Best Difficult games on Steam

Unlike generic lists, our difficult game recommendations are based on a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews. We believe that player feedback is the most reliable indicator of a game's true quality and enjoyment. Our algorithm evaluates user reviews to identify difficult games that consistently deliver exceptional experiences. This means you can be confident that our lists feature only the best difficult games on Steam, validated by the community itself.

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Rabi-Ribi

Dodge bullets, missiles and lasers in battle as you wrap your head around that bunny girl costume! Combo away with your mighty Piko Hammer or spam various spells from afar with your fiery fairy friend. Explore and explode through Rabi-Rabi Island as you collect power-ups and uncover secrets...

Price 17.49€
Rating 9.3
Release 28 Jan 2016

Iron Snout

Iron Snout is a fast, colorful and brutal fighting game in which you will be helping a piglet fight for its life against hordes of wolves.

Price Free to play
Rating 9.5
Release 27 Jan 2016

DarkMaus

DarkMaus is an indie action RPG with challenging, skill-based combat that punishes careless play.

Price 4.99€
Rating 7.7
Release 26 Jan 2016

The Witness

You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.

Price -82% 6.65€
Rating 8.3
Release 26 Jan 2016

Bit Blaster XL

Bit Blaster XL is a fast-paced, retro arcade shoot 'em up (shmup) inspired by the classic quarter-munchers of the ‘80s. Easy to pick up, hard to put down—boost, dodge, shoot, and chase high scores in this addictive, old-school action game!

Price -51% 0.49€
Rating 9.3
Release 22 Jan 2016

Starward Rogue

Starward Rogue is a bullet hell twin-stick shooter. Blast your way through the Megalith, a rogue-lite labyrinth lodged in the side of a star. Customize your mech with a huge variety of weapons, perks, and upgrades. Steel yourself for the dangers that lurk in the depths of the dungeon.

Price -72% 3.26€
Rating 8.4
Release 20 Jan 2016

The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human

Explore the ruins of the human race and discover the thriving wildlife that blossomed after our extinction in this underwater action/adventure. Encounter monstrous creatures and let curiosity guide you through an inevitable voyage of extinction.

Price -80% 1.79€
Rating 7.2
Release 19 Jan 2016

Resident Evil 0

Before the mansion, before the destruction of Raccoon City, there was Resident Evil 0. Now remastered with improved visuals and sounds, as well as the all-new Wesker Mode, there's never been a better time to experience the origins of the Resident Evil story.

Price 19.99€
Rating 8.0
Release 19 Jan 2016

The Bug Butcher

A fast paced action shooter inspired by the arcade classic Super Pang! Use a wide selection of weapons and powerups to tear through increasingly challenging levels.

Price 7.99€
Rating 8.6
Release 19 Jan 2016

Darkest Dungeon®

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost?

Price 24.50€
Rating 9.1
Release 19 Jan 2016

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen presents a rewarding action combat experience.

Price -89% 3.38€
Rating 8.7
Release 15 Jan 2016

Tharsis

Succeeding in Tharsis requires you to make the best of what you have, even if it happens to be a pair of snake eyes. Certain factors may be outside of your control, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be overcome. Tharsis is not a game about facing the odds. It’s a game about changing them.

Price 14.99€
Rating 6.8
Release 11 Jan 2016

Squirbs

Squirbs is a challenging puzzle-platformer in which you control two cute blue Squirbs simultaneously with one set of controls. Looking for an awesomely difficult game? That's Squirbs.

Price 0.79€
Rating 6.4
Release 06 Jan 2016

Sora

From Orange Juice comes a shoot'em'up starring the lone enhanced human, Sora. The sequel of the high-speed shoot'em'up "Suguri", with improved game system and graphics.

Price 8.79€
Rating 8.6
Release 05 Jan 2016

Linea, the Game

The goal of the game is to survive for more than 60 seconds on each level, dodging platforms and objects, listening to bitpop soundtracks. Four levels, online-records, achievements and trading cards are waiting for you.

Price 1.99€
Rating 8.2
Release 04 Jan 2016

UnderRail

Underrail is an old school turn-based isometric indie role playing game that focuses on exploration and combat. The game is set in a distant future, when the life on the Earth’s surface has long since been made impossible and the remnants of humanity now dwell in the Underrail, a vast system of metro station-states that, it seems, are...

Price 14.79€
Rating 8.5
Release 18 Dec 2015

Bubsy Two-Fur

Bubsy returns in the first authorized digital release of his first two games! What could paws-ibly go wrong?

Price 4.99€
Rating 6.8
Release 17 Dec 2015

Taimumari: Definitive Edition

Retro-style platform game in keeping with the best traditions of games of our childhood! Take control of the Himari, the young female wizard travelling across various ages to settle the balance in time across the whole world!

Price -77% 1.60€
Rating 7.4
Release 16 Dec 2015

Emily Wants To Play

It’s 11pm and the last house on your route. The windows are boarded up, the yard is overgrown, but the lights are on and the front door is open… strange place to deliver a pizza. You’re getting soaked from the rain, so you hesitantly step inside the house. You shouldn’t have done that.

Price -50% 2.49€
Rating 7.5
Release 10 Dec 2015

Gun Wings

A mysterious meteorite from deep space was detected approaching the Solar System, before the meteorite is due to hit the Earth, three of the girls who had their bodies modified as weapons are sent, along with all the hopes of humanity, to destroy the meteorite and save mankind...

Price 3.99€
Rating 8.2
Release 08 Dec 2015

Ben and Ed

Ben and Ed is a 3D platformer, in which the player controls Ed the Zombie, who is forced to participate in a grotesque game show called "Rundead". Will he beat all obstacles Hans Showmaster confronts him with, to save his best friend Ben?

Price 9.99€
Rating 7.9
Release 08 Dec 2015

HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition

HELLDIVERS™ is a hardcore, cooperative, twin stick shooter. As part of the elite unit called the HELLDIVERS, players must work together to protect SUPER EARTH and defeat the enemies of mankind in an intense intergalactic war.

Price 19.99€
Rating 8.9
Release 07 Dec 2015

Bullet Heaven 2

Bullet Heaven 2 is a bullet-hell shoot-em-up inspired by games like Touhou and Jamestown. It's all about shooting every cute thing that moves, while dodging hundreds of shiny bullets per second!

Price 13.79€
Rating 9.1
Release 07 Dec 2015

Nuclear Throne

Nuclear Throne is a post-apocalyptic roguelike-like top-down shooter. Not 'the final hope of humanity' post-apocalyptic, but 'humanity is extinct and mutants and monsters now roam the world' post-apocalyptic. Fight your way through the wastelands with powerful weaponry, collecting radiation to mutate some new limbs and abilities.

Price 9.99€
Rating 9.4
Release 05 Dec 2015

Nyan Cat: Lost In Space

Play with the most celebrated flying cat in human history. Drink milk, eat ice-cream, collect coins, buy gorgeous boosts, fly like a superhero (sorry... supercat), jump onto platforms made of cake, avoid angry dogs, and discover the infinite space.

Price 3.99€
Rating 8.8
Release 04 Dec 2015

DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours

DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours is the latest installment in Taito's DARIUS series of arcade-style shooting games. Blast hordes of alien sea-monsters, and blaze your own trail through branching environments.

Price -23% 37.61€
Rating 7.8
Release 03 Dec 2015

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege is an elite, tactical team-based shooter where superior planning and execution triumph.

Price 19.99€
Rating 8.4
Release 01 Dec 2015

12 is Better Than 6

12 is Better Than 6 is a dynamic top-down shooter with stealth elements, presented in a Wild West theme. The story puts you in the shoes of escaped slave fleeing to the United States in 1873.

Price 6.99€
Rating 8.1
Release 20 Nov 2015

hocus

perspective illusion puzzle based on M.C. Escher drawings and impossible shapes

Price 0.99€
Rating 8.6
Release 18 Nov 2015

ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery)

ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery) is one of the most successful roguelike games ever created, boasting a brilliant mix of story, RPG, exploration, and intensely strategic & flexible combat. The Steam version adds various features like achievements, difficulty level customization & play modes.

Price 14.99€
Rating 8.1
Release 16 Nov 2015

Knight Squad

Knight Squad is an insane 1 to 8 players chaotic arena friendship destroyer. Take on current friends and future frenemies in any of the incredibly fun game modes, ranging from Last Man Standing to Medieval soccer. All of that using only weapons from the Middle Ages… and laser guns… and miniguns.

Price 14.99€
Rating 8.1
Release 16 Nov 2015

Mushihimesama

Battle huge "Koju" bugs in CAVE's beautiful fantasy shooter, Mushihimesama. Experience the thrill of bullet hell from the masters of the genre as you evade visually stunning shot patterns with thousands of bullets.

Price -26% 14.49€
Rating 9.2
Release 12 Nov 2015

The Purring Quest

Have you ever wanted to be a cat? You will be able, thanks to the aventure platformer The Purring Quest. Take on the role of Kimchi the cat and meet famous cat of the internet in a journey full of humor.

Price 9.75€
Rating 7.9
Release 12 Nov 2015

Kero Blaster

C&F Inc. teleporters are going offline all over the place, and it's up to an intrepid frog employee to fix the situation.

Price 9.99€
Rating 8.9
Release 11 Nov 2015

Turbo Pug

It's time to unleash your inner pug! Turbo Pug is a casual runner with difficult, random, procedurally generated levels. Enjoy random weather and try to avoid getting zapped by lightning. Unlock new costumes for your pug and new characters to play as. Please try not to squish your pug!

Price 1.99€
Rating 8.7
Release 09 Nov 2015

The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition

In this tactical combat & dungeon crawler mash-up, explore a massive dungeon, full of danger, mystery and secrets. Fight your way through hordes of enemies and powerful creatures, with your tank, healer & damage dealers party.

Price 19.99€
Rating 7.9
Release 06 Nov 2015

Mini Metro

Mini Metro is a strategy simulation game about designing a subway map for a growing city. Draw lines between stations and start your trains running. As new stations open, redraw your lines to keep them efficient. Decide where to use your limited resources. How long can you keep the city moving?

Price 8.19€
Rating 9.4
Release 06 Nov 2015

Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game

You've just unearthed the classic post-apocalyptic role-playing game that revitalized the entire CRPG genre. The Fallout® SPECIAL system allows drastically different types of characters, meaningful decisions and development that puts you in complete control. Explore the devastated ruins of a golden age civilization.

Price -80% 2.00€
Rating 9.2
Release 01 Nov 2015

Pathologic Classic HD

Pathologic Classic HD is the Definitive Edition of the original Cult Classic Psychological First-Person Survival game. In this unforgettable experience, players control one of three unique characters as they try to save a mysterious town from a deadly plague that cannot be stopped.

Price -70% 3.84€
Rating 8.5
Release 29 Oct 2015

GALAK-Z

Brand New features!! The Void DLC offers endless gameplay, Online Leaderboards, and a Daily Challenge that allows players to compete worldwide for the top score. Anime inspired 2D space combat simulation at its best! GALAK-Z is a modern, A.I.

Price -87% 2.53€
Rating 7.0
Release 29 Oct 2015

Albert and Otto

Created by solo developer Nikola Kostic - Traverse a haunting world set in 1939 Germany in search of a mysterious girl with rabbit ears. Utilize a little bunny in creative ways to solve puzzles. Levitate sheep, use them as torches or wolf bait and make your way through a dangerous land.

Price 4.60€
Rating 6.2
Release 28 Oct 2015

Pink Hour

Help a pink-clad office lady find a missing document so the boss doesn't get angry in this free spin-off minigame to Kero Blaster.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.8
Release 28 Oct 2015

Toby: The Secret Mine

A challenging puzzle platformer inspired by games like Limbo and Badland.

Price -90% 0.89€
Rating 6.7
Release 20 Oct 2015

Empire TV Tycoon

Empire TV Tycoon is a game in which you manage a TV channel and fight for audiences taking decisions that will project your channel to fame and fortune.You will decide the content of your channel, select advertisers, hire workers, make your own productions, hire actors, and engage in much more activities!

Price 9.99€
Rating 7.5
Release 20 Oct 2015

FreeCell Quest

FreeCell Quest is an RPG Free Cell game. You've never played Free Cell like this before! Explore 533 cities while collecting cards, gold, levels, armor, and spells on your epic quest of card sorting! Think quickly before the cards strike and drain your precious health. A new twist on a classic game!

Price 9.75€
Rating 6.8
Release 19 Oct 2015

Deathstate: Abyssal Edition

Deathstate is a roguelike bullet hell adventure set in a bizarre world of dimensional exploration. Play as a number of unique characters trying to discover the fate of Professor Elinberg who opened a portal to the void. Are you ready to venture deep into the abyss?

Price 8.99€
Rating 8.0
Release 19 Oct 2015

Downwell

Downwell is a curious game about a young person venturing down a well in search of untold treasures with only his Gunboots to protect him.

Price 2.99€
Rating 9.4
Release 15 Oct 2015

Human Resource Machine

Program little office workers to solve puzzles. Be a good employee! The machines are coming... for your job. From the creators of World of Goo and Little Inferno.

Price 14.79€
Rating 9.0
Release 15 Oct 2015