Summary

  • Video games offer a sense of accomplishment by conquering difficult challenges.
  • Historical difficulty in video games, like Super Punch-Out, appeals to many audiences.
  • Modern and classic games like Demon's Souls and Ninja Gaiden 2 push the boundaries of difficulty.

One thing that sets apart video games from other forms of art i⛄s that you canꦦ actually accomplish something when engaging in it. You can get a speedrun world record, get a new high score, or be the number one player in the country.

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The feeling of accomplishment comes into play when looking at video game difficulty. Historically, video games have always been difficult since the arcade days, as titles w😼anted to eat up as many quarters as possible. Difficult games still appeal to a lot of audiences, but certain titles come along tha꧅t push things to that extra mile.

Updated on March 15, 2025, by Dominic Allen: There have been so many hard games throughout the history of the medium that there's definitely more than ten. Hard games popular now, like Elden Ring, have nothing on the truly hardest titles out there. They can be from any decade, as each generation has its fair share of brutal titles. Some games you've probably never heard of before, while others are well-known and deserve their reputation.

13 🦂 Arcade Super Punch-Out!! 💖

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out Ain't Got Nothing On This Game

Fight number six in Arcade Super Punch-Out.

Release Year

Platforms

Developer

Publisher

1984

Arcade, Nintendo Switch

Nintendo R&D3

Nintendo

A common game listed as one of the hardest of all time would be Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. Sure, Mike Tyson's incredibly tough, but he doesn't hold a candle to Super Macho Man three in Arcade Super 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Punch-Out. Ri🍌ght off the bat, this game's harder for two reasons.

One, the controls aren't as solid as the console games, as you must manually move between head and body shots, and second, the AI is brutally unfair. It's far more reactive and unpredictable than other installments. If you want to fully complete all the fights, even with save states, be prepared to spend days. Super Macho Man three can do his spin punch lightning fast and can do 13 spin pu🀅nches in a row after knockdown.

12 Ghosts 'N Goblins

The Savage 2D Platformer That Started It All

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Your Rating

Ghosts 'n Goblins
Shooter
Platformer
Systems
Released
July 7, 1985
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
Capcom
Publisher(s)
Capcom
Engine
RE Engine
Multiplayer
💛 Local Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Platform(s)
Arcade, Commodore 64, PC, Nintendo Game Boy Color, Commodore Amiga, Android, iOS

Today, Capcom's 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ghosts 'n Goblins🍷 series is well known for its brutal d🦩ifficulty, and the hardest title would be the original because it introduced the series' infamous dirty trick. The game's already ridiculously hard even when you get to level two, but since it plays great, many at the time decided to stick with it.

Once you beat the final boss, you'll discover the game's not over yet, and you must beat a second loop to see the real ending. The funny thing is that, in the arcades, this was more of a reward for skilled, hᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚardened players, while on the home consoles, this couldn't have felt more like a massive middle finger. For many, this seemed like a cruel joke and is a surprise you can't say about the sequels.

11 ༺ Battletoads 💎

A One-Of-A-Kind Difficult Game

Blasting through the Turbo Tunnel in Battletoads.
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Battletoads (1991)
Beat 'Em Up
Platformer
Systems
Released
June 1, 1991
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
Rare, Arc System Works, Mindscape
Publisher(s)
Sega, Nintendo
Engine
Unity
Multiplayer
Locaꦆ🌃l Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

Platform(s)
Nintendo Entertainment System, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sega Genesis, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Game Ge🤪ar, Amiga CD32 ൩
Publisher
💧 Tradewest, Masaya, Sega, Mindscape ও

Battletoads absolutely earns its reputation as one of the hardest titles ever, primarily due to one fac🧜tor: the game's constantly changing. Virtually every level has a new gimmick, and might as well be an entirely different game.

You'll have to be skilled at all these different gameplay elements, whether it's the turbo tunnel, dodging electric beams, riding snakes, or the obligatory water le🌞vel. Even when you get to the second to last stage, you'll have to play a wheel race against a glowing void. There are a few brief, easy spots, but for the most part, it's a hectic journey from start to finish, unlike any other NES game.

10 ဣ Contra: Hard Corps International Version

Just Too Hard, Even For A Contra Game

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Contra: Hard Corps
Run and Gun
Systems
Released
September 15, 1994
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
Konami
Publisher(s)
Konami
Engine
game enigne
Multiplayer
Local Multipl𓂃𒊎ayer
Franchise
Contra

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Back in the day, Japanese game publishers often made the USA and European versions of titles significantly harder, primaܫrily because they didn't want you beating it in a rental. Contra: Hard Corps for the Genesis is the best example of this. The title was designed with a health bar in mind, leading to Contra: Hard Corps being much more hectic than any other Contra game seen before.

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In the international versions of the game, however, you only have one hit again, and only five continues compared to unlimited in the o🌜riginal version. This makes the game way too hard, to the point where even Contra veterans will doubt if they can beat💖 it.

9 𓆉 Super Monkey Ball 1 𝓀

60 Expert Levels With Only Three Lives?

MeeMee rolling through a blue and cyan checkered maze in Super Monkey Ball.
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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Super Monkey Ball
Platformer
Systems
Released
November 18, 2001
ESRB
E For Everyone due to Mild Violence ﷺ
Developer(s)
🐻 Amusement Vision
Publisher(s)
Sega
Multiplayer
🅷Local Multiplayer
Franchise
♑Super♌ Monkey Ball

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

Platform(s)
GameCube

Super Monkey Ball is notorious for its brutal difficulty, but nothing will ever top the challenge seen in the GameCube original. Beating Super Monkey Ball 1 to its conclusion in the Master stages is for the truly elite. Unlike Monkey Ball 2, you can't buy lives in this game, so you'r♎e stuck with three and how🐟ever many you earn through bananas.

This proves to be a major problem when getting to the Master stages because you'll have to beat 50 Expert levels and the ten extra levels without getting a game over. Some of the Expert s♊tages are the hardest in the series, and beating them all with so few lives is ludicrous.

8 🐻 Ninja Gaiden 2 𒐪

One Of The Hardest And Greatest Action Games Ever Made

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Your Rating

Ninja Gaiden II
Action-Adventure
Hack and Slash
Systems
Released
June 3, 2008
ESRB
m
Publisher(s)
൩ Mi🎉crosoft Game Studios
Engine
DOA4

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Platform(s)
Xbox 360
Publisher
Tecmo, Xbox Game Studios, KOEꦐI TECMO AMERICA Corporation
How Long To Beat
30 hours

Time and time again, a Souls veteran will jump onto an action game forum, describe their interest in Ninja Gaiden, and subsequently get steamrolled. Ninja Gaiden 2, unlike a Souls game, is heavily reaction-focused and fast-paced. It's still, to this day, one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:fastest action games ever🌄ꦡ, and on Master Ninja, you can die in a split second.

The Incendiary Shuriken Ninjas will force you to learn the high offensive, fast-paced nature because if you're slow, you'll have ten explosives in you before you know it. Despite how savage Master Ninja difficulty is, t🗹here are tactics to make it easier. You can chain Ultimate Techniques in most fights and overuse Ninpo, but even with these strats, it's st꧙ill one of the hardest and most demanding games ever.

This is🔴 for the 2008 Xbox 36🌜0 Ninja Gaiden 2. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 or Ninja Gaiden 2 Black are a joke in comparison.

7 Demon's Souls

The First Souls Game Was Also The Hardest

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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Demon's Souls
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 99%
Released
November 12, 2020
ESRB
♛ M for Mature: Blood and Gor♔e, Violence
Developer(s)
ꦏ 𓃲 Bluepoint Games
Publisher(s)
Sony
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Multiplayer
ꦅ Onlin🃏e Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Number of Players
1-6
How Long To Beat
23 Hours
Metascore
92
PS Plus Availability
𓂃 Extra & Premium
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

If you're a modern gamer, Souls is what you pr💎obably first think of when discussing hard games. In reality, most of the Souls titles aren't anywhere near an all-time hard level due to their RPG and slow nature. The first title, Demon's Souls, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.

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There are two big factors that make this game 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:harder than the rest. One is that your healing items are limited and aren't free refil💫ls onඣce you rest at a bonfire. In fact, there are no bonfires present in Demon's Souls. Every time you die in human form, it affects the World Tendency, making the game even harder. In Itagaki fashion, if you thought the game was too difficult, well, it gets even more difficult.

6 ♏ Touhou Seirensen - Undefined Fantaꦬstic Object

You Have No Chance

Playing the first level of Touhou Seirensen - Undefined Fantastic Object.

Release Year

Platforms

Developer

Publisher

2009

PC

Team Shanghai Alice

Team Shanghai Alice

You can't leave out the bullet hell genre when discussing the hardest games, and Touhou Seirensen - Undefine𝕴d Fantastic O🌸bject is the most infamous. Even in Easy mode, this game's brutal as all hell, but crank it up to Lunatic difficulty, and most will simply give up.

What really elevates UFO into legendary status is that a joke ransomware was created years later that forced u🅘sers to get 200 million points on Lunatic mode to decrypt their files. Even though you can technically do it, it's so unearthly difficult that most victims are supposed to be stuck with their files encrypted.

5 Vanquish

God Hard Is Not To Be Messed With

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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Vanquish
Action
Third-Person Shooter
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 79/100 Critics Rec: 79%
Released
October 19, 2010
ESRB
m
Publisher(s)
Sega

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360
How Long To Beat
6 Hours
OpenCritic Rating
Strong

Vanquish is already a pretty challenging game, even on Normal. A ton of parts will give you trouble, but what makes Vanquish♒ an all-time hard game would be God Hard difficulty. The developers knew this mode was bad because there were no achievements tied to it whatsoever.

It really makes all t🐎he lower difficulties seem like Easy mode in comparison. First off, you'll die quicker, but your trusty and handy AR mode has got its timer cut down significantly. This puts you to the absolute test, and the weapon upgrading system's also gone. God Hard is for hardcore action game experts only.

4 Super Meat B꧒oy

A Tough As Nails 2D Platformer With Controls Like No Other

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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Super Meat Boy
Platformer
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 96%
Released
October 20, 2010
ESRB
T For Teen due to Animated Blood, Cartoon Violence, Crude Hu🐈mor, Language
Developer(s)
Team Meat
Publisher(s)
Team Meat
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Multiplayer
🌺 Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

How Long To Beat
10 Hours
OpenCritic Rating
Strong

One of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:most ac🌃claimed Xbox Live Arcade titles was Super Meat Boy. In this 2D retro-inspired pඣlatformer, where you play as a little clump of meat, you slip and slide through some of the hardest 2D platformer levels of the generation. What makes Super Meat Boy an all-time hard game is the controls.

When you look at Ninja Gaiden 2, anybody can pick up and play that game, but with Super Meat Boy, some will just not get the controls down. Movement is super slippery, on purpose, of course, but it's completely counterin▨tuitive to every other platformer you've played. The fact that many people won't click with the controls here makes the title significantly harder than a game like Bionic Commando, which is much easier to understand.