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Top Difficult Games

60+ difficult games ranked by player tags and tunable re-ranking. Related tags include Action, Singleplayer, Great Soundtrack, Indie.

Recommended Difficult Games

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  1. #1 Hollow Knight: Silksong
    98% matchVery Positive89% of 410,760 reviews2025
    Developer: Team Cherry
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 35.3hMean: 46.1h≥1hr: 93%

    Discover a vast, haunted kingdom in Hollow Knight: Silksong! Explore, fight and survive as you ascend to the peak of a land ruled by silk and song.

  2. #2 ELDEN RING
    98% matchVery Positive93% of 1,139,627 reviews2022
    Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 100.1hMean: 153.3h≥1hr: 98%

    THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FANTASY ACTION RPG. Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.

  3. #3 Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition
    98% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 349,513 reviews2019
    Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.Publisher: Activision (Excluding Japan and Asia)
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 25.9hMean: 61.6h≥1hr: 95%

    Game of the Year - The Game Awards 2019 Best Action Game of 2019 - IGN Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the award winning adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.

  4. #4 Hollow Knight
    98% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 546,509 reviews2017
    Developer: Team Cherry
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 11.3hMean: 41.5h≥1hr: 87%

    Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.

  5. #5 Cuphead
    98% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 213,421 reviews2017
    Developer: Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc.
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 7.1hMean: 23.1h≥1hr: 89%

    Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings.

  6. #6 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
    98% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 396,130 reviews2014
    Developer: Nicalis, Inc.
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 44.1hMean: 184.9h≥1hr: 92%

    The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a randomly generated action RPG shooter with heavy Rogue-like elements. Following Isaac on his journey players will find bizarre treasures that change Isaac’s form giving him super human abilities and enabling him to fight off droves of mysterious creatures, discover secrets and fight his way to safety.

  7. #7 DARK SOULS™ III
    98% matchVery Positive94% of 436,798 reviews2016
    Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 45.2hMean: 108.9h≥1hr: 95%

    Dark Souls continues to push the boundaries with the latest, ambitious chapter in the critically-acclaimed and genre-defining series. Prepare yourself and Embrace The Darkness!

  8. #8 Geometry Dash
    98% matchVery Positive93% of 610,317 reviews2014
    Developer: RobTop Games
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 8.7hMean: 101.0h≥1hr: 89%

    Jump and fly your way through danger in this rhythm-based action platformer!

  9. #9 Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
    98% matchVery Positive82% of 81,593 reviews2017
    Developer: Bennett Foddy
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 1.5hMean: 10.0h≥1hr: 60%

    A game I made for a certain kind of person. To hurt them.

  10. #10 Celeste
    96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 142,570 reviews2018
    Developer: Maddy Makes Games Inc.
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 4.8hMean: 26.5h≥1hr: 81%

    Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight platformer from the creators of TowerFall. Brave hundreds of hand-crafted challenges, uncover devious secrets, and piece together the mystery of the mountain.

  11. #11 DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin
    95% matchVery Positive84% of 129,814 reviews2015
    Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 40.7hMean: 81.9h≥1hr: 90%

    DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin brings the franchise’s renowned obscurity & gripping gameplay to a new level. Join the dark journey and experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical hazards, and unrelenting challenge.

  12. #12 Super Hexagon
    95% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 25,028 reviews2012
    Developer: Terry Cavanagh
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 2.5hMean: 18.8h≥1hr: 69%

    Super Hexagon is a minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh, with music by Chipzel.

  13. #13 DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED
    93% matchVery Positive92% of 152,036 reviews2018
    Developer: QLOCPublisher: FromSoftware, Inc.
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 31.5hMean: 56.5h≥1hr: 92%

    Then, there was fire. Re-experience the critically acclaimed, genre-defining game that started it all. Beautifully remastered, return to Lordran in stunning high-definition detail running at 60fps.

  14. #14 Darkest Dungeon®
    92% matchVery Positive92% of 160,055 reviews2016
    Developer: Red Hook Studios
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 9.2hMean: 44.8h≥1hr: 89%

    Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost?

  15. #15 DARK SOULS™ II
    90% matchVery Positive88% of 46,463 reviews2014
    Developer: FromSoftware, Inc.Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 44.2hMean: 84.8h≥1hr: 90%

    Developed by FROM SOFTWARE, DARK SOULS™ II is the highly anticipated sequel to the gruelling 2011 breakout hit Dark Souls. The unique old-school action RPG experience captivated imaginations of gamers worldwide with incredible challenge and intense emotional reward.

  16. #16 Super Meat Boy
    88% matchVery Positive94% of 38,552 reviews2010
    Developer: Team Meat
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 2.7hMean: 10.2h≥1hr: 76%

    The infamous, tough-as-nails platformer comes to Steam with a playable Head Crab character (Steam-exclusive)!

  17. #17 Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation
    88% matchVery Positive94% of 54,480 reviews2018
    Developer: ProjectMoon
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 3.8hMean: 30.9h≥1hr: 74%

    A roguelite monster-management simulation inspired by the likes of the SCP Foundation, Cabin in the Woods, and Warehouse 13. Order your employees to perform work with the creatures and watch as it unfolds; harness greater energy, and expand the facility

  18. #18 DDNet
    87% matchVery Positive88% of 45,511 reviews2020
    Developer: DDNet Team
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

    Want to play the hardest cooperative 2D platformer ever? Want to finish no map ever? Want to be in pain for hours and cry, getting nothing in return? Come play DDNet with a large community of other sufferers!

  19. #19 Rain World
    87% matchVery Positive94% of 52,567 reviews2017
    Developer: VideocultPublisher: Akupara Games
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 3.3hMean: 24.2h≥1hr: 73%

    You are a nomadic slugcat, both predator and prey in a broken ecosystem. Grab your spear and brave the industrial wastes, hunting enough food to survive, but be wary— other, bigger creatures have the same plan... and slugcats look delicious.

  20. #20 Ultimate Custom Night
    86% matchVery Positive95% of 62,390 reviews2018
    Developer: Scott Cawthon
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 1.2hMean: 9.1h≥1hr: 54%

    Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!

  21. #21 A Dance of Fire and Ice
    86% matchVery Positive94% of 81,519 reviews2019
    Developer: 7th Beat Games
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 3.9hMean: 23.6h≥1hr: 80%

    A Dance of Fire and Ice is a strict rhythm game. Keep your focus as you guide two orbiting planets along a winding path without breaking their perfect equilibrium.

  22. #22 Noita
    86% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 87,339 reviews2020
    Developer: Nolla Games
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 4.6hMean: 29.5h≥1hr: 77%

    Noita is a magical action roguelite set in a world where every pixel is physically simulated. Fight, explore, melt, burn, freeze and evaporate your way through the procedurally generated world using spells you've created yourself.

  23. #23 WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
    86% matchMixed56% of 103,255 reviews2025
    Developer: LeenzeePublisher: 505 Games
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 23.7hMean: 30.2h≥1hr: 92%

    WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers is a soulslike, action RPG set in the land of Shu during the dark and tumultuous late Ming Dynasty, plagued with warring factions and a mysterious illness spawning monstrous creatures.

  24. #24 The Binding of Isaac
    85% matchVery Positive95% of 62,449 reviews2011
    Developer: Edmund McMillen
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 5.0hMean: 28.0h≥1hr: 85%

    Now 20% More Evil with the Free Halloween update!

  25. #25 Baba Is You
    85% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 24,218 reviews2019
    Developer: Hempuli Oy
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 4.2hMean: 13.6h≥1hr: 86%

    Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you can change how the game works, repurpose things you find in the levels and cause surprising interactions!

  26. #26 Enter the Gungeon
    84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 89,090 reviews2016
    Developer: Dodge RollPublisher: Devolver Digital
    Platforms: Windows, Linux
    Median: 6.1hMean: 31.0h≥1hr: 85%

    Enter the Gungeon is a bullet hell dungeon crawler following a band of misfits seeking to shoot, loot, dodge roll and table-flip their way to personal absolution by reaching the legendary Gungeon’s ultimate treasure: the gun that can kill the past.

  27. #27 Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
    84% matchVery Positive94% of 78,251 reviews2015
    Developer: Dennaton GamesPublisher: Devolver Digital
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 6.2hMean: 18.2h≥1hr: 78%

    Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is the brutal conclusion to the Hotline Miami saga, set against a backdrop of escalating violence and retribution over spilled blood in the original game.

  28. #28 Ghostrunner
    83% matchVery Positive91% of 66,213 reviews2020
    Developer: One More LevelPublisher: 505 Games
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 4.5hMean: 17.6h≥1hr: 86%

    Ghostrunner offers a unique single-player experience: fast-paced, violent combat, and an original setting that blends science fiction with post-apocalyptic themes. It tells the story of a world that has already ended and its inhabitants who fight to survive.

  29. #29 GTFO
    83% matchVery Positive84% of 66,048 reviews2021
    Developer: 10 Chambers
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 6.8hMean: 27.2h≥1hr: 92%

    GTFO is a hardcore cooperative horror shooter that throws you from gripping suspense to explosive action in a heartbeat. Stealth, strategy, and teamwork are necessary to survive in your deadly, underground prison. Work together or die together.

  30. #30 Sifu
    83% matchVery Positive92% of 27,348 reviews2023
    Developer: Sloclap
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 3.2hMean: 12.0h≥1hr: 79%

    Sifu is a realistic third-person brawler with tight Kung Fu combat mechanics and cinematic martial arts action embarking you on a path for revenge.

  31. #31 Jump King
    82% matchVery Positive90% of 13,246 reviews2019
    Developer: Nexile
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 2.1hMean: 10.5h≥1hr: 68%

    Take up the challenge and face true high-stakes platforming in Jump King! Struggle upwards in search of the Smoking Hot Babe of legend, but explore with care; a single missed jump could lead to a long fall back down...

  32. #32 Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition
    81% matchVery Positive87% of 50,070 reviews2021
    Developer: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 15.2hMean: 72.7h≥1hr: 94%

    Battle hordes of yokai in this masocore Action RPG. Create your protagonist and embark on an adventure through a myriad of locales across Japan during the Sengoku period. Utilize the new Yokai Shift ability to defeat even the most ferocious yokai and be prepared to brave through Dark Realms created by your enemies.

  33. #33 Five Nights at Freddy's
    80% matchVery Positive94% of 58,489 reviews2014
    Developer: Scott Cawthon
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 1.3hMean: 10.8h≥1hr: 56%

    Welcome to your new summer job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where kids and parents alike come for entertainment and food! The main attraction is Freddy Fazbear, of course; and his two friends. They are animatronic robots, programmed to please the crowds!

  34. #34 Hand Simulator
    80% matchVery Positive84% of 36,440 reviews2017
    Developer: HFM Games
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 2.2hMean: 5.4h≥1hr: 73%

    There are many different levels where you can play with spinners, plunge into the subtleties of handling weapons, milk a cow, take part in a Mexican duel with your friends, have a good time fishing, play chess or simply chat in an anonymous club.

  35. #35 Nioh: Complete Edition
    79% matchMostly Positive79% of 38,523 reviews2017
    Developer: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 11.1hMean: 51.6h≥1hr: 91%

    Ready to die? Experience the newest brutal action game from Team NINJA and Koei Tecmo Games. In the age of samurai, a lone traveler lands on the shores of Japan. He must fight his way through the vicious warriors and supernatural Yokai that infest the land in order to find that which he seeks.

  36. #36 Nine Sols
    78% matchVery Positive94% of 42,418 reviews2024
    Developer: RedCandleGames
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 6.1hMean: 18.6h≥1hr: 87%

    Nine Sols is a lore rich, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer featuring Sekiro-inspired deflection focused combat. Embark on a journey of eastern fantasy, explore the land once home to an ancient alien race, and follow a vengeful hero’s quest to slay the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm.

  37. #37 Just Shapes & Beats
    78% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 25,598 reviews2018
    Developer: Berzerk Studio
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 4.9hMean: 14.5h≥1hr: 86%

    "Just Shapes & Beats" is a chaotic co-op musical bullet-hell based on three simple things: avoid Shapes, move to the kick-ass Beats, and die, repeatedly.

  38. #38 Library Of Ruina
    77% matchVery Positive94% of 42,773 reviews2021
    Developer: ProjectMoon
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 10.7hMean: 54.3h≥1hr: 87%

    "May you find your book in this place." Combat between the guests and the librarians breaks out as if it were on a stage. Defeated guests turn into books, and the Library grows onward. And eventually, get your hands on… The one singular, perfect book.

  39. #39 Titan Souls
    78% matchMostly Positive79% of 13,643 reviews2015
    Developer: Acid NervePublisher: Devolver Digital
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 48mMean: 4.7h≥1hr: 43%

    Between our world and the world beyond lie the Titan Souls, the spiritual source of all living things. Scattered amongst the ruins and guarded by the idle titans charged with their care, a solitary hero armed with a single arrow is assembling shards of the Titan Soul in a quest for truth and power.

  40. #40 Blasphemous 2
    77% matchVery Positive91% of 19,317 reviews2023
    Developer: The Game KitchenPublisher: Team17
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 13.9hMean: 20.4h≥1hr: 80%

    The Penitent One awakens as Blasphemous 2 joins him once again in an endless struggle against The Miracle. Dive into a perilous new world filled with mysteries and secrets to discover, and tear your way through monstrous foes that stand between you and your quest to end the cycle once and for all.

  41. #41 FTL: Faster Than Light
    76% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 78,107 reviews2012
    Developer: Subset Games
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 7.1hMean: 34.0h≥1hr: 89%

    This "spaceship simulation roguelike-like" allows you to take your ship and crew on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy filled with glory and bitter defeat.

  42. #42 The First Berserker: Khazan
    76% matchVery Positive85% of 30,871 reviews2025
    Developer: NeoplePublisher: NEXON
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 27.3hMean: 35.4h≥1hr: 95%

    The First Berserker: Khazan is a hardcore action role-playing game. The player will become Khazan, the great general of the Pell Los Empire, who overcame death, and sets out to reveal the incidents that led to his downfall and seek vengeance on his enemies.

  43. #43 Realm of the Mad God Exalt
    76% matchVery Positive83% of 47,580 reviews2012
    Developer: Wild Shadow StudiosPublisher: Deca Live Operations GmbH
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 2.2hMean: 54.2h≥1hr: 65%

    Embark on an exhilarating journey into the pixelated Realm of the Mad God! Join, an action-packed, free-to-play MMO bullet hell game. Discover a world with danger, challenges, and hidden treasures as you battle through waves of enemies. Team up with players and conquer dungeons to become a legend!

  44. #44 Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy
    76% matchVery Positive92% of 21,814 reviews2018
    Developer: Vicarious VisionsPublisher: Activision
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 4.8hMean: 12.7h≥1hr: 81%

    Your favorite marsupial, Crash Bandicoot™, is back! He’s enhanced, entranced and ready-to-dance with the N. Sane Trilogy. Relive all your favorite moments in Crash Bandicoot™, Crash Bandicoot™ 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot™ 3: Warped, now in fully-remastered graphical glory!

  45. #45 Five Nights at Freddy's 2
    76% matchVery Positive94% of 25,775 reviews2014
    Developer: Scott Cawthon
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 1.4hMean: 17.5h≥1hr: 58%

    Welcome back to the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! As always, Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for death or dismemberment.

  46. #46 Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
    75% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 70,774 reviews2016
    Developer: Moon Studios GmbHPublisher: Xbox Game Studios
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 6.0hMean: 21.3h≥1hr: 79%

    “Ori and the Blind Forest” tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning Action-Platformer crafted by Moon Studios.

  47. #47 Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
    76% matchMixed50% of 28,967 reviews2023
    Developer: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 27.9hMean: 53.4h≥1hr: 94%

    A new dark fantasy Three Kingdoms action RPG from Team NINJA, the developers of Nioh.

  48. #48 Blasphemous
    75% matchVery Positive90% of 64,390 reviews2019
    Developer: The Game KitchenPublisher: Team17
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 4.4hMean: 11.1h≥1hr: 79%

    Blasphemous is a brutal action-platformer with skilled hack’n slash combat set in the nightmare world of Cvstodia. Explore, upgrade your abilities, and perform savage executions on the hordes of enemies that stand between you and your quest to break eternal damnation.

  49. #49 Changed
    75% matchVery Positive86% of 18,314 reviews2018
    Developer: DragonSnow
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 4.0hMean: 30.9h≥1hr: 77%

    You are trapped in an experiment, trying to find ways to make you still "yourself" , persevere, and survive.

  50. #50 Don't Starve Together
    74% matchVery Positive95% of 534,846 reviews2016
    Developer: Klei Entertainment
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 8.0hMean: 64.6h≥1hr: 89%

    Fight, Farm, Build and Explore Together in the standalone multiplayer expansion to the uncompromising wilderness survival game, Don't Starve.

  51. #51 Salt and Sanctuary
    74% matchVery Positive89% of 21,666 reviews2016
    Developer: Ska Studios
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 4.0hMean: 13.8h≥1hr: 83%

    Explore a haunting, punishing island in this stylized 2D action RPG. Salt and Sanctuary combines fast and brutal 2D combat with richly developed RPG mechanics in a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, and desecrated monuments.

  52. #52 EVE Online
    74% matchMostly Positive73% of 38,948 reviews2010
    Developer: Fenris Creations
    Platforms: Windows, Mac
    Median: 3.0hMean: 138.8h≥1hr: 73%

    Over 20 years of legendary space battles! Explore a massive living universe of danger and opportunity in a challenging and highly rewarding space adventure. Fight, trade, build, and connect with a universe driven and shaped directly by players.

  53. #53 Nuclear Throne
    73% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 19,623 reviews2015
    Developer: Vlambeer
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 5.2hMean: 24.1h≥1hr: 85%

    Nuclear Throne is a post-apocalyptic roguelike-like top-down shooter. Not 'the final hope of humanity' post-apocalyptic, but 'humanity is extinct and mutants and monsters now roam the world' post-apocalyptic. Can you reach the Nuclear Throne?

  54. #54 Spelunky
    73% matchVery Positive92% of 16,598 reviews2013
    Developer: Mossmouth
    Platforms: Windows
    Median: 3.5hMean: 21.4h≥1hr: 78%

    Spelunky is a unique platformer with randomized levels that offer a challenging new experience each time you play. Journey deep underground and explore fantastic places filled with all manner of monsters, traps, and treasure.

  55. #55 Stephen's Sausage Roll
    73% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 1,978 reviews2016
    Developer: increpare games
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 1.2hMean: 8.6h≥1hr: 53%

    A simple 3d puzzle game.

  56. #56 XCOM: Enemy Unknown
    72% matchVery Positive93% of 58,300 reviews2012
    Developer: Firaxis GamesPublisher: 2K
    Platforms: Windows, Linux
    Median: 10.8hMean: 34.9h≥1hr: 93%

    The XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Slingshot Pack is Now Available!

  57. #57 Hyper Light Drifter
    72% matchVery Positive93% of 18,790 reviews2016
    Developer: Heart Machine
    Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
    Median: 3.7hMean: 7.3h≥1hr: 81%

    Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.

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