Platformers are one of the oldest genres of video games to exist, and alsoone of the most diverse. From old standbyssuch as Marioto a smorgasbord of indie darlings, it can be hard to choose a favorite. There’s something for everyone, but some games have earned a reputation for being more unforgiving than others.
It can be particularly shocking when a game you once thought was a breeze suddenly turns on you. And sometimes, a game that was challenging but manageable flips everything you knew on its head. We’ve collected a list of some of the top offenders.
10I Wanna Be The Guy
Thedifficulty spike forI Wanna Be The Guy follows a different trajectory from most platformers. You’re pretty much expected to know this game will be difficult before you play. But while most difficult games like Cuphead or Elden Ring are hard in a way that’s internally consistent, I Wanna Be The Guy laughs in the face of concepts such as “consistency” or “knowing the rules”.
Every few levels a new obstacle or mechanic is introduced to attempt to kill you. Tropes you once took for granted are thrown out the window. If you like punishing games, look no further.
9Cave Story
Cave Story is a platformer that follows the same ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ credo as the older titles it’s inspired by. For the most part, the first few levels are a decent test of your skill and reflexes, That changes as the game progresses, and Cave Story’s difficulty spike comes not from one level but the game’s design itself.
While most platformers have you learn new skills or gain power-ups as the game progresses, Quote grows in power at a glacial pace. The enemies get tougher, though, forcing you to get creative or die in one hit.
8Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus
Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus and its remake, Oddworld: Soulstorm both have a difficulty spike fairly early on. The first few levels have you wandering the Necrum Mines, where you can become accustomed to the game’s mechanics and have a few seconds to survey a screen before diving in.
This all changes once you reach the Mudanchee vaults, which are infested with Fleeches. These leech-like abominations are small, but numerous, and will immediately start attacking as soon as you enter a screen. This is already bad, but the Mudanchee vaults have several screens where you immediately get swarmed by the buggers.
7Psychonauts
Psychonauts spices things up when it introduces a difficulty spike in the last level. In the Meat Circus, you’re faced with the ultimate horror: an escort mission. You find a younger version of Oleander, the insufferable camp counselor.
You have a limited amount of time to guide him through various obstacles, all while making sure he doesn’t come to any harm. This would be a lot easier if you weren’t also trying not to die, but the game shows no mercy. And, like all escort mission NPCs, Oleander seems to have zero sense of self-preservation.
6Cuphead
Cuphead was alwaysmeant to bea challenging game, but it’s still amazing to see how inconsistent it is. Baroness von Bon Bon is one of the deadliest bosses in Inkwell Isle 2, with tons of different attacks to keep you on your toes. Her fight is disproportionately harder than the rest of the island.
Inkwell Isle 3 isn’t much better. Most of it is reasonable for this point in the game, until you face either Rumor Honeybottoms or Captain Brineybeard. Both have dozens of tricks up their sleeve, even as the rest of the island is easier in comparison.
5Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey, at first glance, seems like the perfect entry point to introduce newcomers to3D Mario titles. There’s a variety of quirky worlds and NPCs to explore, and while some of the levels are challenging, it’s always at least obvious what you need to do to progress.
The difficulty scales at a reasonable pace until you get to the Luncheon Kingdom. Here, you’ll end up dying multiple times unless you time your jumps perfectly, and it’s not always obvious where you need to go next. This is where many players find themselves toggling on the game’s easy mode.
4Banjo-Kazooie
The first couple of worlds you explore in Banjo-Kazooie are a breeze. It seems likethe perfect platformerif you’re new to the genre, with levels that are appropriately challenging and a straightforward collectible system. Then you’re tossed into Treasure Trove Cove.
This is where the game stops treating you with kidd gloves and starts ramping up the difficulty. All of a sudden, you have more enemies, more collectibles, and more perilous obstacles. Sure, the entire rest of the game is like this, but Rare could have set the expectations during the tutorial.
3Super Mario Bros. 3
Sure, the older 2D Mario titles are known forbeing more challengingthan their modern counterparts. But most are either hard from the get-go, or scale at a consistent pace. Not so with Super Mario Bros. 3, which gets downright cruel after you get to World 3.
Much of this world is made up of underwater levels, where you’re forced to manage your time and oxygen in order to survive. Others require you to time your jumps perfectly to not fall into the abyss, or foist swarms of Cheep Cheeps on you until you’re eaten alive.
2Donkey Kong Country
Rare has a reputation for making platform games that are far more challenging than their appearance would have you believe. Donkey Kong Country looks like it’ll be a breeze. This will be the last assumption you make as you finish the first few levels and the game proceeds to toss you screaming into Mine Cart Carnage.
If you don’t time your jumps perfectly down to the nanosecond, you die. This level is full of obstacles that will kill you if your reflexes aren’t fast enough. You also don’t have as many resources to burn, so start building your skills.
1Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim is a pretty typical platformer up until you reach the Tube Race. This is where the game changes from platformer to Sisyphean nightmare, as you’re forced to move a frustratingly fragile orb through a narrow pathway to progress. There’s also no shortage of obstacles in your way, with almost nothing you can do to avoid them.
But wait! There’s more! You’re underwater with a limited supply of oxygen. Take too long to figure out how you’re supposed to progress through this level, and you will die. Have fun!
