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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays and WHY THE HELL DOES THE A BUTTON NOT DO WHAT THE A BUTTON IS SUPPOSED
00:09TO DO.
00:10These are the 20 hardest single player games of all time.
00:14Difficulty is subjective but at the very least we can all understand why these games are
00:18considered difficult.
00:19So don't big man yourself in the comments by claiming a certain game was easy, no one
00:23is impressed.
00:24Why am I so angry today?
00:27Before we continue, we publish content all week long so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:31the bell to get notified of our latest videos.
00:35Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels I tell you what, I'd rather chop my own pinky
00:41toe off than play Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels for a week straight.
00:45Super Mario Bros. was obviously an instant success on the NES, which meant that shortly
00:49after release it was time to pump out a sequel.
00:52With this follow up, the development team significantly increased the difficulty introducing
00:55tougher jumps and new hazards like poison mushrooms to challenge players.
01:00Widely regarded as the most challenging Super Mario Bros. game ever, it was deemed too difficult
01:04for western audiences.
01:06As a result, Nintendo repainted Doki Doki Panic as Super Mario Bros. 2 for release in
01:11other regions.
01:12The original sequel, Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels remained exclusive to Japan until
01:167 years later when it was included in the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the SNES.
01:36Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy
01:47A man stuck in a pot using a hammer to propel himself through the air doesn't sound like
01:51a grueling challenge. I'm kidding, it sounds more annoying than trying to explain the colour
01:55blue without using nouns.
01:57Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy captures struggle so perfectly, in fact it may have
02:01single handedly created an ulcer in my stomach in 2019.
02:05The concept is straightforward, but the real difficulty lies in how easily you can lose
02:09all of your progress.
02:10With no checkpoints to rely on, the game demands sheer determination to keep pushing forward,
02:15no matter the setbacks, and trust me, there will be loads of setbacks.
02:25The Witness
02:33This game is a bit of an outlier compared to the others on this list. No reflexes, no
02:37hard bosses, just intense puzzles with intense headaches.
02:41The Witness is a puzzle game that might initially remind you of classic adventures like Myst,
02:46however it offers much more beneath the surface, including stunning visuals and some truly
02:50hemorrhoid-inducing puzzles.
02:53Its open-ended design means that if one puzzle leaves you stuck, there are usually others
02:57nearby to tackle instead. You know, if you're a coward.
03:05Silver Surfer
03:06Released in 1990 for the NES, Silver Surfer might have faded into obscurity among the
03:18many other comic book game adaptations, if not for its notoriously brutal difficulty.
03:23The titular hero is shockingly fragile, dying from a single hit and unable to touch most
03:27objects in the game. To make matters even harder, enemies require multiple hits to defeat,
03:32and a single death sends players back to the start of the level.
03:36The game is exactly why I refuse to engage in any superhero content featuring the Silver
03:39Surfer. I really, truly hate him that much.
03:46Ikaruga
03:47One look at the relentless barrage of enemy fire in Ikaruga makes it clear this game was
04:05originally built to devour coins in Japanese arcades. Despite its punishing difficulty,
04:10this bullet-held shooter has earned its place as one of the most beloved classics in the
04:14genre with ports to PC and various other systems ensuring its enduring popularity among
04:19fans. I wish I could tell you why. It doesn't have the depth of Dark Souls or the charm
04:23of Bennett Foddy. I tried it and now I don't have a functioning PC. I punched my PC.
04:35I Wanna Be The Boshy
04:46I Wanna Be The Boshy is a fan-made tribute to I Wanna Be The Guy. Don't stress if you
04:50don't know the game either, it's not important to understand the topic of this video. Boshy
04:54breaks balls. Both games serve as parodies to iconic franchises like Mario and Sonic
04:59the Hedgehog. However, Boshy cranks up the difficulty, catering to players who found
05:04I Wanna Be The Guy too easy. With its unconventional level design, the game has gained a cult following
05:09and become a favourite within the speedrunning community, the maniacs of the gaming community.
05:22Sifu
05:23Alright, let's crack into some games that we all know the name of. No more dookie dookie
05:33big time climb super x3. Is that racist? Nah, probably. Sifu is a throwback classic
05:41to beat em ups with its tough, no-nonsense approach that rewards skill and precision.
05:46Players who excel at mastering movesets will get the most out of the experience. Players
05:49who don't, well, let's just say they may get very upset and uninstall the game and play
05:54something else. No euphemisms there, that's just what will happen. While it's a different
05:58game genre from Elden Ring and the Souls series, it shares similarities, especially in its
06:03intense boss battles. A single mistake can end a run, and the stakes are heightened by
06:07a unique mechanic. Each death ages the protagonist. The older he gets, the closer the player comes
06:13to permanent defeat. Rough.
06:27Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
06:36I loved the aesthetic of this game as a kid, and didn't even care that I couldn't get past
06:40the first level. Because of this, I'd decided to revisit it as an adult, and it went from
06:44one of my fondest memories to one of my worst experiences. Released in 1989, the NES Teenage
06:50Mutant Ninja Turtles faced criticism for numerous reasons, the main one being its punishing
06:54difficulty. Unlike games that fall into the tough but fair category, this title featured
06:59endlessly respawning enemies, unreachable power-ups, jumps requiring near-perfect precision,
07:04and unavoidable damage in certain situations. It. Sucked. Turtle. D**k.
07:16Darkest Dungeon
07:17RPGs rarely rank among the hardest games because players can usually grind for experience. That's
07:29why Demon's Souls took a different approach, and why Darkest Dungeon stands out as well.
07:32Right from the start, battles and encounters are incredibly tough, but it's the stress mechanic
07:37that truly sets Darkest Dungeon apart. Unlike typical affliction systems in RPGs, stress must
07:43be managed constantly alongside the gruelling fights. To make things even harsher, death is
07:48permanent, a feature that might not be as punishing in other RPGs, but feels especially brutal here.
07:53The odds are truly stacked against you in Darkest Dungeon.
07:56Super Punch-Out!!
08:14Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! is often hailed as one of the hardest games ever, but even Tyson doesn't
08:19compare to Super Macho Man 3 in the arcade version of Super Punch-Out!!. This arcade entry is tougher
08:25for two key reasons. First, the controls are less intuitive, requiring players to manually switch
08:30between head and body shots. Second, the AI is brutally unforgiving, reacting faster and more
08:35unpredictably than in the console versions. Completing all the fights in this game,
08:39even with saved states, can take days of effort. It's often confusing why it's not ranked higher
08:43in the series for difficulty, because it's obviously the hardest.
08:46Bloodborne
08:52From Software, ever heard of them? Are known for crafting notoriously difficult games,
09:02and while the studio is most famous for its Souls series and Elden Ring, Bloodborne also
09:06deserves recognition for its extreme challenge. This gothic horror-themed action RPG features a
09:12combat system similar to Dark Souls, but with a more aggressive twist, encouraging players to
09:16take an offensive approach in many of its intense and memorable battles. If you've only played Elden
09:20Ring, I encourage you to try this just to understand why Souls fans call Elden Ring easy.
09:24Returnal
09:32One of the earliest PS5 exclusives came in the form of the fiendishly difficult Returnal,
09:59drawing heavy inspiration from third-person survival horror shooters and the Souls series,
10:03this game took a few goes before I truly realised its brilliance. Its challenge largely stems from
10:09the strict progression rules, though some of these have been adjusted in later patches to
10:12make the game more accessible. This sci-fi adventure isn't for everyone, but players
10:16who enjoy punishing experiences will find much to appreciate, especially in its intricate and
10:21mysterious story. While Returnal can be frustrating at times, it's definitely worth persevering
10:26through the tough moments to reach the credits, trust me. Nioh 2
10:51When Nioh was first announced, many gamers assumed it was a Dark Souls clone. However,
10:56the game was met with such overwhelmingly positive reviews upon release that most players
11:00now consider it on par with or even superior to the franchise that inspired it. The combat
11:04features make it feel fuller than the traditional Souls games and give it a unique twist that is
11:09the main reason it feels like a superior experience. Nioh 2 is just Nioh 1 on crack.
11:14Ghosts and Goblins
11:25If you want an experience that will make you rip your hair out before an hour is up,
11:37imagine a protagonist who dies in 2 hits, enemies that can spawn unpredictably across the map and
11:42power-ups that can actually harm you. This is just a taste of what awaits you in Ghosts and
11:46Goblins. However, the most cruel twist comes if you actually manage to finish the game. Capcom
11:51bluntly tells you what you've fallen into, a trap devised by Satan, and forces you to replay the
11:56game on a higher difficulty if you truly want to claim victory and bragging rights. It's like
12:01new game minus and it sucks. Cuphead
12:20Cuphead is not only a nod to 1930s cartoons but also a throwback to classic run and gun games
12:25like Contra and Mega Man, both known for their tough difficulty. True to its roots, Cuphead is
12:29an incredibly challenging game that requires players to master boss patterns and execute near
12:34perfect timing just to survive. The difficulty doesn't diminish with a second player, in fact
12:39adding a second character can make some boss fights even harder, as the screen fills with
12:43twice the number of projectiles, making it easier to lose track of Cuphead and Mugman in the chaos.
12:48The first time I played this game was with my older brother when I was visiting my hometown.
12:52After not playing video games with him for about 15 years, I remembered why we used to
12:56throttle each other so much. Ninja Gaiden
13:19The original NES version of Ninja Gaiden is undeniably tough but the 2004 3D reboot of the
13:25classic game took the difficulty to even greater heights, if that was even possible. From the very
13:30first enemy encounter, every attacker is capable of overwhelming you if you're not careful and
13:35don't even get me started on the bosses. They are incredibly ruthless, often requiring near perfect
13:39play for extended periods to progress. While Team Ninja is now better known for the equally
13:45challenging Nioh, there have been rumours that a return to Ninja Gaiden could be in the works.
13:49If anyone at Team Ninja is listening, please don't.
13:59Super Meat Boy
14:09One of the key aspects that makes so many games on this list hard
14:12is that with one wrong move, it's game over. Super Meat Boy is a superb platformer featuring
14:18precise controls and 300 levels designed to test your nerves and it follows very closely
14:23this previously mentioned rule, one hit, you're done. With a daunting number of spikes, spinning
14:27blades and swords ready to slice you to pieces at any moment, a single mistake can send you
14:32right back to the start of the level. A goodnight moon.
14:41Dark Souls
14:54Any of the Dark Souls games, or even its predecessor Demon's Souls could make a
14:57case for being on this list, but we're choosing the original Dark Souls as it played a key role
15:02in launching the trend that other titles like Nioh and Bloodborne have followed in recent years.
15:06While many developers focus on preventing player frustration, From Software takes the
15:10opposite approach. Dark Souls thrives on your screams and takes pleasure in your failures.
15:15Nothing more needs to be said on this game, no amount of levelling up
15:19can save you if you don't know how to get good.
15:28Contra
15:31There's only one way to beat this game, up up down down left right left right B A.
15:43While the famous Konami code first appeared in the 1986 release of Gradius, it wasn't until
15:48Contra came along the following year that the code truly became ingrained in the minds of gamers.
15:53The extra 30 lives given from this code were essential in order to have any hope of completing
15:58the game. Contra was also one of the first popular multiplayer games, allowing players to team up
16:02and blast through levels in co-op mode. Though much like Cuphead it doesn't really help, in fact
16:07it makes things way worse, oh that was when the brother throttling started.
16:18Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
16:20Even though it shares many similarities with Dark Souls and Elden Ring, Sekiro is an even more
16:31brutal single player only adventure. In Souls games you can summon allies to help tackle tough
16:35bosses, lightening the load. In Sekiro however, it's all on you, either you get good or you die
16:41trying, repeatedly. The game demands mastery of its mechanics, patience, practice and cunning.
16:47Those hoping to button mash their way through this won't get far. Sekiro is easily the most
16:52unforgiving experience From Software has ever created, even tougher than any of the Souls games,
16:56requiring a really solid understanding of the far more intricate combat systems.
17:01Dying makes the game harder, and making the game harder makes me want to die. Catch 22, probably not.
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