La-Mulana
La Mulana is…. an unfortunate game. It is very interesting and has a lot of potential, but it commits many gaming sins that can’t be overlooked. This is a NES era kind of game that is designed to force you to use some kind of guide when playing it (think castlevania 2). If you respond to this, don’t just say ‘the game is supposed to be hard’. Dark Souls is my favorite game; I know the difference between a game that is difficult because it’s designed well, and a game that is difficult because it is designed badly.
– Real player with 160.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Difficult 2D Games.
Do I recommend this game?
No. You can read the reviews and decide for yourself whether you think you’ll be able to stomach it, otherwise I see little value in trying to play it for simple reasons such as liking the art, or metroidvanias, or puzzles, or because a lot of people say it’s amazing.
Something I’ve noticed while playing La-Mulana is that an overwhelming majority of modern (and not-so-modern) games have quite some of the so-called “handholding” in some shape or form. This includes games being touted as having nearly no handholding such as Dark Souls (I’m sorry, I need to draw comparisons simply because other people probably draw them but for the wrong reasons, and it’s a good difficult game that is similar but also incredibly different).
– Real player with 129.7 hrs in game
Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy
The PC version of Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy offers all the content and patches found in the other versions of the game. On top of this, you get the ability to play at unlocked framerates, 4k resolution, native support for all major controllers (Xbox One / 360 / Dualshock 4 / Steam Controller) along with a move set for keyboard and mouse.
If you’ve played the PS4 version, the multiplatform release brings a slew of fixes and one piece of additional content. A new level “Future Tense” which incorporates elements from an unfinished level found in the original Crash Bandicoot from 96’ – dubbed the “waterfall level”.
– Real player with 66.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Difficult Classic Games.
I have completed the entire trilogy on PS1 several times since the original release in 1996, and I played through the N-Sane Trilogy twice, 100%, since it’s PS4 launch in 2017.
The PS4 version was enjoyable, despite the 30 FPS and weird collision detection on boxes (which surprisingly seems to have been fixed in the PC version, and rope running on the bridge levels is now easier to do consistantly again).
Since the game finally has come to PC, I decided to give it another shot, and I can say, without a doubt, that this is the definitive way to play it!
– Real player with 55.8 hrs in game
R-Type Dimensions EX
Teominious’s Gaming Greats Part 1: R-Type Dimensions EX
While I cannot speak as to how common it is for one to remember things that happened at age-just-above-two, I can say with 100% confidence that this series has been with me for as long as I can remember. Specifically, I walked into the living room of our small, Flagstaff Arizonan apartment, roving about as toddlers do. That day, though, something different, and new caught my eye; sitting on the sofa was a new game, a PSOne jewel case with uniquely-fonted letters on a black background simply reading “R-Types”.
– Real player with 28.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Difficult Shoot 'Em Up Games.
What is it?
A faithful conversion (and optional audiovisual remaster) of the classic R-Type and R-Type II arcade horizontal SHMUP games. You may have played conversions of these games on home consoles in the past, which may have varied in their content or difficulty depending on the versions you played. These are the arcade originals, with an optional remaster mode that can be switched to and from on the fly at the touch of a button.
Pros
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Excellent, faithful ports.
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Optional audiovisual remaster that you can switch to or from at the touch of a button.
– Real player with 8.4 hrs in game
Toki
𝕋𝕠𝕜𝕚 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥; 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤, 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕒𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
This is a game from the Arcade that I really loved back in the day; it was hard but NOT impossible, I would beat it repeatedly after coming back from school on the way home in a local arcade and I’m not boasting or anything, but all of my friends would beat it in the same fashion I did. The monkey heads especially gave us a run for our money (pun intended) back then, but it was still DOABLE! I would beat the game after 15 tries and at some point it was just something to go back to to chill and relax after getting destroyed by local veterans in fighting games. Toki on Steam is something else completely. The graphic overhaul is not the only thing that this game has provided – also extremely unfair level designs. Now on level 5, instead of jumping the gaps like you normally would, you’d have to jump at the last spot you can stand on or you’d land right on the spikes, it would have to be PIXEL PERFECT. Sometimes the firebirds in level 3 would stop shooting and/or moving (they are the buggiest creatures of the game) and I’ve had runs where everything was UTTERLY perfect, no deaths, perfect scores, but then the Key firebird disappears off-screen and I had to restart the whole game. It only happened once though but it frustrated the hell out of me. The bosses, I found, were quite easy (which was the only thing they retained from the Original: EASY bosses with EASY patterns to learn). The soundtrack is remastered, amazingly so, and before too long you’ll find yourself singing those sick beats inside your head while cleaning your kitchen (haha).
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
This is the same great old Toki, but remade, still as Difficult, still as fun, but you don’t have to worry about the pennies on the arcade machine.
⡴⠑⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣀⣀⣤⣤⣤⣀⡀
⠸⡇⠀⠿⡀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡴⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣦⡀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠑⢄⣠⠾⠁⣀⣄⡈⠙⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆
⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡀⠁⠀⠀⠈⠙⠛⠂⠈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⡿⢿⣆
⠀⠀⠀⢀⡾⣁⣀⠀⠴⠂⠙⣗⡀⠀⢻⣿⣿⠭⢤⣴⣦⣤⣹⠀⠀⠀⢀⢴⣶⣆
⠀⠀⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣷⣮⣽⣾⣿⣥⣴⣿⣿⡿⢂⠔⢚⡿⢿⣿⣦⣴⣾⠸⣼⡿
⠀⢀⡞⠁⠙⠻⠿⠟⠉⠀⠛⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣌⢤⣼⣿⣾⣿⡟⠉
⠀⣾⣷⣶⠇⠀⠀⣤⣄⣀⡀⠈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇
⠀⠉⠈⠉⠀⠀⢦⡈⢻⣿⣿⣿⣶⣶⣶⣶⣤⣽⡹⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠲⣽⡻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣜⣿⣿⣿⡇
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣷⣶⣮⣭⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⣈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃
~ DIFFICULTY ~
🔲 My grandma could play it
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition
Click here for the full review (Steam’s character limit doesn’t allow me to post the full thing here), and if you’ve played the game, please check out my Another World survey !
In 1991 I first played Another World (also known as Outer World and Out of This World in some regions), a game that would have a greater and more lasting impact on me than any other.
– Real player with 40.0 hrs in game
Jordan Mechner, Steve Meretzky, Roberta Williams…Eric Chahi.
If you don’t know who Eric Chahi is, or why I breathe his name with a palpable aura of reverence, buy this game immediately. This is an enduring piece of computer game history that remains as beautiful, stark, striking and unique today as it was when it burst onto the scene in 1991. This is a landmark computer game.
So what, you say? So was Doom, and very few of us are still playing it today. So was DONKEY.BAS, the famous early IBM game with the racecar switching lanes to avoid burros in the road. So was the Crowther and Woods Adventure. The history of computer games is littered with significant milestones, making for a very cluttered highway to the past. Right. I understand. But when you find one that’s still fresh and avant-garde exactly as it is, today? You could drop Another World into the indie game market anew, and it’d still turn heads and inspire conversations. The adjective “timeless” is overused, but this game is truly timeless.
– Real player with 24.2 hrs in game
DuckTales: Remastered
Pogo everything. Leave no survivors.
I was too young to play Capcom’s Ducktales when it originally came to the NES back in 1990 (I was two years old then), but I made up for it by playing the game constantly when it was available on the NEStalgia online emulator a few years back.
What a treat, then, that Ducktales Remastered (a port/remake developed by Wayforward Technologies) is light-years ahead of the original version. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that this is a faithful remake that does justice to the license while throwing a boatload of extra content for longtime fans.
– Real player with 41.2 hrs in game
I’m downvoting this game with extreme prejudice because it has a crash bug which has been left unaddressed for over a year: players who have Nvidia cards with up-to-date drivers will find that the game will always freeze on the final boss. It seems that some recent version of Nvidia drivers broke some graphic effects in late-game cutscenes. Unfortunately, the rights to this game are a royal cluster of bureaucracy between Disney, CAPCOM, and WayForward, and nobody seems interested in addressing the issue, or even acknowledging that this game exists anymore. Basically, if you don’t have access to a PC without an Nvidia card, do not buy this game, as you will not be able to finish it without skipping specific cutscenes and using weird workarounds.
– Real player with 11.2 hrs in game
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
I would have never thought after all my years of living that I would love a game as much as I love this one.
I gave Flash Isaac a try after getting my ass kicked in Enter The Gungeon because of the similar styles and it was also collecting dust in my steam library. It was all down hill from there.
It’s definitely a game you’re going to have to put some time and dedication in and through all the blood, sweat, and tears you’ll find that this game is just a gem.
Endless gameplay, awesome community, mods, and so much more.
– Real player with 796.1 hrs in game
Father of all roguelikes.
Part 1: Introduction.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is one of the best roguelikes ever in the industry (Thanks to Edmund McMillen). In the game you will see many unique bosses, items, characters, procedurally generating locations and much more that you will find yourself during the passage.
Part 2: Difference from other games of a similar genre.
Unlike other roguelikes, this project has a deep history of its creation. Most of all I remember that in the game each passage is like a new one and this causes excitement in you, because you think: “What will happen next?”
– Real player with 508.9 hrs in game
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
Bionic Commando was a decent enough arcade action game, when it debuted in 1987. Cartoonish, tricky, demanding, full of genuinely vexing little obstacles here and there. Its NES port, technically a sequel to the arcade game, remains the gold standard “home version that clobbered its arcade counterpart” in my book, adding many more stages, many more enemies and obstacles, and some genuinely hair-bristling cruel and unforgiving claw-swinging physics challenges that made you feel really accomplished when you finally cleared them. Bionic Commando was the first NES game I finished, partly due to being a very late arrival to the NES world, but partly also because it was the first game I owned to seem, frankly, as though its unfolding story justified the work involved. I felt like I’d really accomplished something, the day I finally arrived at that endscreen with Joe’s signature.
– Real player with 48.0 hrs in game
Easily one of the best games of the PS3/360 era and from back when Capcom was willing to experiment both with new IPs and with their wide library of existing IPs to the point of reviving old forgotten franchises such as Bionic Commando and Dark Void (With varying results overall) and also from a time where they outsourced a lot of their projects to North American and European companies (In this case, the game was developed by GRIN. A company which eventually transformed into OVERKILL and went on to develop PAYDAY: The Heist on the same engine as this game).
– Real player with 35.2 hrs in game
Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake)
Where do I even begin with how special this game is to me? I was introduced to the legacy of Final Fantasy IV through the DS remake not long after it released, so it’s not like I’ve had decades to dwell on it, but the game struck a chord with me from the very start. The music is enchanting, the story is gripping, the voice cast is phenomenal, and the gameplay hasn’t aged a day. For my review, I’d like to elaborate on each of these points one at a time to give a better sense of what I love about Final Fantasy IV.
– Real player with 109.5 hrs in game
This game should be the Gold Standard when comes to “remakes” for it was properly done. The faithfulness that the developers at Matrix Software that took the pains and applied the wisdom to properly enhance the locations from the original that was unable to execute due to the limited capacities on the Super Nintendo (Famicom) now have been given the proper authentic vision the original developers envisioned.
For example: Damcyan (the desert-kingom) has taken the “middle-eastern” flavor and Fabul with its “Chinese” reflection; and of course, Eblan with its “ninja” embracement.
– Real player with 85.5 hrs in game
Ys I & II Chronicles+
Useless bit of trivia first.
The amount of times these games have been redone is truly mindblowing, but then again Ys has been around since 1987. What we have here is an enhanced port of a PSP port of an enhanced edition of a windows remake of a combined turbografx-16/pc-engine remake of a pair of games on an ancient japanese pc. Rolls right off the tongue and I’m not even gonna get into how many ports the original games themselves got. I’m fairly certain this won’t be the last remake either.
– Real player with 67.3 hrs in game
This game screams: Epic. Retro. Action RPG. While we’re at it, Ys Chronicles+ kicks Major Ass (this is an E rated review)! The game mechanics are so simple and so addictive that you can literally spend hours grinding monsters, just because! And then you look at the clock and think, “Holy Pants! It’s tomorrow! …But maybe just a little longer…” and then you turn into a zombie. Yea, this is a hyperbole, but it’s not as much of an overstatement as you might think.
And did I mention that this is a package of two games? Quick history lesson. When Falcom was developing Ys, limitations forced them to split the epic into two, resulting in two games, Ys I and II, collectively called (in this case) The Ys Chronicles (Ys Complete, Ys Eternal, Ys Epic Remake VII, these two games have seen a plethora of remakes, and Ys Chronicles+ is the latest and arguably greatest).
– Real player with 40.6 hrs in game