Gaming Games, or sections of a game, that you found absurdly difficult?

[Fortitude]

I've finally dusted off the PS4 and intend to run through as many of the bazillion titles I've left in their wrapping (it's really bad!) since purchase. Innocent and naive as I was, I chose Wolfenstein II as my opening gambit. I play my games on the hardest setting available off the bat, and come what may, graft and swear my through until I'm up to par. The sense of achievement, tangible, by the end...

I've never started a game in a wheelchair before, and the factored in mechanics and dynamics of it - such as wheels getting stuck in ridges so you can't help but get wedged 'stuck' (zero time for reorientation) on some occasions during firefights where it's a 2-4 shot death - is maddening. I've bumbled my way off that level now, but the game is still ruthless, more because it takes far too many shots to kill, and in melee situations, you can shoot one enemy 5 or 6 times and believe him disposed of, at which point you've turned your attention to another only for the initial, should-have-been-dead-already guy, to then pop you in the head.

That's probably bad programming making for a harder game, but either way, it is ultimately leading me to believe this is only going to get tougher. I thought to myself: 'when was the last time I faced off against a game that drove me to equal points of despair?' I came up with Dying Light in nightmare mode, which is both mental and entertaining in equal measure. Another was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 200cc trying to get all 1st's. If you can do that without throwing yourself out of the nearest window as you have flashbacks of a wasted life on earth, I salute you. I sulkily retired from that fecking game in protest... I don't even know if I want to go back to that personal hell or if the PTSD will let me.

What have been the most difficult games you've played, and did you see them through to the end or switch off (or down a level or two)?

 

[Deery]

The Valkyrie’s in God of War are ridiculously hard.
Finding the final push in Assassins Creed really tough once I have defeated 6-7 enemies and my life is really low they throw in a boss to fight, who kills me in one swing.

 

[Sky1981]

Git Gud

PS: Getting gold in professional license in gran turismo

 

[SuperiorXI]

The original DOOM on the hardest difficulty. I struggled getting out the first room, took me maybe half an hour... then I gave up trying to get out the second room.

 

[Gehrman]

Sekiro on first playthrough was nearly broke me.

 

[Heardy]

The Water Temple in Ocarina of Time.

Not sure i ever best it on the N64 and found it equally hard 15 years later in the 3DS version.

 

[Ainu]

Git Gud

PS: Getting gold in professional license in gran turismo

Speaking of those games: Gran Turismo 4's Mission 34. Made incredibly difficult due to the horrible tuning of the SLR McLaren, the other cars as obstacles and the soul crushing 2 minute countdown on every restart. Not sure how I ever had the patience to finish that, but I got there in the end.

Another one, Super Hexagon on the final difficulty (Hyper Hexagonest or Hardestestest). I don't even remember how many attempts it took, it's all a blur now, but it must be several hundred. I managed it once and never again after that.

 

[Xeno]

Emerald Weapon if you didn’t know how Aire Tam Storm worked.

 

[horsechoker]

"all you had to do was follow the damn train CJ"

 

[harshad]

"all you had to do was follow the damn train CJ"

This.

Also Sigrun is a bitch.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

The mini helicopter mission in GTA Vice city. Its STILL a bitch

 

[Sara125]

Can’t remember as it’s been so long but there was a part of Zelda Majora’s Mask that made me give up the game altogether

 

[The Cat]

There was Terminator 2 game I had on Game Gear year ago which I found impossible.

Also Ghosts and Goblins could be insanely difficult.

 

[Hoof the ball]

The mini helicopter mission in GTA Vice city. Its STILL a bitch

I still have nightmares about this mission. Terrorised me. Woke up in a cold sweat most nights from dreaming about remote controlling mini copters. The only level in any game capable of inducing PTSD.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

I still have nightmares about this mission. Terrorised me. Woke up in a cold sweat most nights from dreaming about remote controlling mini copters. The only level in any game capable of inducing PTSD.

After I finally beated it, the save got corrupted and had to replay the whole game. I genuinely cried . I was a kid .

 

[youngrell]

I was quite young when it first came out so my perception may be wrong, but I couldn't last longer than 30 seconds on Metal Gear Solid for PS and have never returned.

 

[Slevs]

The mini helicopter mission in GTA Vice city. Its STILL a bitch

This one. This one. feck.

 

[Verminator]

Getting out of the garage in Driver.
C'mon! I just want to start the game!

 

[swooshboy]

Getting out of the garage in Driver.
C'mon! I just want to start the game!

Was going to post that one!! Insane difficulty to open the game!

 

[Fortitude]

I still have nightmares about this mission. Terrorised me. Woke up in a cold sweat most nights from dreaming about remote controlling mini copters. The only level in any game capable of inducing PTSD.

The worst thing is, when you turn it off, but it haunts you and bothers you, and you know you're going to go back, eventually.

Getting out of the garage in Driver.
C'mon! I just want to start the game!

I was like that with Wolfenstein II over the weekend. 'Can I not at least fecking walk before you slaughter me!? I'm in a fecking wheelchair!! ffs!'

 

[horsechoker]

I was quite young when it first came out so my perception may be wrong, but I couldn't last longer than 30 seconds on Metal Gear Solid for PS and have never returned.

That was me but I returned as an adult and loved it. Some games have an age rating not because of the content but because of the gameplay, as a kid I lacked the discipline to play such a game.

 

[esmufc07]

Call of Duty: World at War - Storming the Reichstag

That on veteran was a complete and utter bastard of a mission. The whole game was insanely difficult but that was something else.

 

[horsechoker]

Not particularly hard but more frustating is that gym leader in Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal who has the Miltank which uses rollout, once she strings 3-4 of those together the Miltank becomes a force to be reckoned with.

 

[dumbo]

Maxing out the score in NES Tetris is by far the most difficult thing I have ever done in a game.
The rat race level of Battletoads and the last level of Battletoads for the NES took ages to learn.
This level from Super Meat Boy drove me mad:

 

[Sara125]

Not particularly hard but more frustating is that gym leader in Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal who has the Miltank which uses rollout, once she strings 3-4 of those together the Miltank becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Omg! This!!! The Goldenrod City leader.

 

[Shane88]

7 year old me hadn't a clue what to do here. Kept jumping on it. No internet either so had to wait a few days until someone in school told me what to do.

 

[Massive Spanner]

A recent one was Ori and the Blind Forest, insanely difficult at times. Must have died 50+ times on some sectinos. But you literally respawn instantly with no load screen or anything so it was fine. Great fecking game.

 

[youngrell]

That was me but I returned as an adult and loved it. Some games have an age rating not because of the content but because of the gameplay, as a kid I lacked the discipline to play such a game.

Good to know. I remember it being the highest rated game about and I wondered WTF because it was total crap to me as I just could not figure it out whatsoever.

 

[Kristjan]

Shadow of the Beast on the Amiga back in the days, it was insane. Supposedly Shadow of the Beast 2 was even harder but I never played that.

 

[Norris]

Anything with a ship on Assassins Creed Black Flag. I put down the game just at the sheer frustration at not being able to complete it.

 

[Posh Red]

There was a level in the first Crash Bandicoot where you had to go across a bridge with loads of holes in it. That level was an absolute bastard.

 

[Posh Red]

7 year old me hadn't a clue what to do here. Kept jumping on it. No internet either so had to wait a few days until someone in school told me what to do.

The internet has really ruined games for me. It’s so tempting to look things up when you’re stuck these day’s (looking especially at Broken Sword here)

 

[VeevaVee]

Fecking solid from the off

 

[Organic Potatoes]

I got so mad at losing souls points to some stupid frogs in Dark Souls that I went all Phil Jones’ face and grabbed the disk, drove straight to Gamestop, and traded it for some Tekken game just so I could punch something.

 

[11101]

The original DOOM on the hardest difficulty. I struggled getting out the first room, took me maybe half an hour... then I gave up trying to get out the second room.

That was a ridiculous game, in many ways.

The Aztec pyramid mission on 00 level in the original Goldeneye on N64 was also pretty much impossible.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

Anything with a ship on Assassins Creed Black Flag. I put down the game just at the sheer frustration at not being able to complete it.

The 27 listening missions didnt help. Yes I fecking counted. Which is why I'm never going back to it.

 

[Raw]

Sekiro was ridiculously difficult. You really have to master the party system if you ever have any hopes of completing it, but once you do it's so satisfying.

Back in the day, Jak 2 on PS2 was so frustratingly difficult at times. There are levels that become huge spikes in difficulty, so much so that the dialogue in those levels become burned into your memory from all the attempts you're having to make.

There was a level in the first Crash Bandicoot where you had to go across a bridge with loads of holes in it. That level was an absolute bastard.

And they made it even more difficult in the remake!

 

[Volumiza]

The Valkyrie’s in God of War are ridiculously hard.
Finding the final push in Assassins Creed really tough once I have defeated 6-7 enemies and my life is really low they throw in a boss to fight, who kills me in one swing.

The one in Hellheim (is it hellheim?) especially. Bloody devilish.

 

[Sara125]

@horsechoker actually made a very good point about lacking discipline as a child. I never completed Zelda OoT back on the GameCube but I sat myself down and played the remake again as an adult and managed to do so. Might do the same with Majora’s Mask since I have all the time in the world now come to think of it...

 

[Sanchez7]

The GTA missions mentioned above were a nightmare. One shot one kill mission where you have to protect the captain until extraction in COD4 on veteran difficulty took me weeks to get past.