History NintendoHard / GameMod

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda: Parallel Worlds'' is one of ''the'' hardest games you will ever play. After beating the game you'll probably think all of the quotes on this trope's quote page are referring to this game specifically. One needs only look at level 3, Farore's Isle, for an example: After a couple of non-challenging rooms (literally a couple!), you're faced with an unavoidable Firebar that you'll absolutely have to take a hit off of to get by. And you'll probably want at least three hearts, because the room after that has more Firebars and red Hardhat Beetles that deal two hearts of CollisionDamage at a time. ''And'' the next floor down has ''more'' red Hardhat Beetles and the Crystal Switch you have to activate to continue further on. '''And''' you'll need at least two hearts left over after going through all of that, because on the way back you'll be forced to hit a Firebar again! '''And''' you can't use the book of Mudora to go back to the start of the dungeon, because that resets the crystal switch! And hey, guess how much the remodel (specifically designed to make the game ''easier'') changed about this series of rooms? Besides brightening them up a bit, ''absolutely nothing!!''

** On the more vanilla side, the community has over 25 years' worth of mapsets in its archive, and a good number of them are so difficult that they make the infamous ''The Plutonia Experiment'' look like Entryway on [[EasierThanEasy I'm Too Young To Die]]. To name a few, there's ''Alien Vendetta'', ''Scythe'' and ''Scythe II'', ''Hell Revealed 1'' and ''2'', ''Speed of Doom'' and ''Resurgence'', ''Sunder'' and ''Sunlust''. To note, some of these have absolutely no distinctions between difficulties for items and enemies, so even the supposedly easier difficulties are just as hard as Ultra-Violence; on the other hand, some extremophile mappers argue that the standard difficulty should be Hurt Me Plenty (medium) as opposed to Ultra-Violence (hard), so when they map for Ultra-Violence they go ''bananas''; one such mapper, Ribbiks, has gone as far as to only release the Ultra-Violence version of his wad Magnolia to those that have finished it on Hurt Me Plenty, a difficulty where the wad already is tougher than whistling while chewing sugarcane.

* The ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' mod "Dig Deeper" is designed for people who have gotten the hang of regular DF and want a fresh challenge. And by "fresh challenge" we mean "endless tide of [[DemonicSpiders Orcs]][[note]]which are unique to Dig Deeper, have TRAPAVOID, can open locked doors, and are ridiculously brutal, fast-moving killing machines[[/note]] before your first caravan".

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa2EFF6fQUQ Grandmaster Galaxy Master Quest]]'' - The first hack of a 3D Mario game listed here. Also the first Galaxy 2 hack ever made.
* ''VideoGame/HideousDestructor'' is a weapon/gameplay mod for ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' that makes it play like a tactical shooter. A tactical shooter with Doom-like numbers of enemies who are at least as fast and tough as you are. If you get damaged you can bleed to death over time if you don't have the right items, you move at a realistic speed that is agonizingly slow compared to the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic-like]] speed of the original player character, and all enemies do tremendous amounts of damage. It's a truly harrowing experience and there is ''no'' room for mistakes.

* The ''Destination Paris'' mod for ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}} 2'' cranks the difficulty of a series already renowned for being NintendoHard as it is UpToEleven. It adds more enemies to missions, makes them more ruthless, adds freezing cold to some missions that will kill your men without arctic gear (a feature in the main game, though only in one level) and takes away the BottomlessMagazines from the pistol. The final mission is particularly brutal, as if you don't react very ''very'' quickly, your men will all be spotted and killed within less than a minute.

* The [[http://www.miserymod.com/ Misery mod]] for ''S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat'' is so ridiculously [[NintendoHard Nintendo Hard]] that it practically [[UpToEleven redefines the trope]] and goes headfirst into FakeDifficulty. Everything, ''everything'' that could have been exploited for an advantage has been ruthlessly suppressed. The whole Zone is such a [[DeathWorld cruel and pitiless place]] now that you shouldn't expect to make money hunting for artifacts anymore - your main source of income will be other stalkers you hunt down and kill for their gear. And good luck with that, since they can take tons of bullets and can instantly snipe you in the head with a PISTOL from hundreds of feet away.

*** ''Videogame/PokemonCrystalKaizo'' takes Blue Kaizo's difficulty UpToEleven. It's basically everything above, but with a few differences. The AI is bumped up for ''every'' trainer, from normal trainers to gym trainers, to [[TookALevelInBadass Team Rocket grunts and scientists]], to [[EliteMooks Cooltrainers]], and finally, to major bosses, with ascending difficulty, and more diabolical strategies. Bosses that have been buffed include '''[[ThatOneBoss Whitney]]''' and turned Bugsy, one of the easiest gym leaders into one of the most annoying. And it gets ''harder'' from there...

** ''VideoGame/PokemonStadiumKaizo'' may be the ultimate example for Pokémon Romhacks. Considering it is a ''hard mode hack'' based on ''Videogame/PokemonStadium,'' which is notorious for being Nintendo Hard, you are in for some of the most difficult battles imaginable.[[note]]The most difficult battles of the ''original'' Pokémon Stadium series are much harder than even the Nintendo Hard Pokémon Romhack entries, including ''Vega and Blue/Crystal Kaizo.''[[/note]] Rental Pokémon are buffed up significantly just so they can stand a chance at beating enemies with increased AI and better teams, movepools, and stats. There is also Kaizo Round 2, which takes Nintendo Hard well beyond UpToEleven. Even with imported Pokémon, the Tournament cups and Gym Leader castle remain extremely formidable.

* The ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series called ''[[https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/module/swordflight-chapter-one Swordflight]]''. Everything is meant to undermine you in the most unfair and cruelest way imaginable. Monsters always scale to your level, so even [[TheGoomba lowly monsters]] should never be underestimated. Regular monsters have beefed-up stats and abilities not found in the vanilla game, such as concealment for Battle Horrors or [[SummoningRitual unlimited Gates]] for Pit Fiends. Rust Monsters and Bebiliths can destroy your equipment. EliteMooks and BossInMookClothes are everywhere (have fun fighting eight Mariliths, not counting their little friends). RespawningEnemies and RandomEncounters are scripted and always show up when you pass the same room over and over (and ''you will''). Monsters have a chance to ambush you if you rest in hostile territories. Boss fights are always a nightmare because of [[FlunkyBoss minions]], devices that constantly heal the boss and death traps that damage you. Liches and Vampires always respawn if you fail to destroy their SoulJar or stake them on time. Not helping matters is [[RequiredPartyMember a forced party member]] who's [[ArtificialStupidity idiocy reaches monumental levels]]. To top it off, the designer recommends playing the mod ''with D&D hardcore rules''.

** ''Pokémon Vega'', a Japanese hack of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen Pokémon Fire Red]]'', makes grinding a painfully time consuming affair by lowering the levels of all trainers and wild Pokémon down to as low as 10 or 15 fewer than the [[BossBattle gym leader and evil team administrators']] teams. It's necessary, though, since the major trainers come out swinging from the get go and never let up. By the third gym you'll have run into a [[LightningBruiser Starmie]] with near flawless type coverage, a Kapwondo with typically late game moves like Surf and Aura Sphere, all likely 5 or six levels higher than your strongest 'mon, unless you went out of your way to grind enough for them.

** In particular, out of the non-Kaizo hacks, [[VideoGame/YoshisIslandKameksRevenge Kamek's Revenge]] is the hardest. The levels are much longer and more difficult than the original and getting 100 points in each can be extremely challenging.

** ''Pokémon Radical Red'' follows a similar formula to Drayano's legendary hacks; buffing ComMons, adding several AntiFrustrationFeatures, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick making the boss fights incredibly brutal]]. Plowing through teams with one or two Pokémon is an impossibility, and the player is forced to use strategies other than AttackAttackAttack. Oh yeah, [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Mega Evolution]] has been added to the game, and the boss trainers get to use it well before you're able to. Have fun!

* The ''VideoGame/EmpireAtWar'' mod ''Republic at War'' tweaks the enemy [=AI=] to be [[PerfectPlayAI absurdly intelligent and ruthlessly aggressive]].
** Also for ''Empire At War'', ''Thrawn's Revenge'' {{nerf}}s space stations into [[TheLoad nigh-defenseless shipyards]], Tech Level advancement is [[ScrappyMechanic based on "Eras"]], and if a Hero unit is killed, ''[[AllDeathsFinal they're]] [[KilledOffForReal dead]]''.

** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19281 Requiem: The Role-Playing Overhaul]] turns Skyrim into a brutally unforgiving game. The mod removes LevelScaling, making exploration at low levels extremely dangerous since most enemies will initially out-level you. Combat is now more difficult since regular running now consumes stamina and if your stamina is depleted during a fight, it can lead to you getting disarmed along with being weaker and slower. Certain enemies around the world are now deadlier than they were in vanilla: Archers can now easily kill an unsuspecting player. Trolls and Dragon Priests have greatly increased health regen, which can make them unwinnable unless you can exploit their weaknesses or have enough DPS. The player no longer has passive health regeneration, so they need to either invest in restoration or carry a lot of healing poultices or potions.

** ''Pokémon Blaze Black 2 & Volt White 2'', a hack for VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2. If played in the "Challenge Mode" (which you can access right from the beginning of the game), the difficulty will become absolutely brutal. ALL gym leaders have six Pokémon, most (if not all) holding items (some which you can only get by halfway through the game onwards), likely three or five levels higher than your team, not to mention the great type coverage and strategies they possess. So you want to use fire attacks against the bug type gym leader? First thing he will do is use Rain Dance (which will make fire attacks 50% weaker) while holding the Damp Rock item (extending the Rain Dance duration to eight turns instead of five). Good luck with that!

* If you thought VideoGame/DarkSouls was not hard enough, the [[https://www.nexusmods.com/darksoulsremastered/mods/152 ascended mod]] takes it up even further. The mod increases enemy aggression, attack speed, and damage output. In addition to increasing the number of enemies, some of the regular boss fights have been turned into borderline unfair gank fights due to either adding an [[DualBoss additional boss]] or [[FlunkyBoss cramming the boss’s arena full of enemies.]] An example would be the final boss from the [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII 3rd game.]] Instead of being a one-on-one battle, the mod adds 4 additional bosses that the player must face.

** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19281 Requiem: The Role-Playing Overhaul]] is very tough. The mod removes LevelScaling, so you will meet a lot of [[BeefGate Beef Gates]] throughout the map, making it [[EarlyGameHell very hellish at low levels.]] Bows and crossbows can be destroyed by melee attacks, you start out with less carry weight, enemies tend to stick together when fighting you, running now drains your stamina in addition to moving slower when you have low stamina, health does not regenerate on its own, and some of the new enemies introduced in the mod could OneHitKill you.

*** All of Drayano's hacks: Fire Red Omega, Sacred Gold/Storm Silver, and the first Blaze Black/Volt White follow that trope as their intent. They do give the player a fighting chance, buffing various ComMons to a decent level, as you're no longer expected to find the strongest mon of the advantageous type and plow through the respective gym.

* If you thought VideoGame/DarkSouls was not hard enough, the [[https://www.nexusmods.com/darksoulsremastered/mods/152 ascended mod]] takes it up even further. The mod increases enemy aggression, attack speed, and damage output. In addition to increasing the number of enemies, some of the regular boss fights have been turned into borderline unfair gank fights due to either adding an [[DualBoss additional boss]] or [[FlunkyBoss cramming the boss’s arena full of enemies.]] An example would be the final boss from the [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII 3rd game.]] Instead of being a one-on-one battle, the mod adds 4 additional bosses that the player must face.

** In particular, out of the non-Kaizo hacks, [[VideoGame/YoshisIslandKameksRevenge Kamek's Revenge]] is the hardest. The levels are much longer and more difficult than the original and getting 100 points in each can be extremely challenging.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has a lot of fangames that ramp up the difficulty, despite (or perhaps because of) the series' low overall difficulty:

** And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, now the mod also makes stalkers completely unpredictable in their behavior. Oh, you just stumbled upon what appears to be a group of regular Loners? Cue the sudden cruel twist of fate when you quickly find out to your horror that these are actually bandits and/or mercenaries in disguise and they will immediately turn their guns on you. Oh, and the mod also removes the compass-map that you were so used to in the vanilla version, as well as other mods for this game; now you have to resort to opening up your PDA to check your map to find out where you actually are. And what about the feeling of getting rich quickly in the game? Sorry, this mod ensures that won't happen; [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts now weapon/armor repairing and the purchasing of items suddenly became three times more expensive in the game compared to the vanilla version]]. The series was already notorious enough to be considered the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of the FirstPersonShooter genre. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Yeah]].

** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlueKaizo'' is possibly the hardest hack for Generation 1. Every Pokémon in the game has their movesets altered to be as lethal as possible, including those that can specialize in OHKO moves, Explosion moves, Status moves, and wrapping moves. You can expect to fight nearly every trainer in the game, and the dungeons also bumped up in difficulty, with far more lethal encounters than usual, in a maze-like area for a high punishment factor if you black out, and the dungeons are usually populated by trainers. The bosses have full teams of six, and many have wildcards, and they generally get much stronger as the game goes on, especially near the end. The AI can use healing items, and sometimes even switch. Unlike the games, Team Rocket becomes significantly more threatening, with powerful Pokémon, and switching and healing capabilities. You rival will always have a [[spoiler:''Mew'']] as his main, which will get stronger as the game goes on. The only thing the AI can't do is use Revives, but you can't use Revives during battle either. Though catching all 151 Pokémon is actually simple enough, since you will face all 151 Pokémon.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Vega'', a Japanese hack of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen Pokémon Fire Red]]'', makes grinding a painfully time consuming affair by lowering the levels of all trainers and wild Pokémon down to as low as 10 or 15 fewer than the [[BossBattle gym leader and evil team administrators']] teams. It's necessary, though, since the major trainers come out swinging from the get go and never let up. By the third gym you'll have run into a [[LightningBruiser Starmie]] with near flawless type coverage, a Kapwondo with typically late game moves like Surf and Aura Sphere, all likely 5 or six levels higher than your strongest 'mon, unless you went out of your way to grind enough for them.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlueKaizo'' is possibly the hardest hack for Generation 1. Every Pokémon in the game has their movesets altered to be as lethal as possible, including those that can specialize in OHKO moves, Explosion moves, Status moves, and wrapping moves. You can expect to fight nearly every trainer in the game, and the dungeons also bumped up in difficulty, with far more lethal encounters than usual, in a maze-like area for a high punishment factor if you black out, and the dungeons are usually populated by trainers. The bosses have full teams of six, and many have wildcards, and they generally get much stronger as the game goes on, especially near the end. The AI can use healing items, and sometimes even switch. Unlike the games, Team Rocket becomes significantly more threatening, with powerful Pokémon, and switching and healing capabilities. You rival will always have a [[spoiler:''Mew'']] as his main, which will get stronger as the game goes on. The only thing the AI can't do is use Revives, but you can't use Revives during battle either. Though catching all 151 Pokémon is actually simple enough, since you will face all 151 Pokémon.
** ''Videogame/PokemonCrystalKaizo'' takes Blue Kaizo's difficulty UpToEleven. It's basically everything above, but with a few differences. The AI is bumped up for ''every'' trainer, from normal trainers to gym trainers, to [[TookALevelInBadass Team Rocket grunts and scientists]], to [[EliteMooks Cooltrainers]], and finally, to major bosses, with ascending difficulty, and more diabolical strategies. Bosses that have been buffed include '''[[ThatOneBoss Whitney]]''' and turned Bugsy, one of the easiest gym leaders into one of the most annoying. And it gets ''harder'' from there...
* ''VideoGame/PokemonCrystalEnhanced'' is a game specifically made to be as hard as possible. For example, where Falkner has a Pidgey and a Pidgeotto around level 10 in the original, in this game, Falkner has a Skarmory, Aerodactyl, Gligar, and Mantine around level ''17''. And once you get to the post game, the gym leaders have no problems pulling out legendaries that ''surpass the level limit'', and with Red the Pokemon can be up to level 165! And the creator made it to be [[SelfImposedChallenge nuzlocked]] too!
* ''VideoGame/PokemonDarkRising'', a hack of Fire Red, is one of the most difficult out there. Enemy trainers and gym leaders often have Pokemon you can't capture, the levels of these trainers jump from are to area in a way that requires LevelGrinding to deal with, and even then the strategies of some of the bosses are efficient to the point of brutality.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Blaze Black 2 & Volt White 2'', a hack for VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2. If played in the "Challenge Mode" (which you can access right from the beginning of the game), the difficulty will become absolutely brutal. ALL gym leaders have six Pokémon, most (if not all) holding items (some which you can only get by half of the game onwards), likely three or five levels higher than your team, not to mention the great type coverage and strategies they possess. So you want to use fire attacks against the bug type gym leader? First thing he will do is use Rain Dance (which will make fire attacks 50% weaker) combined with Damp Rock item (extending the Rain Dance duration to eight turns instead of five). Good luck with that!
** All of Drayano's hacks: Fire Red Omega, Sacred Gold/Storm Silver, and the first Blaze Black/Volt White follow that trope as their intent. They do give the player a fighting chance, buffing various ComMons to a decent level, as you're no longer expected to find the strongest mon of the advantageous type and plow through the respective gym.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonStadiumKaizo'' may be the ultimate example for Pokémon Romhacks. Considering it is a ''hard mode hack'' based on ''Videogame/PokemonStadium,'' which is notorious for being Nintendo Hard, you are in for some of the most difficult battles imaginable.[[note]]The most difficult battles of the ''original'' Pokémon Stadium series are much harder than even the Nintendo Hard Pokémon Romhack entries, including ''Vega and Blue/Crystal Kaizo.''[[/note]] Rental Pokémon are buffed up significantly just so they can stand a chance at beating enemies with increased AI and better teams, movepools, and stats. There is also Kaizo Round 2, which takes Nintendo Hard well beyond UpToEleven. Even with imported Pokémon, the Tournament cups and Gym Leader castle remain extremely formidable.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa2EFF6fQUQ Grandmaster Galaxy Master Quest]]'' - The first hack of a 3D Mario game listed here. Also the first Galaxy 2 hack ever made.

* Lots of ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' hacks are hard for the casual player, requiring tricks that only advanced players learn... but some hacks [[PlatformHell go the extra mile and are hard even for experts]]. ''Super Metroid Impossible'', the various RBO hacks, and the original version of ''Cliffhanger'' are notoriously difficult.
* ''VideoGame/MedianXL'', a ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' mod where monsters (especially EliteMooks) are much stronger compared to the vanilla game and there are several "uberquests" that contain monsters which can instantly kill your player character, even at max level with good gear, and require elaborate strategies to be defeated. Some areas have witches which cannot be killed or targeted by your character, but if you get within their awareness radius, they will instantly kill your character (guaranteed, cannot be resisted and damage is infinite).
* ''Brotherhood of Shadow'' for ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Beautiful storyline, excellent characters, and holy Yoda, what an epic scope. But the difficulty level is ''brutal.'' [[spoiler: Especially the one-on-one duel with Mandalore the Indomitable where you are armed with an unmodified lightsaber and robes and he's armed with a pair of battleaxes! He's also got a Force resistance of "yes."]] The Tomb of Jesset Dal'Kest is ''worse.'' Specialized armor and weapons on everything you fight, no party member backup, and boss-level characters attacking in a ZergRush. Even the mod's authors admit that it's world-class brutal.
* ''Populous: Age of Chaos'' was an unofficial expansion for ''VideoGame/PopulousTheBeginning'' which introduced a brand-new, 25-level, single-player campaign that was far, ''FAR'' more difficult than both the original campaign and the one from the official expansion, ''Undiscovered Worlds'', for veteran players who had beaten those two campaigns.
* Similar to the ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' example above, ROM hacks of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' are often ridiculously difficult to the point of parody. The most famous example being ''VideoGame/KaizoMarioWorld'', though that one can be better described as PlatformHell.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' wasn't the hardest game out there, despite a few truly grueling battles... So some people gathered together and created Final Fantasy Tactics 1.3, which removed many exploits, rebalanced classes and gave enemies ridiculously powerful items and classes ''way'' before you can attain such things (unless you steal and use Mediators, of course). To compensate, it also buffed a lot of the less useful classes (including monster classes), and adds Marche from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as a recruitable character.
** Inverted with FFT Content 1.3, which adds the new features but removes the increased difficulty.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonCrystalEnhanced'' is a game specifically made to be as hard as possible. For example, where Falkner has a Pidgey and a Pidgeotto around level 10 in the original, in this game, Falkner has a Skarmory, Aerodactyl, Gligar, and Mantine around level ''17''. And once you get to the post game, the gym leaders have no problems pulling out legendaries that ''surpass the level limit'', and with Red the Pokemon can be up to level 165! And the creator made it to be [[SelfImposedChallenge nuzlocked]] too!
* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlueKaizo'' is possibly the hardest hack for Generation 1. Every Pokémon in the game has their movesets altered to be as lethal as possible, including those that can specialize in OHKO moves, Explosion moves, Status moves, and wrapping moves. You can expect to fight nearly every trainer in the game, and the dungeons also bumped up in difficulty, with far more lethal encounters than usual, in a maze-like area for a high punishment factor if you black out, and the dungeons are usually populated by trainers. The bosses have full teams of six, and many have wildcards, and they generally get much stronger as the game goes on, especially near the end. The AI can use healing items, and sometimes even switch. Unlike the games, Team Rocket becomes significantly more threatening, with powerful Pokémon, and switching and healing capabilities. You rival will always have a [[spoiler:''Mew'']] as his main, which will get stronger as the game goes on. The only thing the AI can't do is use Revives, but you can't use Revives during battle either. Though catching all 151 Pokémon is actually simple enough, since you will face all 151 Pokémon.
** ''Videogame/PokemonCrystalKaizo'' takes Blue Kaizo's difficulty UpToEleven. It's basically everything above, but with a few differences. The AI is bumped up for ''every'' trainer, from normal trainers to gym trainers, to [[TookALevelInBadass Team Rocket grunts and scientists]], to [[EliteMooks Cooltrainers]], and finally, to major bosses, with ascending difficulty, and more diabolical strategies. Bosses that have been buffed include '''[[ThatOneBoss Whitney]]''' and turned Bugsy, one of the easiest gym leaders into one of the most annoying. And it gets ''harder'' from there...

* There are plenty of mods out there for ''VideoGame/BaldursGate2'' to increase the difficulty of the bosses and make enemies behave more intelligently. Most notable among them, however, are two mods:
** The Tactics mod. For an example, the De'Arnise Keep dungeon is suddenly filled with Spirit Trolls, which you don't even encounter until halfway through the game, and even then only one at a time, and as for Tor'Gal, the boss of the dungeon (keep in mind that this is one of the ''very first'' dungeons you can go to):
*** Has Improved Invisibility cast on him, preventing him from being able to be targeted by single-target spells.
*** Can berserk himself
*** Has Free Action cast on him, preventing any spells that restrict his movement from working
*** Is immune to fear
*** Automatically detects invisible characters
*** Drains his target's strength with every hit
*** Has an insanely high HealingFactor
*** Carries one of the heads of the Flail of Ages (the perfect anti-troll weapon), meaning you can't forge the best weapon for clearing this dungeon until it's too late.
** Ascension, which beefs up all of the major boss fights in Throne of Bhaal (including Demogorgon), and turns the final boss fight into a massive BossRush against every major villain from both the main game and ToB (including fighting every member of the Five at the same time). The only consolation is that you can recruit one of the Five to fight alongside you.
* The ''VideoGame/EmpireAtWar'' mod ''Republic at War'' tweaks the enemy [=AI=] to be [[PerfectPlayAI absurdly intelligent and ruthlessly aggressive]].
** Also for ''Empire At War'', ''Thrawn's Revenge'' {{nerf}}s space stations into [[TheLoad nigh-defenseless shipyards]], Tech Level advancement is [[ScrappyMechanic based on "Eras"]], and if a Hero unit is killed, ''[[AllDeathsFinal they're]] [[KilledOffForReal dead]]''.
** Add to both examples the fact that the enemy faction [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules has practically limitless resources]] and [[DiskOneNuke immediate access to Super Star Destroyers (or equivalent)]]. Yeah, you're in for one hell of a ride.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda: Parallel Worlds'' is one of ''the'' hardest games you will ever play. After beating the game you'll probably think all of the quotes on this trope's quote page are referring to this game specifically. One needs only look at level 3, Farore's Isle, for an example: After a couple of non-challenging rooms (literally a couple!), you're faced with an unavoidable Firebar that you'll absolutely have to take a hit off of to get by. And you'll probably want at least three hearts, because the room after that has more Firebars and red Hardhat Beetles that deal two hearts of CollisionDamage at a time. ''And'' the next floor down has ''more'' red Hardhat Beetles and the Crystal Switch you have to activate to continue further on. '''And''' you'll need at least two hearts left over after going through all of that, because on the way back you'll be forced to hit a Firebar again! '''And''' you can't use the book of Mudora to go back to the start of the dungeon, because that resets the crystal switch! And hey, guess how much the remodel (specifically designed to make the game ''easier'') changed about this series of rooms? Besides brightening them up a bit, ''absolutely nothing!!''
* ''VideoGame/MegaMan8BitDeathmatch''[='=]s single player campaign is composed of a series of pre-determined matches against computer controlled bots. However, each level '''requires''' you to reach the frag limit to finish in first place, and the bots are very aggressive, and while it's possible to lower their difficulty, it's hard to access and not available in the main single player menu[[note]]So you know, you can lower their difficulty by doing it in the offline skirmish menu[[/note]]. Worse yet, they get infinite ammo for any weapon they pickup, allowing them to fire off weapons all day that would normally only have 7 shots at the most. And then some of the single player exclusive bosses battles are brutal, such as the [[ThatOneBoss Metool Daddy]], and as the player cannot respawn during these fights, you have to start the fight over if you die at any point.
* ''VideoGame/HideousDestructor'' is a weapon/gameplay mod for ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' that makes it play like a tactical shooter. A tactical shooter with Doom-like numbers of enemies who are at least as fast and tough as you are. If you get damaged you can bleed to death over time if you don't have the right items, you move at a realistic speed that is agonizingly slow compared to the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic-like]] speed of the original player character, and all enemies do tremendous amounts of damage. It's a truly harrowing experience and there is ''no'' room for mistakes.
** While it's still in Beta, the Advanced Arsenal Pack for ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' turns an already tough mod into a nightmare, since now the lowly zombiemen can carry rocket launchers, which they ''never'' drop as pickups. If you want your own launcher to level the playing field, you gotta find one laying around.
** The later parts of ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfMassmouth'', as well as its sequel, ''Massmouth 2''. The enemies aren't numerous, but they have a lot of health and hit really hard, all while ammo is very scarce.
* The ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' mod "Dig Deeper" is designed for people who have gotten the hang of regular DF and want a fresh challenge. And by "fresh challenge" we mean "endless tide of [[DemonicSpiders Orcs]][[note]]which are unique to Dig Deeper, have TRAPAVOID, can open locked doors, and are ridiculously brutal, fast-moving killing machines[[/note]] before your first caravan".

** In particular, out of the non-Kaizo hacks, [[VideoGame/YoshisIslandKameksRevenge Kamek's Revenge]] is the hardest. The levels are much longer and more difficult than the original and getting 100 points in each can be extremely challenging.
* The [[http://www.miserymod.com/ Misery mod]] for ''S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat'' is so ridiculously [[NintendoHard Nintendo Hard]] that it practically [[UpToEleven redefines the trope]] and goes headfirst into FakeDifficulty. Everything, ''everything'' that could have been exploited for an advantage has been ruthlessly suppressed. The whole Zone is such a [[DeathWorld cruel and pitiless place]] now that you shouldn't expect to make money hunting for artifacts anymore - your main source of income will be other stalkers you hunt down and kill for their gear. And good luck with that, since they can take tons of bullets and can instantly snipe you in the head with a PISTOL from hundreds of feet away.
** And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, now the mod also makes stalkers completely unpredictable in their behavior. Oh, you just stumbled upon what appears to be a group of regular Loners? Cue the sudden cruel twist of fate when you quickly find out to your horror that these are actually bandits and/or mercenaries in disguise and they will immediately turn their guns on you. Oh, and the mod also removes the compass-map that you were so used to in the vanilla version, as well as other mods for this game; now you have to resort to opening up your PDA to check your map to find out where you actually are. And what about the feeling of getting rich quickly in the game? Sorry, this mod ensures that won't happen; [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts now weapon/armor repairing and the purchasing of items suddenly became three times more expensive in the game compared to the vanilla version]]. The series was already notorious enough to be considered the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of the FirstPersonShooter genre. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Yeah]].
* The ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series called ''[[https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/module/swordflight-chapter-one Swordflight]]''. Everything is meant to undermine you in the most unfair and cruelest way imaginable. Monsters always scale to your level, so even [[TheGoomba lowly monsters]] should never be underestimated. Regular monsters have beefed-up stats and abilities not found in the vanilla game, such as concealment for Battle Horrors or [[SummoningRitual unlimited Gates]] for Pit Fiends. Rust Monsters and Bebiliths can destroy your equipment. EliteMooks and BossInMookClothes are everywhere (have fun fighting eight Mariliths, not counting their little friends). RespawningEnemies and RandomEncounters are scripted and always show up when you pass the same room over and over (and ''you will''). Monsters have a chance to ambush you if you rest in hostile territories. Boss fights are always a nightmare because of [[FlunkyBoss minions]], devices that constantly heal the boss and death traps that damage you. Liches and Vampires always respawn if you fail to destroy their SoulJar or stake them on time. Not helping matters is [[RequiredPartyMember a forced party member]] who's [[ArtificialStupidity idiocy reaches monumental levels]]. To top it off, the designer recommends playing the mod ''with D&D hardcore rules''.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''
** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/70032 Skyrim Rogue-like Encounters]] add [[DemonicSpider enemies that hit hard and need a lot of hits to bring it down]] in every single groups of hostile NPC, including bandits. All of them are uniquely modeled, so they're easy to distinguish.
** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/53745/ SkyDie - Prepare to Cry Edition]] turns Skyrim into a far more challenging experience. Fast travel and health regeneration are disabled, running depletes your stamina, potions have been nerfed and their prices have been increased.
** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19281 Requiem: The Role-Playing Overhaul]] is very tough. The mod removes LevelScaling, so you will meet a lot of [[BeefGate Beef Gates]] throughout the map, making it [[EarlyGameHell very hellish at low levels.]] Bows and crossbows can be destroyed by melee attacks, you start out with less carry weight, enemies tend to stick together when fighting you, running now drains your stamina in addition to moving slower when you have low stamina, health does not regenerate on its own, and some of the new enemies introduced in the mod could OneHitKill you.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARmBQ4iXtJk&playnext=1&videos=dc5tePm-RqM Grandmaster Galaxy Master Quest]]'' - The first hack of a 3D Mario game listed here. Also the first Galaxy 2 hack ever made.

** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19281 Requiem: The Role-Playing Overhaul]] is very tough. The mod removes LevelScaling, so you will meet a lot of [[BeefGate Beef Gates]] throughout the map, making it [[EarlyGameHell very hellish at low levels.]] Bows and crossbows can be destroyed by melee attacks, you start out with less carry weight, enemies tend to stick together when fighting you, running drains your stamina, you move slower if you have low stamina or health, and some of the new enemies introduced in the mod can OneHitKill you.

** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19281 Requiem: The Role-Playing Overhaul]] is very tough. The mod removes LevelScaling, so you will meet a lot of [[BeefGate Beef Gates]] making it [[EarlyGameHell very hellish at low levels.]] Bows and crossbows can be destroyed by melee attacks, you start out with less carry weight, enemies tend to stick together when fighting you, running drains your stamina, you move slower if you have low stamina or health, and some of the new enemies introduced in the mod can OneHitKill you.

** [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19281 Requiem: The Role-Playing Overhaul]] is very tough. The mod removes LevelScaling, so you will meet a lot of [[BeefGate Beef Gates]] making it [[EarlyGameHell very hellish at low levels.]] Bows and crossbows can be destroyed by melee attacks, you start out with less carry weight, enemies tend to stick together when fighting you, running drains your stamina and you move slower if you have low stamina or health. Stronger enemies can potentially kill you in a few hits if you are not prepared.