One Fallout: New Vegas player has pulled no punches as they complete the game's notoriously difficult Hardcore mode without killing anyone and using only a pair of boxing gloves to defend themselves. From speedrunning Mario 64 without grabbing a single star to tackling an old classic blindfolded, there is a subsect of elite gamers who are gluttons for punishment. This latest quest against Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas is no exception.

It has been eight years since Obsidian took gamers to the dusty plains of the Mojave Wasteland and the neon light of New Vegas and the slot machines haven't stopped ringing since. There is something about New Vegas that has made it a fan-favorite of the Fallout series and a game that some players return to frequently. One such fan is YouTuber Rhetam who, after already tackling Fallout 4's challenge run on Survival mode with no weapon or armor, decided to go one further.

Related: New Vegas Developers Have A Sad Response To Fallout 76 Tease

Posting the final part of his 17-part saga on YouTube, the persistent player showed exactly how he conquered New Vegas in the hardest way possible. Completing the main NCR path on Hardcore mode and with a permadeth installed would be hard enough, but eager to raise the bar, Rhetam went it alone without any companions and didn't allow himself to do any lasting damage to enemies. Rhetam has clearly been committed to the cause and the New Vegas run has taken over a year to complete.

As with all these runs, there are several clever ways around what might seem like an impossible task. Rhetam's tricks included knocking out attacking forces with his trusty gloves and leaving nearby NPCs to finish the job or lure enemies into an area populated by his allies. Unsurprisingly, Rhetam's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats put Strength at 10 so the boxing gloves could deliver that much-needed knockout blow. As Rhetam wrote on Reddit after completing the game:

Fallout: New Vegas is pretty flexible in allowing the player to not have to kill anyone. Though there were many times where I had to knock someone out and let a nearby NPC take shots at them until they died or simply act as bait and let an enemy follow me to an ally that would actually kill them.”

Most players would struggle to survive New Vegas' Radroaches and Deathclaws on Hardcore mode even with a full arsenal of guns and explosives, so to watch Rhetam make it even harder is quite something.

The challenge will only help boost hopes that Fallout: New Vegas can find a new life in some form. The critically-acclaimed title has been grabbing headlines recently thanks to rumors that Bethesda's E3 presentation was going to announce a long-awaited sequel to the title. While there is still no New Vegas on the cards, fans are instead promised the franchise's first MMO with Fallout 76. Whether there ever is a Fallout: New Vegas 2 or fans are left to return to the original title to complete mind-boggling feats of gaming, the legacy of the Courier lives on!

More: Here's Why Bethesda Still Needs Fallout: New Vegas 2

Source: Rhetam