History NintendoHard / FirstPersonShooter

* ''Videogame/{{Quarantine}}'' has ''every'' vehicular mook not in a passive state a DemonicSpider in every level (including the first map), and even the pedestrians who are hostile are annoying GoddamnedBats. Armor is pretty much required to complete any mission in the levels you're in, because the unpredictability of the Mooks gets frustrating for a while, and even then, armor here in this game skirts dangerously close to ArmorIsUseless thanks to the Mooks having unfairly powerful attacks. Not only that, [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything else tries its level best to slaughter you]] in the [[WretchedHive city of KEMO]] with even the traps and walled defenses harming you. Just to let you know, whenever you pick up a passenger, ''every single mission'' is a TimedMission and depending on the location you're in, you could end up with a frustratingly short timer before you could complete your mission, and to worsen matters, the city's layout is maddeningly confusing if you don't check your map. Justified, since you're driving a futuristic, hover-capable weaponized taxi car and making money by gaining fares. Also, the fares are randomized whenever you pick up a passenger, which can range from a fat paycheck that is good enough to buy you some more ammo and new weaponry/armor to a dirt-poor wage that isn't enough to buy a few items from the grocery store (of course, this is just a hyperbole, since there is no ability to get out of your vehicle in the game whatsoever). There are hardly any safe spots to rest in, no difficulty level to choose, and SaveScumming is pretty much required to complete the game.

** While ''Plutonia'' may have significantly upped the difficulty level compared to the previous installments, it was the user-created map set of ''Hell Revealed'' that brought about gigantic monster hordes. In fact, such maps are said to have "Hell Revealed" style gameplay within the community. In particular, ''Hell Revealed''[='=]s 24th level, "Post Mortem," has so many monsters (over 500!) that ''it's impossible to save your game on it'', unless you're using a source port of the game. And then you have ''Hell Revealed 2'''s super-secret level, "Playground," which has over 1,600 monsters. Even on the lowest difficulty, this map will likely cause you to tear your hair out many times over. And let's not EVEN get started on [=MAP31=].[[note]]That's if you can even run the God-damn level. Even with the newest version of [=ZDoom=], [=GZDoom=], or Skulltag (which have significantly improved renderers compared to the original), the sheer amount of demons will make your computer chug.[[/note]]
** Since ''Hell Revealed'', the "HR" style of gameplay involving huge, intensely difficult fights has become a staple of Doom mods. One of the most famous levels ever, ''[[http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=11402 NUTS]]'', is nothing but two huge rooms with over 10,000 monsters. It's infamous for getting around 1FPS on the vast majority of computers and source ports. ''[[http://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/46002-sunder-updated-with-new-maps-huzzah/ Sunder]]'' is a good choice for the most difficult serious map set ever created. Most of the levels are unbeatable without cheats, yet the entire thing was (according to the author) playtested and balanced.

* The original ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' turned [[DifficultySpike from challenging to nightmarish]] about 2/3 through the game. The introduction of heavy machine gun wielding mooks and instant death wall-penetrating sniper railguns mooks made the game a painful affair.

** And then we have ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', which qualifies solidly for Nintendo Hard status. For many players, the game is brutal and punishing even on "Hurt Me Plenty", [[SequelDifficultySpike taking every element of challenge that the previous title offered]] and cranking it up to eleven. It takes a few pages out of the ''[=DooM=] II'' playbook by adding [[DemonicSpiders powerful new enemies]] and pitting you against far larger hordes (with many returning demons also taking a major level in badass) from the very first level onward, this time now with lower ammunition caps and scarcer resources. You're also forced to micromanage way more, as you'll need to properly juggle your myriad of weapons and abilities in order to efficiently slaughter your enemies and replenish your resources, all the while dodging a relentless barrage of attacks, and that's only the tip of the iceberg of the kind of heightened skill you'll need to progress through the game.

** In fact, the primary reason why ''VideoGame/MetroLastLight'' is [[SequelDifficultyDrop much easier overall (though still challenging)]] than ''2033'' is because the stealth system and AI were both completely rebalanced due to complaints about the first game, making the stealth much fairer and human enemies more consistent to fight. This rebalanced stealth was also brought back for ''Metro 2033 Redux'' and the third game ''VideoGame/MetroExodus''.

** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus'' [[SequelDifficultySpike ramps up the difficulty]] considerably [[VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder from its predecessor]]. On Bring It On! and above, you can expect a direct and prolonged firefight to end ''badly''. Enemies can turn you into Swiss cheese within seconds, especially if you trigger an alarm. You also start with only 50 health and, while you later get a full 100 health and new abilities at your disposal, the game compensates by limiting you to 100 armor. So even when you've fully upgraded, the nastiest foes can still kill you in only a handful of shots.

** And then we have ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', which qualifies solidly for Nintendo Hard status. For many players, the game is brutal and punishing even on "Hurt Me Plenty", [[SequelDifficultySpike taking every element of challenge that the previous title offered]] and cranking it UpToEleven. It takes a few pages out of the ''[=DooM=] II'' playbook by adding [[DemonicSpiders powerful new enemies]] and pitting you against far larger hordes (with many returning demons also taking a major level in badass) from the very first level onward, this time now with lower ammunition caps and scarcer resources. You're also forced to micromanage way more, as you'll need to properly juggle your myriad of weapons and abilities in order to efficiently slaughter your enemies and replenish your resources, all the while dodging a relentless barrage of attacks, and that's only the tip of the iceberg of the kind of heightened skill you'll need to progress through the game.

** ''Red Faction: Armageddon'' is a Third-Person Shooter, and for the most part is rather straightforward to finish. However, it takes inspiration from the original by dialing up the difficulty UpToEleven in the climax. The bugs respawn like crazy, there's little environment to destroy in the tight underground corridors, and the checkpoints are few and far between. Moreover, as you're approaching the Queen, Behemoths (which only one served as a separate boss) blockade your way, forcing you to deal with them and the virtually limitless enemies. When fans say the FinalBoss that follows is a BreatherLevel in comparison, you know the difficulty of the final few levels is going to be '''bad.'''

* This trope is the default difficulty of the ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.]]'' trilogy. The gunplay is very realistic - and you are supposed to fight groups of well-armed stalkers and nasty mutants alone. You want to make this game easier? Well, pick higher difficulty. Yeah, ''higher.'' [[NonIndicativeDifficulty It makes weapons even more realistic, so you can take only few bullets before kicking the bucket, but so can your enemies. On lower difficulties, they may withstand some serious firepower.]] Such is life in the Zone.

* ''Videogame/Halo2'' is ''universally'' regarded as the toughest campaign to beat on Legendary, with ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' coming a very close second, and ''Halo 1'' coming in at third. Reasons why:
** Player shields for some baffling reason are insanely weak, and tend to go down in one hit. Another hit kills you. Coupled with the fact that enemies tend to fire from multiple directions and much faster, this means it is very difficult to attack multiple enemies head-on without having to retreat constantly.
** In Co-Op, the Iron skull is turned on automatically and ''cannot'' be turned off. If one player dies, both get booted back to the last checkpoint.
** Drones. Absolutely annoying on lower difficulties due to their swarm tactics and ability to fly about the level, here they are just insane. 15-20 Drones flying about, each firing a Plasma Pistol that will take shields down almost instantly. Have fun.
** Jackals wielding Beam Rifles (of which there are loads and loads in several levels, with "Metropolis" and "Regret" being notable examples) can kill the player in '''[[OneHitKill one hit]]''', regardless of hit location on the body. They also have insane accuracy, never missing their shots and if they do, it's most likely to unnerve you greatly. Unless you know exactly where they are, you '''will''' die. '''A lot'''.
** Brutes, once they become the mainstay enemies after the level "Gravemind", are insanely resilient, which coupled with their tendency to go berserk makes them difficult to deal with, especially if all the player has is Covenant plasma weaponry. Their tendency to carry Brute Shots which can absolutely shred the player's shields with splash damage doesn't help.
** While they were hilariously easy to take down in ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', even on Legendary difficulty, from ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' onward, Hunters have attained '''true''' DemonicSpider status, and as such, on Legendary they are, quite literally, BossInMookClothing. Those that aren't wary of their incredible danger will find themselves dying a great many times.
** Several levels force the player to use only Covenant weaponry, which makes them less than ideal for fighting the Flood or Brutes, the former being weak to human weaponry and the latter being incredibly resistant to plasma.
** Friendly AI is '''[[ArtificialStupidity absolutely brain-dead]]''' when driving vehicles, more often than not driving the player directly into combat and then stopping, leaving the player to get annihilated.
* In ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', it's like 343 looked at ''Halo 2'' and said to themselves, "how can we make our Legendary campaign even harder and more frustrating?"
** Player shields don't last long at all, just like in ''Halo 2''. Just a few uncharged plasma pistol shots will bring them down, leaving you to be shredded by multiple enemies.
** The Prometheans are much, much tougher, and their hardlight weapons have tracking capabilities. Also, the higher level Soldier enemies carry Splinter turrets, which fire explosive rounds that do concussive damage (think a cheaper, more BS version of the Brute Shot). Expect to go down quickly. The fact that Knights take insane amounts of damage to take down and that Soldier have an infuriating tendency to teleport themselves around makes engaging them alongside Crawlers an exercise in frustration. They are also far more numerous. Don't be surprised to find yourself engaging upwards of 10-15 at a single time in multiple waves.
** It's not just Prometheans; Covenant enemies are much tougher too. Elites are smarter and have tougher shields (some may even carry Promethean weapons, like in ''Spartan Ops''), Jackals Snipers have ''Halo 2'' levels of accuracy with their Beam Rifles and Carbines, Grunts will suicide with plasma grenades more often, Hunters have gotten an '''enormous''' buff to their health, ability, and firepower, and Covenant enemies overall are more numerous.
** The Warden Eternal is hands down one of the most frustrating and annoying enemies to fight in the entire series, but Legendary just ramps the cheapness and insanity to stratospheric heights. The Warden can tank Scorpion rounds, Spartan Laser beams, Incineration Cannon shots, and an entire fireteam concentrating fire on his weak point, and has an array of incredibly damaging attacks, some of which can penetrate cover. His fights against Blue Team and Osiris often include Promethean Soldiers and Knights as well.
** Even though the presence of three AI squadmates at all times (if playing Solo) means going down isn't an automatic revert to checkpoint like in previous ''Halo'' games, and can in fact make things a little easier, the fact that the squadmate AI is still terrible means they will be quickly taken down if you are downed first.
** Human weapons are at times scarce, and less ammo can be carried for certain weapons, meaning they will often have to be replaced with scavenged weapons. As it turns out, human weapons are less effective against Prometheans anyways, whilst their Promethean weapons are ironically highly effective.
** Legendary seems specifically designed to be played with three other people, as doing it on Solo means frequent AI deaths, with the upgraded health and damage that enemies do all but encouraging a four person fireteam.

** To put it into perspective, on the Ranger difficulties, you may find around a hundred "dirty" rounds in a single ''playthrough''. There's no HUD, ammo indicators, or QTE prompts either on the Hardcore settings. Filters are impossibly precious and not having enough of them can flat-out make the game UnwinnableByMistake later on as most of the later levels are ''very'' long and take place entirely on the surface. It also doesn't help that several later sections of the game also force you into mandatory slugfests with mutants, particularly the [[DemonicSpiders Librarians]] and [[ActionBomb Amoebas]].

** And don't even talk about the ''Red Hammer'' campaign, which is truly Nintendo Hard and at one point contained a bug that made it [[UnwinnableByMistake impossible to finish it at all]]. The final patch for the game, which actually renamed the game to ''ARMA: Cold War Assault'', also removed this campaign.

** And let's not even mention ''Clear Sky'', which is a shining example of NintendoHard and originally [[UnwinnableByMistake couldn't be finished at all due to bugs]]. This isn't helped by numerous FakeDifficulty elements added in such as [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard magical homing frag grenades]] and a terribly unfair gunfire roulette system that randomly made your shots miss completely. It's so difficult that most professional reviewers ''didn't even make it through the Swamps.''

** [[HarderThanHard "Nightmare!"]] difficulty borders on being an UnwinnableJokeGame, as it was added post-launch as [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor a response to everyone who thought "Ultra-Violence" was too easy.]] As such, [[NoFairCheating cheat codes are disabled]], levels are packed with enemies that constantly respawn after being killed and go super fast, and item placements are frequently changed to be as sadistic to get as possible. The only positive is that the game [[HardModePerks grants double ammo]], but that's only because it makes sure you'll absolutely need everything you can get. It is ''possible'', and plenty of people have managed to SpeedRun it, but there's a good reason why the game warns the player before picking it that it's completely unfair.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/DoomIIHellOnEarth'' might not seem like these to modern audiences used to the current standard of mouse and keyboard controls and heavy use of the [[SaveScumming quicksave]] feature. But back then it wasn't uncommon to play with keyboard only setups since the mouse controls at the time were very awkward without third party hacks. Also, the "official" way to play the game ([[WordOfGod according to]] map designer Creator/SandyPetersen) was to forgo mid-level saving and to restart the level with only the pistol on death, a phenomenon that would be known among the later community as the "pistol start" method. Both of these semi-official [[SelfImposedChallenge Self Imposed Challenges]] brought out a lot of the difficulty inherent in classic ''Doom''.

* Nearly all of the ''VideoGame/RainbowSix'' series, due to the near-psychic enemy AI and cheap {{one hit kill}}s, as well as [[FinalDeath perma-death]] in the early games.

** Jackals wielding Beam Rifles (of which there are loads and loads in several levels, with "Metropolis" and "Regret" being notable examples) can kill the player in one hit, regardless of hit location. They also have insane accuracy, never missing their shots. Unless you know exactly where they are, you will die. ''A lot''.

** Friendly AI is absolutely brain-dead when driving vehicles, more often than not driving the player directly into combat and then stopping, leaving the player to get annihilated.

** It's not just Prometheans; Covenant enemies are much tougher too. Elites are smarter and have tougher shields (some may even carry Promethean weapons, like in ''Spartan Ops''), Jackals Snipers have ''Halo 2'' levels of accuracy with their Beam Rifles and Carbines, Grunts will suicide with plasma grenades more often, Hunters have gotten an enormous buff to their health, ability, and firepower, and Covenant enemies overall are more numerous