Best Difficult Games on Steam

Unlike generic lists, our strategy game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated difficult games. For those who prefer not to search, check out lists of the most played, top deals and best free to play Difficult games on Steam.

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Slender: The Arrival Slender Man returns more terrifying than ever. You're on your own. No one to help you. No one to hear you scream. Relive the horror all over again with cutting edge visuals for the 10th Anniversary Update and experience survival horror at its finest.

Price -57% 8.43€
Rating 8.6
Release 28 Oct 2013
Nihilumbra Discover the beautiful world of Nihilumbra and join Born on his adventure to find himself whilst trying to escape from his inevitable curse. Born was created from the absolute nothingness: The Void. But somehow he separates himself from the black emptiness and appears in the world.

Price -94% 0.48€
Rating 8.5
Release 25 Oct 2013
FORCED: Slightly Better Edition FORCED is a challenging 1-4-player game with co-op at its heart! A mix of tactical arcade action, RPG elements and puzzles will forge you and your friends together. As slaves in the toughest gladiator school of them all, you will face a plethora of unique trials - designed to be your death!

Price 13.99€
Rating 7.2
Release 24 Oct 2013
Syder Arcade Killing zombies never gets old, but sometimes you just need a break. Get back to some serious old-school gaming with Syder Arcade! Syder Arcade is a love letter to Amiga games of the ‘90s, no coins, no upgrade grinding, just your tenacity and a motherload of alien invaders.

Price -86% 1.43€
Rating 7.9
Release 24 Oct 2013
Tetrobot and Co. Tetrobot is the world's most popular and reliable robot, but he's not perfect. That's why I, Maya, have built him a microscopic little brother, Psychobot.Help me guide Psy through Tetrobot's cogs and circuits: by swallowing blocks of matter and spitting them out, we can repair anything.

Price -86% 1.44€
Rating 8.9
Release 22 Oct 2013
Super Amazing Wagon Adventure Super Amazing Wagon Adventure is a fast-paced 2d shooting game with a random story. You control a group of three migrants traveling west along a wagon trail. The game consists of short scenes that are sequenced together in a semi-random way to tell a crazy adventure story.

Price 2.99€
Rating 9.1
Release 17 Oct 2013
140 140 is a challenging minimalistic platformer with abstract colorful graphics. Rhythmic awareness is required to overcome obstacles controlled by an energetic, yet melancholic electronic soundtrack.

Price -77% 1.16€
Rating 8.9
Release 16 Oct 2013
Democracy 3 Have you ever wanted to be president? or prime-minister? Convinced you could do a better job of running the country? Let's face it, you could hardly do a worse job than our current political leaders.

Price -67% 8.20€
Rating 7.3
Release 14 Oct 2013
Knights and Merchants KNIGHTS and MERCHANTS recreates the era of the Middle Ages. Apart from the purely fictitious geography of our world, all game elements and scenes are based on the Anglo-Saxon period, 1200 A.D. And we haven't used imaginary elements like fabled creatures, either. The player takes on the role of an ordinary captain in the Palace Guard.

Price -93% 0.74€
Rating 8.2
Release 14 Oct 2013
Soundodger+ Dodge the music and dance through a mesmerizing ballet of choreographed bullets, each synced to music from over a dozen international artists. Push your creativity and skills with the fully-featured Level Editor and never run out of things to dodge.

Price -22% 6.25€
Rating 8.5
Release 11 Oct 2013
Escape Goat Escape Goat is a puzzle platformer where you take control of a goat, who has been imprisoned for witchcraft, and overcome traps and obstacles to escape the Prison of Agnus. Fear not, for with your supreme agility, sturdy horns, and the help of a magic mouse friend, you can turn the tables on foes and use the environment to your advantage.

Price 4.99€
Rating 9.0
Release 09 Oct 2013
Cook, Serve, Delicious! One of the few hardcore restaurant sims in existence, Cook, Serve, Delicious! is a deceptively easy game to learn but incredibly challenging to master as you progress through your career from owning a terrible zero star cafe into a five star world famous restaurant.

Price -96% 0.44€
Rating 9.1
Release 08 Oct 2013
Knock-knock There is an unusual cabin deep in the woods. It had served as a laboratory and a dwelling for three generations of Lodgers.But as of late the latest Lodger has been noticing weird changes in familiar surroundings; things are missing, noises and rattle heard. Something odd is coming out of the woods.

Price -89% 1.11€
Rating 8.3
Release 04 Oct 2013
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Rise of the Owlverlord Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Rise of the Owlverlord is a blistering platformer with morphing worlds, featuring seven brand new levels, a new boss and new gripping tracks from Chris Hülsbeck and Machinae Supremacy! Dash through tricky levels and transform the whole world at will in this fast-paced platformer.

Price -97% 0.50€
Rating 7.7
Release 26 Sep 2013
Bunny Must Die! Chelsea and the 7 Devils From the creator of the Gundemonium Collection comes a thrilling new 2D action-platformer! Help Bunny escape the Devils’ Labyrinth and defeat the 7 Devils in this hilariously over-the-top action-platformer game. Battle through a large, connected map filled with unique enemies, traps, and puzzles.

Price -36% 7.10€
Rating 6.6
Release 26 Sep 2013
Alien Rage - Unlimited Unleash a fury of powerful weapons as you blast your way through armies of Alien forces hell-bent on taking you down! Battle through 14 intense levels and prepare to face a barrage of beastly-sized bosses that will test your every skill. Each of your 10 weapons comes with two firing modes and you’ll need all of them!

Price -98% 0.48€
Rating 6.6
Release 24 Sep 2013
Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures "The most rewarding game of 2013!" Influenced by retro classics Mega Man and Castlevania, Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures features the AVGN and friends as they blast their way through 10 levels of fun, fast paced 2D action based on the AVGN's adventures in his online series.

Price -61% 1.96€
Rating 8.5
Release 20 Sep 2013
Legend of Dungeon Legend of Dungeon is a randomly generated action RPG Beat'em'up with heavy Rogue-like elements, striking visuals, and dynamic music.

Price -93% 0.78€
Rating 7.1
Release 13 Sep 2013
Volgarr the Viking Return to the Golden Age of arcades with a hardcore action platformer that pulls no punches! Possesses all the hallmarks of true classics like Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts (SNES), Rastan Saga (Arcade), Castlevania (NES) and more with precise controls, high challenge, and meticulous design.

Price -90% 1.00€
Rating 7.8
Release 13 Sep 2013
Aarklash: Legacy In Aarklash: Legacy take command of a mercenary squad in search of truth and guide it through countless battles.Welcome to Aarklash, a land of chaos where incessant battles between the forces of Light, Destiny and Darkness have lasted since the beginning of time.

Price -95% 0.72€
Rating 7.0
Release 12 Sep 2013
Wizardry 8 A New Wizardry for a New GenerationThe universe is in the throes of violent upheaval and change. Vast and mysterious forces are preparing for the final confrontation. A small group of heroes from distant lands must plunge into the heart of the maelstrom, to uncover long-forgotten secrets, and bring about a new era.

Price -52% 4.87€
Rating 8.5
Release 10 Sep 2013
Zafehouse: Diaries Stuck in a remote, abandoned town, you must lead five survivors with conflicting motivations, fragile relationships and fiery prejudices to safety from the roving undead. A sophisticated engine generates new survivors, towns and content so every adventure is a different experience, and you can use built-in editors to add yourself and...

Price 1.99€
Rating 6.5
Release 06 Sep 2013
Outlast Hell is an experiment you can't survive in Outlast, a first-person survival horror game developed by veterans of some of the biggest game franchises in history. As investigative journalist Miles Upshur, explore Mount Massive Asylum and try to survive long enough to discover its terrible secret... if you dare.

Price -53% 7.09€
Rating 9.5
Release 04 Sep 2013
Castle of Illusion Mickey Mouse returns to star in Castle of Illusion, a fantastical reimagining of the Sega Genesis classic.

Price -84% 2.20€
Rating 8.7
Release 04 Sep 2013