Top 20 Hardest PS1 Games of All Time

If Rayman’s hands were still attached to his body, I’d rip them the f*** off. Despite the franchise's evolution over the years, the original Rayman remains one of the toughest games of the ‘90s and arguably one of the hardest platformers ever created. Unlike other platformers that offer rewarding gameplay through precise movements (like Crash Bandicoot), Rayman's challenges often feel extremely unfair (like Crash Bandicoot if you didn’t have any arms or legs).

Even seasoned Dark Souls players will be taken aback by the sheer difficulty of King’s Field, it’s so hard that it’s been retroactively added to the Souls-Like genre. King’s Field was quite innovative for its time, which meant many players were unsure of how to approach it when they first played. We recommend ‘carefully’. The game’s ambitious 3D visuals and the resulting glitches only add to the difficulty, while its brutal combat, numerous traps, confusing controls, and complete lack of guidance made even hardcore RPG fans question their life choices.

Many people recognize the catchy music of PaRappa the Rapper, and its distinctive cutout art style has aged remarkably well, as it is somewhat timeless. However, those who play the game for themselves will be surprised by how challenging it still is. While rhythm games typically focus on timed button presses, PaRappa the Rapper elevates this difficulty to an extreme. Later levels become nearly impossible to conquer, requiring players to refine their reflexes to perfection to progress. Try combining Guitar Hero with someone throwing molten hot darts at the back of your head.

To be fair to Blasto, this PS1 action game was likely released before the technology of the time could fully support its ambitions. I feel similarly about myself, I feel like I was born before my dry s***ty sense of humor could be appropriately appreciated. Blasto is known as one of the PS1’s most notorious games for causing broken controllers. The game’s sluggish movement and unreliable camera make even basic tasks difficult, and the lack of barriers in many levels means players often find themselves falling to their deaths while trying to navigate simple jumps. Which feels realistic, because jumping sucks.

Much like the hardest games on the NES and SNES, Einhander was a throwback to the classic 2D shoot ‘em ups, and though not the most challenging 2D shoot ‘em up ever created, Einhander managed to trick PS1 users who were unprepared for this classic gaming style level of difficulty. Instead of simply overwhelming players with a high volume of enemies, Einhander boosts the health of each enemy and requires navigating some extremely perilous areas. This design choice is particularly evident in the boss fights, which feels almost like a 2D Star Fox on crack.

Although the first Twisted Metal game is considered notoriously difficult, fans of the series seem to agree unanimously that the second entry is without a doubt the hardest. The second game in the series received praise for its larger levels and additional characters. The actual gameplay can be quite challenging, and it's worth noting that "Twisted Metal 2" features a misleading "easy mode." Playing in this setting will stop you early in the game and prevent you from progressing to the end. Which feels like a slap in the face... Which is what you deserve for playing on easy difficulty.

In Alundra, the top-down camera view often made navigating the varying elevations a challenging exercise in trial and error. Imagine living your life in top down… Way harder right? While this was a design flaw, it’s not the only thing that contributes to the game's difficulty. Alundra is notorious for its demanding backtracking. Attention to detail is crucial, and even the most meticulous players may find themselves frustrated by its complexities. I for one had a pen and paper when I was a kid, and made a map that made no sense and ended up being torn up through tears.

Irritating Stick sits pretty comfortably on this list, as although it’s not the hardest, it often comes into players’ minds when remembering grueling PS1 experiences. Players must navigate a small ball through intricate themed mazes with very little room for error. To increase the challenge, you’re also racing against a relentlessly ticking clock, which feels like added pressure we didn’t really need. True mastery of this game requires hundreds upon hundreds of hours of dedicated playtime, often beating the stamina of even the heartiest gamers.

Remember that scene in Metal Gear Solid where you had to repeatedly mash the Circle button to survive the torture device? Remember how the pain from that constant tapping would run right up your arm? Remember thinking “how on earth can tapping one button cause this much pain?” Now imagine that experience stretched across an entire game. That’s Incredible Crisis. But don’t think for a second that you’ll get reprieve when you aren’t tapping, because the game offers plenty of other ways to break your brain while giving your arm a break.

As a down-to-its-core puzzle game, Oddworld requires a significant amount of ‘thinking outside the box’, as with any puzzle platformer. However, the game raises the difficulty even further with some of the most ruthless level design in PlayStation history. Your margin for error is extremely minimal, as constant gunfire and traps pose a continuous threat, and throughout the campaign, you’ll more often than not find yourself repeating EVERY single encounter, and a first time win for any encounter is almost always dumb luck.

The original Fear Effect games are challenging to play today for various reasons, including casual racism and odd "softcore" cutscenes that we always got nervous watching as a kid. If my old man walked in while I was playing Fear Effect, he’d have a lot of questions, questions like “Can I have a turn?” and “Don’t tell your Mum, ok?” Fear Effect was ALSO notoriously difficult which is what we should really be focusing on. Combining Resident Evil-style controls with point-and-click adventure puzzles and clumsy stealth segments, Fear Effect represents a collection of some of the most frustrating and demanding gameplay concepts of its time. It’s Hugo’s House of Horrors meets Silent Hill hard mode meets Clocktower with one hand meets Alone in The Dark with your eyes shut.

In Driver, you are introduced to the game’s concepts with one of the most arduous and frustrating tutorial levels ever created, performing maneuvers with end-game levels of skills and precision, in one of the tightest, tiniest, and most rage inducing maps. To make things even more frustrating, the game often fails to recognize when you’ve successfully completed a maneuver, meaning you might not pass the level even if you’ve mastered the game’s toughest moves from the start. If you’ve never managed to beat Driver’s opening level, you might be surprised to discover that later levels can present even tougher difficulty spikes. I NEVER FOUND OUT.

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, the first game in the classic Legacy of Kain series, offers a unique gameplay experience that is NOTHING like later entries. This top-down hack-and-slash adventure mixes intense Diablo-style action with puzzle-solving that feels borderline abusive. The game remains highly challenging TO THIS DAY due to the constant onslaught of enemies, as well as various traps that deplete Kain’s health almost instantly. Even with his extensive arsenal of weapons, items, and vampiric abilities, Kain’s quest will end in screaming again, and again, and again. Which feels almost like justice, considering how he treats us in Soul Reaver.

For years, fans have considered Vagrant Story one of the most underrated PlayStation games and one of the most overlooked RPGs ever made, and although it’s finally getting the appreciation it deserves with its re-release, and a whole new generation of gamers enjoying it, it’s ALSO beating the ever loving crap out of a whole new generation of gamers with its brutal difficulty. The challenge stems from mastering its unique combat system, which can often make you feel helpless. Even after grasping the basics, the game’s relentless bosses, clever traps, and even the so-called “basic” enemies will keep you questioning whether you can ever truly master it.

This is one of those games that's difficult due to notoriously cheap and unfair game mechanics, making progress feel almost impossible. Although a save feature is available, it only saves your exact position, which means if you’re out of lives or continues, you must attempt to complete the game with no further chances. Coupled with the game’s brutal controls, poor camera angles, hard-to-see graphics, platforming hazards, and persistent enemies, the majority of the deaths you will experience are because of unintentional bad game design, rather than an intentional challenge.

In Mythologies, Sub-Zero battles enemies in a style reminiscent of classic Mortal Kombat games. However, the game is infamous for its abundance of instant death traps, which deplete Sub-Zero’s lives faster than Goro ever could. From collapsing columns to rotating platforms in the Wind Temple, Mythologies is notorious for consuming lives at an alarming rate. But don’t think for a second that the fighting is easy, because the boss fights throughout this game's campaign offer some of the hardest Mortal Kombat challenges an MK fan can experience to date.

You know, this is somewhat embarrassing to admit. But when I was only about 7 years old, almost all of my PS1 controllers had little dents in them. When asked what they were, I had to admit they were bite marks, as Crash Bandicoot was so unbelievably difficult, that I found biting the controller to be my only outlet for rage. Despite their linear design, the Crash Bandicoot games required a level of platforming precision that was exceptionally challenging at the time, but the first game with its less refined controls was undoubtedly the most difficult of the PS1 trilogy.

The relatively unknown Heart of Darkness could easily compete with Driver for the title of most notoriously difficult opening levels. The initial section bombards you with enemies like a bullet hell shooter, but the controls feel like a cumbersome puzzler. Even if you’re familiar with the game, responding to the fast-paced action on screen is exceptionally challenging. The game doesn’t get much easier after this either, but you’ll never find out, because you’ll sell your PS1 for anxiety medication well before you’ve found a modicum of success in this opening section.

With a boxy design and the RAGE INDUCING TANK CONTROLS, Tomb Raider felt like a game that didn’t belong in its parameters, yet it somehow worked! And although Tomb Raider 1 and 2 were hard, Tomb Raider 3 takes difficulty to a whole new level with its abundance of spikes, boulders, pits, and traps designed to end your run before you’re prepared. The game’s perplexing level design aims to simulate the disorientation of navigating a dark tomb, and boy does it, because I am lost ALL THE DAMN TIME.

While difficulty is expected in many stealth titles, or stealth sections of titles (we’re looking at you, Spider-Man), Tenchu: Stealth Assassins sometimes oversteps by constantly reminding you of your vulnerability. Perhaps it's because many of us were excited to play as a badass ninja assassin, but Tenchu's insistence on cautious, trial-and-error gameplay left many players frustrated and questioning their strategies. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is by all accounts a decent game with great reviews, yet somehow it remained at the bottom of my game collection, because it released a toxic side of myself I never want to see again.