Naughty Dog have been a juggernaut within the video game industry ever since they came out with theirsmash hit platformerCrash Bandicoot,which released back in 1996. While this single game proved to players that Naughty Dog were capable of creating some truly fun and charismatic characters, it also made it very clear that they weren’t shy about making their games incredibly challenging if they felt that it would enhance the overall experience.
This wasn’t just restricted to theCrashseries though, as Naughty Dog carried over this design philosophy into many of their other big-budget titles. Despite becoming immensely popular over the years, many of their games still prove to be extremely difficult, and as a result, it means that anyone who loves taking on a brutal challenge will have a field-day going through Naughty Dog’s vast catalog of amazing titles.
WhileUncharted 2focused a lot more on exploration and parkour,the third game decided to hone in on the action, making it much more of a typical third-person shooter with only a few very light platforming sections thrown in every now and again. The beginning of the game tricks the player into a false sense of security by giving them more than enough ammo and weapons to deal with the handful of soldiers that come their way, but this all changes by the time they reach Chapter Five and are well into the story.
By this point, the game will begin throwing hordes of enemies Drake’s way, and their clever AI means that they’re constantly trying to flank the player, or they’ll decide to rush in if they know that Drake is reloading a weapon. This can become borderline ridiculous once the game introduces the heavy armored enemies who are the definition of bullet sponges. While there’s definitely a few easy QTE segments scattered throughout to break up the gameplay,Uncharted 3can often feel more likeGears of Warbecause of how intense the gunfights can get.
Naughty Dog went a little out of their comfort zone when developingJak X: Combat Racing,a chaotic demolition-derby gamewhich is very unforgiving in its gameplay, punishing the player severely if they don’t take the time to master the controls. The biggest mechanic to get familiar with is the drifting which, while very hard to pull off effectively, will build up the Boost gauge every time it’s used, making it absolutely essential to use have a chance of winning a race.
Because of how many explosive weapons and projectiles are in the game, it can also make the races very unpredictable and all too reminiscent of being targeted by the Blue Shell at the end of aMario Karttrack. The cars also feel very bouncy due to the physics engine, meaning that bigger buggies will easily throw the others around if they get too close. Learning the tricks of the trade inJack X: Combat Racingis vital for making it through each of the 12 tracks in one piece.
A lot of fans of theCrash Bandicootserieslook back fondly on the second gamebecause of how faithful it was as a platformer. The game didn’t feature any minigames or random gimmicks, but instead, it presented itself as a platformer through and through, and one that was just as challenging as fans of the first game could come to expect from a sequel. Unlike the first and thirdCrashgames,Crash 2gives the player barely any lives to use up throughout their journey, making it all so easy to run into a Game Over screen after making a few simple mistakes, something that’s extremely easy to do given how brutal the level design can be.
While the slide is useful for making Crash move a bit faster, actually using it to execute slide jumps and spins to reach certain areas can be very tricky to pull off without a good amount of practice beforehand. Many of the game’s levels are also packed full of enemies and hazards, with some of the most infamous examples being Spaced Out and Cold Hard Crash, which are often considered to be the hardest levels in the entire series.
The firstUnchartedgame is without a doubt a very influential and innovative title that is credited by many for rejuvenizing popular interest in the action-adventure genre thatTomb Raiderhad ushered into the mainstream a few years before. With that being said though, in an attempt to add enough challenge to the experience to keep players engaged, Naughty Dog ended up making the game very difficult, especially since the gameplay doesn’t include any stealth and because of how durable even the most basic of enemies are.
In fact, the game was so difficult that Naughty Dog actually acknowledged this in theNathan Drake Collectionwhere they introduced the Explorer mode, which essentially makes the enemies much weaker and less frequent. Still, anyone who doesn’t pick that mode will have a very challenging time when playing through this game, but that’s ultimately what has made it so appealing to a lot of people, alongside its fantastic story and characters.
While Naughty Dog thankfully softened the difficulty a little bit after the second game,Jak 3is still full of very tricky areas and extremely challenging enemies who can be a real pain to take down. While Jak gains access to a staggering twelve weapons throughout the game which can be tweaked and modified in unique ways, there are some that clearly outshine others,such as the devastating Beam Reflexor.
The truth is though, since most players don’t know this on their first playthrough, it means they can feel severely underpowered for many parts of the game. The bosses that Jak will encounter throughout his journey also pose a very serious challenge due to their massive health bars and absurdly powerful attack, such as the Terraformer who feels more like aDark Soulsboss because of how precise the player needs to be with their attacks to defeat it. So long as players know what weapons and modifications to utilize, the game becomes a little more manageable, but anyone who wants to experience just how brutal it can get should definitely jump in completely blind.
The dark and oppressive world ofThe Last of Usis perfectly encapsulated through its gameplay, which provides a true test of the player’s survival instincts. While venturing through the game, there will be multiple sections where Joel and Ellie will be pitted against a large wave of humans or infected enemies who are both capable of taking them out with just a few hits.
Then there are the Clickers, terrifying mutated humans who use their keen sense of hearing to listen out for any small movements, and are capable of instantly killing the player if they don’t have a shiv handy. BecauseNaughty Dog aimed to make the gameplay as immersive as possible, it means that most weapons also have a very noticeable sway to the reticle and plenty of recoil, which makes every encounter very intense and difficult to overcome, especially when the enemies are running towards the player. Careful planning and good resource management are vital to reaching the end ofThe Last of Uswithout having to die too many times in the process.
Whether Naughty Dog actually intended to makeJak 2as hard as it ended up being is unknown, but what is clear is that the game itself is an intensely challenging experience that includes a few extremely punishing difficulty spikes sprinkled throughout each playthrough. One such example is the Krimzon Guard Base, where the game forces the player to use an entirely different perspective while a giant steam roller tank comes their way, or the hordes of enemies that hound Jak in the slums where there’s barely any ammo or health packs for him to use.
It’s areas like this that feel as though the levels have been designed against the player, almost as if they’re testing their resolve to see if they truly have what it takes to make it progress through the story. Outside the grueling combat sections, there are also a few missions that are intended to be a lot more casual, but that end up being just as unforgiving,such as the Erol Street Racewhich can often feel impossible to beat at times because of how tricky the AI can be. Pair this with the lack of checkpoints, and it results in a game that is both hated and admired by fans alike for its crushing difficulty.
