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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Capsized Capsized is a fast paced 2D platformer focused on intense action and exploration. As a intrepid space traveler, your ship has crash landed on a mysterious alien planet. You must navigate through the perilous environment and fight off blood-thirsty creatures to save your crewmates and escape with your lives!

Price -95% 0.49€
Rating 7.3
Release 29 Apr 2011
Sanctum You think Tower Defense games are all about building? You thought wrong. Sanctum is not your average Tower Defense title. When the havoc starts, you get to join the fray! As one of the world’s first First Person Shooter - Tower Defense games, Sanctum has taken the best of both worlds to deliver an epic, one-of-a-kind experience.

Price -78% 2.28€
Rating 8.6
Release 15 Apr 2011
Anomaly: Warzone Earth Lead an armored squad through the perils of this reversed tower defense action-strategy game!

Price -95% 0.56€
Rating 8.4
Release 08 Apr 2011
Revenge of the Titans The ultimate mash-up of Real-time Strategy and Tower Defense!

Price -52% 8.14€
Rating 7.8
Release 16 Mar 2011
SpaceChem Zachtronics is back with an ambitious new design-based puzzle game. Take on the role of a Reactor Engineer working for SpaceChem, the leading chemical synthesizer for frontier colonies. Construct elaborate factories to transform raw materials into valuable chemical products!

Price -89% 1.11€
Rating 8.9
Release 02 Mar 2011
BIT.TRIP RUNNER Experience the rhythmic thrill of BIT.TRIP RUNNER! With its retro charm, simple controls, and award-winning visuals, this classic sets the standard for rhythm gaming. Don't miss the game that started it all in the acclaimed runner series.

Price -89% 0.94€
Rating 8.3
Release 28 Feb 2011
Fate of the World Fate of the World is a dramatic global strategy game that puts all our futures in your hands. The game features a dramatic set of scenarios based on the latest science covering the next two centuries. You must manage a balancing act of protecting the Earth’s resources and climate versus the needs of an ever-growing world population, who...

Price 9.99€
Rating 7.4
Release 28 Feb 2011
Magicka Magicka is a satirical action-adventure game set in a rich fantasy world based on Norse mythology. The player assumes the role of a wizard from a sacred order tasked with stopping an evil sorcerer who has thrown the world into turmoil, his foul creations besieging the forces of good.

Price -75% 2.53€
Rating 8.5
Release 25 Jan 2011
STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II The Star Wars® Saga continues with Star Wars®: The Force Unleashed™ II, the highly anticipated sequel to the fastest-selling Star Wars game ever created.

Price 19.50€
Rating 6.3
Release 01 Dec 2010
Super Meat Boy The infamous, tough-as-nails platformer comes to Steam with a playable Head Crab character (Steam-exclusive)!

Price -85% 2.16€
Rating 9.3
Release 30 Nov 2010
BIT.TRIP BEAT From gameplay to visuals to music and imagination, BIT.TRIP BEAT is inspired by classic games in every way. Get sucked into a whole new world of sight and sound as you juggle beats and ride the vibe in this modern look at the beginning of it all. BIT.

Price 7.99€
Rating 7.7
Release 02 Nov 2010
Lugaru HD Follow Turner, a rebel bunny rabbit with impressive combat skills in his quest to find those responsible for slaughtering his village. Uncover a far-reaching conspiracy involving the corrupt leaders of the rabbit republic and the wolves of the nearby lands. Streamlined Combat: Gone are the days of combo memorization and button mashing.

Price 9.75€
Rating 7.5
Release 08 Oct 2010
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Take control of Lara and her new partner Totec, a Mayan tribesman, and uncover the ancient artifact known as the "Mirror of Smoke" in this all new action adventure game.

Price -85% 1.49€
Rating 8.8
Release 28 Sep 2010
Hacker Evolution Hacker Evolution is a hacking simulation game, featuring unparalleled graphics and features. You play the role of a former intelligence agent, specializing in computer security. When a chain of events sets off worldwide, leaving critical service disabled, you assume the role a computer hacker to find out what happened and attempt to stop...

Price -67% 0.99€
Rating 6.6
Release 14 Sep 2010
VVVVVV VVVVVV is a platform game all about exploring one simple mechanical idea - what if you reversed gravity instead of jumping?

Price -92% 0.41€
Rating 9.3
Release 07 Sep 2010
Riven (1997) Released in 1997 as the original sequel to Myst, one of the best-selling puzzle adventure games of all time. Prepare to enter a world "torn asunder" by timeless, unresolved conflicts -- a world of incomparable beauty, intrigue, and betrayal.

Price 5.89€
Rating 8.5
Release 04 Aug 2010
Chaser Mars, 2044. The UN establishes MARSCORP (Martian Security and Economics Committee) under the leadership of Samuel Longwood. In the years that follow, the UN gradually loses control of MARSCORP, mainly due to the non-transparent licence policy of its director.

Price -91% 0.46€
Rating 6.8
Release 16 Jul 2010
Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead Three years after the conflict in Chernarus, portrayed in the original Arma 2, a new flashpoint explodes in the Green Sea Region. Coalition forces led by the US Army are deployed to Takistan to quickly restore peace and prevent further civilian casualties.

Price -94% 0.91€
Rating 9.0
Release 29 Jun 2010
eversion The Princess of the Flower Kingdom has vanished! She was taken by the Ghulibas of the north, and it is up to brave Zee Tee to rescue her. On his quest, he - and you - will discover the hidden lands behind the peaceful kingdom, and come face to face with secrets that will set you on edge!

Price -19% 3.27€
Rating 8.7
Release 07 Jun 2010
Toki Tori The gameplay in Toki Tori is a blend of two genres. While it looks like a platform game, it's a puzzle game at heart. To progress through the game, the player must pick up each egg in a level using a set number of tools.

Price -92% 0.44€
Rating 8.4
Release 28 Jan 2010
Gothic II: Gold Edition Gothic II: Gold Edition brings together the excitement of Gothic II and the add-on Night of the Raven to your fingertips!

Price -84% 3.33€
Rating 9.1
Release 13 Jan 2010
STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition A game that will show gamers the deepest, darkest side of the Force in a story that puts them on a collision course with Luke Skywalker himself.

Price 19.50€
Rating 7.4
Release 15 Dec 2009
The Void Only brought to life by scarce sparks of Color, the bleak, grey Void is a peculiar place. The player gets to explore it, get to know the Sisters, Brothers, and other weird creatures inhabiting it, and learn the ways of Color, harvesting it and drawing sigils that change the world around them.

Price 9.99€
Rating 7.7
Release 15 Dec 2009
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake version of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS which was Gamespot's Game of the Year 2001 and which scored overall of 87% on Metacritic!

Price -83% 2.57€
Rating 9.1
Release 24 Nov 2009