The feeling of enjoying a new game right away can be hard to beat, especially since many games have long or complex tutorials that delay the gratification of beating a level. However, one of the best features of easy-to-learn games is how they manage to crank up the difficulty by asking for precision and speed from their players.
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Challenging a player’s reflexes and dedication to improvement can add hours to a game’s playtime because it encourages them to come back for another try. By combining the feeling of progress with a compelling plot, lovable characters, or a fantastic soundtrack, these seemingly simple games have earned a following for their surprising difficulty.
10Tetris
When it comes to puzzle games,Tetrisis among the most well-known for its four-block tetrominoes and memorable theme song. Players organize the tetrominoes into lines to clear space, with the occasional opportunity to hold an inconvenient piece until there’s a better spot.
Tetrisnot only gets faster and requires players to clear more lines to complete a level, but there are also techniques,like T-Spins or other twists, that players can learn to improve their game. Since there are seemingly endless ways to score points ingames likeTetris,it’s a refreshing challenge each time.
9Super Monkey Ball
In most 3D games, players control characters and move them around levels to reach a goal. However, manySuper Monkey Ballgames turn this idea on its head by making players tilt the stages rather than move the playable character directly. The tilt’s angle and duration impact how quickly the characters move to pick up bananas and reach the goal.
The game also has a timer, so players must respond without overcompensating for the stage’s movements.Super Monkey Ballsets its players up for success in its first few stages with stable platforms and wide pathways, but as the game continues, players have to overcome thin, moving levels with twists, turns, and obstacles.
8Mega Man
Starting up aMega Mangame for the first time offers a customizable experience that takes both strategy and skill. Players can conquer bosses in whichever order they see fit, since, generally, the games begin with all but a handful of their levels unlocked.
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However, a fair share ofMega Man’sdifficulty lies in its freedom. Defeating the bosses in a particular order can be beneficial sinceMega Man learns new skillsafter taking down each enemy, but determining the best plan of attack is one of the first challenges that players face.
7Pid
Pidisa puzzle platformerby Might and Delight, in which a young boy named Kurt finds himself on another planet with the power to manipulate gravity and must use this power to make his way back home. With a charming soundtrack playing in the background, Kurt uses his powers to defeat enemies and bosses with unique designs.
DespitePid’sinviting style and story, Kurt’s powers require precise timing and direction to make it through complex levels and battles. Strategic use of the surroundings and confident actions are essential to make it back home.
6Pac-Man
The arcade classic,Pac-Man, has a simple goal. Players must direct Pac-Man through a maze to eat pellets and avoid ghosts that chase him.Pac-Mandoesn’t have tricky controls, but it gets progressively more complex as it goes on since the ghosts can speed up and have particular behaviors that are essential to understand for strategizing.
The original game features hundreds of levels for players to overcome, but the final stage in the game, level 256, cannot be completed because of a glitch that disrupts half of the screen. Despite this,reaching level 256 ofPac-Manis an accomplishment that takes tremendous dedication.
5Guitar Hero
Like many other successful rhythm games,Guitar Herois well-known because it brings players together to recreatesome of the greatest hitswhile jamming out by pressing color-correlated buttons. The game itself is easy enough to pick up, but the same cannot be said of some of the tracks it contains.
Guitar Herohas different difficulty settings for players of all skill levels, but some of the game’s challenges come with the genre. Timing, speed, and complex patterns make certain songs hard, even while being played on easier difficulties. Perfecting the quickest, most energetic jams in a rhythm game takes time and a clear understanding of the game’s seemingly simple mechanics.
4Cuphead
Cupheadstands out from other run-and-gun platformers for its smooth classic cartoon aesthetics and hectic boss battleswith hard-to-match difficulty. Despite the focus and dedication that the game requires, the controls seem easy to learn at first. Cuphead has to run, jump, parry, and shoot through various stages, beating bosses along the way.
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It is a classic video game plot. Still, once it jumps into its story, the sheer amount of differences between the bosses and levels can be startling for some players.Cupheadtakes tremendous time and adaptability to complete and considerably more to fully master.
3Crash Bandicoot
Similar toCuphead,the games in theCrash Bandicootseries are primarily platformers. Players take control of Crash, a bandicoot who attempts to thwart Doctor Neo Cortex’s plans of world domination by spinning, sliding, and slamming into enemies. As Crash makes his way through levels, he must also try to break boxes and collect gems.
Although theCrash Bandicootgames have many objectives and boss battles,the most difficult stagesmake players time their movements carefully and intentionally with intense climbs and a surprising variety of enemies.
2Tekken
Fighting games, likeTekken,are perfect for button-mashing and beginners. When it comes to tournaments though, fans of the genre show just how important and impressive learning a character’s techniques can be.
Since the series has such a wide roster of characters, theTekkengames are some of thehardest to learn. Still, the impressive hand-to-hand combat inspires fans to dedicate time to the series. After all, in intense matches, back blocking and special moves at the right time are essential to winning.
1Celeste
Celesteisanindie platformer success storyabout a trans woman named Madeline who decides to climb up Celeste Mountain to clear her mind and challenge her self-doubt. As she climbs and dashes around the mountain, she has to overcome spikes, falling objects, and moving platforms that become more troublesome the higher she climbs.
Since the climb isn’t as simple as it first seems, the game features an auto function that players can use if they need it. Despite this, Madeline’s journey has a touching and compelling story, giving players a reason to persevere through its difficulties. What’s more, it’s an incredibly intuitive title, with the game rarely needing to explain new mechanics whenever they are introduced.
