Video games are meant to be enjoyable and ideally reduce stress. That being said, a title that’s incredibly easy can sometimes be even more frustrating than a game that is punishingly hard. It’s a difficult balance to reach, but there’s been a revival in games with steep difficulties, with Cuphead being one of the hardest titles of this gaming generation.
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Platformers have always excelled in this style of challenging gameplay, and while many will have gamers pulling out their hair from stress, there’s also nothing quite like the satisfaction that’s felt upon victory. Cuphead has helped set a new standard, but there are many other platformer titles that can pose an even greater challenge.
*Updated May 6, 2021, by Jack Pursey: The platforming genre has one of the richest histories in the gaming industry. The genre burst onto the arcade scene with Donkey Kong in 1981, before becoming a mainstream attraction with the Super Mario series that rejuvenated the home console industry after the Atari 2600 brought it crashing down. The genre slipped out of favor in the 2000s but has made a resurgence in the last decade, predominantly thanks to indie titles. Suffice to say, there are enough platforming titles available to last a lifetime. So, to give further insight into some of the genre's toughest games, we've expanded this list by a further five entries.
15 Battletoads
The first entry into the Battletoads series was released in 1991 on the NES and Famicom and put players to the test with one of the toughest challenges that the consoles had to offer. Rare's game blended its platforming gameplay with classic arcade beat 'em up sections, ensuring that players were tested in multiple ways. Although the beat 'em up sections were punishingly tough, the riding levels are the most notorious, with Turbo Tunnel being one of the most infamous stages of all time.
14 N++
N++ is the third entry in the N franchise, with N and N+ coming before it. The 2015 game kept its gameplay similar to its critically acclaimed predecessor, though this wasn't perceived negatively, exemplified by the game's impressive 90 Metascore on PC.
The game's goal is simple; players need to reach the end of each level before the timer runs out while collecting gold pieces that will extend the clock. However, reaching the goal is far easier said than done, as players need to avoid a plethora of obstacles and projectiles on their route to the exit.
13 I Wanna Be The Guy
I Wanna Be The Guy is a freeware platformer that was released in 2007 and shot into the attention of mainstream audiences after YouTubers like Markiplier, Cr1tikal, and KSI gave the grueling game a try. Along with its punishing difficulty, the game is known for its numerous references to classic titles, such as The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and Punch-Out!!.
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Following the game's success, multiple sequels were released, including a spin-off titled I Wanna Be The Guy: Gaiden.
12 Ghosts ‘n Goblins
Capcom's Ghosts ‘n Goblins was released in arcades back in 1985 before coming to multiple home consoles, including the NES and ZX Spectrum sporadically thought the years. The game became an instant hit upon release and was nominated for the Golden Joystick Awards' Arcade Game of the Year accolade, while Uridium ultimately won the award.
The game puts players in control of iconic hero Sir Arthur and tasks them with defeating dragons, demons, zombies, and other mythical creatures that will punish players for even the slightest mistakes.
11 Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Much like I Wanna Be The Guy, 2017's Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy became an internet sensation following interest generated by YouTubers and Twitch streamers struggling to complete the game. Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy features some of the most unique gameplay mechanics in the platforming genre, as players control a character named Diogenes, who is refined to a cauldron and uses a large hammer to move around with. Maneuvering with the mechanics is just as difficult as it sounds, and players will frequently find themselves springing off in the wrong direction if they're not careful.
10 Runner3
Indie developer, Gaijin Entertainment, have made an impressive name for themselves. The Bit.Trip series helped establish the company, all of which push a more difficult style of retro gameplay. The Bit.Trip Runner series has gained the most acclaim, and while all of the entries push the limits of difficulty, Runner3 is the greatest challenge in many respects.
Runner3 learns from its predecessors and achieves a level of challenge that is just frustrating enough. The use of rhythm and music complicates the equation, plus the endlessly distracting visuals that occur in the background are sure to ruin some perfect playthroughs.
9 Super Mario Sunshine
It’s been incredible to witness how much the Super Mario series has evolved and added new gameplay mechanics to its titles over time, all of which shake up the platforming genre in a big way. The GameCube’s Super Mario Sunshine is one of the more contentious entries in the series as it adds in a radically different mechanic to the experience in the form of water-based F.L.U.D.D.
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Completing Sunshine’s base game isn’t too difficult, but those that want to 100% the game and obtain all of the blue coins will find themselves with one of the most challenging Mario titles.
8 Celeste
Celeste is a remarkable indie platformer that features an attractive retro look and a surprising amount of depth for its characters. Celeste is a difficult game to master, and it involves many different mechanics that need to be properly understood and implemented. However, Celeste remarkably manages to feel fairer than it does frustrating. The punishments for defeat aren’t nearly as drastic as the ones in other games, and it finds ways to be accessible to individuals who aren’t hardcore gamers. That being said, if the difficulty doesn’t conquer players, then it’s entirely possible that the game’s emotionally devastating story will.
7 Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy dresses itself up as a weird take on the platforming genre, but that makes its crushing difficulty hit even harder. Super Meat Boy isn’t exactly doing anything new, but it creates such a tight game with little room for error. There are simple mechanics that the title expects players to immediately master and then operates at a relentless pace where quick reactions and precise timing is essential for victory. Super Meat Boy at least provides a structure that allows some of the harder levels to be avoided, but the inevitable can only be delayed for so long.
6 Castlevania
The Castlevania series has been around for decades and released many influential titles, but the original game is a reminder of just how difficult releases were back during the 8-bit era. horror-centric action platformer fills the screen with obstacles where even single attacks can shave off several bars of life. This is even worse with the frustrating boss fights, which are easy ways to get a game over. To make matters worse, the different possible weapons that can be used create a level of customization that actually builds more anxiety regarding whether the best tool is being used for battle.
5 Donkey Kong Country Returns
The Donkey Kong Country series for the Super Nintendo are some of the best platformer titles on the console and they still offer a reasonable challenge. Donkey Kong Country Returns is a stunning return to the mechanics of this platformer series and Retro Studios doesn’t try to cater to casual gamers. This title throws so much at the gamer and there’s enough variance in the types of levels to keep the experience a surprise. The final levels are a true challenge and any player who wants to completely collect everything is going to have their work cut out for them.
4 Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is the original sequel to the Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros., yet the steep difficulty of the game actually contributed to it being kept in Japan and not brought over to America, with a new Super Mario Bros. 2 being released stateside.
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Now the whole world is aware of just how difficult this entry in the Super Mario series is, with it adding to the mechanics of the original title in challenging ways. Levels have intense designs and if players haven’t mastered every mechanic in the game (like trampolines), then victory is impossible.
3 Ninja Gaiden
The modern reboot of Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden franchise offers some of the most difficult hack-and-slash gaming of the past few generations. However, this high difficulty is meant to reflect how the original series from the late ‘80s and ‘90s were also some of the hardest games of their time. The NES’ Ninja Gaiden combines action and platforming in a strong, but disorienting way. Ignoring a single detail can easily result in a game over and there’s extremely little room for error. The levels are difficult enough, but the bosses are also a true onslaught and have broken many committed gamers.
2 Mega Man 9
The Mega Man series has steadily progressed away from the insanely difficult nature that defined the earliest games in the series. New Mega Man games reflect more palatable modern gaming sensibilities, but Mega Man 9 embraces the past, both in terms of its 8-bit aesthetic, but also in regards to its difficulty. Mega Man 9 deserves serious respect for creating a true successor to the original series and it’s a challenge that’s simply too much for some. It’s the perfect blend of old and new and it sparked an exciting resurgence for the platformer series.
1 Spelunky
Spelunky embraces a cutesy retro aesthetic that’s present in many of the titles looked at here, but it goes the extra mile to provide a challenge. The reason that Spelunky deserves top honors here is that while other games can become easier due to factors like memorization, Spelunky creates a different layout for its levels every time they’re attempted. This means that players actually need to master the mechanics rather than anything else. Additionally, the fact that defeat sends players back to the beginning of the game is enough to deter some from ever trying it in the first.