Difficulty in games has been a talking point for a long time, but there are certain developers that love kicking your ass from the jump.
8 JRPG Flops That Deserve A Second Chance
Just because a JRPG is good doesn’t mean it will suceed. At least the first time.
We’re talking about those games that say “welcome, prepare to die” and you for sure have been there before. Sometimes, they are masterpieces, and other times, they’re just there so the developer can drink in your misery.
Whatever the reason, here are ten games that will obliterate you right from the off.
10Nier Automata
You Can’t Save Yourself
NieR: Automata
Nier Automatais afantastic gamethat will take you on a jaw-dropping journey across a devastated planet earth as you seek to end the seemingly never-ending war between the aliens and humans.
What starts off as a straightforward plot quickly takes tons of twists and turns, and the result is one of the best stories that gaming has to offer.
The problem is that you may never even get to that point due to how tough the opening of the game is.
The mission tasks you with taking on some aliens via a bullet hell in mech form and then sets you on the ground to do the same until you take on a massive boss.
This entire section lasts around 40 minutes, and if it’s your first time playing, you likely won’t have all of the controls figured out.
Even if you do, though, one brutal feature of the opening makes it so frustrating to get through.
You cannot save. Nope. Not once. Saving gets unlocked after the opening sequence. It’s a stylistic choice that makes sense in context, but makes playing through it a nerve-wracking slog once you realize there are no checkpoints.
Save yourself the trouble, put it on easy mode, and switch out once you unlock saving.
9Dark Souls
Dark Souls
Dark Soulsis one of the most important games of the past 20 years of gaming, and it made its mark on the industry byintroducing an unwavering difficultythat players could not get enough of.
That steep difficulty starts quite early, as the game starts with you in an asylum, and from there, you’re introduced to the harsh world in which Dark Souls takes place.
The first boss of the game is meant not to be fought but rather sprinted past due to you being so ill-equipped to take on the challenge at hand.
Once you get past it and collect some weapons and armor, you’re able to take him on the real way, but that doesn’t help all that much, as this boss can still destroy you with a single hit if you’re not careful.
Of course, this is only the tutorial level, and immediately following it, the true opening level of Undead Burg will torture you with enemies jumping out of dark corners, bombs being thrown at you, archers everywhere, and just general misery everywhere you look.
Dark Souls is a great game, but it’s going to make you hate it before you love it.
8Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
Mech Souls
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconthrows you into the fire from the start, and its opening area is a true test of whether or not you’ll have the ability to survive the harshness of this world.
Immediately, you’ll learn that healing is at a premium and that you’re going to be badly outnumbered in almost every conflict you get into.
You’re also unable to customize your AC to the fullest, so you’re stuck with an opening loadout, having to figure it out to the best of your ability.
The mission is straightforward, but it can grind you down in a hurry, and it all culminates with the brutal, HC Helicopter fight.
This fight is a painful reminder of what’s to come in this game, and without a guide to figure out the trick to it, you’ll be left bashing your head against it over and over again.
It’s an overwhelming fight scale-wise to start you off, and the borderline bullet hell you’ll be treated to will be giving you constant headaches, draining your repair kits instantly, and forcing you to dodge as your life depended on it far before you have any real grasp on the controls.
Of course, the game gets more difficult as you continue, but this is one of the more brutal openings in any game in in From Software’s repertoire.
7Lies of P
The Terrible Price of Lying
Lies of Pmakes its mark immediately with striking graphics, an intriguing world to explore, andfantastic combat, but perhaps what stands out most of all is the immediate difficulty of the game.
As soon as you exit the carriage, the world is a very dangerous place. Puppets have gone rampant, and you are far from the offensive force you will soon become.
Learning parry timing in Lies of P is a trial and error sequence, and even late in the game, you’re able to still be guessing when the best time to defend vs parry is.
At the start, it’s downright unforgiving. You’ll struggle with the most basic enemies early on, but the real issue comes with the first boss.
The Parade Master is a tour de force that you are simply not ready for, and whether it’s his massively damaging attacks, random gibberish being yelled at you, or his unrelenting movement, you’ll find some serious issues here.
You cannot level up early on either, so you’re stuck with the starting stats of P, and that’s what you’ll have to live with until you complete the opening area and reach Hotel Krat.
Players complained about the demo being so difficult that it eventually led to the nerfing of many bosses in the game. Tread lightly, young puppet, these streets are fraught with danger.
6Dragon’s Dogma
No Training Wheels Here
Dragon’s Dogma
Dragon’s Dogmais a unique game and a cult classic, and part of the reason is the absolute brutality of the game when you first start.
The tutorial level is easy enough due to you being overpowered, but once you’re thrown into the present day? It’s a rough go of it.
As soon as you step into the wilderness, goblins and wolves hound you, and immediately, you’ll see you’re not going to be up to the task.
You’re not much of a damage sponge to start the game, and your pawn won’t help much, either. You’re also fighting enemies that have no real leveling system to them, so what you fight early on is the same as what you’re fighting late in the game, health and power-wise.
It makes your progression felt, but in the opening moments, expect to die, and die again, and you’ll have to revive your pawn a lot of the time as well.
5Baldur’s Gate 3
This World Is Not Kind
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3was thebreakout hit in 2023, and it dragged in players who aren’t familiar with CRPGs or DND.
This was great, but it also included a massive learning curve.
As soon as the ship crashes, and you find yourself alone in a foreign land, you will have a very rough time.
While there are objective markers, the freedom you have in wandering around can be overwhelming, and for those who like to take a look at their new surroundings, you might find yourself running into quite a bit of trouble.
Wander into the church? You’re going to get wrecked. Decide that you might forgo getting Gale early on? Good luck fighting anything ranged.
You’re also disturbingly low on healing items, so you’ll likely be unable to heal after any encounters you survive and if you lose a party member in battle. They might be gone for a while until you get your camp set up so they can be revived.
It teaches you to be conservative early on, but many won’t find that easy to do, and their wishes for a grand adventure may lead to a premature death more times than not.
4Kingdom Come: Deliverance
You Suck At Swordplay
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis a unique game that merges survival elements with RPG gameplay to create an experience unlike any other.
When you first start up, though, it’s about as brutal an experience as you can find. The reason is you’re terrible at combat.
That’s not to say you as a person are bad at it, but the character, Henry himself, is garbage as far as swordplay goes. He has no clue what he’s doing, and neither do you.
Now, eventually, you’ll learn from a Quartermaster and learn some much-needed techniques, but early on? You’re going to get obliterated by anything you fight.
One-on-one fights will be incredibly tough, requiring beyond precise timing, and you’ll feel real fear whenever a bandit or otherwise tries to fight you.
If you gather the courage to face one or more people at once? Say goodnight, seriously, you’re not going to stand a chance, and unless you have a ton of arrows on hand, you’ll likely fall in no time.
The progression of the game is the best part, though, because by the end of the game, you’ll be plowing through soldiers, spitting on one-on-one encounters, no matter who it is, and everyone in the game will know very well you know how to handle a sword.
3Unicorn Overlord
Being a General Is Not Easy
Unicorn Overlord
Unicorn Overlordis a throwback to the Ogre Battle series, and it does not pull any punches early on. At the start of the game, you will be thrown into the world and expected to grow your army to avenge your fallen mother.
That army starts incredibly weak and small, and you’ll be immediately tasked with getting to know the ins and outs of the gambit system introduced here. Failing to come to grips with it will result in a lot of lost time.
The toughest part of the early going is learning how to set up your troops in the game.
You might think sending them all into battle simultaneously is the way to go, but you’ll quickly burn out your stamina and be left with nobody to defend your base, leading to a lost battle more often than not.
Vanillaware decided to reinvent a lost genre with this game, and you’re going to have to learn it if you’re going to survive this excellent game.
Your Loop Is Pain
Returnalis based around the idea that you’re living a loop. Each time, you get a little bit stronger, a little bit better equipped, and, ultimately, a little bit more prepared for what awaits.
The beginning area of the game, though, is just an absolute smack in the face. Your guns suck, you have no abilities, and you have no real grasp on what you’re even doing or supposed to be doing.
Enemies pop up all over the place, zapping you from a distance or mauling you up close, and you’ll find no solace in checkpoints anywhere you look.
It’s also a labyrinth of an area, with very few obvious routes to actually get to where you need to go.
Returnal PC Port Flopping Despite High Critical Praise
Return to sender.
Even if you manage to fight your way through the early challenges, the first boss will destroy you, and unless you’re some kind of wunderkind, there is very little chance you will survive that fight.
It’s a brutal introduction to what becomes a very good game, but it makes you contemplate whether you have the willpower to push through from the start.
1Ninja Gaiden
You’re Expected to be Great
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection
Ninja Gaidenis, in many ways, the start of the souls-like genre.It has all the hallmarks but focuses more on the action side of the gameplay.
The first game in the reboot of the series welcomes you by immediately kicking your ass and making no apologies in the process.
You’ll barely have a grasp on the controls before ninjas are ripping you to pieces in the opening level and that’s before you even get to the first boss of the game.
I hope you love the game over screen, because it’s going to be your best friend in the early going of this game.
The series made a name for itself with its difficulty, but at least the subsequent games at least give you a few more tools to play with.
With the first game, it’s you and your sword, and that’s it. Good luck. Even if you get through it relatively unscathed, Master Murai is waiting as the game’s first boss and is a brutal introduction to the rest of the game. Steel yourselves; this is one bumpy ride.
