Video games allow us to explore a range of emotions, from wonder to terror and everything in between. Then there’s frustration. We’ve all had that moment where we wanted to use our controller for a baseball pitch. But though Soulslikes tend to be tough as nails, they’re not designed for the express purpose of making us rip our hair out, even if it feels like that sometimes.
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These games, on the other hand, were made with that singular goal in mind. These games aim to frustrate you for frustration’s sake. Some of them do it for comedy, while others are obvious bait for streamers. Whichever way you spin it, these are ten games where your reaction is meant to be part of the experience.
10
Surgeon Simulator
Surgeon Simulator (2013)
Released
April 19, 2013
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Violence, Blood
Developer(s)
Bossa Studios
Publisher(s)
Bossa Studios, Tiny Build Games, Atari
Engine
Unity
Conceived at a game jam and not, as some would think, in the deepest pits of hell, Surgeon Simulator illustrates that having too much control can be a bad thing. This wacky title lets you make use of every finger on a surgeon’s hand, and the experience is anything but smooth.
Working under a tight time limit, you’re tasked with carrying out various surgeries and transplants. Even the teensiest slip of a little finger can lead to disastrous results. This game is best experienced with an audience present to laugh at your ineptitude.
9
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Released
January 30, 2014
ESRB
e
Engine
Irrlicht Engine
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
In 2010, a group of DePaul University students made a freeware game called Octodad. The game poked fun at ragdoll physics, letting you control each limb of an octopus in a desperate bid not to topple over while doing household chores.
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A few years later, those same students made a sequel. Octodad: Dadliest Catch is just an updated version of the freeware original, but it doesn’t need to be anything more. It’s short, hilarious and despite its frustrating controls, its comedy keeps it from getting on your nerves.
If you fancy an even greater challenge, you can try the multiplayer mode where up to four people try to coordinate a single octo-body. We are not responsible for any friendships ruined in the process.
8
Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy
Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy
Systems
Released
December 6, 2017
ESRB
e
Engine
unity
Getting Over It is expressly a rage game. Much as it purports to be a philosophical piece, with its piano soundtrack and voiceover musing about the value of art, the game is expressly meant to frustrate you. It achieved this goal with finesse.
The title became a streaming and Let’s Play phenomenon, and the hammer-wielding protagonist became modern gaming’s representation of Sisyphus. While some speedrunners can beat the game within two minutes, you’re just as likely to give up and never beat it at all.
7
Jump King
Jump King
Released
May 3, 2019
Developer(s)
Nexile
Publisher(s)
Nexile
In the wake of Getting Over It, the indie game space was inundated with a slew of shovelware games looking to recapture its frustration and streaming numbers. One Foddy-esque title that stands out is Jump King. While it’s yet another game where falling costs you tons of progress, its pixel art style, clever level design, and retro soundtrack have merit.
All that praise is likely to go hurtling out the window on your umpteenth fall, however. Jump King is an intensely unforgiving game about making it to the top, where you’re told a hot babe awaits. She’s going to have to wait a while.
6
Misao
Misao
Systems
Released
January 22, 2013
ESRB
nr
Publisher(s)
PLAYISM
Engine
WOLF RPG Editor
It’s one of the basic principles of gaming that the computer must always be fair. Even if it’s hard, it mustn’t feel like the game is cheating. Trial-and-error, we are told, is bad game design. Misao takes those lessons, crumples them up and tosses them out.
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This is a horror RPG where you will die to all sorts of traps you had no way of knowing about. The game even keeps a list of all the death traps you’ve encountered. While frustration is a core part of the experience, the story is genuinely good as well.
5
Shobon No Action
Shobon no Action is known in the West as Cat Mario. That’s the name given to it by Let’s Players when the format was in its infancy. This parody of Super Mario Bros was meant for inducing rage and giggles in equal measure.
Almost every platform represents a death trap. Even the flag at the end of a level can kill you. If you try to avoid one trap that got you before, you’ll likely run into another one. The only way to get through Shobon no Action is to memorize every tile and then execute a flawless run.
Though you start with two lives on the counter, you actually have an infinite amount. As you keep dying, your lives counter just goes into negative numbers.
4
I Am Bread
I Am Bread
Released
April 9, 2015
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Violent References
Developer(s)
Bossa Studios
Publisher(s)
Bossa Studios
Putting a slice of bread in the toaster is easy in real life, and tediously tough in this game. Each level in I Am Bread puts you in control of a sentient slice of bread, and you have to use the sticks and triggers on your controller to get it to move across a room and get in the toaster.
I Am Bread is a game that might be more fun to watch than to actually play. Apart from a few unique levels like a Star Wars parody called Starch Wars, there’s not a lot of freshness in this slice of gaming frustration, but watching someone yell at it on YouTube can be pretty funny.
3
Flappy Bird
Flappy Bird
Systems
Released
May 24, 2013
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
.Gears
Publisher(s)
.Gears
Engine
AndEngine
Flappy Bird was part of a strange time in gaming history. In the early 2010s, handhelds were being phased out in favour of mobile phones, and casual games could easily reach mainstream audiences on app stores. That said, the reception wasn’t always kind.
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Due to its frustrating nature, Flappy Bird caught on as a worldwide hit in 2014 despite being criticized for its difficulty. Getting a double-digit score was considered an achievement, and even people who didn’t regularly play video games were captivated by this game’s ridiculously heavy bird physics.
Flappy Bird’s sudden worldwide fame came to a halt in February 2014, when the game was removed from both Android and Apple storefronts.
2
I Wanna Be The Guy
I Wanna Be The Guy
Systems
Released
October 5, 2007
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly
Publisher(s)
Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly
Engine
Clickteam Fusion 2.5
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Number of Players
Single-player
PC Release Date
October 5, 2007
NES games were infamous for their difficulty, with the idea being that constant game overs could turn a 40-minute game into an experience that lasted for weeks. Launched as a freeware title in 2007, I Wanna Be The Guy is a love letter to such days, and is packed with references to retro titles.
I Wanna Be The Guy preceded the term ‘masocore,’ but was one of the first games to prompt discussion on the sub-genre in 2008, as Soulslikes had not yet been codified. This freeware platformer is definitely masocore, with the difficulty being its central aspect.
1
Tomb Raider 3
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft
Systems
Released
November 21, 1998
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
Core Design
Publisher(s)
Eidos Interactive
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Tomb Raider 3 shows its hand early. Within the first hour, you’re trapped in a room with no way out, and you have to walk around checking every single tile on the wall to see if there’s a movable block hidden there. It doesn’t get much easier from there.
Unlike the first two entries in the series, which are tough but largely fair, Tomb Raider 3 actively obfuscates gameplay progression to keep you stuck in its labyrinthine levels. Good luck if you’re playing the PS1 version with its limited save system. It’s unclear why the game was so obtuse, but the most popular theory is that it was intended to sell strategy guides.
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