The PlayStation 4 had a great run. It gave this generation some of its best games, introduced unforgettable characters, and pushed the limits of video-game storytelling. But alas, nothing can last forever, and with all eyes on the release of the PS5, the Play Station 4’s chapter is slated to end.
So, in honor of our soon-to-be-vanquished comrade, let’s look back at the PS4 games that put up the biggest fights. Titles that took the most time, skill, and sheer determination to beat. Not only were they frustrating, but they were also difficult to get through, and they left both sweat and tears in their wake.
Sure, goodbyes can be hard. But these games were harder.
Updated by Jack Pursey on January 3rd, 2020: Following the PlayStation 3’s difficult start to life that it never quite recovered from, Sony needed to hit the ground running with the PlayStation 4 in 2013. They succeeded in this with a well-marketed launch and continued their momentum through the console’s seven-year cycle with a plethora of excellent exclusive titles.
Like with any console generation, the gaming industry went through many changes during the PS4’s lifespan. One notable change was the lessening of hand-holding and increase in difficulty inspired by the groundbreaking Soulsborne titles. The PS4 is now home to some of the toughest titles in modern gaming, so we’ve decided to expand this list by a further 5 entries in recognition of this.
15 Alien: Isolation
Released in 2014, Alien: Isolation paid homage to Ridley Scott’s classic film with one of the PS4’s most genuinely unsettling survival horror games. The stealth title took influence from games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Outlast in the sense that players receive minimal weaponry throughout the story and must rely on their survival instincts instead.
The game was well-liked by critics, earning respectable Metascores between 78 and 83, as well as receiving IGN’s Best VR Game award.
14 Darkest Dungeon
A dungeon-crawl RPG released in 2016, indie title Darkest Dungeon was one of the year’s surprise success stories. The game received Meatscores between 80 & 85 and was nominated for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, which ultimately went to Her Story.
Red Hook Studios, the game’s developer, didn’t pull any punches when it came to Darkest Dungeon‘s difficulty. Along with the punishing turn-based combat, players have to keep a constant eye on their stress level, which punishes players who don’t bring food or light sources.
13 Remnant: From The Ashes
Developed by Gunfire Games, Remnant: From The Ashes released in 2019 and was instantly branded by the tagline “Dark Souls with guns”, as the name suggests, the game is brutally difficult.
Remnant: From The Ashes’, like Dark Souls, comes from its bosses; unlike FromSoftware’s game though, Remnant features a randomly generated world, giving players less time to prepare for tough encounters. The game certainly wasn’t up there with some of 2019’s best releases, but it did provide an enjoyable alternative that will appeal to fans of the Soulsborne franchise.
12 Grim Fandango Remastered
Originally released in 1998, Grim Fandango was a fitting end to the point and click genre’s time of popularity; providing one of the best graphic adventures in gaming history, exemplified by its eye-watering 94 Metascore.
The game wasn’t just a fitting end for its quality though, it also perfectly encapsulated the genre’s infuriating difficulty. With the internet still making its way into the mainstream, players couldn’t simply hop onto an online walkthrough when getting stuck. To take advantage of this LucasArts, Sierra, and other point and click developers often ramped up the difficulty in their games, and advertised tie-in guide books or helplines for players to seek help from if they became stuck.
11 Cuphead
Cuphead originally released on Xbox One and PC in 2017 before coming to the PlayStation 4 in July 2020. Studio MDHR’s indie game was an instant hit with fans and critics, with praise being directed towards its smooth platforming-action and stunning hand-drawn 30s inspired animations.
The game’s story predominantly centers around simply defeating boss after boss. This is far easier said than done though, as the side-scrolling boss fights will take players back to the brutal difficulty of classic arcade titles.
10 Surgeon Simulator
This 2013 Playstation VR title may not have been in the conversation for game of the year, but it is incredibly fun. At least, it’s fun at first, when accidentally reaping irreversible destruction is both shocking and amusing. But the hilarity quickly wears off, and players are left with unpredictable controls and an impossible task.
Scalpels are extra slippery, players’ hands feel like crab legs, and human organs seem resolute on flying across the room. This simulator is simply not designed for the surgeon to succeed. It’s designed to produce accidental atrocities that no one believed were possible. It’s carnage, in a word, and a good argument as to why surgeons need many years of schooling.
9 God Of War- Give Me God Of War Mode
God of War is not a top “10 most difficult” candidate for most gamers. Sure, it tells an amazing story, and the combat system comes with both complexities and a learning curve. But it’s not that hard. Until you pick the “Give Me God Of War” difficulty setting.
Suddenly, everything about the game is ratcheted up in intensity. Kratos’ insanely powerful weapons do crumbs of damage, and the timing windows for dodges and parries are shortened to nanoseconds. Atreus’ potency as a side-kick is squashed, and a sneeze from an enemy can send Kratos to the underworld. Only the real Gods Of War even tried the game on this mode. Even fewer actually finished it.
8 Sundered
Sundered is just another one of those atmospheric independent titles that love to blur the line between gaming and art. Truly, every Lovecraftian scene in this Metroidvania is just dripping with mood. But players must not be misled by the top-class concept art: this hand-drawn hero’s journey is stupidly hard.
What really makes Sundered unique is the fact that giant hordes of enemies randomly pop out of nowhere. Random riots of enemies can swarm the screen in seconds, and they very routinely cause death. Which is kind of the point of Sundered. Death comes for us all, no matter where we are in the level.
7 The Witness
If players ever walked the island of Myst, they know that first-person puzzle games set on deserted islands are guaranteed to be both scenic and hard. The Witness is no exception to this trend, as it’s a gorgeous adventure on a labyrinthian island where nothing is ever explained
Sure, things are basic at first, and clues to the puzzles are hidden all over the map. But matters quickly get mind-bending, and discovering the story becomes part of the maze. While The Witness can be beaten with attention and determination, it’s going to furrow your brow for an obnoxiously long time.
6 Dead Cells
In Motion Twin’s Dead Cells, players take control of a headless, reanimated corpse tasked with traversing the procedurally generated halls of an island prison fortress. Success in this beautiful gulag is predicated upon timing and skill, and players will find themselves dying time and time again, only to come back and use what they’ve learned to make it just a little bit farther.
Normal playthroughs involve hundreds of attempted runs, items are never in the same place twice, and level layouts continue to change even after the final boss is defeated. Death is always waiting around every newly generated corner, and the players’ only choice is to keep charging ahead.
5 Bloodborne
From Software games are notorious for causing hatred and despair. Bloodborne carries on this tradition with panache, pitting players against a brutal host of enemies armed with nothing but their own perseverance, and maybe a few weapons.
Bosses are horrifying. The world resembles a giant crypt. Big creepy crawlies have a taste for hunter flesh, and any foe can bring instant death if the player loses focus. The combat rewards offense and timing, and switching between weapons becomes a critical skill. Bloodborne is hard, and the merciless deaths may induce fits of weeping. But that’s just how it goes in the soulsborne family.
4 Nioh (1 and 2)
Yes, it’s cheating to combine two games into one entry. And yes, some would argue that the first Nioh is more difficult than Nioh 2. But whatever. Team Ninja’s samurai “soul-likes” are not independent experiences. Their light and goofy stories are meaningfully connected, and their ridiculously deep combat is equally infuriating.
All enemies can kill, and one must adapt their play-style by the second if they want to survive. There are a whole cluster of complicated stances and combat systems that need to be learned, and failure to do so will result in non-stop decimation. The Niohs are out for blood, plain and simple.
3 Dark Souls III
The first Dark Souls started its own era. The atmospheric world-building, unforgiving difficulty, and complete lack of direction redefined the action role-playing genre. And honestly, it’s hard to decide which one is the hardest. They are all nightmarish.
But Dark Souls III takes the cake simply because of the Nameless King. He’s got to be the most coo-coo bananas boss in maybe all of video games. The dude literally rides in on a dragon, then goes full super Saiyan over the death of his comrade. Fighting him is like fighting a gothic Zeus, and frankly, it’s just ridiculous.
2 Super Meat Boy
It’s a tale as old as time: a sentient hunk of meat falls in love with a female bandage, just to have her snatched away by an evil fetus. It’s also one of the most insanely challenging platformers of this generation. Players are going to die an untold amount of times. That’s just a fact. But it’s worth it because, by golly, this meat is in love.
1 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
It’s a tricky thing to pick the hardest game on any console. After all, everybody’s different, and all of the games on this list are maddeningly hard. But what sets Sekiro apart from From Software’s other games is its sheer dependence on skill.
There are no secret weapons to be acquired, nor armor to be discovered. The main unlockables are combos and attacks, and mastery of the combat system is the only way to get to the end. The learning curve is brutal, parrying is required, and players are going to watch Wolf die more than just twice. But, if they improve and learn, they will be able to will themselves to the end. If they do not, it’s okay. It’s the hardest game on the PS4.
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