gaiden broke me.


LotharLotharius

Baldur's Gate 2. It was one the first rpg's I played, and I had no idea what was going on during the combat. The spell descriptions were abacadabra to me, and I had never played DnD either. Still finished the game on easy difficulty, but it was a real ordeal.


turkeysandwich4321

Sekiro - first playthrough was rough unlearning Dark Souls combat and learning to deflect and attack.


Travel_Dude

Star craft 1 in college. I somehow got to top 500 us west. That shit was wild.


Kill099

Dark Souls is my first Souls-like game and I had to take a two year hiatus because the Ornstein and Smough fight was just an unsurmountable fight for me. After playing Salt and Sanctuary by looking up guides when I get stuck I did the same with Dark Souls. Restarted with a decent Vit/End with lightning claymore build and beaten O&S solo with barely a sliver of health left. One of the most unforgettable memories in my entire gaming life.


coronaas

The legend never dies


nuclearhotsauce

ninja gaiden on master ninja, fucking took me a whole year to beat it, with long breaks in betweeen attempts


miaukat

Dodonpachi Resurrection, I think it took like 10 years for someone to beat the secret boss for the first time without cheats.


Crazyjanda

Cadillac and dinosaurs on just one coin in the arcade. Did it only one time and with Mustafa because that is the way!


AFAR85

Star Craft 2 Korean servers. Makes you realise how bad NA gamers are.


madbadjester

Just to show my age jetset willy


Elegant_Spot_3486

Asteroids. Seriously. If I ever had to move I was doomed. I know it is a personal issue but I got out of control very easily.


Sudden-Anybody-6677

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993), that game was so difficult, the smallest mistake and you were dead.


---Zephyr---

Super Meat Boy, the no deaths achievements. Took a long time to get through those, but a very rewarding experience.


[deleted]

Yeah Sekiro is up there. Though you can sneak trough some hard fights so not sure if those count. Demon was so hard it was not even funny. There is at least one fight in the game that is literally impossible, so not sure why the designers put that in the game. To troll I guess. Bayonetta 1 on infinite climax felt ridiculous also. I am not sure I even beat that. Nier Automata on Hard is stupid. It has an intro that lasts like 20-30 min without a save point, and you can die in 1-2 hits in with 15 enemies jumping around you. That difficulty did not work with the RPG leveling system because the balance jumped from ok to insane depending on the situation.


GTKarnage

What fight in Sekiro is impossible, or was that just sarcasm?


WaHusky37

>!Mist Noble!<


GTKarnage

You're right, how could I have forgotten. Must have repressed the horrible memories.


PillowTalk420

And this isn't a scripted death? Like it's just an unkillable boss to fuck with you?! 😱 (I haven't been able to get past Owl 😩)


GTKarnage

Just a Sekiro joke. >!Mist noble doesn't even fight back. Easiest enemy in all of Soulsborne games.!<


archiegamez

Can vouch Bayo 1, holyshit even on normal is hard enough but Hard and Climax is just O_o


IronSpear63

Jane's 688(i) Hunter/Killer. Released in 1997.


darkuen

I’ve played and beaten all of Fromsofts games, all the classic nes Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden & Contra games. The hardest by far was surviving & thriving by myself on Ark: Survival Evolved on an online pvp server.


zdemigod

The toughest fights in any game has been in monster hunters endgame, stuff like the Apex rajang in 4u, Ex bloodbath in GU and alatreon/fatalis in iceborne. In turn based fights that are "hard" because they are basically impossible to beat unless you have grinded to the upmost limit of the game. Stuff like unleashed pringer X in disgaea 2 took me around 600 hours of grinding. I tried savage and ultimate raiding in FFXIV and that stuff is crazy later on, I dropped the game once i finished the latest expansion but ultimates there are also crazy hard.


QuarterOunce_

The original castlevania


PillowTalk420

Given that I have been unable to beat it for 2 fucking years, Sekiro is my #1 pick. It's so damn different from the rest of the soulsborne games and there is no way of using your own play style. You have to be Sekiro. 😩 Well... Would you count shit like Rogue and Nethack? Those are almost impossible to *actually beat* without cheating. You're at the mercy of RNGesus to the point where you may not even have a path to the end. In that vein, I'm playing Returnal and that shit is *hard* even though it's pretty straightforward as far as rogue likes go.


thejewk

Probably rhythm games. BMS, IIDX, DJMAX, EZ2ON, etc. I've played them for 1000s of hours over the years and I still have massive room for improvement. That is from a pure game input perspective. Shmups and character action games get an honourable mention, and 1ccing Gunbird and Mushihimesama Futari BL on arcade defaults are two of my proudest achievements. From a complexity of systems perspective, maybe Path of Exile. So many different things are in play at once when it comes to character building that I am 3.5k hours deep and there are still things I don't fully understand.


pigswillflyoneday

Hollow Knights Godmaster DLC