When the home video game market took off anew in North America following the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System, third-party publishers were quick to hop aboard the gaming bandwagon. However, the limited hardware necessitated some major creative concessions, and NES games, in order to compensate for their brevity, were often extremely difficult.
In the ensuing years, AAA gaming by and large adopted a more approachable mindset. However, some nostalgic indie studios still adhere to the philosophies of the 8-bit era, offering up extremely challenging budget games capable of testing the mettle of any gamer.
The Binding Of Isaac: Repentance (2021)
A collaborative effort between development studio Nicalis and indie auteur Edmund McMillen, The Binding of Isaac: Repentance is the latest DLC-complete iteration of The Binding of Isaac, a seminal flash-based indie roguelike that first popped up on the website Newgrounds in 2011. The sordid tale of a young child desperate to escape the clutches of his fanatically devout mother, it's rife with all manner of horrors and grotesqueries that may shock new players.
It's also brutally difficult; featuring permadeath, obscure mechanics, multiple branching pathways, and a slew of utterly grueling end-game bosses, seeing all there is to see in Isaac could take some players hundreds of hours.
Cuphead (2018)
The result of a years-long development process that sought to authentically replicate the look of early cartoons created by pioneers like Walt Disney and Otto Messmer, Studio MDHR's run-and-gun indie game Cuphead was easily one of the most talked-about titles of 2018. Extremely eye-catching and overbearingly difficult, it took much more than a casual appreciation of classic cartoons to make it through Cuphead's gauntlet of bosses.
While its latter levels are undoubtedly challenging, Cuphead's simple controls and undeniable style make it uniquely approachable, and fans of the game are anxiously awaiting The Delicious Last Course, a DLC offering set to debut on June 30th, 2022.
Super Hexagon (2012)
Combining arcade-esque short but thrilling bursts of gameplay with a groove that made games like Audiosurf and Osu!, Super Hexagon was a hit 2012 indie title that dared gamers to prove their quick reflexes and concentration spans.
Playing a bit like an inverse of the 1996 title Tempest 2000, Super Hexagon requires players to steer a triangle across a piece of geometry while avoiding oncoming barriers. While it sounds simple on paper, the ever-increasing speed of the game requires outrageous precision, and besting all six levels is a feat only accomplished by a proud few.
Celeste (2018)
A tough-as-nails 2d platformer, Celeste carries on in the tradition of vertically-minded acrobatic outings such as Super Meat Boy, VVVVV, and Hollow Knight. Demanding expertly-done double jumps and precisely-performed platforming maneuvers, Celeste requires quite a bit of patience and practice to conquer.
However, getting to the end credits is only half the story of this indie title; with notoriously difficult bonus stages and hidden collectibles scattered throughout, Celeste dares players to go the extra mile and complete some of its most daunting tasks.
Furi (2016)
Furi is a visually stunning indie title that boasts an easy-to-digest control scheme and foregoes any kind of weapon customization or upgrading, forcing players to develop their skills rather than their equipment. A bullet hell boss gauntlet that demands precision and an almost inhuman level of concentration, Furi's simplistic controls betray a surprising level of difficulty.
Though it has become a complete cliché, Furi could be compared to From Software's Dark Souls, as both games require gamers to recognize and adapt to a boss' patterns in order to best them. Really, Sekrio: Shadows Die Twice may make for the aptest comparison, as From's 2019 title relinquished the traditional Soulsborne leveling system to place a greater emphasis on, as the fans say, "gitting gud."
Hotline Miami (2012)
A major part of the indie game boom of the early 2010s, Hotline Miami was a neon-drenched top-down shooter that was as fast-paced as it was brutal. Both the player and the enemies die in one hit, meaning that each level is a sort of trial by fire in which players must slowly develop an optimal strategy until they can pull off a perfect run.
With explosions of pixelated gore galore and heavy themes of manipulation and psychosis, Hotline Miami is a seriously daunting experience, but it should be on every indie gamer's must-play shortlist.
GTFO (2020)
Developed by indie studio 10 Chambers, 2020's GTFO is an ultra-difficult tactical FPS title that sees squads of up to four players delve into the depths of an abandoned research facility in pursuit of various abandoned scientific apparatus. These tasks are inhibited by a collection of monsters known as Sleepers which can cause some serious trouble if triggered.
Though GTFO allows players to choose their own weapons and gear, they are constantly beleaguered by a severe lack of resources. Arriving on the other side of any of GTFO's constantly-updated missions requires extensive planning and nerves of steel.
FTL: Faster Than Light (2012)
FTL: Faster Than Light is a roguelike strategy title that provides an almost neverending swath of possibilities, though nearly all of them result in failure. Brutally difficult, the game requires the spacefaring foresight and immense intelligence of Star Trek's Captain Picard to master, and even squeaking through on the easiest difficulty level requires a good bit of practice and know-how.
Requiring players to manage a small battleship as they navigate the stars while on the run from a nefarious rebellion, FTL: Faster Than Light is a game concerning the conservation of limited resources and the prudence of sacrifice in the name of an ultimate goal.
Devil Daggers (2016)
Much like Super Hexagon, Devil Daggers is an intensely demanding experience in which the difference between success and failure is determined by a micro-adjustment occurring within a fraction of a second. The gameplay, however, couldn't be more different. An arena-style shooter that's evocative of the mid-90s FPS classic Quake, Devil Daggers is a frantic shooter which asks players to hold out against the contorted legions of hell for as long as possible.
A high score-centric game of a breed not often seen, Devil Daggers is unforgiving to a near-fault, and those striving to complete the title likely exude sadomasochistic tendencies comparable to what's seen in the Hellraiser films.
Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy (2017)
An atypical indie hit that went viral following its release in 2017, Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy was a passive-aggressive sort of platformer that forced players to contend with its awkward controls in order to ascend the most menacing mountain ever made.
Replete with pitfalls, hazards, and traps intended to ensnare first-time players, Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy could be comparable to rage-inducing titles like I Wanna Be The Guy or any of the other nigh-on impossible browser-based titles popular in the late 2000s. In fact, Bennett Foddy himself admits in-game that Getting Over It was intended as a sort of homage to those old, aggravating games.