Though adjustable difficulty settings are a rather new concept in the gaming world, it is important to note that they have truly changed the ways in which we play games. In retro style arcade games, the difficulty would gradually increase with each level one passed and that helped players build up their skills over time.
However, now that games allow players to set their own difficulty level, players are able to begin games in these harder modes. Some players do so because they beat the game in Easy mode and are now looking for a challenge. Some do it to show off. And some games are just too easy on any mode other than the hardest ones. However, some games are so difficult on their own that the idea of playing them on anything other than its easiest modes is truly laughable.
9 Cuphead
If you're into challenging games that still offer a reasonable learning curve, then you need to give Cuphead a try. Though pretty difficult in the beginning, but as you get the hang of things, it gets fairly easy and just in time for the end all your newfound skills are tested.
However, normal mode is truly nothing compared to the harder modes in which one can play the game. It's brutal and all makes you better appreciate the difficulty of the inoffensive, cutesy game. Though hard but not impossible to beat on normal mode, the difficult mode will have players needing to put their controllers down and take a walk to avoid throwing the thing through their monitor.
Dark Souls
Any seasoned gamer will know the legacy that follows the games in the Dark Souls series. They are often referred to as some of the hardest games in the gaming world but this reputation is not undeserved.
But it's true, and it deserves to be reiterated time and time again because Dark Souls is not only brutal, but it's brutally good. It's really a call back to those old arcade games when if you saw someone beat one of those monsters that person would be hailed as a king or queen, to be forever immortalized in video game legend.
8 The Evil Within
The Evil Within has a combination of two things that make for a frustrating experience in any game -- it's difficult and it's long. Thing is, it's also good, with a few hiccups of confusing-can-we-hurry-this-up-moments; but overall its horrifying bosses and tense atmosphere make for a classic modern horror game.
However, truly sadistic players have found that cranking the games difficulty up all of the way turns this thrilling horror game into a sudden-death match between you and the non-stop barrage of monsters that will take you out in a single strike.
7 Trials Games
Trials is a game which lulls its players into a false sense of security as its lower levels can be mastered rather easily with a bit of dedication and effort. However, this does not last long and harder levels can really throw players off of their rhythm.
This is because once you hit the expert level tracks everything changes and players might find it rather difficult to even finish a level; let alone earn a medal.
6 Dead Space 2 (Or Really Any of Them)
When it comes to difficulty in horror games, Dead Space has to ride the fine line of making it just hard enough where players aren't so frustrated that the game loses its scary themes without making it so easy that players find themselves bored.
On the normal level, it performs this balancing act perfectly. Hardcore mode forces you to approach the game in a much more methodical way unlike the running and gunning players enjoyed on easier difficulties.
5 Alien Isolation
Continuing our theme of unfair horror games set in space, Alien Isolation is the embodiment of a game that was meant to be played on normal. The frustrating thing about this game is the nonsensical difficulty scaling as 'easy mode' is far too easy but the harder levels can get rather unplayable.
Sure it makes sense to have to change up your strategy for a more difficult setting, but when that is pushed too far, a game can become a lot less fun, and that's what happens here. Plus it doesn't help that Alien Isolation is already a long game so by the time you make it to the mid-point on hard you'll likely already be checked out.
4 Doom (2016)
Doom 2016 became an instant classic the day it made it's debut -- and its hardest difficulty, "Ultra-Nightmare" mode is perhaps almost as iconic as the game itself.
The thing that makes this difficulty so excruciating is the fact that the player is not allowed to resurrect after being taken down by an enemy. Any death will result in one having to restart the game. And it is not a short game either. Our hearts go out to the dedicated players who were able to successfully speed run the infamous mode.
3 Halo
The game's infamous "Legendary" difficulty was no joking matter even back in the days of the first game in the series. By the time Halo Reach came along the game would tell you that "Heroic" (It's hard setting) was the way the game was intended to be played.
It is important to note that the game is playable on its more difficult levels; however, more casual fans may find it simply not worth the stress.
2 Call of Duty
Surprising enough, there aren't many shooters that can go toe-to-toe with Call of Duty and its hardest difficulty, "Veteran." This is the definition of unfair, and by the time you finish even one mission you will need to take a break.
It's not fun having to throw back grenade after grenade and step around a corner only to be obliterated by bullets. Though, one may glean a truly powerful sense of accomplishment if they are ever able to complete the game on such a mode.
1 Ninja Gaiden Sigma II
Like a lot of entries on this list, you could pick from any of the games in their respective series and find an equally difficult counterpart.
The same can be said about Ninja Gaiden, but Sigma is one of the highest points of the series and an entry that anyone could jump in on. That said, this game is truly difficult, you might even be stuck on the first level for days like this player who vented about his experience on Reddit. Revel in that frustration, because this game is as good as it gets.