Summary
PlayStation 5’s open-world games are those with large, sprawling maps that afford players the freedom to explore without much in the way of mandatory linear progression. While these games reward exploration and have a gradual increase in difficulty that matches player skill, some make that difficulty curve much steeper than others. These types of games don’t pull punches or give the player much guidance, instead allowing them to try and fail different things until they “get good.”
For players looking for an open-world game that is challenging or even frustratingly difficult, these 10 can be especially challenging in certain regards. This covers games available on PS5 consoles, giving special attention to PlayStation exclusives, which arejudged based on how hard the mechanics are to master and how much the game punishes players as they learn. These games are not for everyone, but for some, they provide a unique and rewarding experience when they are finally mastered.
10Marvel’s Spider-Man Requires A Balance Between Combat & Maneuverability
The Mechanics Of This Character May Prove Difficult To Master
Marvel’s Spider-Mantakes place in the Manhattan borough of New York City, and allows players to freely explore the large metropolis. But due to the presence of super-villains and everyday criminals, danger waits down each street and atop each tower. Thus, players must constantly be on the lookout for enemies lying in wait or attacking civilians.
The game’s combat system is fantastic, though difficult for new players to get the hang of.It requires them to learn how to simultaneously land combos while web-swinging through the airand using the environment to their advantage. All of this while keeping an eye on each enemy to see what they are doing next. Especially on higher difficulties, the combat in this game requires precise timing and a commitment to learning enemy move sets. But it is an incredibly rewarding system once they get it down.
9Kingdom Come: Deliverance Has A Harsh Learning Curve
A Medieval Combat System That Doesn’t Hold Back
Kingdom Come: Deliverancemay share an aesthetic with games likeSkyrim, but don’t be fooled into thinking it will be as easy.The non-exclusive game aims for more realistic combatand doesn’t give the player too much in the way of special powers or abilities to give them an edge. Instead, they must fight and explore to gain better equipment and overcome their enemies through careful decision-making.
The player starts out with little in the way of weapons, armor, or battle mastery, and each improvement to their layout must be fought for tooth and nail. Beginners will likely struggle to master the swordplay mechanics of the game, andeven experienced players will have a hard time surviving against groups of enemiesif they don’t plan ahead. This game punishes reckless mistakes, but rewards thoughtful planning and exploration, and players who enjoy those components of a game should be able to get the hang of it.
8Monster Hunter World Includes Incredibly Dangerous Enemies For The Player To Hunt
Another title not exclusive to the PS5,Monster Huntersees the player hunting monsters, as one might expect, in various environments and with a plethora of tools. The variety of builds, equipment, and consumables available to players makes this game one where certain characters can blow through almost any obstacle in their path, while others may struggle more. However,certain monsters should pose a serious challenge no matter who goes up against them.
Creatures like the Extreme Behemoth and Lunastra have so much health and deal so much damage that any mistakes will likely mean a player’s death. Of course,Monster Hunter Worldallows for teams of players to go after their prey together, andpicking the right team can certainly help in these fights. But even with a group of experienced hunters, players will need to prepare wisely and bring the right equipment to take down these gargantuan foes.
7The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Open World Lets Players Get In Over Their Heads
Try To Avoid Stumbling Into A Monster’s Lair Before You Are Ready
Wild Huntis likewise not a PlayStation exclusive, but follows Geralt, a Witcher (a mutant monster hunter) looking for his apprentice/adopted daughter, Ciri. Along the way, he must face an army of interdimensional Elves looking to invade the world, warring kingdoms each trying to tear each other apart, and, of course, dangerous monsters that will dispatch him if given the chance. As such, between the excellent story and character interactions, players will need to fend off any number of threats.
Unlike someopen-world games, which scale enemies in a given area to the player’s level,The Witcher 3has set levels for enemies in certain areas that will massacre Geralt if he finds them too early. From Basilisks perched on cliffsides to Nilfgaardian soldiers occupying villages to just random Ghouls on a forest path, any enemy has the potential to bring Geralt to a swift end if come upon too soon. Players must keep an eye out, fight cautiously, and avoid the temptation to beat their head against a high-level enemy for an hour until they finally bring it down.
6Ghost Of Tsushima Features Many Epic & Violent Duels
Learning To React Quickly May Not Be Enough
Ghost of Tsushimahas been praisedfor both its beautiful open world and exceptional sword combat, and for good reason. But this game doesn’t hold back on the difficulty in some of the harder boss duels it offers. The game’s combat relies on parrying, dodging, blocking, and striking with various power levels, andeach of those actions must be timed tightly and quickly to win battles.
Some bosses are difficult due to their large health pools or instant kill moves, but the most dangerous among them are difficult to beat due to their unpredictability. In games likeTsushimaandSekiro, learning enemy move sets and patterns is key to victory. But some bosses in this game, especially the optional boss Kojiro, make use of varying and difficult-to-predict combos that can cause any attempt at beating them to fail.
5Dragon’s Dogma Requires Constant Focus In Combat & Clever Tactics To Survive
Button Mashing Has No Place In This Fantasy World
The originalDragon’s Dogmais miles harder than its sequel, both of which aren’t exclusives. While this is partially due to less fluid controls and harder-to-time boss moves, it is also because the game’s bosses deal tons of damage and have truly massive health pools. While bringing alongPawns to fight inDD2is somewhat optional, a full party of them is basically required to take down certain bosses in the first game.
From Death, who can kill characters in a single blow as his name suggests, to the Un-Dragon with literally billions of hit points,the bosses in this game require more than just focus and skill. There is a certain amount of brute forcing required to get through some encounters by bringing high level equipment or multiple Pawns, and the inconsistent difficulty of the game makes it hard to predict when players need to go all out in their preparation.
4Horizon Zero Dawn Features Fast & Deadly Foes With Little Room For Error
Missteps In Combat Are Punished Quickly
ThroughoutHorizon Zero Dawn, the player character Aloy must fight mechanical beasts to survive, each of which can pose unique threats with their given abilities. Players must fight back with a range of different ammunition, which varies in damage type and its ability to hurt certain enemies. Not only must players get good at shooting at moving targets, a daunting prospect in and of itself, butthey must also study their foes to determine how exactly to defeat them.
Most of the enemies in this game have some sort of weakness, whether it be to a given damage type, or a point on their bodies where attacks are most effective. Players must plan out how best to abuse these weaknesses while simultaneously avoiding heavy hits and staying mobile. Given that Aloy can only take a few hits before dying, good aim and knowledge of the enemy is crucial to surviving major encounters.
3Elden Ring Contains Some Of The Toughest Bosses In History
The Game’s Build Versatility Means It Is As Hard As You Want It To Be
Elden Ringboasts an enormous open world, with plenty of dangerous foes to fill it. The multiplatform game also possesses a huge amount of loot, whether it be armor, weapons, or consumables, that can make the players themselves extremely powerful. With the right build, even the hardest fights in this game can be trivialized. Of course, for the majority of players, that will not be their experience.
Those exploitative builds often require a good deal of game knowledge and skill with the controls, meaning thatmost players' first runs through the game will be a much more monumental challenge.Elden Ring, which is not PlayStation-exclusive, rewards exploration while simultaneously not holding back at all on its more important fights, with its first main boss, Margitt, the Fell Omen, being one of the most difficult tutorial experiences in history. And with end-game foes like Malenia and Maliketh, players will die many, many times before they can reach the point of being overpowered.
2Outward Blends Combat & Survival Elements For Maximum Difficulty
An Extremely Punishing Take On An Open World
Outwardmay not be as popular as some of the other games here, but it certainly matches them in difficulty and then some. Its combat, reminiscent ofDark Soulsgames due to its tight timing and aggressive foes, will give even experienced players a challenge. But the real difficulty with this multiplatform game comes with its incorporation of survival mechanics. Unlike in some other open-world games, where things like hunger and equipment load can be dealt with outside of combat for the most part,inOutward,players are required to balance their basic survival skills with their fighting prowess.
They must hold on to numerous items to survive in different areas, yet they must drop their packs during combat to move around freely, and they’d better not lose track of whatever they dropped.Players aren’t given much guidance or quests to help them find better loot, and instead must explore thoroughly while avoiding death. In the event that a player dies, all their stuff is lost, and they are revived in a random location. It is truly one of the more frustrating games out there in this genre that almost seems to punish exploration at times, rather than reward it.
1Bloodborne Is An Ultimate Test Of Combat Skill & Focus
The Hardest Game In A Series Defined By Difficulty
FromSoftware’s catalog of games, from theDark Soulstrilogy toSekiro, are often regarded as some of the hardest and most frustrating experiences video games have to offer. Even among those titles,Bloodbornestands out as the series' best and most brutal challenge. Its enemies are fast, aggressive, and tough, as even smaller foes can pose a challenge to players looking to rush past them.
The aesthetic of the game contributes to its difficulty, with oppressive and Gothic tones leading to increased player anxiety and a heightened sense of tension. This doesn’t even account for enemies like Lady Maria or the infamous Orphan of Kos, who are among the most powerful and difficult bosses to defeat ever. All of this mixed with traditional soulslike checkpoints and currency mechanics, along with more difficult-to-acquire healing, makeBloodbornea clear choice for the hardest open-world game onPS5.
PlayStation 5
The fifth flagship video game console from Sony Computer Entertainment, the PlayStation 5, is a part of the ninth generation of consoles. The console features full backwards compatibility with PlayStation 4 games and features a digital storefront that gives access to older generations. The console can output images at 4K resolution, with alternative options including 1440p at 120 frames per second for gameplay. This console is also known for implementing 3D audio, which allows headphones to be connected to the console for simulated spatially accurate audio.
