Gaming Often Brings Out The Best In Us; Here Are Some Games That Push Your Limits

While the vast majority of games out there in the industry are meant for the player to have a good, relaxing time, some titles are just built supremely different. These particular iterations can render the average gamer helpless at times, where only one out of two choices seem plausible: Either get better at the game or put the controller down. If you’re not a quitter, keep on reading.

I’ve cherry-picked a list of some of the games with the highest skill ceiling, so you’re going to be pushed past your limits and every step of the way, you’ll bash yourself for putting up with all the difficulty. At the end of it all, however, I promise that it’s going to be worth it, provided that you’re resilient enough to stick around until then. 

Talk About An Insane Skill Ceiling With These Games 

Make sure to leave a comment below the article in case you’ve got a game suggestion to add to the list. 

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

You can say that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the 2019-released FromSoftware masterpiece, differentiates itself from all Soulslike games in the world on multiple levels. It’s the very definition of you, as the player, leveling up and not the in-game character, because outside of regular stat upgrades, you play with the same primary weapon you get at the beginning until the very end, minus the Prosthetic arm upgrades.

I view Sekiro as something much more than a video game; it’s more of a real-life teacher who walks you through the essence of patience, practice, and determination, all the while delivering one fantastic piece of entertainment with its rewarding gameplay. I just wish Hidetaka Miyazaki would work toward a sequel to this gem before he retires. The opposite would be such a shame. 

Sekiro came out on March 22, 2019, and has been able to roll over more than 10 million copies as of September 2023. It’s nothing short of a triumph, and something that has to be experienced at least once by every gaming enthusiast out there. 

2. Cuphead

I’ll be honest with you here—Cuphead will give you a mental breakdown more times than you’d like to admit, and if you rage-quit while playing it, I won’t blame you. This side-scrolling platformer by Studio MDHR has been giving players hell since 2017, no thanks to its overly difficult 2D gameplay coupled with sensational boss fights that have absolutely zero regard for basic human decency. 

Cuphead is top-rated on Steam — as it should be — and has no business going under the radar of any player out there. If you’ve skipped it for some reason in the past, this is your cue to get right back into it. 

3. Sifu

Sloclap’s Sifu employs one of the best combat systems I’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing in a video game. It’s deep, rewarding, and difficult all at the same time, and here’s a piece of advice for PC players looking to try out Sifu—do yourself a favor and use a controller. It’s a shame that the title couldn’t pick up as much traction as it should’ve had, but that was probably due to 2022 already being loaded with blockbusters.

4. Noita 

Noita, a game where “every pixel in [its] world is simulated” will have you learning just about everything possible to survive, and even then, it’s going to put up much more of a challenge than you think. The art direction is a visual treat, and the gameplay is solid by every stretch of the word. The best part? The magic-based action roguelite takes up less than 10 GB of space, so it’s pretty easy on the system as well.  

5. Elden Ring 

Couldn’t help but slide in a mention of this one as well along the way. Elden Ring, being FromSoftware’s magnum opus, is one of the hardest AAA games ever made, and just like Sekiro, it’s going to motivate you to do better and be better. Granted that it can be a lot more fun as compared to the latter, considering it’s got PvP and diverse build variety, but make no mistake in understanding that Elden Ring will put you to your paces, hard and fast. 

It’s a solid game all around, however, earning 5/5 in eXputer’s review, and getting titled, “The Greatest Soulsborne Game Ever.”