The most difficult video games ever have gone down in gaming history both for their proposal and their difficulty level. Most of them are pretty famous, such as Dark Souls or Ghost n Goblins. But there are also some hidden gems. 

In this Hardest Games of all Time article, we’ve built a list of any hardest games that deserve to be in the hall of fame of absurd difficulty. If you’re ready for the toughest adventure of your life, prepare your controller or keyboard and your skills, and let’s go straight for it!

Super Meat Boy

Super Meat Boy is not just one the most demanding platform games of all time, but also a tough game in general. You control a red cube-shaped character called “Meat Boy,” attempting to rescue his girlfriend, the Bandage girl, from his antagonist – Dr. Fetus.

To complete your mission, you must run and jump through over 300 levels of changing difficulty while trying to find the best way to reach the goal. Needless to say, those levels are full of dangers, traps, electric saws, etc., which make it almost impossible to finish them. 

Super Meat Boy Steam CD Key meets all the requirements to be considered one of the most difficult games of all time. It is a real challenge from the beginning. Then, the entire game is a peaceful promenade over a field of nails!

According to the co-creator of the game, Edmund McMillen, its difficulty is pretty basic stuff: The higher the chance the player will die and the higher price they pay for dying, the harder the game will appear to the player. This platform game requires quick reflexes, velocity, tenacity, and real advanced gaming tactics.

Dark Souls Series 

The “Souls” series is probably one of the most relevant series of recent time. The first game of this saga, Demon Souls, was released in 2009, but the first installment of the Dark Souls series would see the light two years later.

In short, the Dark Souls series is a saga based on action-role playing mechanics. The gameplay of this third-person perspective game focuses on fighting with weapons and magic against monsters, enemies, and exploration. 

 You’ll have to travel through harsh environments while struggling with boss fights and interacting with strange characters to advance in the story. Also, you’ll focus on leveling up your character by gathering souls and turning them into points of skill.  

The first game of the Dark Souls Series franchise is known (according to most gamers) as the  most difficult game ever. You’ll lose countless lives as you progress in the game. This is very likely, but it would be more accurate to describe it as one of the most difficult action games ever. Anyway, we cannot agree which game of the series is the most complicated. 

In the three installments, the gameplay mechanics are very tough and difficult to master. Step by step, you’ll learn to control your skills, dodge movements to avoid enemy attacks, and how to parry. Here, at RoyalCDKeys, you can find Dark Souls Remastered Steam CD Key at a low price.

The Witness

The Witness is a 3D puzzle game where you must explore an open-world set on a mysterious island divided into 11 regions full of natural and artificial structures. Each of these regions has its theme and puzzles to solve. 

In this adventure, you must explore and solve different puzzles based on the labyrinth and get clues through the island. The gameplay is intended to include as few instructions as possible, so you are keen to come to grips with the rules of the puzzles for yourself. The game has a total of more than 650 puzzles. Trying to solve all of them is the real challenge here!

This game has an even higher difficulty than the games above but in a different aspect.  The Witness Steam CD Key is so difficult because the puzzles get more and more challenging as you progress through the island since your first playthrough. Rules that the puzzles are based on change continuously, making you have to think from scratch.  

You take on puzzles by unlocking new areas until eventually reaching the island's peak, where the game's most significant discovery awaits. If you love mystery and the idea of solving puzzles using your brain, then this is your game. 

Mega Man - Legacy Collection

Mega Man Legacy Collection is a compilation of all classic Mega Man games for NES. This collection includes the first six games of the franchise but with high-resolution graphics and additional content. 

You control Mega Man, a human android who must defeat six or eight powerful robots commanded by the evil Dr. Wily. You’ll cross different stages and a final castle in order to accomplish your mission.

In a few words, all these six games included in Mega Man Legacy Collection Steam CD Key are considered some of the hardest platform games ever, especially the original and the second installment. 

Many Mega Man fans believe that one of the most difficult titles in history is the original Mega Man, and they are not wrong. We agree with this statement. The first Mega Man was designed in an age when most games were incredibly tough.

All the mechanics of the original Mega Man are very demanding and rigid, and the control of the robot requires great abilities! What’s more, The original Mega Man was intentionally designed to make you die so many times. 

Although the Mega Man series is known for its difficulty, Mega Man 1 and 2 stick out as two of the most challenging entries in this platformer franchise and every other saga.

Devil May Cry: HD Collection

Devil May Cry franchise is just a Capcom classic, just like Mega Man or Resident Evil. In this opportunity, you’ll have the chance to play the first three chapters of the saga, reliving the journey of Dante and his brother for saving the world from evil demons. 

Putting all these three games together, you’ll experience hours and hours of the killing, slashing, and hacking of monsters. When you play this game, you feel you are embarking on a dangerous adventure full of vertigo.

If you have to select one of the three as the most difficult, we have to say it’s Devil May Cry: Dante’s Awakening. Just like every hack and slash game, this Devil May Cry 3 has a learning curve that’s really steep at the beginning but then gets a little more friendly. Anyway, this will be a tough game if you don’t have experience living on the edge of action and death games. 

Every battle in this game can easily defeat your player character. Then, be aware of all movements in your surroundings. If you’ve not played any of these games, here, at RoyalCDKeys, you can get Devil May Cry: HD Collection at a really good price and enjoy this great compilation.

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection

Ninja Gaiden – Master Collection is the latest launch of the Ninja Gaiden saga. This is a compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. 

Just like the other installments of the franchise, in this trilogy, you control Ryū Hayabusa, the legendary shinobi, who attempts to preserve his clan's honor. These three games have hack & slash and action-adventure mechanics. You must upgrade weapons and discover items to improve your movements and interact with the environment to perform acrobatic feats. 

Among these three games, including the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection Steam CD Key, we believe the most difficult is the second one, i.e., Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. This game is a new version of the original Ninja Gaiden 2, released in 2008. 

Regarding Ninja Gaiden II for Xbox 360, it has the same name as the second game of the franchise launched in 1990, but it is not the same game. Both share the difficulty level, but we have to lean towards this most recent game – the sequel of the remake released in 2004. 2008’s 

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 gameplay is pretty challenging and severely limited due to the difficulty level. Progressing in this game is full of obstacles and a lot of attacks from everywhere, which can lead to frustration.  

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, just like the other games of the “Souls” style, is an action-adventure game from a third-person perspective with some features of RPG. Compared to other games of the “Souls” series, Sekiro lacks character creation and the ability to level up a wide range of stats. 

In this opportunity, you control Wolf, or Ookami, a Shinobi of the Sengoku period attempting to revenge on an enemy clan that kidnapped his lord. 

The gameplay of Sekiro focuses on exploration, stealth, and vertiginous combat with a strong emphasis on boss battles. You’ll have to upgrade your equipment and develop your skill tree to enhance your abilities. Constant improvement is necessary to manage powerful attacks and find the right balance to swing your katana.

As you can imagine, since this is a game by the creator of the “Souls” saga, Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice EU Xbox Live is incredibly difficult. You need to have extensive control of your movements to emerge victorious from the battle. The combat focuses on the attack balance and posture of your enemies. This eventually will lead you to an opening, allowing you to kill enemies with a single killing blow. Sekiro also has an insane amount of powerful enemies and powerful bosses that won’t rest until they kill you.  

Ninja Gaiden Series

The first Ninja Gaiden was a complete revolution, a new way to address side-scroll platform games, with a strong focus on fast movement and attack. 

In Ninja Gaiden, you control Ryū Hayabusa, a ninja who must travel to America to revenge on his father. Upon arrival in the USA, you discover that a mysterious man called The Jaquio is trying to rule the world. 

You must go through twenty different levels and terminate enemies with your katana while avoiding attacks from every corner. 

In short, playing Ninja Gaiden may make you a masochist. This action-platform game can drive you crazy! At least, it did it with some editorial team members, including me. 

Like many games of the Epoque, Ninja Gaiden boasts fast-paced action and a quick fight against relentless enemies. To eliminate these enemies, you need to have total control over your hits and jumps while avoiding all types of attacks.

Ghosts n Goblins

Ghosts n Goblins series is a run and gun platform video game series created by Tokuro Fujiwara and published by Capcom. The plot focuses on Arthur, a knight whose mission is to save princess Prin-Prin from the demon king Astaroth. To do this, you must cross several stages, each harder than the previous, jumping and hitting enemies with different weapons and resources.

The first game of the saga, its namesake, is known as one of the hardest video games ever. Basically, Arthur’s quest is full of monsters that attack you in several ways and directions. You’ll find yourself on a screen full of fire, throwing bones, knives, explosions, etc., where escaping and avoiding is so difficult. 

You’ll be under attack in every moment of the path. Besides, you can only receive one hit as you’re dead with the second one. Without a doubt, Ghosts n Goblins deserves the label of the hardest game of all time!

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

The Legend of Zelda is an iconic franchise of Nintendo and has many of the most important games of all time to its credit. In The Adventure of Link, just like all games of the saga, you control Link, who must return the crystals to their palaces in the north of the kingdom. 

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a weird game and the black sheep of the franchise. The main change has to do with the perspective of the game. Zelda II is an action-platform game that enhances an intense difficulty contrary to its predecessor. 

Due to your limited and short-range attack, it may very well be difficult to complete the game without a walkthrough due to the game's obtuse puzzles. You will face some of the toughest enemies in the game very early on. The game's final boss, Dark Link, was also infamous for being one of the hardest boss fights ever.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1989

The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game was based on the TV show of the same name. This is one of the first Konami games and one of the most difficult for NES. In the first place, this game has a poor design of levels, though it has excellent graphics (for the 80s), and pretty beat music. On the other side, it has a terrible resource system and devastating framerate issues.  

Dwarf Fortress - 2006

This is very likely the most notable game on this list in terms of interface and style. Basically, Dwarf Fortress is a roguelike game with building and resources management features. You’ll have to face wolves, famine, cabin fever, flooding, and burrowing down to a demon god. Everything is possible in this fortress. 

Failure is inevitable, and not only do your dwarves go mad in adversity – they often create works of art to reflect what's happened. Although it’s a 2D game, there are altitude levels. You can build your fortress in three dimensions. 

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out - 1987

At first glance, this game seems very easy. Look like you only have to punch and avoid enemy attacks. And this is true; it’s a straightforward mechanic. Even the first opponent doesn’t pose any challenge. The subsequent characters, however, bring intense combat and rise in difficulty. 

As you progress in the game, every enemy gets stronger and stronger, up to a point where it can be very frustrating. What’s more, at the end of the game, you’ll have to face Mike Tyson, who will put your skills to a real test.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels - 1986

Every level of this game is designed intentionally to be more complex than levels in the original game, the first Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels is so hard that it wasn't released outside Japan. We assume that it would be intolerable for western audiences. Of course, this game's mechanics are the same as the first game, i.e., to jump on opponents to kill them and avoid all obstacles on the road. 

Silver Surfer NES - 1990

Most side-scrolling action games of the golden age of video games are really hard. But no one is like Silver Surfer. This game takes the concept of difficulty to a whole new level as you’ll have to navigate across a bullet hell. All this sheer number of bullets and enemy projectiles in addition to a bad visual design can confuse you and hinder dodging the attacks.  

UFO: Enemy Unknown - 1993

Most people know the X-COM series from the reboot launched in 2012. But the original game, UFO: Enemy Unkown power ups the definition of challenging to another level. The aliens of this first game are really tough and surprisingly good at creeping up on you. If this is your first time playing this game, you’ll probably feel you’re in a trap devised by Satan. 

Takeshi’s Challenge - 1986

If you’ve seen the TV show “Takeshi’s Castle,” you know who Beat Takeshi is. This TV personality has been involved in several projects related to his name. Takeshi’s Challenge is one of these projects. The plot is very simple: you take the role of a disgruntled Japanese salaryman trying to escape from his corporate lifestyle by finding a treasure in the South Seas. 

The challenges are totally insane: one of them requires you to leave the controller untouched for an hour. All games are arbitrary in Takeshi’s Challenge. 

I Wanna Be the Boshy - 2010

The next game on our list is inspired by I Wanna Be the Guy, an iconic game launched in 2007. I Wanna Be the Boshy is a hard game known for its unexpected traps, poor hitboxes, and difficult platform mechanics. For example, you’ll have to jump among little squares in the air to avoid the insane amounts of spikes on the floor. If you love challenges, this is a game you must play.  

Hardest Games of all Time Conclusions

Even though most players prefer easy games where fun is guaranteed, there are still some gamers that like challenges and play games with a higher difficulty setting. 

The games we’ve listed here meet this condition. All of them require patience and nerves of steel. Can you handle them? Find out for yourself!

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