In most cases, it’s pretty easy to tell if a game is going to be a shocking experience. Games like Dark Souls have literally told players to be prepared to die a lot, but there are just as many games that are a little more sneaky with their difficulty. For whatever reason, many games don’t look that hard.
Of course, that thought changes once you launch the game you thought would be easy, only to find out that it’s one of the most challenging games of its genre. Many different things can make a game surprisingly difficult, but it often stems from the aesthetics of the game. Sometimes a game that looks like a normal experience can also hide some shocking issues.
10 Catherine
At first glance, Catherine seems more concerned with strained relationships than the real tough gameplay, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Catherine definitely has an enticing story with lots of fun elements, but it’s also one of the hardest puzzle games in recent history.
There are many different things that make the game’s unique climbing puzzles difficult, but one of the first things is simply understanding how the puzzles work. Even the most experienced puzzle game players have admitted that they struggle with the game from time to time, making Catherine a game that people should not take lightly.
9 cup
A list like this was supposed to include Cuphead, right? It’s a cute hand-drawn art style with anthropomorphic cups taking down different bosses. Most bosses don’t look like much of a threat when you first see them, but even the first bosses in the game can cause a struggle.
The game itself is incredibly tight, so none of the issues stem from dishonesty of any kind. Instead, the difficulty comes from the erratic boss patterns, lightning-fast attacks, and the multitude of tricky attacks that bosses can perform. In fact, some of the bosses also have their own unique perils.
8 Super Monkey Ball 2
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Anyone who has ever played a Super Monkey Ball game will probably agree with the mention here. Each of the games has fast-paced mechanics that will send your little monkey hurling across the different courses.
The games only get harder as you progress through them, which presents some of the biggest challenges of the consoles the games are on. Who would have thought that a game about monkeys rolling in balls would be so difficult? Although, perhaps the addition of the word “super” was meant to hint at its deceptive difficulty.
7 Takeshi’s Challenge
An older game that many gamers may not have heard of thanks to its release only in Japan is Takeshi’s Challenge. The game came out on the Famicom and, despite its generally cheerful appearance, is considered one of the hardest video games of its time.
It looks like the typical fun, kid-friendly platformer of the era, but it’s anything but. Instead, Takeshi’s Challenge is a game that asks you to overcome stunningly difficult mechanics, have knowledge that almost no one would have, and do all that with minimal chances of actually continuing after a failure.
It must be said that XCOM 2 doesn’t look like an easy game at first glance, but those who don’t know anything about the series might just see the average strategy game. People who like strategy games often consider themselves to be good with tactics, so most strategy games aren’t much to worry about.
The entire XCOM series will laugh at any misconception. XCOM 2 is a relentlessly difficult game that requires near-perfect strategy at every level, and even then you can still lose multiple characters simply by a bit of bad luck on your attack rolls.
5 Taste Fusion
Another game that starts out relatively easy but quickly becomes a brutal challenge for any genre is Trials Fusion. Thankfully, it’s not a bad design with the game’s mechanics, and instead, the expertly crafted levels present a solid challenge to gamers.
It is a unique platformer that forces players to rethink how they would approach the standard platformer challenges. Without mastering the modified mechanics and barely possible gaps, some players may never make it that far in Trials Fusion.
4 Mega Man Network Transmission
There are a lot of people who love the Mega Man Battle Network handheld series, and all those people were probably excited when they heard that a game in the series was coming to the GameCube. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult than all handheld games.
The problem here is that the game itself can be cheap in many sections, creating a frustrating and difficult challenge where most players weren’t really expecting one. It’s a surprisingly difficult game for the GameCube, and one that is often forgotten when discussing difficult games from the era.
3 Battletoads
The classic eras of gaming included some brutally difficult video games. Even some of the most popular titles can be considered incredibly difficult without a few known tricks to help you. Battletoads is a side-scrolling beat-’em-up that practically set the standard for difficult games of the era.
Being able to hit your co-op partner is bad enough, but anyone who’s played the game will remember a certain hoverbike part that seems really impossible to some people. Anyone who has managed to overcome the toad-based fighter is a true pro.
2 F-Zero GX
Racing games can be surprisingly difficult for the average gamer, but those who enjoy the genre often struggle to find a major challenge. Those folks might be interested in dusting off their GameCubes to play through F-Zero GX.
The chaotic and action-packed races are among the most difficult in the genre. The whole point of the futuristic racer is to show off the immense speed it is capable of, and that immense speed can become hard to master on the expertly crafted tracks.
1 Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Today there are many people who felt sorry for those parents who bought Conker’s Bad Fur Day for their kids without really knowing anything about the game. It’s a relatively rough experience for the Nintendo 64, but it’s also surprisingly difficult.
It’s fair to be surprised that a talking squirrel game is difficult, and that difficulty manifests itself in a number of ways. The controls can feel a bit dated which makes the game difficult, but generally not being sure how to achieve your goals sometimes makes the game a chore.
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