Top 10 Hardest Video Games of 2019
The hardest games are the most rewarding. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we'll be counting down our picks for the top 10 hardest video games of 2019. For this list, we're looking at games that released in 2019 that are either difficult by default or can be made much more difficult through additional modes, challenges, et cetera.
#10: “Code Vein” (2019)
Described everywhere as ‘“Dark Souls” but anime’ before its release, “Code Vein” did not disappoint where the difficulty was concerned. Players should brace themselves for hours of trial and error against the game’s many bosses, learning attack patterns and what the best weapon and gift combos are to take them down. “Code Vein” has a host of key differences from “Dark Souls”, though, namely the ability to switch up your stats depending on who you’re fighting, and the addition of NPC companions. If it’s not hard enough on the standard difficulty, you can always try new game plus and dismiss all the companions to be truly masochistic.
#9: “Cadence of Hyrule” (2019)
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A mash-up of classic “Zelda” games from the developers of “Crypt of the Necro Dancer,” “Cadence of Hyrule” can be hard to learn for people unfamiliar with rhythm games. A series of large and dangerous puzzles disguised as an open world makes up most of the gameplay, with enemies and the player all bouncing around the screen and striving to stay on-beat. It’s definitely unique and hugely rewarding to anyone able to put the time in to learn the movement mechanics – for instance, certain bosses are almost unbeatable if you don’t already know exactly what to do.
#8: “Devil May Cry 5” (2019)
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On lower difficulties, “Devil May Cry 5” is a cakewalk, and you’ll struggle to find any of it particularly challenging. But one of the best things about this series is the replayability offered by its increasing difficulty levels, and “DmC 5” is no exception. Its hardest difficulty setting is “Hell and Hell mode”, where the player can die with just one single attack. You can unlock this game mode by beating the already insanely tough “Dante Must Die” mode, but for those who want to go the extra mile you can unlock it by defeating Urizen during the prologue and ending the game early.
#7: “Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night” (2019)
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It’s no surprise that the latest Metroidvania game from famed developer Koji Igarashi has also proven to be pretty challenging. “Bloodstained” has everything you want from a title like this; well-designed levels, great graphics, and randomized loot drops giving you tons of replayability. And it’s also got a fair few difficulty options for people used to the gruelling difficulty of old-school “Castlevania” – the crowd who say “Symphony of the Night” was too easy. If you, too, think “Bloodstained” is too much of a breeze on standard difficulty, playing it through concurrently unlocks a new setting each time, all the way up to nightmare mode.
#6: “Space Robinson: Hardcore Roguelike Action” (2019)
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“Frustration” is the name of the game when it comes to “Space Robinson” – but don’t worry, that’s all part of the fun. If you decide to take the plunge and journey to Colony 21, all that awaits is death, death, and more death, since everything in these procedurally generated levels is out to kill you. The more you die, the more you learn, and the longer you’ll hopefully live on your next go around. Thanks to the procedural generation “Space Robison” and other rogue-lites share though, you’ll always have new levels waiting for you every time you respawn, and your gear carries over as well.
#5: “Ion Fury” (2019)
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If you’re still fuming from the delay of “Doom: Eternal” but want something a bit newer to get you through, “Ion Fury” is a perfect retro shooter to indulge in. It’s got all the hallmarks of a 90s “Doom” clone and it removes all those modern luxuries we take for granted in games today – regenerating your health, for instance. Amp up the difficulty and enjoy the carnage of the game’s brutal enemies, old school animations, and endearing aesthetic. It’s the perfect game for any fan of hardcore, FPS action.
#4: “Abandon Ship” (2019)
A robust pirate simulator, “Abandon Ship” has a vast, open world, a complex naval combat system, and an ocean full of treasures to plunder and sea monsters to defeat. It’s also very tough, with dozens of different things making the combat encounters harder. The presence of monsters, volcanoes, or bad weather can all make what should have been a simple fight last for hours. But veteran players have a few gripes with the way difficulty is handled, specifically how enemy scaling works. If you save up all your hard-earned gold to buy a bigger, better ship, all the enemies will also have bigger, better ships, instantly rendering you at an artificial disadvantage.
#3: “Blasphemous” (2019)
Arguably darker and even more brutal than the “Souls” games it’s been compared to, “Blasphemous” is a gruesome nightmare of a game – in a good way. The 2D, pixelated graphics do nothing to neuter the incredible violence, either, and you’ll be plenty disturbed by the grisly imagery constantly encountered. It takes its obscure story-telling and memorable bosses from “Dark Souls”, while having hack’n’slash, platforming gameplay like a standard Metroidvania game. Despite clearly taking inspiration from elsewhere though, “Blasphemous” is unique, violent, and above all, painfully hard. You won’t just be solving puzzles in the gameplay, but also trying to piece together what’s going on in the narrative.
#2: “Dauntless” (2019)
While “Dauntless” has been in early access since May 2018, it didn’t get a full release until September 2019. You can’t change the difficulty in this online title, but you can certainly make life harder for yourself if you choose to tackle a high-difficulty Behemoth solo, while underequipped, or both. And even then, Heroic+ Behemoths are still bound to be a challenge. However, the Trials mode does let you change the difficulty, letting you be your own worst enemy. Since it’s online and free-to-play, slayers can expect frequent content drops adding higher stakes and harder challenges.
#1: “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” (2019)
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“FromSoftware” is synonymous with extreme difficulty, and their latest release was no exception, leaving even the best “Souls” veterans struggling at certain parts. “Sekiro” added a unique posture mechanic to its combat, meaning that hanging back and waiting for the opportune moment to strike wasn’t on the cards; instead, players have to be constantly on the offensive, attacking repeatedly to reduce posture in order to hit a decisive blow. Painful as this was to learn, the game is just as outstanding as its siblings, featuring incredible graphics and some of the best enemy variety and design of any modern title.
