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We all know these games and parts of games that seem pretty much impossible to beat or pass.  I have had plenty of experiences with these although the ones that I think are like this are probably not ones that most people would think of as extremely challenging.


This is basically a thread for discussing those extremely challenging parts of games and the various games that are so challenging.  Even if it seems like you would be the only one that struggled with a certain game go ahead and talk about it.  You never know how many others may have struggled with the same game.  You can reminisce about experiences, share experiences, debate which game is harder, etc.

I will start off by saying: Why would GTA 3 put Patriot Playground and Gripped in the game and make passing those two mandatory for 100% completion?  Why not add extra TOYZ van missions or add quotas for passing TOYZ van missions or something like that instead?

The only games I've just given up on because they were too hard were:

Dark Souls - I couldn't even get past the first boss. Think I chose a difficult class, though.
Alien: Isolation - Those damn androids kept catching me. Probably should've played it on an easier difficulty. Played it again with a friend recently where we took turns playing, and that was pretty fun.
99 Levels To Hell - Some random game I got in a bundle at some point. Not sure if it's shittily made or intentionally infuriating.

There have been many difficult encounters, over the years. Almost any boss battle in Dark Souls can easily make the cut, but there is one particular part of Dragon Age Origins that really raped me for weeks on end: the battle against Ser Cauthrien and her forces when you go to save Queen Anora. You are surrounded by crossbow men and heavily armoured knights, and Cauthrien herself has an absolutely beastly health bar.

I thought it was impossible to beat her for years, as even the game gives you no hint that she can be defeated, since contrary to any other encounter in the game, you don't get a game over screen when she beats you, your character just wakes up in prison. You even have the option to willfully turn yourself in.

I stumbled upon the solution quite by accident: since all her forces surround you and murder you in seconds, it is suicide to fight her there in the open. However, if you retreat to a narrow corridor just outside the foyer you start the encounter in, there isn't enough space for her and all her men to harass you all at once, so you fight them on a more even footing in the form of more manageable waves.

That's what I loved about this game's combat: you could often lose an encounter in seconds if you didn't place your people just right.

Like others, Demons/Dark Souls and Bloodborne are on that list since "hard" is the only difficulty you get.  I've never gotten past any of the first bosses, and I don't forsee myself throwing more time and frustration into accomplishing that just to have the same issue with the next boss...I like my games enioyable throughout, thank you.

Practically every DMC game on their harder modes as well...outside of Heaven or Hell Mode...which was basically a 1-hit kill against either you or the enemies (including bosses).  As long as you were moderate with dodging, that mode was a cake walk.

Diablo 3's expert mode + Hardcore mode is simple with the right character, but frustrating when you run into that one monster that kills you in 3 undodgable hits.  One of my greatest annoyances was fighting the very last boss in the expansion, and being killed by a surprise attack right near his last moment.

Normally that's not a big issue, but hardcore mode means when you die, you start all over with a new character.

There are certain ways around this, such as cheating by getting a friend to mail you some absurdly high level equipment tweaked to suit low levels, but I don't play difficulties like that unless I'm just breezing through for the story.

Also, while not impossible, any of Uncharted or Tomb Raider's highest difficulties can be a pain at times.

Some of my hardest gaming experiences have come from rpgs when I would get stuck on certain levels or parts of the games.  One of these experiences was a side quest in Elder Scrolls Oblivion where you had to find Garridan's Tears, I had a lot of difficulty finding them in the area, the frost blasts and frost atronachs also didn't help matters.  I got stuck multiple times in Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story.  Areas include: that boss fight against the tower that has a propeller and is next to Blubble Lake, the Boo area that you get to using that tower, that fight against Bowser in the Toad Doctor's office, the boss fight against the train, getting stuck somewhere in Peach's castle and other difficulties.

The Rokkaku Dai Heights Area in Jet Set Radio Future

The level where you need to deactivated the Xel'naga temples in Starcraft II Heart of the Swarm to help support Kerrigan and defeat her opponent (forgot his name). That really gave me a hard time.

I don't know why I didn't think of it at the time, but Sigrun from God of War PS4 beats the ever living fuck out of you if you make even the slightest mistake. The catharsis when I finally ripped her wings off is something I'll never be able to put in words.

Speaking of bosses...

While KH3 was easy even on the last difficulty, fighting the last boss was absolutely no joke.  It took me a fair amount of retries to beat his final form...and damn was it worth it.

I'm still waiting for Sephiroth V3 for DLC.