Buzz
Certainly not the optimal choice for gamers seeking mere entertainment.
Throughout history, games have been thought to exist to serve the personal entertainment needs of players. However, not every game adheres to this principle. With technological advancements, there is no shortage of games emerging with the purpose of perplexing players, creating discomfort rather than gradually leading them to experience the joy of overcoming challenges as in the past. Ironically, the titles considered the most difficult always manage to attract a large player base, even though the success rate in conquering them is sometimes below 10%.
Nioh
Released in 2017, Nioh quickly earned a reputation as one of the toughest brands. Players must undergo hundreds of deaths and revivals to grasp even a fraction of the game's mechanics.
Essentially, Ki is the most crucial element to control in Nioh. Every action of the characters depletes Ki, the universal energy of all ninjas. If Ki drops to an alarming level, basic actions such as evading, blocking, and counterattacking become impossible. That's when your character is on the verge of defeat. If you're wondering how challenging it is to manage Ki, just play Nioh for about an hour, and you'll understand. If you don't smash your mouse or keyboard, then you're undoubtedly a patient person.
Dark Souls
Whenever the talk turns to challenging games, Dark Souls undoubtedly stands tall. To date, this game series has released three installments, and those with enough patience to navigate through layers of annoying bosses are as scarce as autumn leaves. Similar to Nioh, Dark Souls also features a stamina mechanism. Attack and dodge excessively, and your stamina depletes, forcing players to walk and wait for it to replenish - a virtual sentence of self-imposed doom.
Each boss in Dark Souls typically has two appearances, with the second one being more difficult than the first. In terms of toughness, no need to elaborate, but memorizing all their skills is an entire challenge in itself.
Bloodborne
With years of experience in creating 'difficult' games, FromSoftware seems to know how to craft a game that infuriates yet addictively captivates, and Bloodborne is the epitome of this mastery.
No one denies the brilliance of Bloodborne, from gameplay to storyline. However, some gamers even quit the game within the first day, as no matter how hard they try, they can't overcome the opening bosses.
Cuphead
Despite its simple animated graphics and basic run-and-gun gameplay, Cuphead has delivered countless headaches to gamers. The survival strategy against bosses has been succinctly summarized by many gamers - die, play again, repeat extensively to memorize skills, and learn the timing to dodge the myriad, disorienting, and endless bullet patterns from the game's bosses.
