10 most challenging video games that challenge gamers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you yearn for Battletoads and think modern projects are casual entertainment, this list is sure to delight you.

1. Dark Souls

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows.

The Souls series from Japanese company From Software has become famous for its complexity. Are you used to the fact that modern AAA blockbusters explain the rules to you, allow you to change the difficulty settings and save at any time? It's different in Dark Souls.

Here, even the simplest enemies can be killed with one or two hits, and you can only save by the fires. As a result, you will rush in search of them, while you are pursued by crowds of ferocious undead and harsh warriors in heavy armor. The amount of healing estus in the flask is limited, and traps and ambushes lie in wait at every turn.

However, Dark Souls is not only about ruthless battles in which you have no room for error. There are magnificent landscapes and amazing places to visit: the gloomy and majestic castle of Lothric, the cold beautiful Irithil and the sun-drenched Anor Londo.

If you are new to the world of Dark Souls, start playing with the third part. She is the most beautiful, and the controls in her are simpler (but only in comparison with the first two).

2. Bloodborne

Platforms: PlayStation 4.

Heir and successor to the ideas of the Souls series of the same developer. The mechanics of Bloodborne are reminiscent of Dark Souls, but there are significant differences: the pace is much higher here. You find yourself drawn into a frantic and aggressive battle with crowds of opponents in which you have no opportunity to retreat. No shield, no heavy armor - your Hunter only has a melee weapon, an almost useless musket, good only for parrying enemy attacks, a coat and a triangle hat.

The creators of Bloodborne were clearly inspired by the film "Van Helsing" with Hugh Jackman: a hunter who exterminates monsters in a dying city, the theme of vampirism, the general surroundings and the appearance of the protagonist. The dynamism of the action is off scale, the imagination of the developers who created the monsters knows no bounds, and the level design is a real delight.

Bloodborne is a good reason to buy a PlayStation 4, even if you don't consider yourself a fan of consoles.

3. Demon's Souls

Platforms: PlayStation 3.

This game is the progenitor of Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Despite its considerable age, Demon's Souls still looks interesting and exciting. We try on the role of a nameless warrior who must free a distant, foggy kingdom from evil demons and an obsessed ruler.

Many players will say that Demon's Souls are more difficult than the next Souls games. There are only two save points at each level, the ability to heal is limited (the estus being restored by the fire has not yet been invented), the enemies are strong and revive after each of your deaths.

Demon's Souls remains one of the most addicting games on the PlayStation 3. The dark Middle Ages, dragons, evil undead and huge dangerous demons will appeal to fans of dark fantasy. If you've tried Dark Souls and Bloodborne, got into the spirit of these games and want to see how it all began - Demon's Souls is waiting for you.

4. Cuphead

Platforms: Xbox One, Windows, macOS.

One of the monstrously difficult games. A run and gun / platformer hybrid with cute hand-drawn graphics inspired by old Disney cartoons.

Here you have to manage two cup-headed brothers who lost in the casino to the devil himself and are now forced to beat out debts from other poor fellows of the same kind. However, the latter do not intend to part with their souls, so it will not be easy for the brothers to fulfill the mission.

Cuphead is mostly boss fights. They're the kind here that you'll need a very quick response, a solid keyboard, and a lot of patience to handle them. And, of course, a lot of luck, because often opponents attack in a completely unpredictable order. You cannot make mistakes and hesitate, otherwise the battle will have to start anew.

5. Dwarf Fortress

Platforms: Linux, Windows, Mac OS.

When you first open Dwarf Fortress, you will most likely have a thought: how to play this at all? Yes, problems in mastering a project begin with its graphics. ASCII characters look like the code from the "Matrix". But it is quite possible to get used to them. When you get comfortable, instead of incomprehensible letters, you will see forever drunk bearded dwarves with hammers and pickaxes, trolls from underground caves, arrogant elves, ferocious goblins and fire-breathing dragons. Well, if you can't decipher the flickering hieroglyphs, you can download the version of the game with hand-drawn graphics.

When the basics of management are mastered, the fun begins. Together with seven dwarves, you have to build a powerful underground fortress in the distant wild lands. The game world is generated randomly, and each time more and more new dangers will await you. Dwarves can die of hunger and thirst if you do not master farming and animal husbandry. They can also be killed during a siege by goblins or undead led by necromancers.

But despite all this, Dwarf Fortress will open up unimaginable spaces for creativity in front of you. You can build huge castles from obsidian, ice and glass, catch terrible monsters, create cunning mechanisms - you can build anything here.

6. Don’t Starve

Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Playstation Vita, Xbox One, iOS, Android.

Interesting survival sandbox. You must survive as long as possible in the harsh painted world, where a cynical and malicious demon named Maxwell sent you. And here literally everything is trying to kill you.

Your first enemy is hunger. And already it is not easy to cope with it. You can pick berries, but there are always few of them. And during the hunt, the prey constantly escapes. There is not enough food and firewood, and winter is near.

Setting up a camp, gathering and preparing food, making clothes and keeping a fire all needs to be done at the same time. As a result, you don't have a minute to breathe. Autumn gives way to cold winter, which is not given to everyone, winter - wet spring, and that, in turn, scorching summer. Experiencing all misfortunes, your character gradually goes crazy, and madness together with imaginary monsters can finish him off in the same way as natural disasters.

But the worst thing about Don’t Starve is the night. Indeed, in the dark, a cruel Charlie awaits you, who can only be driven out by fire. And nothing will help if at a critical moment you do not have a torch with you.

7. Sunless Sea

Platforms: PlayStation 4, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS.

A kind of game that captivates with a magnificent atmosphere in the spirit of the novels of Chyna Mieville. Somehow London was kidnapped by bats and carried underground. Now the city is located on an island, around which a boundless underground ocean full of dangers. You are the captain of a ship, exploring the depths with a goal known to him alone. Stock up on food and fuel. And set off.

With a beautifully dark soundtrack and leisurely gameplay, Sunless Sea feels like a pretty relaxing and meditative game. But don't be fooled: the game is very difficult and few will make it to the finale. You can fall prey to sea monsters or pirates, be attacked in port, fail an important mission, run out of fuel and remain drifting at sea with no light and no way to get to shore. Perhaps you will have to go crazy and eat your team.

The only depressing thing about Sunless Sea is the English language. Here it is extremely complex and oversaturated with literary turns. There is a fan translation of the game, and it is not bad, but it is not made for all quests. And you will have to read a lot and carefully. If that doesn't scare you, welcome aboard, captain.

Buy for Windows, Linux and macOS →

8. Salt And Sanctuary

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Linux, macOS.

Salt And Sanctuary can be called Dark Souls in 2D. Here, in the same way, you need to kill monsters and try to bring the salt collected from them (analogous to souls in Dark Souls) to the sanctuaries (similar to bonfires). But you have to do it in a flat two-dimensional space.

The game looks good and has an attractive atmosphere. Locations are varied, bosses are unusual, opponents are quite difficult. You will have to take a closer look at pumping and equipment: many enemies can only be defeated with a certain build.

You will have to die as often as in Souls. This is facilitated by very strong and difficult bosses, which are extremely difficult to kill on the first try AND inconvenient control.

Buy for Windows, Linux and macOS →

9. Super Meat Boy

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, Linux, macOS.

This game is extremely tough. The main character here is a piece of bleeding meat. Literally. And the levels are mainly made up of circular saws. It will take a great response to overcome them.

Super Meat Boy has a very high tempo. You will run, slide, jump, crawl, leaving bloody footprints everywhere. Any touch of a trap or enemy kills. There is no life scale here.

At each level (and there are 350 of them here!) The hero must reach his girlfriend, encountering such funny things as thorns, saws, rockets, lava and salt on the way to her. And the latter is not particularly pleasant to touch when your muscles are not covered with skin.

10. Nioh

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Windows.

Nioh is set in 17th century Japan, with an English sailor named William. To survive, he will have to learn how to handle a katana no worse than a real samurai.

The battles in Nioh are such that you need a lot of skill. Stances, fast, medium and strong hits, rolls and dashes - each opponent needs a separate tactic. And few people you will be able to hack to death with a swoop. Nioh is somewhat reminiscent of the notorious Ninja Gaiden, which is also famous for its furious complexity.

In addition to difficult battles, Nioh has a good plot, atmospheric music, and attractive mythology: youkai bosses migrated here from traditional Japanese myths and legends.