Top 25 Hardest Video Games of Each Year (2000 - 2024)
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VOICE OVER: Johnny Reynolds
From punishing platformers to merciless action games, these titles will test your skills and patience. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're at the most challenging games released each year, from 2000 to 2024. Our list of the hardest games includes “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” (2019), “Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening” (2005), “Super Meat Boy” (2010), “F-Zero GX” (2003), “Cuphead” (2017), and more!
2000
“MDK 2”The third game BioWare ever developed didn’t quite reach the popularity of its RPGs, but it’s still noteworthy for being the hardest game released in 2000. The sequel has players once again going up against an invasive alien force as reluctant hero, Kurt Hectic. Where the original was a straightforward run-and-gunner, “MDK 2” featured three playable characters with more diverse gameplay, including platforming and puzzle solving. That’s why it was hard though. Platforming sections could be tedious and frustrating, and checkpoints were few and far between. We’re mainly talking about the original Dreamcast version, since four difficulty settings and the option to manually save were added for the PC port after too many complaints.
2001
“Oni”A mostly forgotten action game from the creators of “Halo” and “Destiny,” Bungie’s “Oni” failed to break through the noise in 2001. Inspired by anime like “Ghost in the Shell,” it follows an agent of a totalitarian government turning against it after discovering its secrets. While it looked cool and combat shined, that combat could still get incredibly challenging. And once again, a game’s difficulty was heightened by a lack of enough save points. Not only was the game tough, but once you died, you’d have to replay lengthy sections of the game.
2002
“Shinobi”For players who like to take their time, best stay away from this one. “Shinobi” is a story of vengeance, following the ninja, Hotsuma, who seeks justice for his murdered clan. However, the sword he uses to do so feeds on souls. That’s great to use on your enemies, but if you don’t work quickly enough, it’ll begin to drain your health. Fights are tough enough without having to worry about an unseen time limit. Not only that, but later sections include tricky platforming elements, forcing you to contend with enemies while you avoid falling into pits. This one’s not for the faint of heart.
2003
“F-Zero GX”The North American release of the brutal shoot ‘em up, “Ikaruga,” nearly claimed this spot. But Captain Falcon’s GameCube outing can make you rage almost as quickly as his high-speed races. The series has always been considered challenging; it’s just that everything is a bit harder here. It’s an impressive visual display at 60 frames per second, though that can be hard to appreciate when you’re constantly careening into walls or other racers. Track design is complex, and controlling your vehicles requires the fastest of reflexes. This is true no matter what difficulty setting you’re playing on. Even the story mode gives you no time to get used to things before you’re thrown in the deep end.
2004
“Ninja Gaiden”There are plenty of franchise revivals that fail to capture the essence of the original games. 2004’s “Ninja Gaiden” is not one of them, though, as it is just as grueling as its predecessors. Similar to “Shinobi,” it follows a master ninja on a quest to avenge his clan. While he doesn’t have a life-draining sword, Ryu still undeniably has the cards stacked against him. Right from the get go, you’ll find yourself swarmed by enemies, so you can imagine how ruthless they become as you try to push forward. Combat is quick and vicious, but with every mistake you make, there will always be an enemy to take advantage of it.
2005
“Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening”For the third game in the “Devil May Cry” series, Capcom famously made the Hard Mode of European and Japanese versions the Normal Mode in the North American one. Needless to say, there were a lot of players here who were surprised at how often they died. The first two were hard, but this was ridiculous. “Dante’s Awakening” placed a heavier focus on combat, featuring four styles to switch between. And while fights could be incredible, the multiple stances just served to be overwhelming since enemies would never let up. It was such an issue that, when Capcom released the Special Edition, it adjusted the difficulty levels.
2006
“God Hand”The final game to be released by Clover Studio is undoubtedly the hardest game it put out in its short time. “God Hand” has a unique way in how it deals with difficulty. Instead of choosing a mode in the settings, it adapts to you. If you’re doing poorly, it goes a bit easier on you. And if you’re wiping the floor with enemies, it kicks it up a notch, increasing their power and skill. That may sound balanced, but the game already starts out tough. Once you start doing better, it pushes back and does so with a lot of force. That’s on top of several unforgiving bosses and an aged camera that works against you in group encounters.
2007
“I Wanna Be the Guy: The Movie: The Game”If you’re familiar with this game, you know exactly why it deserves to be here. A flash game created by Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly, “I Wanna Be the Guy,” borrows elements from many old school games. But where beating those games is difficult, beating this one is a herculean task. The only way to get through it is to die over and over, possibly more than you’ve ever died in any video game before. There are traps hidden on every screen, some of which you’ll never see coming and others that simply defy all video game logic. Your memorization and reflexes will be tested to the utmost degree.
2008
“Mega Man 9”Mega Man’s classic adventures are some of the hardest retro games in existence. When Capcom chose to revisit that style, the team knew just what to do. “Mega Man 9” sees the Blue Bomber once again setting out to stop a group of rogue robots. In addition to those providing hellishly hard boss fights, regular enemies are unquestionably built to demolish. Level design also amps up the difficulty, featuring clever trap placement and tricky platforming sections. That’s just the base game; if you really wanted to challenge yourself, the achievements more than cover it. One requires you to beat it without using an E-tank, and another requires you to beat it without dying once.
2009
“Demon’s Souls”And here see the beginning to the modern reign of FromSoftware as the challenging champ. While “Demon’s Souls” isn’t the hardest game from the studio, it’s certainly the hardest game released in 2009. Every enemy, from the most basic to the fiercest boss, threatened to decimate in a formula that popularized the phrase, “Git Gud.” As if fighting foes wasn’t demanding enough, the game also features a unique Tendency system. If you kill NPCs or act like a jerk towards another player, the game grows more difficult. Unfortunately, the difficulty also increases if you die repeatedly. And trust us, that’s going to happen.
2010
“Super Meat Boy”With his girlfriend kidnapped by a diabolical villain, the strange mascot Meat Boy heads out on a thrilling adventure to save her. The only problem is that every level on this adventure overflows with the most diabolical traps ever seen in a platformer. Buzz saws, laser beams, rockets, salt, (which yes, is deadly to a hunk of meat like you), all await to make you go ‘splat!’ “Super Meat Boy” gained a reputation on release for its high level of challenge, a reputation it has maintained over the years. While its simple mechanics are incredibly smooth, it has racked up an ungodly amount of player deaths.
2011
“Dark Souls”Even bigger and more unforgiving than the “Demon’s Souls” that preceded it, FromSoftware’s “Dark Souls” ensured that the studio’s ultra-hard sub-genre was here to stay. While the environment was more open, that only meant a bit more non-linearity when choosing which direction you wanted to die in. Certain areas are easy to get lost in, adding to the stress of being inches from death at any given turn. Enemies are even more merciless, and bosses are now iconic in their cruelty. “Dark Souls” was a crucial release in modern gaming, pushing demanding gameplay to the forefront and making us question whether we had what it took to reach the end.
2012
“FTL: Faster Than Light”From the outside looking in, you may not think “FTL” is all that hard. It’s a strategy game, meaning you can take your time with combat. However, since it’s also a roguelike, there’s no way to plan for what the game will throw at you. And since any mistake can’t be fixed, you might end up on a path to failure without even realizing it. It follows a group during war, trying to make it to their allies through eight sectors of space while being chased by the opposing side. Complicating things are the threats of ship destruction or total crew annihilation, either of which will force you to start over.
2013
“Geometry Dash”Rhythm games usually require quick reflexes. But “Geometry Dash” is on another level. While the premise is simple, consisting of twenty-six musical levels to hop through, making it through them definitely isn’t. Each one moves at a ridiculously fast speed and is packed with obstacles and hazards. By the end, you’ll be in disbelief at how badly it punishes you. Perpetuating its difficulty is the ability for players to create their own levels. “Geometry Dash” has developed a thriving fan community, who always seem to want to 1-up everyone else in how absurdly hard their levels can be.
2014
“Dark Souls II”Here we are again with FromSoftware, and certainly not for the last time. “Dark Souls II” features every obstacle in your way of success that the first does. Aggravating enemies that know how to swarm you? Check. Colossal bosses that can pummel you into the dirt? Check. Punishing level design that makes you question your purpose? Check, check, and check. However, one new mechanic called Hollowing also brings the pain. Every time you die, your max health decreases until you reach 50%. The only way to get it back is to give up a rare item, which is naturally not so easily earned.
2015
“Bloodborne”When exploring Yharnam for the first time, two thoughts ring out clearly in your mind: Man, that gothic aesthetic is awesome! And holy hell, what a steep learning curve. “Bloodborne” encourages you to be aggressive rather than practice caution like previous FromSoftware games. It does so by giving you firearms, and rewarding you for dodging and countering at the right moments. Which is nice, because it isn’t as if these enemies are any less aggressive than those found in the studio’s other releases. This game is a bit more forgiving than the “Dark Souls” series, but that in no way makes it easy. It’s still more than deserving of its inclusion.
2016
“XCOM 2”We’ll take a break from the FromSoftware train, passing over “Dark Souls III” for “XCOM 2.” Again, as a strategy game, you may think it’s more than manageable. But you would be mistaken. With alien forces bearing down on Earth, you’ll surely have your resilience tested against some of the most intimidating space invaders in gaming. Developer Firaxis created a phenomenal enemy AI, which is to say that they know how to overwhelm and defeat you. No matter what difficulty setting you choose, encounters are designed for victory to be almost out of reach, making it all the more satisfying when you clutch it.
2017
“Cuphead”“Cuphead” looks so charming, it’s almost easy to forget how punishing it can be. In debt with the devil, you must track down souls owed to him. Unfortunately, the souls belong to some of the toughest bosses of the 2010s. Each fight comes in multiple phases, all of which are tests of endurance. All of them dwarf you in size, and most of them can easily smash you with a wallop or swarm you with projectiles. With only a few power-ups to choose from before entering an encounter, it’s more than likely you’ll suffer numerous deaths before you narrowly squeeze out a victory.
2018
“Celeste”“Celeste” is an incredibly rewarding platformer on several levels. Witnessing Madeline’s journey of self acceptance through depression and anxiety is wonderful. So too is conquering the titular mountain, which does everything in its power to knock you back down. Levels require precise execution, lest you fall into a pit of spikes, get crushed by crumbling scenery, or die by one of many other hazards blocking your path. It feels incredible to finally make it out of any section because you’ll undoubtedly rack up numerous deaths before you can. That’s not to mention extra hard versions of levels, the B-Sides and C-Sides, as well as the DLC chapter, “Farewell,” one of the most brutal platforming levels ever created.
2019
“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice”With “Sekiro,” FromSoftware tried something new with its tried-and-true combat. It introduced a Posture meter for each enemy, which you had to fill through multiple attacks in order to open them up for a fatal blow. But because you had to keep attacking to fill this meter, gone were the days of patiently waiting and dodging until you could chip off some health. “Sekiro” just may be the studio’s hardest game for this very reason. But then you add on its tendency to include savage bosses that can drain your health bar in just a couple of hits, and that becomes apparent. It’s a remarkable game, for sure, but it is also adept at making players fume.
2020
“Nioh 2”As FromSoftware’s style has grown more and more popular, it has inspired other studios to follow in those footsteps. “Nioh 2” builds off of its predecessor in providing players with an experience that will annihilate them time and time again. We can’t deny, it does this very, very well. As a human/yokai hybrid, you’re given much more to do in combat than in the first game. That just gives you a lot of things to balance though, increasing the challenge. And it isn’t as if the enemies are going to give you an easier time. They’ll still intimidate you in every area. In particular, bosses are sure to bring you at least a few hours of frustration.
2021
“Returnal”Like many other roguelikes, “Returnal” sends you right back to the beginning each time you die. And that’s only the start of what makes it so hard. After landing on a strange planet, astronaut Selene Vassos is forced to fight her way out of a time loop. You have to really care about her survival, though, since every section of the game is packed with horrific aliens that’ll make you wish you never set foot on the planet’s surface, whether they appear in hordes or are so powerful, they can put you into the ground alone. Fights are absolutely vicious. And while the gameplay is magnificent, the enemies are at a level that can crush your spirit.
2022
“Elden Ring”Compared to the other games of FromSoftware, “Elden Ring” is the studio’s easiest. With its open-ended structure, you can simply go elsewhere to grow stronger when met by an impassable boss. Still, don’t go in thinking you’re in for a walk in the park because you absolutely aren’t. There’s a distinct lack of hand-holding that can make it easy to miss important details required to progress or reach certain areas. Although a strong character build will help in combat, that won’t make your foes any more forgiving. Enemies and bosses alike will still easily destroy you if you aren’t careful. Let’s not forget about the likes of Malenia, Maliketh, or, in the case of the DLC, Radahn.
2023
“Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty”Like we said, the FromSoftware formula has gotten very popular. There were a couple of good imitators to choose from in 2023, including “Lies of P.” In the end, though, “Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty” just beat it out. Right from the jump, the game’s high difficulty will be made abundantly clear. There is no gradual introduction to what the game offers. Instead, you’re hit with waves of powerful fighters that will demolish you in mere seconds. Truly, there hasn’t been a difficulty curve this steep in quite some time. To get over this hump, you’ll need the patience of a saint, though you won’t find that the game grows easy by any means.
2024
“Black Myth: Wukong”“Black Myth: Wukong” pleased a lot of players on release through its focus on Chinese mythology. It’s also like a blend of the newer “God of War” games and FromSoftware’s releases, which means it can get pretty tough. While it isn’t as punishing as something like “Dark Souls” or “Sekiro,” you’ll definitely still feel challenged. You won’t lose precious resources upon death, but that’s a good thing since some of its bosses are surely going to kill you a few times. From the early Wandering Wight to the late-game Erlang, you’re bound to feel some frustration bubble up. It’s not because the combat is hard to get a hang of, it’s just that some of the bosses are intent on destroying you.
Is there a game we left off that brutally challenged you? Share your thoughts in the comments!
