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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThere is no universally agreed hardest video game: one player may struggle most with exacting boss fights, another with limited lives and long stretches between checkpoints. This ranking weighs precision, the cost of failure, checkpointing, room to change tactics, access to help, and how sharply difficulty spikes. It places Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice first for its demanding deflection-focused combat and lack of co-op boss assistance, while recognizing that each game tests a different skill.
How this ranking defines “hardest”
Difficulty is not a single measurable property. A game can be hard because it demands precise timing, because one mistake erases substantial progress, or because it gives players few ways to change their approach. The order below is an editorial judgment using those factors, not a universal score.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Dark Souls Remastered - PlayStation 4 | $22.19 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Dark Souls Trilogy (PS4) | $40.68 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Dark Souls: Remastered (Nintendo Switch) | $43.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
![Dark Souls Remastered [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/B1QaL9g82CS._SL160_.jpg)
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Dark Souls Remastered [Online Game Code] | $19.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Other rankings reach different conclusions: Dexerto places Contra first in its list, while Dot Esports names Sekiro its hardest pick. A player-vote ranking offers another perspective, but its scores reflect submitted opinions rather than a controlled comparison. The disagreements are a reminder that “hardest” depends on the player and the kind of challenge being measured.
The 10 hardest video games, ranked
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro makes combat a test of timing and concentration. Its deflection-focused fights reward reading attacks and responding precisely; trying to play it like other FromSoftware games can be a poor fit. Bosses cannot be tackled with summoned player assistance, so progress depends on learning their patterns and executing the fight yourself. PlayStation’s guide to challenging games likewise emphasizes precision, concentration, and learning deflections.
#1 Best Overall
- Delve into an epic dark fantasy universe stricken by decline and the Curse. Explore its intricate world design - full of hidden passages, dungeons and secrets - and uncover its deeply rooted lore
- Each playthrough surprises you with new challenges and unexpected facets of the game. Don't bet on completing the game only once
- Hundreds of unique combinations of weaponry, armor, magic and crafting options to create your own playstyle and gaming experience
- From your first steps to mastery, build your character while refining your playing skills. Learn to strategize freely and experience the rewarding taste of overcoming daunting foes
- Whatever your motivations are to play online - collaboration or confrontation, support or betrayal - you'll find your true home among the nine covenants. Which allegiance will you choose?
That makes its difficulty unusually direct: the answer to a wall is often to understand the encounter more completely, rather than to recruit help for the boss.
2. Ghosts ’n Goblins
This classic turns failure into a severe penalty. The Guardian’s historical account describes a two-hit survival structure, unpredictable enemies, and a replay demand at the end. The combination makes each encounter dangerous and means that reaching the apparent finish may not be enough to be done.
Unlike a modern action game where players can often leave a boss and return stronger, its challenge is bound up with surviving the sequence and repeating it after failure.
Rank #2
- DARK SOULS REMASTERED - Then, there was fire. Re-experience the genre-defining game that started it all. Return to Lordran in the beautifully remastered game in high definition, 60 fps with single-player or online multiplayer with dedicated servers. Includes the Artorias of the Abyss DLC.
- DARK SOULS II: SCHOLAR OF THE FIRST SIN - Prepare to Die again. The second installment of the series includes the base Dark Souls II plus all three DLCs: Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King.
- DARK SOULS III: THE FIRE FADES - Now only embers remain… Dark Souls III is the final journey in the series where players can fight through intense combat solo or team up for in co-op or PvP multiplayer. Includes the award-winning game and both DLC chapters: Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City.
- ALL ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKS - Visit the EP!C corner to download the music of the Dark Souls saga composed by Motoi Sakaraba and Yuka Kitamura. 110 tracks and more than 6 hours to listen and take back any Dark Souls fan to the intense boss fights and the best moments of their deadly journeys.
3. Ninja Gaiden II (2008)
Ninja Gaiden II is built around relentless combat. The Guardian describes it as highly difficult even on normal, with attacks coming continuously on Master Ninja difficulty. Its challenge is less about waiting for a single perfect opening than staying sharp through sustained pressure.
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4. Demon’s Souls
Demon’s Souls makes the route to a fight part of the test. PlayStation points to punishing level design, sparse checkpoints, and enemies that can overwhelm newcomers. A failed attempt can therefore cost more than a boss retry: players may have to work back through dangerous territory.
Its position is not a claim that every version or player experience is equally difficult. PlayStation notes that veterans may find the remake easier than later FromSoftware games, illustrating how familiarity and comparison can change a ranking.
Rank #3
- Delve into an epic dark fantasy universe stricken by decline and the Curse
- Each playthrough surprises you with new challenges and unexpected facets of the game
- Hundreds of unique combinations of weaponry, armour, magic and crafting options to create your own play style and gaming experience
- From your first steps to mastery, build your character while refining your playing skills. Learn to strategise freely and experience the rewarding taste of overcoming daunting foes
- Compatible with Nintendo Switch only
5. Bloodborne
Bloodborne pushes players toward faster, more aggressive combat. PlayStation highlights its enemy variety and especially difficult Chalice Dungeons. The challenge comes from adapting to different threats while maintaining an assertive pace, rather than relying on a single safe rhythm.
6. Cuphead
Cuphead demands that players learn boss patterns and use its mechanics well under pressure. Parrying certain projectiles can both avoid danger and fill the Super Meter, according to PlayStation’s challenging-games guide. Learning when to take that risk is part of mastering an encounter, not an optional flourish.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →7. Battletoads (1991)
The original Battletoads is a strong candidate in player-vote comparisons. How Difficult Is It? listed it with a 9.2 player rating and 9.0 weighted rating from 33 submitted ratings, in a snapshot accessed in 2026. Those figures describe that site’s small sample, not an independent difficulty test or a universal verdict.
Rank #4
- Delve into an epic dark fantasy universe stricken by decline and the Curse. Explore its intricate world design - full of hidden passages, dungeons and secrets - and uncover its deeply rooted lore
- Each playthrough surprises you with new challenges and unexpected facets of the game. Don't bet on completing the game only once
- Hundreds of unique combinations of weaponry, armor, magic and crafting options to create your own playstyle and gaming experience
- From your first steps to mastery, build your character while refining your playing skills. Learn to strategize freely and experience the rewarding taste of overcoming daunting foes
- Whatever your motivations are to play online - collaboration or confrontation, support or betrayal - you'll find your true home among the nine covenants. Which allegiance will you choose?
8. Elden Ring
Elden Ring can be brutally difficult, but its open world gives players meaningful options. If an encounter is overwhelming, a player can explore elsewhere, change approach, or return later. That flexibility lowers the force of a difficulty wall compared with a game that insists on one immediate solution.
In a PlayStation.Blog interview, director Hidetaka Miyazaki said, “We don’t try to force difficulty or make things hard for the sake of it.” He also described the intended learning loop: “We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorize what’s happening, and learn from their mistakes.” His comments concern the studio’s design approach, not a claim that every encounter is easy to bypass. Read the PlayStation.Blog interview with Miyazaki.
9. Ninja Gaiden (1988)
The original Ninja Gaiden belongs in the conversation about punishing classics. How Difficult Is It? recorded a 9.1 player rating and 8.9 weighted rating from 24 submitted ratings in a snapshot accessed in 2026. As with its Battletoads figures, that is a player-vote snapshot, not a controlled comparison against the other games here.
10. Contra
Contra earns its place as a classic difficulty benchmark, though its exact position varies by list. Dexerto ranks it first in its own series-inclusive ranking, while other publishers put different games at the top. That disagreement makes it a useful closing example: tight action and a punishing run can feel harder than boss mastery or open-world combat, depending on what a player finds most demanding.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why players may rank these games differently
- Precision versus persistence: Sekiro asks for exact responses in combat; Ghosts ’n Goblins makes survival and replaying after failure central.
- Setbacks matter: Sparse checkpoints can make a failed attempt costly, as in Demon’s Souls, while the difficulty of a boss fight is only part of the experience.
- Player agency changes the pressure: Elden Ring lets players leave a difficult encounter and return later, so its hardest moments do not necessarily block all progress.
- Player ratings are not lab results: How Difficult Is It? requires at least five submitted ratings for a game to appear in its ranking. Its scores, including the cited Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden snapshots, reflect who submitted ratings and when.
For a reader asking for one answer, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is this list’s top choice: it combines high precision demands with boss fights that cannot be delegated to co-op partners. Someone who finds repeated runs, sparse checkpoints, or sudden spikes more punishing could reasonably put a different game first.
Quick Recap
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