5 Games That Are Harder Than Dark Souls

FromSoftware’s Dark Souls is well-known for its difficulty, but there are a few games that provide a more difficult experience for gamers. Difficulty in video games has always been a hot topic, with debate over whether difficult games gatekeep some people from enjoying them. This argument hasn’t stopped developers from creating challenging games for the markets they appeal to, however, and few have quite the reputation of Dark Souls.

The Dark Souls series has long been regarded for its difficulty. Developer FromSoftware moved away from the common hand-holding of many games at the time, instead offering something with a unconventional approach to storytelling and memorably difficult (and sometimes obtuse) gameplay. Combat encounters were challenging, with each area of Dark Souls culminating in a boss fight that took all of the player’s skills to survive.

While the difficulty has often been overblown, Dark Souls’ influence on the industry can still be felt today. Many more difficult games have begun to spring up in response, and plenty of them are harder than the Dark Souls games – including later offerings out of FromSoftware. Here are five games that eclipsed the difficulty of Dark Souls.

Bloodborne

A Gothic horror/Lovecraftian take on the Dark Souls formula, FromSoftware’s Bloodborne is more difficult than the Souls series. Enemies are more aggressive in combat scenarios, and Blood Vials (healing items) have to be found/purchased throughout the game instead being automatically refilled upon death like Dark Souls’ Estus Flasks. Bloodborne also has some of the hardest boss fights FromSoftware has created, especially in its DLC expansion, The Old Hunters. Fiends like the Orphan of Kos and Laurence, the First Vicar have proven to be a far greater challenge than a majority of Dark Souls bosses.

Cuphead

While Cuphead’s 1930s cartoon art style initially made waves, the game quickly developed a reputation for being an extremely difficult side-scrolling adventure as well. The game is largely a boss rush with a few run-and-gun levels scattered throughout, and these boss fights will give even the most seasoned Dark Souls veteran a run for their money. Players must constantly dodge projectiles and other enemy attacks while dealing damage to the multi-phase bosses, all while managing the limited three lives they have before defeat. This makes Cuphead a truly challenging experience.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another game made by the same developer as Dark Souls, and FromSoftware definitely exceeded the difficulty of their prior games here. While Dark Souls lets players create character builds that fit their preferred playstyle, Sekiro is solely focused on sword-based combat combined with Combat Arts that have to be mastered to get past challenges. Combat is fast-paced and leaves little room for error as players parry, dodge, and attack to survive a variety of enemies. Bosses and sub-bosses in Sekiro are especially challenging, requiring a great deal of practice and precision to overcome.

Nioh/Nioh 2

The Nioh franchise was designed by Team Ninja to be a more accessible entry into the Soulslike genre, with a more cohesive story and the world being broken down into levels with a natural progression. However, combat and gameplay mechanics make the series a much tougher experience than Dark Souls. Early game enemies have high health pools that take patience to whittle down, and many enemies can one-shot players who aren’t staying on their toes. Nioh’s enemies are also often faster than those in Dark Souls, with the Demons and Yokai regularly getting multiple attacks in if players are slow to react. Having to decide which combat stance to use and managing the Ki system while fighting these difficult enemies can also be overwhelming, making the Nioh games generally more difficult than Dark Souls.

The Witness

While not a combat-focused RPG like Dark Souls, The Witness makes this list for being one of the most difficult puzzle games ever made, one that shares the Dark Souls ideal of asking players to figure things out for themselves. The Witness has players solve puzzles on an open-world island, with each puzzle opening up new areas on the map to explore. Its puzzles can be highly complex, and its story even takes the Dark Souls approach of explicitly telling players almost nothing. It’s a very different challenge compared to Dark Souls, but one that demands a similar rigor in its mental gymnastics.

About The Author

Mason Teague
(150 Articles Published)

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Mason is a freelance Game Features Writer for Screen Rant with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Media from Wingate University. Being involved in video game journalism has always been a goal of Mason’s, and being able to contribute his gaming knowledge to Screen Rant is a dream come true. Working out of North Carolina, Mason spends his free time trying to catch up on his backlog of games or finishing one of the 10 TV shows he’s currently watching.

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