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[The Infectious Paradox]

I've played and beaten almost every souls game, but I haven't conquered Sekiro. A god damn rhythm game. I must. I require it of myself to ever feel like a man..

Anyway! I'm sure there's tons of others out there. Ones way more challenging in very different ways. Side scroller, TPS, etc. What is the most difficult in your opinion?

 

[Guilty_AI]

Marriage

 

[ReBurn]

Silver Surfer on NES. Stupid game.

 

[adamsapple]

Marriage

 

[R6Rider]

I've played and beaten almost every souls game, but I haven't conquered Sekiro. A god damn rhythm game. I must. I require it of myself to ever feel like a man..

Anyway! I'm sure there's tons of others out there. Ones way more challenging in very different ways. Side scroller, TPS, etc. What is the most difficult in your opinion?

Well then you have beaten every Souls game, because Sekiro isn't one.

 

[rodrigolfp]

souls game

Do you know that some games like Doom/Eternal on "ultra nightmare" exists? They laugh in the face of souls games.

 

[Gaiff]

Dunno about hardest game ever made, but Stellar Blade is the game that made me the hardest ever.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

Hardest I played and stuck with… Ghostrunner. Very challenging, but it only felt cheap in a couple of places.

That’s for modern games. I tried replaying fucking Alex Kidd the other day, for the first time in like 30 years, and I could barely get past the first fucking level.

 

[R6Rider]

Do you know that some games like Doom/Eternal on "ultra nightmare" exists? They laugh in the face of souls games.

Please. Getting gold in all Master Licenses in Gran Truismo 7 scoffs at this "doom".

 

[Aldric]

Of all the games I've played it's probably The Adventures of Bayou Billy. Granted I was a small kid when I played it but I don't think I'd fare any better today.

 

[Hrk69]

Cuphead and Sekiro for me

Sekiro is a masterpiece. It gets way easier after multiple playtroughs.

Cuphead just isn't fun

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight.

 

[Chuck Berry]

For me it's either The Adventures of Bayou Billy or Battletoads

 

[Mr Hyde]

Old NES games could be hard as nails sometimes. Bayou Billy and Battletoads already mentioned. Zelda 2 is no joke either, especially Death Mountain. Early PS1-games could be tough also. I recently replayed Tomb Raider and it's pretty damn hardcore. Stiff controls, death from jumping off some cliff and light on saves makes it very frustrating. But when it comes to the absolute most difficult game I've ever beaten, it must be The Evil Within on Akumu Mode. One hit kill. Some chapters are so ridiculously hard I wonder if the devs even playtested that shit before sending it out, because it felt like pure luck getting out alive from those segments.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Tons of NES games were unfairly hard and/or cryptic just to sell you the magazine with the guide, and probably to keep people from beating them with a weekend rental too.

Out of the ones I've beaten, I'd say Metal Slug 1 and Alien Soldier were the hardest to 1CC, both took me a few weeks of practice.
Ikaruga is one I've never been able to beat without continues, stage 4 is just too much for me.

Most modern games are a joke in comparison.

 

[Putonahappyface]

Cuphead.

 

[Bring Back Scalebound]

Another World and Ghosts 'n Goblins, probably. But I would argue that annoying/unfair and hard are two different things... So maybe they wouldn't apply.

It might be a basic bitch answer, but I think Sekiro might be it or one of it.

Because it's a game that ARGUABLY (Putting this here for the hardcore edgelords that say the game is easy because they can beat it with eyes closed) requires you to learn one or two things, and if you can't, you have to go play something else.

A lot of hard games can be beaten by brute force alone. I doubt someone could do that with Sekiro.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Well then you have beaten every Souls game, because Sekiro isn't one.

Wasn't trying to insinuate that. But similarities are surely drawn.

 

[Divus]

There are so many Atari and NES games that were in reality only 10-60 minutes of content, but made to be nearly or actually impossible so it would last.

 

[ABnormal]

Games on Commodore 64.

 

[cash_longfellow]

80% of the NES library.

 

[simpatico]

The top 50 are probably SHMUPS. The rest are Tetris-likes. Sekiro's and Elden Rings of the world might not even crack the Top 500.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

For what I've beaten, Cuphead and Sekiro would be it.

When you're eyes are literally going dry because you can't blink in certain segments of Cuphead, I'd say that's not a good time and you took it a tad too far, Sekiro literally left me shaking with adrenaline after some fights, I'd also say that's going just a tad too far.

Cuphead has one of the greatest sense of styles a game has ever had, but I could literally only care to beat the entire thing start to finish once, this has what also has kept me away from the DLC because fuck thaaaaaat, making a game so hard to destroy all replay value is not a positive.

Difficulty became a meme and it sucks, frustrating isn't fun, difficulty doesn't make a game good.

Recently I actually played through the entirety of Contra and I was save stating *constantly* and it really wasn't much fun at all, I also couldn't imagine trying to play it normally, why is this fun?

 

[Madflavor]

Tough question because there are hard games because they are difficult, but also poorly made which makes them even more difficult. Silver Surfer is a good example of this.

Then there are hard games that are well made and designed in a way where you can buttfuck anything the game throws at you once you figure out the gameplay and get sufficient enough at it. Sekiro is a good example of this.

To me, Sekiro is one of the greatest difficult games ever made. It’s a game that is unbelievably punishing the first time you play it. But once you get good and figure things out, the combat sings and becomes an absolute blast to play.

 

[SHA]

Chess, you just can't beat the hardest difficulty.

 

[Raven117]

80% of the NES library.

Pretty much this. The question needs to be qualified with “well designed difficulty.”

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

Ninja Gaiden... in particular, it's the infrequent save|check points that get you. Typically 20 - 40 mins apart; I remember if you died you would be sent all the way back. The thing is, the game liked to mess with you by introducing difficult enemies, mini bosses and bosses just before the next checkpoint. Truly unhinged behaviour from the devs.

My other contribution would have to be the final boss in the game Quantum Break... I don't know why but I really struggled to defeat him.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Hardest but fair are the only true answers as there are games where they're just pure idiocy. That being said the most rewarding challenging games I've ever played are Sekiro, Doom Eternal on Nightmare, Nioh 2, Hades, God of War Ragnarok on highest difficulty, The Talos Principle games, Hollow Knight, Frostpunk, Celeste, Super Meat Boy and Desperados 3 without ever getting detected.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Another World

I actually completed that back in the day, really liked the ending to that.

It's sequel mind you, utterly stuffed me. I never finished it

 

[Syphon Filter]

Zelda 2

 

[MayauMiao]

Gradius.

 

[spons]

The Talos Principle made me realize I'm an idiot.

 

[amigastar]

Doom Eternal DLC 1 on Nightmare is pretty difficult.

 

[TintoConCasera]

The Talos Principle made me realize I'm an idiot.

This but with Baba is You.

 

[docchicken]

Silver Surfer on NES. Stupid game.

Not that difficult imo. Avgn convinced everyone it is (I think he just sucks), avid shmup players no miss it easily. I could with some practice. Gradius V is legitimately harder than this game.

As for the hardest, dodonpachi daioujou black label. Probably literally impossible to no miss this game.

 

[Bring Back Scalebound]

I actually completed that back in the day, really liked the ending to that.

Me too. Also, the game has one of the best cover arts of any game ever.

It's sequel mind you, utterly stuffed me. I never finished it

Haven't played that one yet, but I'm looking forward to getting stomped more then AW already has... I may not finish it as well.

 

[StueyDuck]

I've played and beaten almost every souls game, but I haven't conquered Sekiro. A god damn rhythm game. I must. I require it of myself to ever feel like a man..

Anyway! I'm sure there's tons of others out there. Ones way more challenging in very different ways. Side scroller, TPS, etc. What is the most difficult in your opinion?

Honestly you could fill a whole list of older games in general here.

Even something dumb like syphon filter, I went back on the ps plus catalog to finally play them (I was always goldeneye/mgs guy, not really a SF guy)

And without save states I don't think I would get passed most of the missions.

And then you get to most NES games where difficulty was designed for longevity.

Souls games are GG EZ compared to all them

 

[StueyDuck]

This but with Baba is You.

I absolutely love puzzle games and talos principal 2 was essentially my goty last year.

But baba is you is something else. I just can't say why out of all puzzle games I couldn't get this one right.

I guess it just uses different synapses for solutions or something but I just never found it to be an enjoyable puzzler

 

[Kssio_Aug]

From more modern games, definitely Sekiro.

Old times had a lot of insanely difficult games though, although not exactly fair either.

 

[Chuck Berry]

I actually completed that back in the day, really liked the ending to that.

It's sequel mind you, utterly stuffed me. I never finished it

One of my all time favs. Beaten it many times and found it way way easier than Another World

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Follow

Video Game / Winnie the Pooh's Home Run Derby​

 

[Dr.Morris79]

One of my all time favs. Beaten it many times and found it way way easier than Another World

If memory serves I think it was something to do with reactors and countdowns

It's been too long.

 

[TintoConCasera]

God Hand would be up there for me too.

Those fallen enemies that turn into demons always fucked me up.

Don't know how I managed to beat it when I was younger, tried it again not long ago and got destroyed.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Pretty much this. The question needs to be qualified with “well designed difficulty.”

Agreed. A lot of the NES era games were so difficult due to their design, jankiness, frame pacing and rate, etc. Slowdowns in Mega Man were the absolute worst lol.

 

[FeralEcho]

Ninja Gaiden Black on hard is the one for me,never managed to finish it. Sekiro is like a cakewalk compared to that...

 

[Hero_Select]

The tutorial from Driver on the PS1.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Battletoads on NES. That game was fucking brutal. And if you really want to make it punishing (and ruin your friendships), try playing in co-op mode.

 

[Kruza]

Target Earth (Assault Suit Leynos in Japan) and Chakan.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Any of those adventure games from the 90’s. I can’t do it. Examine, Talk, Take, Use, and a million other options. They’re adorable games to look at. I even have a couple books about their development.

Give me the Nameless King and Malenia any day of the week.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

The tutorial from Driver on the PS1.

Yeah that was ballache. I did try that again the other day, still ballache.