Top 10 HARDEST Video Game Series of All Time
Script written by Garrett Alden
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most difficult video game franchises.
#10: “Spelunky” series (2008-20)
Roguelikes are among the most punishing types of games out there, and the “Spelunky” games are no exception. Like other titles in their genre, “Spelunky” and its sequel feature permadeath, meaning that if you die, you have to start all over again from the beginning. Your spelunker will encounter many enemies and instant death traps that make avoiding death incredibly difficult. Not only that, but the levels are procedurally generated, so each run is different every time! It’s hard to avoid a trap or an enemy you can’t plan for!
#9: “Nioh” series (2017-20)
Developed by Team Ninja, a developer known for their punishingly difficult games (more on that later), “Nioh” and its follow-up, “Nioh 2,” are some of the best, and most difficult, of the Soulslike genre (more on the originals later). These unforgiving action RPGs are set in medieval Japan and force the player to hack and slash their way through yokai and other baddies that will obliterate you if you look at them wrong! The “Nioh” games do have some fun gameplay features that help them stand out, like the Ki system, stance changes, and Guardian Spirits. But as entertaining as they are, these elements won’t stop you from falling beneath your enemies’ swords over and over again!
#8: “Darkest Dungeon” series (2016-)
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Another roguelike franchise, the “Darkest Dungeon” games are some of the most punishing turn-based RPGs out there! You play as a group of adventurers on a journey or exploring dungeons, which are randomized every time. What makes the “Darkest Dungeon” games particularly difficult is their distinctive stress mechanic. Stress builds up over time as well as when you incur a lot of damage. Managing your stress, as well as the dynamics between characters can be extremely difficult. Plus, all of this is on top of the games having challenging combat that mixes turn-based and real-time battles. The “Darkest Dungeon” games will have you feeling like there’s no light in sight if you don’t get good.
#7: “Ninja Gaiden” franchise (1988-)
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Whether you’re playing the original sidescroller entries or the modern 3D titles from Team Ninja, “Ninja Gaiden” games are as brutal to players as real shinobi. The 2D “Ninja Gaiden” games feature punishing difficulty spikes, like constantly spawning enemies that crowd the screen. Meanwhile, the Team Ninja incarnation of the series continues this tradition, only in 3 dimensions. Every single enemy feels like a hurdle to overcome, and if you make one wrong move - you’re dead! “Ninja Gaiden” games are positively vicious, and if you can’t hone your skills, you’ll be slaughtered!
#6: “Super Meat Boy” series (2010-)
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There are some downright diabolical platformers out there, but “Super Meat Boy” and its sequels are an absolute meat grinder - literally. As the titular Meat Boy, you’ll have to slide, jump, and in some cases, punch and kick your way through levels covered in saws, spikes, and other hazards that are guaranteed to dice you into bits! You will die repeatedly to get through just one level, and there are plenty of them! Even so, the fact that you get to start over each level and have basically unlimited lives is a small comfort - at least compared to some other platformers.
#5: “Ghosts ‘n Goblins” series (1985-)
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It makes sense that the final bosses of these games are sometimes referred to as the Devil, since that’s probably who designed these games! To save a princess and defeat the demon, Sir Arthur, the weakest fictional knight in existence, must throw his weapons at ghouls, ghosts, and other villains. Oh, and he has to do it all without taking a couple of hits on each level, otherwise he’s dead. Oh, and you need to do it all twice. Oh, and if you get a game over, you start over. No problem, right? You might need therapy after you finish it, but it’s all worth it to…get the good ending…you won’t question your life choices or anything!
#4: “Monster Hunter” series (2004-)
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Hunt monsters, strip their body parts, use those parts for armor and weapons to hunt bigger monsters - and so on. The gameplay loop of “Monster Hunter” is a satisfying one. However, these games can be incredibly difficult, particularly for new players. There are a ton of unintuitive mechanics, especially in older titles, that make “Monster Hunter” tough to succeed in. Eventually, most monsters will just kill you in one hit, even if you have the most optimal gear for that specific creature. Essentially, the optimal strategy is to hit monsters until they die, and don’t get hit yourself. Of course, that’s easier said than done when these massive beasts can hit you out of nowhere when you are already running away!
#3: “Contra” series (1987-)
The makers of the “Contra” series clearly missed the memo about making console games less difficult than arcade games! Players dying repeatedly won’t get you more quarters Konami! Most installments of these shoot ‘em up titles only give players 3 lives to blast their way through hordes of soldiers, robots, and armored futuristic vehicles. They’re basically only beatable with the famous Konami Code to give you extra lives! Even playing co-op with another player doesn’t lower the difficulty that much! There’s still a ton of enemies and bullets flying on the screen to keep track of!
#2: “Battletoads” (1991-)
There’s “Nintendo-hard” and then there’s “Battletoads”-hard! Although ostensibly a beat ‘em up series, the “Battletoads” games tend to feature new gameplay variations on each stage of their games. This abrupt switch-up is jarring enough, but each level is often brutally hard in their own right. Of course, the most infamous of all are the speedbike levels, which force you to memorize when to dodge each obstacle, because there’s no way human fingers can hit buttons fast enough at the speed you move! At least the music is usually a bop though…
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
“Mega Man” series (1987-)
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“Geometry Dash” series (2013-17)
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“Metal Slug” series (1996-2009)
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#1: “Souls” series (2009-)
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Was there ever any doubt? FromSoftware’s “Souls” games, including “Dark Souls,” “Demon Souls,” and even related games like “Bloodborne” and “Elden Ring” have become gaming shorthand for “hard!” Levels are packed full of deadly enemies that can easily kill you. Bottomless pits are everywhere! And the bosses? They’ve had gamers pulling their hair out for over a decade! Add in some major difficulty spikes with poorly placed checkpoints and the ability to lose all your souls or blood echoes or whatever if you don’t retrieve them before you die again, and you’ll wish getting good was as easy as praising the sun!
Is there a tough game franchise we forgot? We’d be grateful if you told us in the comments!
