10 Hardest Games That Aren’t Soulslike

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Over the past few years, difficulty in video games has been closely linked to Soulsborne games’ influence on the industry.

Many game developers have been influenced by FromSoftware’s challenging games, creating their own titles within the Souls-inspired genre, also known as the “Soulslike” genre.

Yet, it isn’t always the case that challenging encounters are limited to those that endanger the user’s controller; a multitude of games, both past and present, have placed the gamer in potentially dangerous situations.

Consequently, it’s high time we acknowledge these challenging escapades that effectively create tension, but not by relying on the natural difficulty associated with the Soulslike genre.

10. Dragon’s Dogma

A Merciless Open-World

When I initially played Dragon’s Dogma, it felt like a perfect blend of the challenging gameplay found in Dark Souls and the expansive freedom offered by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and my assessment was spot on.

Instead of offering any difficulty modes at the start, Capcom’s game presented a challenging experience where you had to confront its problems head-on without receiving easy solutions. Rather than providing an easy path to success, it required you to persevere and learn from your failures until you ultimately triumphed.

Even with more accessibility options, the lack of unrestricted fast travel, the presence of colossal and powerful monsters, and terrifying nights where anything can end your life in a heartbeat make Gransys an unwelcoming land.

Reaching the stage in a game when you’ve accumulated so much power that no obstacle seems insurmountable can be an exhilarating experience, but getting to that point is often the ultimate challenge that lasts a lifetime.

9. The Talos Principle 2

Puzzles at Maximum Complexity

In simpler terms, The Talos Principle 2 is a very tough brain-teaser video game designed to test the full extent of your intellectual abilities.

The game’s advancement path is impressive, and it does a great job of making itself clear, but even so, I still found myself spending hours trying to crack some of its puzzles.

Fortunately, it’s designed so that not all challenges are mandatory and can be skipped, but I’m a stubborn player, so I forced myself to solve everything on my own and without shortcuts.

Consequently, I put more hours into The Talos Principle 2 than the average player because some puzzles require creative solutions beyond my traditional capabilities, making it one of my most satisfying but exhaustingly difficult playthroughs of a game.

8. Tunic

An Adventure to Get Lost In

Although the Soulsborne formula taught me spatial awareness, Tunic truly defied all my knowledge of the subject.

The main challenge in this fantastic independent game arises from its scarcity of instructions, as it takes place within a language that’s hard to understand, requiring players to decipher it by making estimates and deductions instead.

Navigating your path and deciding your actions can be the most difficult part of a journey, and it doesn’t help that you often encounter numerous adversaries along the way, making things even tougher.

After completing Tunic, I might need to spend almost as much time playing it again as I did the first time because it demands an emotional connection that not many other games require.

7. Darkest Dungeon

Unimaginable Horrors

Darkest Dungeon is one of the cruelest indie games I’ve ever played.

Although I acknowledge that it’s among the top permadeath strategy games, I must admit that on numerous occasions, its level of difficulty really got under my skin.

As a gamer, conquering a challenging game feels like scaling a towering mountain peak. The journey is grueling, filled with complex puzzles, managing characters, financial struggles, and even simulated health crises. Yet, the exhilaration of finally reaching the summit, understanding the intricacies, and overcoming the obstacles is almost indescribable.

While you can change its difficulty modes, Darkest Dungeon is meant to be experienced when you play it the way its developers intended.

I’ll never attempt a Stygian run again in my life.”

“I will never try that grueling challenge called a Stygian run ever again, it is too tough on my mental health.

6. Cuphead

Run, Gun and Cry

While I wouldn’t go that far as claiming Cuphead’s difficulty rivals FromSoftware’s toughest challenges, it’s clear that my high death count suggests a similar level of intensity.

Many bosses in this magnificent run-and-gun have forced me to retry them hundreds of times, with several landing on the list of the hardest I’ve ever beaten, like Dr. Kahl’s Robot or Beppi the Clown.

If you count the DLC, which probably surpasses all the base game’s fights in quality and difficulty, and its non-boss sections, which are also extremely challenging platforming runs, the complexity becomes even bigger.

Sure!

Cuphead is undoubtedly one of the top indie games ever made, and its level of difficulty is particularly notable among video games.

5. Fear & Hunger

You Won’t Come Out Unscathed

Fear & Hunger is unforgiving in both its moral dilemmas and its gameplay.

This experience exhibits an unprecedented harshness, and merely catching a glimpse of its most fundamental conclusion required numerous hours of my time.

Whether it was due to not having the strength to make the necessary decisions to survive or simply not knowing its world’s laws, the result was almost always the same: starting over.

Its world’s cruelty pushes you to make unfathomable decisions, only to realize even the greatest sacrifice will probably only lead to your demise.

After seeing the credits for the first and only time, my entire exposure to Fear & Hunger has been reduced to watching people better than me play it. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it through its dungeons a second time.

4. Sifu

A Game That Demands Perfection

In the group of video games where death occurs frequently, Sifu is particularly noticeable.

To achieve success in this game, your skills in martial arts need to be nearly unparalleled within the video game industry, as you’ll have to reach a level of mastery just to catch a glimpse of its initial conclusion.

Mastering the art of combat in Sifu demands a considerable investment of time, as well as a patient and focused mindset. The diverse range of combos and tricks employed by the bosses, coupled with the multiple actions happening simultaneously, necessitates an intricate understanding of its mechanical structure.

Indeed, once you manage to attain a state of flow and maintain full control over your actions, the sense of fulfillment can be immense. Regrettably, not many individuals are able to accomplish such a feat.

3. Contra 4

A Hellish Difficulty

As a passionate gamer, I carefully selected Contra as one of the toughest gaming franchises out there. This iconic series always comes to mind when discussing challenging games.

I chose Contra 4 as it is the most recent installment I recall from the series, and because the entire gameplay seems like a trek through the depths of Hell.

Between the projectiles’ speed, the player’s few lives available, and the bosses’ baffling health bars, every attempt to make progress felt like a life-or-death battle.

To be honest, it reaches such an extreme point where it stops being entertaining and becomes downright depressing. I have a lot of affection for the series, but I don’t miss feeling such a level of displeasure at all.

2. Ninja Gaiden 2

Anything But Fair

From all the titles in this series that could potentially be selected, I chose Ninja Gaiden 2 as it was the one that left me feeling as if I could never complete a video game.

Feeling that any grab, carelessness, or poor positioning would lead to my death generated indescribable tension, both for better and for worse.

Its enemy input reading is some of the most brutal I’ve ever seen, elevating the challenge to a level I had never experienced in a game prior.

When Tomonobu Itagaki, the mastermind behind Ninja Gaiden 2, once stated that enemies were designed to eliminate you, not the other way around, he wasn’t kidding. That’s the ultimate testament to the incredible challenge posed by this timeless classic.

1. Celeste

Dying is Part of the Climb

As a passionate gamer, I must say that Celeste is hands down the most challenging masterpiece I’ve ever played and persevered through. This game turns failure into an enjoyable experience.

The first seven chapters are challenging enough to warrant its presence in this article, featuring several of the most complex platforming sections in history.

It seems quite evident to me that among all other titles, none demands as much dexterity from players controlling the game as this one does, given each chapter’s multiple perspectives and extra content that enriches the campaign.

The precision, composure, and memory required to execute the pinpoint jumps and dashes to advance pixel by pixel are simply unprecedented.

Playing Celeste ten thousand times in a single chapter makes it the most challenging game outside the Souls series, demonstrating its exceptional design that instills discipline and control unlike any other title. In essence, this game is a masterpiece that demands mastery.

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2025-03-16 16:42