In the gaming world, I’ve come to realize that difficult games shape resilient gamers like no other. No title exemplifies this more than those where dying is just another step towards learning and improving my skills.
These games repeatedly bring you back to a specific save point, offering you an opportunity to improve your skills or face the challenge until you succeed.
Additionally, some significant games incorporate death as a key aspect of gameplay or storytelling, creating an unavoidable cycle of failure with substantial repercussions.
Here’s another way to phrase it: We chose to give you a collection that offers the perfect blend, as it includes death as an integral part of the gaming experience.
10. Life Goes On: Done To Death
Life Doesn’t Go That Long
Starting off the list, we have an incredibly funny and eccentric puzzle-platformer game that captivates you with its unique and zany gameplay mechanics.
In the game “Life Gores On“, your character is a knight who needs to repeatedly perish in order to conquer multiple platforming challenges. By doing so, you accumulate a stack of deceased characters that can be utilized for solving these puzzles.
It’s quite unexpected that during your journey, these knights serve as the unique problem-solvers, guiding you towards locating the legendary Cup of Life. This artifact is sought after by the powerful commander who desires eternal life.
To enhance the excitement, the game titled “Life Goes On” incorporates a plot that is intertwined with maps, and it offers rewards upon successful completion of each stage, as long as there are a minimum number of fallen knights remaining.
9. Hades
Sneakin’ Out
In a nutshell, “Hades” is an engaging roguelike dungeon exploration game where you battle through the infernal legions and formidable bosses in the Greek underworld in an attempt to reach the lofty heights of Mount Olympus. You assume the role of Zagreus, the indestructible offspring of Hades himself, on your quest upward.
Because escaping from Hell is no piece of cake, you’ll be granted various benefits or advantages, such as enhanced powers, by deities like Zeus, Poseidon, and others from Mount Olympus.
Upon your passing, all accumulated coins will be forfeited, requiring a fresh start in the game. However, it’s good to know that any Darkness and Keys amassed for enhancing your fundamental skills will remain unaffected.
Experiencing the lively ambiance, action-packed battle mechanics, and personally engaging storyline in Hades might leave you yearning for multiple replays, as you delve deeper into the intricate tales of the troubled family and various deities.
8. Outer Wilds
Exploring Cosmos And Beyond
In a fascinating, absorbing journey through science fiction, Outer Wilds transports you to a captivating exploration of a looping cosmic tale where a planetary system gets repeatedly annihilated by a supernova sun every 22 minutes, only for everything to start anew.
As captain of the latest addition to the Outer Wilds Ventures team, you set off on an adventure to reveal every secret hidden in this solar system, all while navigating a recurring cycle of death and finding your way back to the closest respawn point.
This game, published by Annapurna Interactive, cleverly employs death as a key element to advancement. At first, it may prove challenging or frustrating, but it’s part of the gameplay experience.
In this game, knowledge is crucial, and since we all know that death is an unavoidable part of it, each time you pass away, you gain new insights about the recurring nature of events, or the time loop.
7. Sifu
More Kung-fu, Less Time
Sifu is an action-packed game where revenge serves as the main theme. The unique feature of this game is the role of death, which significantly impacts the gameplay. Each time your character dies, their age advances, as indicated by a death counter.
In the course of your journey for revenge, it begins when you’re twenty years old. Each death experienced during one playthrough adds to your age, with the first death causing you to turn 21. The maximum age you could reach in a single run is 75.
In Sifu, the protagonist is 68 years old by the time you encounter the fourth boss. If you’re not diligent in learning the intricacies of kung-fu, mastering its various attack combinations, parrying techniques, and evasive maneuvers, then Sifu can be remarkably challenging.
To put it another way, Sifu offers incredibly smooth fight sequences, packed with a variety of attacks, abilities, and enhancements that will captivate your attention throughout.
6. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
No Bygones Forgiven!
Shadow of War” is an intense action-adventure game that immerses you in a harsh environment. If you’re not careful, it could lead to numerous character deaths. This game builds upon WB’s patented nemesis system.
Moving forward in the game and gathering a horde of Orcs, you’ll gain access to numerous abilities, weapons, and equipment that empower you to sweep through waves of foes, giving you a powerful sense of control.
Yet, even your adversaries find themselves trapped within an endless cycle of death in the game titled Shadow of War. By vanquishing certain high-ranking Orcs, these enemies may have a chance to resurrect and retaliate with their partially mechanical bodies or enhanced equipment.
Once you’ve vanquished your foes and they reappear, they recount with considerable detail the last battle you had with them. Moreover, should they manage to end your life, they would remind you of it during your next encounter with your arch-enemy.
5. Super Meat Boy
Dance Of Death
The fast-paced, independent game “Super Meat Boy” is a challenging platformer that offers straightforward yet intricate gameplay mechanics. Even with just two buttons for running and jumping, its placement at the top of our list isn’t unjustified.
Experience firsthand, from someone whose life total jumped significantly in a single night, that this extremely violent game’s immersive world and challenging layout offer no moments of respite whatsoever.
This independent game doesn’t offer tutorials, but instead, it demonstrates actions graphically and progressively challenges you with its difficulty levels, ensuring that you understand and retain the information through visual means.
Playing Super Meat Boy provides an exhilarating and fulfilling journey due to its swift-moving game mechanics and immersive setting.
4. Kenshi
Dune Without Royal Treatment
Kenshi propels you into a harrowing expanse of barren desert, teeming with perils capable of ending your life in just a few shots. The hazards here are primarily the ferocious wildlife, not the bandits or assassins that roam this desolate terrain.
For beginners, just about anything around you could prove overwhelming. With nothing to your name and the whole world seemingly working against you, Kenshi is an action role-playing game that offers open-ended gameplay without predefined targets or tasks.
In this game, you have the freedom to create a diverse team of creatures and troops from different factions, choose a lone-wolf approach if you prefer, or develop a unique playing style tailored to your personal tastes.
Despite providing a feeling of liberty, this freedom is not comforting but overwhelmingly demanding because of its rigorous surroundings, pushing you to improve and become more robust by any available means.
3. Noita
Everything Kills You
As a spellbinding roguelike dungeon explorer, the game Noita flourishes through numerous character demises, compelling players to grasp its ruthless environment by learning, experimenting, and unraveling its perplexing mysteries independently.
In the world of Noita, every single pixel reacts tangibly, providing an challenging yet gratifying journey. Each pixel is out to get you, whether it’s through unsettling thoughts or imminent dangers approaching.
As you advance in your witchcraft journey, you will need to venture into a cave situated beneath eight distinct ecosystems teeming with adversaries and rich in concealed treasures.
In the course of becoming a skilled witch, you’ll find yourself exploring a cave nestled under eight assorted biomes filled with foes and brimming with hidden riches.
As you delve further, you’ll encounter increasingly tough adversaries. But after mastering the learning curve, you’ll find yourself compelled to continue your journey, probing ever deeper into Noita’s heart until you’ve uncovered all its hidden mysteries.
2. Elden Ring
Ye Shall Indefinetly Perish!
Since the unveiling of the acclaimed game Elden Ring, it has been responsible for an overwhelming number of player demises, thanks to its daunting open-world environment and formidable roster of challenging bosses.
In all Soulsborne games, challenge is a consistent feature, making Elden Ring seem challenging or even unfair to newcomers unfamiliar with the Souls series. This toughness can drive some players to become frustrated and eventually abandon the game.
Regardless, should you persevere through its numerous challenges despite many deaths, there’s a possibility you’ll uncover the enchanting landscapes and rich history of this realm known as the Lands Between.
Besides several methods for reducing its complexity, you can progress quickly and acquire potent early weapons to vanquish formidable bosses or powerful adversaries.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as overcoming tough boss fights, even when they dish out plenty of punishment – I can vouch for that personally.
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Is Not Dying A Choice?
Among the leading choices, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice by FromSoftware stands out as a game I find crueler compared to Elden Ring. This is primarily due to its challenging world layout and absence of leveling systems.
Instead of relying on sorcery, summoning creatures, or using ashes for power, you’re only equipped with your katana and a prosthetic arm when facing terrifying adversaries. Although enhancements are possible, there isn’t a traditional leveling system that allows you to grow stronger and defeat the bosses more easily.
As I dedicate more hours honing my abilities in Sekiro, nothing compares to the exhilarating payoff when I land that final, decisive strike against the game’s formidable bosses.
Primarily, it’s a trial of tenacity that requires you to improve significantly, which can be so challenging that it may provoke even a grown individual like myself to utter profanities and feel frustrated to the point of tears at times.
Mainly, it’s an examination of determination that pushes you to get better, often leading to moments where I, as an adult, find myself swearing in frustration and on the verge of tears.
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2025-02-24 17:44