Hardest FromSoftware Games

Key Takeaways

• Demon’s Souls
  teaches players to figure out bosses’ gimmicks for victory in an unpredictable environment.
• King’s Field 2
  challenges modern players with harder enemies, old-school design, and janky mechanics.
• Dark Souls 3
  strikes a balance with challenging bosses and manageable pre-boss content, evolving through updates.

FromSoftware is best known for the incredible difficulty present throughout its impressive library of games, so much so that the development company is widely regarded as the grandfather of the entire ‘Soulslike’ genre.

FromSoftware’s titles are often met with critical and popular acclaim. But what many fans do not know is that the company has scores of game credits outside the ‘Soulsborne’ genre that still fit the identity that the developer strives for. Picking the most difficult FromSoftware games takes into cognizance a lot of factors, but there is a clear line of reasoning as to why some games are more difficult than others.

Updated on November 05, 2024, by Gerardo Molina: While some developers focus on making their games harder with every release, FromSoftware appears to take a different, yet similar approach in many ways. The difficulty level in Soulsborne games and other titles made by the developer doesn’t scale linearly, but rather appears to vary depending on what the game needs.

While the difficulty level is always kept rather high, sometimes FromSoftware might opt for bosses that aren’t as challenging in order to give the spotlight to the story, the game mechanics, or the world a particular game is set in. What’s undeniable, is that FromSoftware games always deliver on what they promise, even when the gaming community might often be split between loving and hating them.

15 Armored Core: Project Phantasma

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.2/5

• Platform(s): PlayStation
• Released: December 4, 1997
• Developer(s): FromSoftware Inc.
• Genre(s): Mecha, Third-person shooter, Simulation

Set two years before the events of the original Armored Core, Armored Core: Project Phantasma tasks players with investigating the Amber Crown complex, the home of a mysterious Doomsday Organization, and a covert research project codenamed Project Phantasma.

Gameplay doesn’t vary much from its predecessor, but there are new weapons added to make the experience feel different. While it’s likely the easiest FromSoftware game out there, that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a classic in the studio’s history, even though it almost never gets the recognition it clearly deserves.

14 King’s Field

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.36/5

While the first game in the King’s Field series may not have received an official English release, fans came to save the day with a full translation patch of their own that allows players to check out the first-ever game developed by FromSoftware. Fans of Dark Souls will be amazed to see the many ways King’s Field inspired FromSoftware’s flagship series, even if the core combat itself is as clunky as they come.

Maintaining distance and picking one’s hits wisely is the best way to play King’s Field, especially since the control scheme can be a pain to learn. In fact, a lot of King’s Field‘s difficulty feels artificial, which can frustrate players. However, those who bear the early slog of this title and find some decent equipment and spells to use will be taking out most enemies from afar before they have a chance to retaliate, even if the challenge keeps on ramping up.

13 King’s Field 3

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.58/5

• Platforms: PlayStation
• Released: 21 June, 1996
• Genre: Action, RPG

This is where things get tricky. While this game is officially King’s Field 3, the game was released as King’s Field 2 in the West since the first game never received an official translation. This title is the last of the King’s Field series to make its way onto the PS1, serving as the most polished version of a formula that can take a while for players to get into.

The combat is far from easy and mandates that players remain mobile and wear the best equipment to smite their foes. Initial fights at a low level can be a downright nightmare to deal with, and it’s important to combine melee attacks and sorcery to ensure that players aren’t flattened by enemies who arrive in the later stages. This, coupled with the obtuse exploration, ensures that King’s Field 3 is as challenging and cryptic as the past two titles in the franchise, making it one of FromSoftware’s hardest games.

12 King’s Field 2

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.85/5

• Platforms: PlayStation
• Released: 21 July 1995
• Genre: Action, RPG

King’s Field has the distinct honor of being the first video game developed by FromSoftware way back when in 1994. It was a fantasy game that already started to develop some of the tropes that are a staple of FromSoftware games today.

In 1995, King’s Field 2 was released, and it featured a significant difficulty spike with better enemy design and intuition, making it much harder to progress through the game. Considering its age, some of the jank of the game also inadvertently adds to the difficulty, but all in all, King’s Field 2 is a solid entry to the FromSoftware roster.

11 Armored Core: Verdict Day

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.92/5

Before Dark Souls, there was Armored Core. This was the series that first brought FromSoftware to prominence, and it is one that the company persists with still. The game is far removed from the Souls games in atmosphere and aesthetic, but is bonded in difficulty.

Verdict Day’s difficulty lies in the variety of missions and the specificity of the mech building to survive each mission. With 60 missions in the game, and each more difficult than the last, it isn’t hard to see why this is a difficult FromSoftware game to clear.

10 Dark Souls 2

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.99/5

As the middle child of the Dark Souls series, it does make some sense that it is the most complex of the three games. Dark Souls 2 features a seemingly new control system, making turning and rolling feel clunkier than the original, which can lead to many moments where, despite evading an attack, damage is assured.

Some of the design choices also add to the game’s difficulty. For instance, the Humanity mechanic means that most players have to move around with half of their HP bar, and there are some areas where the map is unforgiving, like Black Gulch, which throws poison at players at every turn in a dark environment.

9 Armored Core: For Answer

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4/5

• Platform(s): PlayStation 3
• Released: March 19, 2008
• Developer(s): FromSoftware Inc.
• Genre(s): Shooter Video Game, Vehicular Combat Game

Set five years after the LYNX War, Earth finds itself under the rule of the League of Ruling Companies made up of various nations that endured and survived the infamous armed conflict. Armored Core: For Answer innovated on many things, including a new interface for Armored Core customization that gave players a lot more freedom.

This title is also the second in the series to feature multiple endings, which isn’t anything new in the gaming world, but when the concept is properly executed, it almost always delivers and makes the experience amazing.

8 Dark Souls 3

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.01/5

The third game of the Dark Souls series was a masterpiece that perfected the art of creating an atmosphere. Dark Souls 3 is also known to have some of the most difficult bosses in the entire FromSoftware catalog. Hundreds have fallen to the Soul of Cinder, The Nameless King, and Slave Knight Gael.

On the other hand, a lot of the content before the boss fights is relatively easy to deal with, which makes Dark Souls 3 somewhat balanced on the difficulty meter, especially since some overpowered weapons would be nerfed upon FromSoftware’s updates and discovery, allowing additional tweaks to the game’s meta in both PvP and PvE.

7 Elden Ring

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.09/5

The latest entry in the Soulsborne niche of games was released in 2022 to high praise from all who played it, but a lot of hardcore fans felt it wasn’t as difficult as it could be. This was mostly due to the Spirit Summon mechanic and some weapons that were absolutely broken, stun-locking enemies and eating away at their health with ease.

Yet, the game still requires a Herculean effort to clear, and some of the bosses are not to be forgotten in a hurry. A good example of this was Malenia, Blade of Miquella, who was the cause of many a broken controller due to her difficulty. Fans who thought that this game wasn’t as difficult as some of FromSoftware’s hardest games were singing a different tune when Shadow of the Erdtree dropped, showing them that Miyazaki wasn’t messing about.

6 Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.1/5

No one expected Armored Core to make a comeback after the Soulsborne formula became a major hit. So, fans were glad to see FromSoftware’s hard game franchise make a return with a sixth title that promised to be one of the most polished versions of an Armored Core game to date.

Fires of Rubicon didn’t disappoint, with the core gameplay of investing in a mech and tackling levels being a ton of fun to engage with. The removal of the debt mechanic negates a lot of the grind that the series was infamous for, encouraging players to experiment with their mech and tackle the many tough challenges in this title without feeling punished for doing the same. Despite this change making many people think that this would be one of the easier Armored Core games around, the sheer imposing threat posed by the game’s many cinematic bosses will make players thank the developer for not going overboard with the difficulty.

5 Armored Core: Last Raven

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.1/5

• Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
• Released: 4 August, 2005
• Genre: Third-person shooter, Adventure, Mecha

Many fans agree that Armored Core: Last Raven is the most difficult of the series. The game’s story and atmosphere are excellent, as they draw gamers into an intriguing battle where the player holds their destiny in their hand.

The missions are a lot of fun, but they could also become painful due to their difficulty. Also, building a mech really affects the player experience, and it is almost impossible to get it right the first time around, resulting in various forms of difficulty that must be overcome throughout one’s playthrough.

4 Bloodborne

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.13/5

When Bloodborne was released in 2015, fans loved it for its Lovecraftian and gothic elements, sound design, and of course, its punishing difficulty. Bloodborne is easily one of the hardest FromSoftware games out there, with a big element being the lack of a shield and primal focus on attack over defense.

On top of that, the level design is quite complex, meaning that players will easily get lost. While there are some mechanics that help the player out, like the parry and rally systems, most will agree that it still takes incredible skill to complete the game and the dungeons featured within.

3 Dark Souls

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.18/5

The first of a trilogy of really successful games, Dark Souls was where FromSoftware’s identity really set in. The game also featured the infamous two-man single-boss fight, Ornstein and Smough, which is as difficult a fight as one could ever encounter.

That said, Dark Souls is much slower than many of the other Souls games, which makes it a lot more bearable in terms of the difficulty curve. Therefore, with more time to think, the player has a more generous window with which to execute actions.

2 Demon’s Souls

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.22/5

For many, this is where FromSoftware started and the game where their trademark punishing difficulty became an identity. Demon’s Souls is an amazing game that will be horrendous for someone who has little experience with these sorts of titles.

However, there are quite a few things that can make the experience more bearable, including different builds or making use of the shield. The bosses, which are customarily the hardest part of these games, are relatively tame in Demon’s Souls. All the player needs to do is figure out their gimmick, and they will win.

1 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5

Sekiro is a masterpiece of a game. Melding together Japanese folklore, seamless battle, and ridiculous difficulty, Sekiro is one of the hardest FromSoftware games out there, especially for veterans of Soulsborne games, as the new change of pace can be unforgiving.

A lot of this rests on the fact that there are no features that allow players to get help in terms of a co-op partner. The player also has to understand the flow of battle, as one cannot simply parry willy-nilly. Sekiro also mastered the art of layering difficulty the further a player goes. So, while the entire game was hard, progress usually resulted in even more pain, a perfect reflection of the protagonist’s growing skills as they mastered the single blade they had, honing each well-timed parry to avoid death.