Ninja Gaiden 4 is unapologetically brutal, throwing newcomers into a pace and complexity that barely slows down to let you breathe. Even on normal difficulty, combat demands lightning-fast reactions, long combo strings, and the patience to accept constant punishment while learning. Stick with it long enough, and the challenge becomes a test of endurance and discipline, but it’s very much a game that rewards veterans. | © Team Ninja
Super Mario Maker turns a friendly platformer into a patience-destroying gauntlet once players start designing levels for each other. The hardest community creations demand near-perfect control, memorization, and the willingness to fail hundreds of times on a single jump. Stick it out, and the pain becomes part of the reward, revealing both surprising creativity and just how deep Mario’s mechanics really go. | © Nintendo
Hollow Knight looks gentle and inviting, then steadily reveals just how punishing it can be. Tight platforming and demanding boss fights require careful movement, pattern recognition, and the patience to learn through repeated failure. Stick with it long enough, and the challenge opens the door to a haunting world filled with rich lore and some of the most rewarding victories in the genre. | © Team Cherry
Demon’s Souls is where FromSoftware’s reputation for brutal difficulty truly took shape. Progress comes slowly, as unforgiving bosses and lethal dungeons punish impatience and careless mistakes without mercy. Stick with the struggle, and patience reveals the foundation of an entire genre built on tension, persistence, and hard-earned triumph. | © FromSoftware
The Witness proves that difficulty doesn’t need combat or reflex tests to be punishing. It starts with simple line-drawing puzzles, then quietly twists the rules until even familiar panels can stop you cold. Patience pays off as patterns finally click, turning confusion into a deeply satisfying sense of earned understanding. | © Thekla, Inc.
Super Meat Boy takes simple platforming ideas and twists them into a relentless test of timing and nerve. Levels are short but vicious, where a single mistimed jump turns your run into a mess of instant failure and retries. Patience is the real skill here, as learning each brutal layout is the only way to survive long enough to feel that rush of finally getting it right. | © Team Meat
Cuphead looks cheerful and inviting, then immediately proves how deceptive that smile can be. Nearly every fight is a boss battle that demands frame-perfect dodges, sharp reactions, and the patience to retry again and again without losing focus. The gorgeous cartoon style keeps you coming back, and once the credits roll, the DLC is waiting to test that patience all over again. | © Studio MDHR
Returnal drops you onto a hostile alien world and asks you to survive fast, relentless combat where standing still is a death sentence. Every run demands sharp reflexes, constant movement, and the patience to rebuild after brutal deaths send you back to square one. Stick with it long enough, and the steady drip of new gear and knowledge turns repetition into progress and frustration into hard-earned mastery. | © Housemarque
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice strips away most RPG safety nets and demands that you win fights through timing, reflexes, and pure execution. There’s no grinding your way past trouble here: every enemy forces you to learn patterns, parry cleanly, and stay calm under pressure. It’s one of FromSoftware’s toughest tests, but patience turns its brutal combat into something precise, elegant, and deeply satisfying. | © FromSoftware
Celeste pushes precision platforming to extremes, asking for perfect timing, sharp reflexes, and the patience to fail dozens of times in a single screen. Each climb up the mountain feels punishing at first, then slowly manageable as muscle memory and focus kick in. The real reward comes from sticking it out, as the struggle mirrors a quietly powerful story about self-doubt, resilience, and choosing to keep going anyway. | © Maddy Makes Games
Lies of P takes clear inspiration from Soulsborne games, then twists it into something even stranger by filtering that formula through a dark, steampunk version of Pinocchio. Combat is demanding and precise, asking you to read enemies carefully and stay patient as the city around you grows more hostile and surreal. Stick with the challenge, and the game proves it’s more than a clever homage; it’s a tough, confident test that rewards focus and persistence. | © Round 8 Studio
Dark Souls didn’t just challenge players, it rewrote how difficulty is talked about across the entire medium. Death is frequent, explanations are scarce, and every victory feels earned through patience, observation, and stubborn persistence. Push through the frustration, and you’ll see why this series became the benchmark that all other “hard games” are still measured against. | © FromSoftware
Castlevania earned a reputation back in 1986 by asking players to survive unforgiving platforming, stiff controls, and enemies that punish every mistake. Progress demands slow, deliberate movement and a lot of trial and error as Simon Belmont pushes deeper into Dracula’s castle. Stick with it long enough, and the payoff is understanding why this brutal design helped define an entire genre, and why patience was always part of the challenge. | © Konami
Bloodborne stands apart by swapping medieval fantasy for gothic streets, cosmic horror, and a sense that the world itself wants you dead. Combat strips away safety nets like shields, pushing you to fight aggressively, learn enemy rhythms, and stay calm under pressure. The beasts of Yharnam punish hesitation, but patience and discipline turn that chaos into one of the most rewarding victories FromSoftware has ever designed. | © FromSoftware
Elden Ring shakes up the Souls formula by giving you an open world instead of a single punishing path. When a boss feels impossible, the game quietly nudges you elsewhere: explore, level up, find better gear, then come back stronger and smarter. It’s still brutally demanding, but patience is rewarded with unforgettable boss fights, dense lore, and the constant pull to see what terrifying thing waits just beyond the next hill. | © FromSoftware
Brutal combat, precision platforming, or puzzles that refuse to explain themselves force you to slow down, learn the hard way, and keep going when quitting feels easier. Stick with them, and the reward isn’t just winning, it’s hard-earned mastery.
