10 Hardest Platformer Video Games Of All Time, Ranked

In this modern era of video gaming where style is often preferred over substance, many tend to overlook quality titles that forego AAA gaming conventions. Most gamers think that the platformer genre is dead or stuck in the past, but that is far from the truth.

While platformers can be fun, some developers push it to the limit by introducing newer challenges, while other sadistic devs design borderline unbeatable stages that will surely shorten their fellow gamers’ lifespans. In fact, many of the most difficult games of all time are platformers.

10 Happy Wheels

What started as a browser-based flash game gained popularity in the mid-2010s, Happy Wheels was known for its ragdolls, gore, and rage-inducing moments.

In the game, players control a variety of characters, each with their own unique modes of transportation, and try to make it through the level without taking fatal damage from all manner of wacky obstacles. Most of these levels are fan creations, and, as of 2021, there are over 10,000,000 of them. A downloadable sequel is on the way, and fans can also play the more optimized Javascript remake of the original game, as Flash has, unfortunately, been disabled.

9 Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy

Armed with only a sledgehammer inside a pot, players guide Diogenes up an increasingly-abstracted mountain. It is easier said than done, as one unfortunate mistake could result in restarting the whole game since there aren’t any checkpoints.

According to the developer, playtesters took five hours on average to complete the game, staying that the game was designed for “a certain kind of person, to hurt them.” It was originally inspired by a weird flash game titled Sexy Hiking.

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8 Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels

The Lost Levels plays like the original game and utilizes the same sprites, except that the stage layouts are different. The game punishes players right from the beginning, as it requires trial and error to get things right. Mario and Luigi also have different attributes, with Luigi being more “slippery” and able to jump higher, which makes him prone to missteps. Some levels have invisible blocks and poison mushrooms which could kill or shrink the player. The fans refer to this game as the “black sheep” of the series.

7 Battletoads

Arguably the most difficult NES game ever, Battletoads features seizure-inducing levels and enemies coming out of nowhere, like a mix of Contra and Double Dragon. This game is night-on impossible after level two, and the “Turbo Tunnel” is a speedrunner’s worst nightmare that remains one of the hardest levels in video game history. Masochists will surely have a field day with this one.

6 Super Ghouls N’ Ghosts

This game is like a 2D version of Dark Souls. The third title in the series still features the knight Arthur who must save the princess after she was kidnapped by the Demon Emperor. On the way to the ghoul realm, he encounters ferocious enemies and sub-bosses, and, at times, ends up fighting in his underwear.

The game’s infamous difficulty stems from the fact that taking as few as two hits from enemies will prove fatal. Also, players need to beat the game twice to unlock a secret item and achieve the true ending.

5 Celeste

The genius storytelling of Celeste should be the gold standard in this modern era. Players empathize with the protagonist as they try to battle mental illness in the form of physical enemies as they climb Celeste Mountain.

Gameplay-wise, it is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. The levels start off pretty basic, but new mechanics are introduced later in the game which seriously throw a wrench into the works and can trip up even the most seasoned platformer players.

4 Rayman

The original Rayman title requires nothing less than perfect skill. Don’t let the innocent-looking art fool you. First released on the PSOne (PSX), Rayman features five different levels. Its gameplay was similar to that of Donkey Kong Country, but with sadistic developers adding a bunch of killer fruits and veggies.

The excessive vine climbing and fruit jumping are the easier parts, though. The stage where the water level rises and Rayman has to get to the top is just terrifying to the point where the pressure makes you want to wet your pants.

3 Cuphead

Cuphead pays homage to the early days of animations with its beautiful hand-drawn art and painstaking attention to detail. While it’s a marvel to look at, it’s grueling to play, and that’s due in no small part to the games’ various bosses.

The key to beating them is to memorize their attack patterns. It all comes down to reaction time and ability to parry, but that’s all much easier said than done, making this a particularly difficult endeavor, even for well-attuned gamers.

2 Super Meat Boy

Prepare to smash your consoles and PCs to bits. Super Meat Boy is like Impossible Game, but on steroids; it’s basically 300 levels of wall-jumping and avoiding saws. If that’s not enough, they even add lasers at the end and rising water to make sure you can’t take a second to plan any moves or at least take a breath.

One of the greatest aspects of the game is the unlockable characters, each with different attributes that can be used to beat Warp Zones or bonus levels.

1 I Wanna Be The Guy

IWBTG’s Levels are actually designed to kill the player as much as possible in order to make them suffer. The key here is to memorize each spike, obstacle, and platform but then again, only gamers with godlike reflexes and IQ can even reach half of the first level.

It only takes one hit to explode the player’s guts. Also, the difficulty players choose won’t affect the gameplay, only there are more save points when choosing the lower difficulties.

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