2017 certainly had its fair share of hair pulling, teeth grinding experiences. But when it comes to the truly hardest video games, these 10 particular titles no doubt take the cake, mush it into tiny pieces, and throw it back at you while hitting you over the head with a wooden spoon until you get it right.
GETTING OVER IT WITH BENNETT FODDY
A late entry into 2017 but a rightful member of this list, Getting Over It is a strange indie release that has been gradually rising up the charts. Challenging you with climbing a mountain as a man stuck in a large cooking pot, with only a hammer to aid you that can only be controlled by a mouse, it’s… definitely strange.
It’s also incredibly difficult. In fact, the developer sells the game on the pretense that it was designed with one particular kind of person in mind, and to hurt them. Judging from some of the user reviews, it’s hit a bit of a nerve and its rather simplistic and rough designs and imagery are replaced with determination and anger at a game that people just can’t seem to stop playing. It’s Flappy Bird all over again!
RUINER
Cyberpunk action shooter Ruiner will ‘ruin’ your nerves. You’re going to see the Game Over screen on multiple occasions as bullets, blood, and neon splash across the field of play in this somewhat Terminator and Blade Runner inspired world. If bullet hell is your thing, though, there’s plenty of entertainment to be found here, plus Ruiner gives you a little leeway with decently placed checkpoints in-between all the blood letting. There’s also an easy mode if you do want to chicken out, but don’t expect that to be as forgiving as it may sound.
THE SURGE
While From Software is hard at work on their next title, The Surge by Lords of the Fallen creators Deck13 should be on your must play list if you’re keen on a similar experience, just in a rather different setting. Here, the world of difficult enemies and mad bosses is a gritty future dystopia featuring plenty of loot, resource management, and guns instead of swords. Some of the mechanics are rather unique, such as the ability to rip limbs off of enemy robots in order to acquire new tech or weapons, but ultimately it’s about trying to survive to continue to grow stronger by harvesting scrap. It most definitely won’t be an easy ride.
CUPHEAD
Many consider Cuphead to be the hardest game of 2017, and there’s a few obvious reasons as to why. For one, the boss battles are intense and chaotic, like an old school arcade shooter but with some unique variables. Couple that with some inch perfect jumping requirements and you’ll soon find yourself playing levels over and over and over and over.
But besides all the death, there’s a lot to love about Cuphead, especially when it comes to its musical score, its very old school animations, and that amazing sense of satisfaction when you finally pull off a win in the later levels. Plus, unlike most of the games on this list, you can bring a friend along to share in the constant frustration. Joy!
CRASH BANDICOOT (CRASH BANDICOOT N. SANE TRILOGY)
Of the three games packed into the N. Sane Trilogy, the first Crash Bandicoot stands as the hardest challenge to master. The same could have been said back when it originally arrived on the PlayStation all those years ago, but this remastered edition added a slight caveat to the proceedings.
According to developers Vicarious Visions, the first Crash Bandicoot was adjusted to match the handling of the other two games in order for players to have a more cohesive experience between them. That led to a few jumps of the original game suddenly requiring an even greater level of precision, lest Crash slide off to his doom. Of course, that led to even greater levels of rage quitting, though more so from players trying Crash Bandicoot for the first time. It should be noted, only the first game makes this list, given the other two are ever so slightly easier to complete.
NIOH
Team Ninja is no stranger when it comes to making increasingly difficult titles, just look at their Ninja Gaiden series as a perfect example. In Nioh, they’ve followed a similar blueprint to From Software’s Soulsborne series, but this time sets itself within Japan instead of a strange otherworld. In fact, it loosely sets itself on history, telling the story of one William Adams, the first recorded Englishman in Japan who went on to become a samurai. Yes, it’s that Tom Cruise film, just with a lot more deadly monster like encounters.
It’s fair to say that Team Ninja regained its love of punishing players with Nioh, and we gained another game to suck our time away.
THE END IS NIGH
Super Meat Boy will always be remembered for punishing us at the highest level. Likewise, The Binding of Isaac reminded us how important it can be to have a little patience. It’s lucky, then, that the man behind both titles decided to deliver another stirring rendition of twisted game play this year, in the form of The End is Nigh.
Not too dissimilar to Meat Boy before him, you find yourself playing as the almost already dead Ash who survived the end of the world. Unlike his predecessor, you’re not out to save anyone in particular (except your sanity, maybe), instead you’re trying to find the pieces of a friend. Kinda heartfelt, until you delve into the platforming to discover even more fiendish ways for you to suffer.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD – THE MASTER TRIALS
Zelda: Breath of the Wild has its fair share of challenges already. Remember Eventide Island? Or the Lost Pilgrimage quest? Not exactly walks in the park. But then, just when we thought we were safe to explore for those damn seeds on our own time Nintendo released their first DLC, in turn introducing a new challenge mode called Trial of the Sword and in turn introducing us to hell itself.
To be fair, Trial of the Sword can be beaten with time, but unless you’re at your peak when it comes to knowing everything there is to know about Link and his abilities, the 45-room quest will leave you scratching your head in frustration. You begin with absolutely nothing and must scavenge weapons and whatever food or items you can lay your hands on to reach the top. If you win, you get a fully powered up Master Sword and the sense of satisfaction from overcoming Nintendo’s hardest quest in quite a while. If anything, it’s good to see that the big N isn’t afraid of giving us something to bite our fingernails over.
HOLLOW KNIGHT
Metroid returned to the world of video games this year, but one game that outmatched it in terms of visual flair and its sense of challenge is a little indie called Hollow Knight. This 2D adventure has you playing as the title character in search of the secrets to lost insect kingdom of Hallownest, which has plenty of treasure hidden in its depths but even more deadly secrets and enemies in-between. Fans of Metroid will certainly get a kick out of the experience and will find plenty to challenge them, be they boss fights or trying to find every hidden item in the game.
MARIO + RABBIDS: KINGDOM BATTLE
No-one really expected the Rabbids to be within the conversation of best game of the year, nor that this so-called Kingdom Battle would provide some of the most heated and challenging experiences of the year. Yet here we are, swearing aloud at our Switches as a bunch of Mario Kingdom heroes go at it with honey guns and remote controlled robot drones in an XCOM-like action romp, and would you believe it, they actually did make it challenging. Get past the early, colorful levels and you’ll soon come across a game with giant Rabbids, sneaky ghosts, and plenty of competition that, while not the hardest of the games on this list, is certainly just as well thought out in its difficulty curve and its commitment to good, old-fashioned challenge. God bless you, sniper Luigi.
What games did you find the most challenging this year? Let us know in the comments below.
Published: Dec 18, 2017 10:15 am