The hardest game you've ever played :)

[Tom Bombadildo]

I like how a majority of these games people list are the ones that were developed specifically to be a giant pile of bullshit hard, AKA artificial difficulty/"Nintendo hard".

I suppose that's to be expected with old NES/SNES games, but otherwise it seems like the only games people find difficult are the ones designed to be difficult, not one's that require some sort of skill/learning curve.

 

[Taleweaver]

Super Hexagon. Honestly...this video is VERY realistic.

The creepy thing is that it's actually a good game. If you manage to not get seizures, that is.

 

[PolloDiablo]

IKARUGA
It's really hard, but not in a cheap way. I would call it "FAIR hard". At first it seems fucking impossible, but it's actually beatable.
I managed to beat it after months and months of frustration practice. I felt awesome when I finally did it .

 

[Arras]

Super Hexagon. Honestly...this video is VERY realistic.

The creepy thing is that it's actually a good game. If you manage to not get seizures, that is.

As someone who got all achievements in that, I can confirm

 

[loco365]

Try a game of Touhou and get back to me.

 

[kristianity77]

Speaking of more current games however, Super Meat Boy has had my pants down on many occasions. Thats one game that I know is just beyond me to fully complete.

 

[Hells Malice]

Putting aside older games which are all bloody difficult, and shitty games designed to BE frustrating/impossible.

I'd say Demon's Souls or SMT: Devil Survivor 1

Demon's Souls took me a TON of playtime to get used to. I died left, right and center. I wouldn't say too many of the deaths were the games fault either, I could clearly see how I had gone too fast or acted too rash. Nowadays I could probably beat it with relative ease, but i've played a lot of Demon's and Dark Souls, so that's a given. Any game is easy once you master it.

Devil Survivor I just remember having to do -so- many missions over and over again. Very very hard but so very fun. I'm not particularly amazing at strategy games, but i don't think i'm bad either. Once I got a better handle on demons, I probably would have an easier time now...but again, same thing as Demon's Souls.
Though I still don't know how in the god damn hell Lucifer is ever possible. Fuck that guy, seriously.

 

[mightymuffy]

Speaking of more current games however, Super Meat Boy has had my pants down on many occasions. Thats one game that I know is just beyond me to fully complete.

Quality game! Going back to the OP, the very last level on SM3DWorld reminded me a lot of Super Meat Boy, that kind of rip-yer-hair-out hard!
Speaking of when you're dead that's it (again going back to the OP's post), Spelunky is another recent, quality, tough game - beating it is hard enough, but going for the achievements/getting to the proper last world, Christ....

Dark Souls was another tough recent one (probably been mentioned already), but yeah I'm another Battletoads NES guy if I had to mention one. Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt on SNES did my nut in too if I remember...

 

[WiiUBricker]

Zelda Skyward Sword. Fi constantly annoys you with her chit-chat that it becomes impossible to not give up on this game. (j/k)

 

[BORTZ]

Advance Wars (finishing any of the meat grinder missions)
Ninja Gaiden 2 mentor mode

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Ah, Hells reminded me of Demon's Souls. That game is fairly difficult the first few hours you play, there's definitely a period where you're going to die a lot. A lot of people like to rage quit in the first few levels, complaining about no save points or losing "so many souls" (lol2000SoulsAin'tShit), and I guess a lot of people just don't have the patience to go through a game like that. The game doesn't even get that difficult until like...the third world anyways.

The Souls series in general definitely have a learning curve for them, and they definitely require a lot of patience.

 

[Foxi4]

Ah, Hells reminded me of Demon's Souls. That game is fairly difficult the first few hours you play, there's definitely a period where you're going to die a lot. A lot of people like to rage quit in the first few levels, complaining about no save points or losing "so many souls" (lol2000SoulsAin'tShit), and I guess a lot of people just don't have the patience to go through a game like that. The game doesn't even get that difficult until like...the third world anyways.

The Souls series in general definitely have a learning curve for them, and they definitely require a lot of patience.

Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are the epitome of Artificial Difficulty in the modern age - there is no "learning curve", rather plain and simple memorization.



...which doesn't stop the game from being very enjoyable, fortunately.

 

[Issac]

I wouldn't count unfair games like "I wanna be that guy" and it's sequel, or "cat mario"... those are made to be difficult, by being unfair.
Regular games that har hard though.... uhm... Since I suck at it, I'd say F-Zero GX I'm not a racing guy so... I haven't practiced enough.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are the epitome of Artificial Difficulty in the modern age - there is no "learning curve", rather plain and simple memorization.



...which doesn't stop the game from being very enjoyable, fortunately.

It may be because I'm thinking more of the online PVPing and the gameplay more and not the levels, but there's definitely a learning curve to a majority of the gameplay. Specifically parrying/dodging/blocking/choosing the right loadout/class management etc. You don't memorize that shit, it requires skills and practice to get good out it. The game would be impossible if you didn't use any of this to your advantage, and even memorizing levels won't make you good at the game.

tl;dr You actually have to learn the mechanics of the game and simple memorization won't get you far at all.

 

[PolloDiablo]

Regular games that har hard though.... uhm... Since I suck at it, I'd say F-Zero GX I'm not a racing guy so... I haven't practiced enough.

excellent example... everybody sucks at F-Zero GX

 

[Foxi4]

It may be because I'm thinking more of the online PVPing and the gameplay more and not the levels, but there's definitely a learning curve to a majority of the gameplay. Specifically parrying/dodging/blocking/choosing the right loadout/class management etc. You don't memorize that shit, it requires skills and practice to get good out it. The game would be impossible if you didn't use any of this to your advantage, and even memorizing levels won't make you good at the game.

I suppose you're right there, I guess I simplified it simply because just about every game requires you to understand its mechanics, but the loadout is indeed up to the player.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I suppose you're right there, I guess I simplified it simply because just about every game requires you to understand its mechanics, but the loadout is indeed up to the player.

It's a lot more complex then just "memorize the level and you'll be fine", which is the point I half-assedly tried to make. Memorization won't help you with the game as compared to older "Nintendo Hard" games, you're required to learn how each enemy attacks and how to anticipate their attacks and when to block and if some attacks can be parried or if you have to block or if you need to dodge and if their attacks will track you and...yeah. It's a lot more than simple memorization. Lol

3obsessed5DarkSouls

 

[Foxi4]

It's a lot more complex then just "memorize the level and you'll be fine", which is the point I half-assedly tried to make. Memorization won't help you with the game as compared to older "Nintendo Hard" games, you're required to learn how each enemy attacks and how to anticipate their attacks and when to block and if some attacks can be parried or if you have to block or if you need to dodge and if their attacks will track you and...yeah. It's a lot more than simple memorization. Lol

3obsessed5DarkSouls

...Not that I want to argue Tom, I get your point, but "memorizing moves of the enemy" is sort of a part of literally every game that has enemies in it.

I understand what you mean though and agree, there is a level of skill involved, but it'd be nice if the game spiced it up a bit and randomized enemy placement every now and then - that way it's all about skill, not just preparing in advance because "there's an enemy behind that door - it's there every single time".

 

[weatMod]

castlevania 3 for NES , megaman series for NES

also adventure island

 

[Hells Malice]

...Not that I want to argue Tom, I get your point, but "memorizing moves of the enemy" is sort of a part of literally every game that has enemies in it.

I understand what you mean though and agree, there is a level of skill involved, but it'd be nice if the game spiced it up a bit and randomized enemy placement every now and then - that way it's all about skill, not just preparing in advance because "there's an enemy behind that door - it's there every single time".

I'd say even though you know exactly what is there, there's no guarantee you'll actually have the ability to murder it just because you have that knowledge. I died plenty of times knowing exaactly what to expect.
Dark/Demon's Souls does require a fair degree of skill. if it was all memorization and that, then a person could just watch someone else play and then be good at it themselves. But i've never seen that, people say it looks easy then get murdered repeatedly realizing it takes more thought than they realized.

Varied spawns would be rather interesting though.