Difficulty in video games is a slippery slope. Indeed, it can make or break some players’ experiences, and it’s interesting to hear why players prefer a vast breadth of creative difficulty settings in some games rather than others, while difficulty options in general can be a fantastic way for players to tailor that experience toward their personal preferences. Many games, franchises, and genres are measured by their anticipated difficulty, too, and Xbox Game Pass is no stranger to such titles.
Whether it’s a yearning for a fabled achievement or a sense of satisfaction that is inaccessible on lower difficulty settings, harder difficulties present a wealth of challenges. They can also aid a game’s replayability factor by giving players a harder run to attempt once they’ve beaten it on an ‘Easy’ or ‘Normal’ option. If you’re itching for something on the more grueling or demanding end of the difficulty spectrum, Xbox Game Pass’ catalog of games will surely keep you busy.
Resident Evil 3 (Nightmare & Inferno)
The Resident Evil 3 remake is infamously known for being half-baked, at least according to many classic Resident Evil 3: Nemesis purists. The remake’s second-largest controversy, though, is how agonizing its Nightmare and Inferno difficulties are.
All the player’s strife in the remake’s relatively short duration culminates in a boss fight that few players have found fun on Inferno. Therefore, it makes sense why the Resident Evil 3 remake’s hardest difficulties are so tough, but it also draws criticism for how unyielding it is.
It’s possibly intended for players to abuse bonus weapons/items they’ve procured previously, but that arguably reduces whatever challenge it was supposed to impose to unfair, artificial difficulty.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (LASO)
Halo’s Legendary difficulty is notorious enough, presenting longtime franchise lovers with the ultimate challenge in Halo games’ campaigns. Moreover, that difficulty can be amplified tenfold from Halo 2 onward (and Halo: Combat Evolved now, thanks to Halo: The Master Chief Collection) by voluntarily engaging in Legendary All Skulls On (LASO) challenges.
LASO challenges basically nerf players as much as possible with individual ruinous effects on gameplay. For example, Halo’s Iron skull deactivates checkpoints for solo play, forcing players to begin again from the start of the level when they die.
Tunic
Tunic‘s adorable, Legend of Zelda-like art style is highly unassuming, but in reality, the game is a fairly punishing isometric Metroidvania game with Soulslike trimmings. The demo alone was enough to turn heads with its difficulty, and its boss fights and puzzles can be particularly tedious.
Thankfully, for anyone having trouble finding patience, a ton of gameplay accessibility options can make Tunic as leisurely as it is cute, including Tunic’s No Fail mode.
Aliens: Dark Descent
Aliens: Dark Descent is quite novel for an Aliens-inspired game, and its methodical, even stealth-oriented approach to the RTS genre is certainly distinct. Aliens: Dark Descent’s real-time tactics gameplay is mechanically rich with a lot to micromanage, yet that only serves to make the difficulty more rewarding as the game progresses and in subsequent playthroughs.
This bears fruit once players are knowledgeable about how to best employ various tactics, like setting the game so it pauses when the skill menu is open, instead of it simply initiating slow-motion, for a bit of respite in a pinch. In any case, Aliens: Dark Descent is easily one of the best Alien– or Aliens-inspired games around, and its presence on Xbox Game Pass makes it a must-play title for fans of the franchise, especially if they’re also fans of the RTS genre.
Sifu
Sifu is a remarkably straightforward action game. However, that straightforwardness translates to an unapologetic combat system that can be knuckle-whitening to learn and gratifying when mastered. Sifu’s gameplay involves a notably high skill ceiling, and a sequel from developer Sloclap.is still highly desired and anticipated.
Advancing as far you can without dying is true proof of mastery, as you’ll notice that your character hasn’t aged a day. To make an already tough-to-master game even harder, players can exercise merciful restraint and attempt to defeat each Sifu boss without killing them.
Lies of P
Inheriting everything that makes a Soulslike game hard and discovering creative ways to make the experience harder in some aspects, Lies of P is fully worthy of the genre’s brutal reputation. Automaton and corpse enemies alike are mercilessly aggro, and bosses are dynamic with abundant attack animations and patterns to learn.
The many resources and mechanics at players’ disposal, such as myriad Legion Arms and Grindstones, don’t hold a ton of value unless players are actively Perfect Guarding and making sure that they get the absolute most out of their handle and blade combinations.
Lies of P is a bit on the lengthier side (considering both the golden path and optional side quests), landing its casual runtime in the same ballpark as Bloodborne, but a bit longer, debatably, than other linear Soulslike games like Dark Souls. Once players are prepared to take on the hardest content Lies of P can offer, they can then elect to explore the Overture DLC expansion.
The difficulty in Lies of P’s Overture DLC is, in many ways, head-and-shoulders greater than that of the base game, but the DLC itself is not freely available via an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Nine Sols
Nine Sols may not have had the same level of hype that Hollow Knight: Silksong was treated to, but it’s surely its rival in terms of difficulty as a 2D, side-scrolling Metroidvania game. Unlike the Hollow Knight games, Nine Sols echoes Sekiro gameplay with a massive emphasis on parrying, and the preference between a game like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Elden Ring may be the deciding factor in whether someone deems it harder than other Soulslike-inspired Metroidvania games of its ilk.
Also unlike Hollow Knight, as well as most other Soulslike-inspired games, Nine Sols has a difficulty slider players can adjust to lessen or heighten the damage they deal and receive.
Celeste (B & C Sides)
As for formidable Xbox Game Pass platformers, the one that arguably takes the cake, at least in its B and C sides, is Celeste. Celeste’s platforming difficulty pairs phenomenally well with the whole premise of the game, and it’s ultimately fair — a quality that not many hard games can boast while also being brutally challenging.
Plus, Celeste‘s learning curve and quality-of-life features, such as frequent checkpoints, can help prevent players from becoming frustrated like they might be with another hardcore platformer.
The Evil Within (Akumu)
As is the case with almost any difficult game, The Evil Within’s hardest difficulty setting is truly a nightmarish experience. This is doubly true of The Evil Within, with the hardest option, Akumu, appropriately reemphasizing how nightmarish the experience is. In this difficulty option, any singular hit that players take results in death, redefining the term ‘survival horror.’
To make matters worse, this includes any damage taken from environmental traps, which are bountiful and sometimes imperceptible, such as a bear trap nestled in tall grass. The Evil Within’s Akumu difficulty exploits the hellish nature of the Nightmare difficulty, ensuring that every bullet counts, as much gel has been collected as possible for crucial upgrades, and stamina management is literally vital when syringes are effectively purposeless.
Hollow Knight: Silksong (& Hollow Knight, Really)
Contrary to how almost all of Hollow Knight’s most difficult challenges arise from optional content (of which there is a lot), the difficulty in Hollow Knight: Silksong is much more prevalent and unavoidable, unless players have no desire to complete Act 2 and progress to Act 3. Hollow Knight: Silksong is billed as a harder game than Hollow Knight, and for good reason, whether that takes shape as tireless, gauntlet ambush fights or perilous run-backs.
Funny enough, Hollow Knight: Silksong’s platforming is decidedly less difficult than Hollow Knight’s, and combat/traversal in general can be much more attuned to players’ tastes in the sequel via the crests that are unlocked throughout the game. Even so, this is one Xbox Game Pass title that takes no prisoners.
- Number of Devices Concurrently
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Standard subscription plan allows two accounts playing at once, with four accounts playing at once on Friends & Family plan
- Highest Resolution
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1440p streaming
- Number of Accounts
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~35 million subscribers
- Compatibility
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Xbox Series X|S, PC, ROG Xbox Ally, Android, iOS, Samsung & LG TVs, Meta Quest, Web Browser
- Price Per Month
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Essential $9.99 | Premium $14.99 | Ultimate $29.99
- Price per year
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12-month membership codes only available at certain retailers
A rotating catalog of games reshapes how players discover new worlds, between large scale blockbusters, inventive indie projects, and long running favorites, all without paying full price for each title. New first party releases often arrive the moment they launch to grant members immediate access, while different tiers determine online features, cloud access, and discounts.
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