The 25 hardest video games of all time

From the darkest corners of gaming history, here are the shooters, platformers and beat-'em-ups that took no prisoners

Games used to be harder. That's the lament veteran players now mutter whenever encountering some modern shoot-'em-up or action adventure. It sounds like the same sort of nostalgic elitism that music snobs indulge in, criticising current bands for lacking the legendary quality of yesterday's heroes. But with games, it's kind of true.

As the industry has grown, the big titles have moved towards toning down the difficulty, in order to give a smooth experience to as wide a range of players as possible. Nowadays, if you want a real challenge, you have to select "hard" mode, which usually just means more enemies and less ammo. But difficulty is at its best when it's an intrinsic part of the design: players have to think about the game in another way - and earn their progress.