Best Difficult Games on Steam
Unlike generic lists, our game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated difficult games.
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Don't Starve
Don’t Starve is an uncompromising wilderness survival game full of science and magic. Enter a strange and unexplored world full of strange creatures, dangers, and surprises. Gather resources to craft items and structures that match your survival style.
Surgeon Simulator
Surgeon Simulator is an over-the-top operation sim, stitching together pitch-black humour with life-saving surgery. Become Dr. Burke, a would-be surgeon with a less than conventional toolkit, as he performs procedures on patients including the Heavy from TF2! ...is that a hammer?
Eador. Masters of the Broken World
Eador is a universe made of countless shards of land drifting in the Great Nothing. Each of the shards is a little world unto itself, with geography and denizens of its own. The power over the shards is bitterly contested by Masters, the immortal beings mortals believe to be gods.
La-Mulana
LA-MULANA is an “Archaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game,” bringing the classic appeal of adventure with the punishing difficulty of retro-inspired gaming. Search inside ancient ruins, seeking out the “Secret Treasure of Life” – which sleeps in the sprawling ruins of “LA-MULANA” and is said to be the beginning of all civilization.
Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition
Also known as Out Of This World™, Another World is a pioneer action/platformer that released across more than a dozen platforms since its debut in 1991. Along the years, Another World™ has attained cult status among critics and sophisticated gamers alike.
Ms. Splosion Man
You got a problem? Yo, she’ll splode it. At the Big Science after-party celebrating the capture of Splosion Man, a spill of champagne shorts out the safety protocols on the splosionatrix and from it emerges Ms. Splosion Man. The latest creation from Twisted Pixel Games, the creators of Splosion Man, The Maw, and Comic Jumper, Ms.
Trials Evolution: Gold Edition
Trials Evolution: Gold Edition marks the Trials franchise’s triumphant return to the PC gaming platform. RedLynx’s signature franchise, the Trials series first made its mark in gaming with the 2008 release of Trials 2 SE for the PC.
Ultratron
Experience the addictive gameplay of old-school arcade favourites, updated and improved for the 21st century! Unique retro-futuristic sound and graphics, player responsive difficulty, and a subtle system of tactics combined with classic gameplay make Ultratron a fun and hypnotic arcade blast.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 takes the bulls-eye precision of its predecessor to new and exciting heights!
TrackMania² Canyon
TrackMania² Canyon will let you experience the fun and adrenaline of racing stunning cars on sensational tracks in a major enhanced sequel to Nadeo Studio’s online racing phenomenon TrackMania, already enjoyed by millions of players.
BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
Step into rhythmic bliss with Runner2! Best Indie Game winner, Guinness World Record holder, and narrated by Charles Martinet. Unleash vibrant moves and beats in 120 levels!
The Bridge
The Bridge is a logic puzzle game that forces you to reevaluate your preconceptions of physics and perspective. It is Isaac Newton meets M. C. Escher. Manipulate gravity to redefine the ceiling as the floor while venturing through impossible architectures.
Super House of Dead Ninjas
Super House of Dead Ninjas is an action arcade game with roguelite elements. Race against a 30 second timer as you descend floor after foe-filled floor and attempt to unlock the secrets of this deadly tower!Play as the fearsome Crimson Ninja, wielding an arsenal of deadly ninja weapons and attacks.
Ys I & II Chronicles+
Long, long ago, there was an ancient kingdom called Ys which prospered under the auspices of two heavenly Goddesses. Over time, the kingdom came to be known as Esteria, and its divine history was largely forgotten by all but the descendants of those who once preached the Goddesses’ will.
RaceRoom Racing Experience
RaceRoom is free to download and built on true-to-life physics and Force Feedback. Drive DTM, FIA WTCC, WTCR and a huge library of cars and tracks—including the most up-to-date Nordschleife. Jump in, race instantly, and expand your garage with a massive selection of content.
Antichamber
Antichamber is a mind-bending psychological exploration game where nothing can be taken for granted. Discover an Escher-like world where hallways wrap around upon each other, spaces reconfigure themselves, and accomplishing the impossible may just be the only way forward.
Tomb Raider III (1998)
Thousands of years ago a meteor crashed into Antarctica and the shockwaves of its impact are being felt in the modern age. Lara Croft will follow clues leading to a deadly secret, boldly leaping chasms and blasting monsters that no one has leaped or blasted before. This time she faces a mystery that's from way out of this world.
Tomb Raider II (1997)
The second instalment in the Tomb Raider series invites you to join Lara as she travels around the globe to retrieve a precious artefact before it falls into the wrong hands. The legendary artefact, the Dagger of Xian, is said to give its possessor the power of a fire breathing dragon.
Stealth Bastard Deluxe
Armed with only your wits and a pair of Stealthing Goggles, it’s your job to sneak your way through a deadly facility that’s determined to extinguish your fragile little life.
Super Hexagon
Super Hexagon is a minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh, with music by Chipzel.
Hitman: Absolution™
The original assassin is back! Betrayed by the Agency and hunted by the police, Agent 47 finds himself pursuing redemption in a corrupt and twisted world.
Fly'N
Somewhere between a platformer, a puzzle game and a great big dollop of pure fun, Fly’N will challenge your skills through more than forty levels set in a luxuriant world. Experiment with the four Buds to save the World-Trees from Dyer, the loony hair-dryer who intends to destroy their Helys!
Pid
You are stranded on a strange and peculiar planet. It’s time to embark on your journey and find your way home! Explore a gravity defying and challenging platformer with striking visuals and a captivating story that transports you to a world beyond ours.
Divinity II: Developer's Cut
Dragons: they have been hunted, they have been slain, but now the hour to strike back has come.
Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami is a high-octane action game overflowing with raw brutality, hard-boiled gunplay and skull crushing close combat.
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a blistering hardcore platformer with contrasting worlds.
Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign
Unity of Command is an innovative and refreshing operational-level wargame that covers the entire 1942/43 Stalingrad Campaign on the Eastern Front.
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Besiege castles and raid villages in Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, a fast-paced medieval first person slasher with a focus on multiplayer battles
Of Orcs And Men
You have been appointed to fulfill an extremely dangerous mission, deep in enemy territory: to kill one man... the Emperor himself. Lead the revolution of the Orcs and Goblins!
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Slingshot Pack is Now Available!
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
A crazy action-adventure platformer... In Hell.
Cortex Command
Choose between different factions, with their own set of expendable soldiers, mechas, and weapons. Protect your brain, mine gold, and destroy the enemy cortex in his bunker complex!
FTL: Faster Than Light
This "spaceship simulation roguelike-like" allows you to take your ship and crew on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy filled with glory and bitter defeat.
Intrusion 2
"This is some of the most fun I've had with a game so far this year, and it will go down as one of the best side-scrolling shooters of all time." - 9/10, Destructoid