Best Difficult games on PC
Games with demanding combat, platforming, survival systems, or competitive play that require practice, precise execution, and effective strategies.
- Frequent failure and repeated attempts
- Limited room for mistakes
- Skill-based challenges
Related: Souls-like, Survival, Competitive, Action Roguelike
1,203 games on PC, with requirements, reviews and prices.
Cuphead
Hand-drawn run-and-gun action built around difficult cartoon boss battles
96% positive
222K reviews
Slay the Spire
Single-player roguelike deckbuilder with shifting paths, cards, and relics
97% positive
219K reviews
DOOM Eternal
Fast first-person shooter built around aggressive combat and resource management
91% positive
217K reviews
Slay the Spire 2
Roguelike deckbuilder with changing runs and four-player co-op
61% positive
202K reviews
Balatro
Poker-inspired roguelike deckbuilder built around scoring synergies and escalating blinds
98% positive
199K reviews
Counter-Strike: Source
Team-based tactical FPS with competitive matches and Source-engine physics
96% positive
193K reviews
Dead Cells
Fast 2D action roguelite with branching runs and permadeath
97% positive
184K reviews
Devil May Cry 5
Third-person action with three demon hunters and combo-driven combat
96% positive
171K reviews
Half-Life
Classic sci-fi first-person shooter mixing alien combat and environmental puzzles
96% positive
164K reviews
Darkest Dungeon®
Dark fantasy roguelike RPG about stress, survival, and permanent death
92% positive
163K reviews
DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED
Dark fantasy action RPG built around punishing, deliberate combat
92% positive
155K reviews
Celeste
Difficult 2D precision platformer about climbing a mountain and persevering
97% positive
148K reviews
Kerbal Space Program
Physics-based spaceflight sandbox for building and piloting homemade spacecraft
96% positive
147K reviews
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Hand-painted Metroidvania platforming through a wounded fantasy world
96% positive
146K reviews
Oxygen Not Included
Space colony simulation built around survival and interconnected resource systems
97% positive
144K reviews
Outlast
First-person survival horror where you can only run and hide
96% positive
139K reviews
Frostpunk
Survival city builder where heat, resources, and laws decide lives
93% positive
138K reviews
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Tactical first-person shooter with lethal combat and squad-based objectives
85% positive
133K reviews
DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin
Third-person dark fantasy action RPG with punishing combat and co-op
84% positive
132K reviews
Hotline Miami
Fast-paced top-down action with lethal combat and rapid retries
97% positive
128K reviews
Helltaker
Short 2D puzzle game about courting demon girls in hell
98% positive
Free
Resident Evil 3
Third-person survival horror remake about escaping zombies and Nemesis
83% positive
126K reviews
The Long Dark
First-person survival sandbox against cold, hunger, and wildlife
89% positive
124K reviews
Hades II
Greek myth action roguelike with witchcraft and repeat runs
96% positive
123K reviews