Stage Fright

Not all video-game levels are created easily.

backstories The Dead Cells Toxic Sewers Level Is Hard (But It Doesn’t, Er, Stink) What makes the game’s most daunting area so difficult and how new efforts around accessibility have changed the experience. By Aidan Moher
vulture lists The 100 Hardest Video-Game Levels of All Time Dizzying shooters, agonizing puzzles, and water stages (ugh) that raise the question: Continue?
hard mode Finding the Fun in Failure Bennett Foddy’s video games are maddening, tedious, unfair, and borderline impossible — that’s just how he wants them. By Clayton Purdom

Continue?

hard mode May 24, 2023

How Much Should a Video Game Tell You?In titles such as Elden Ring, Outer Wilds, and Tears of the Kingdom, a lack of information is part of the … charm?

By Luke Winkie
game review May 24, 2023

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Taps the Ceiling of What Switch Can DoIt’s a god game with the patina of a ronin story that makes you wonder, This is good, but is this as good as it gets?

By Craig Jenkins

backstories May 23, 2023

Into the Breach’s Final Level Is Hard Without Breaking the Rules“A high level of difficulty,” explains developer Matthew Davis, “makes every decision interesting.”

By Aidan Moher
chapters May 22, 2023

In Video Games, There’s a Fine Line Between Difficulty and DisrespectFromSoftware’s miserable, massively popular titles complicate what it means to “enjoy” a game.

By Jordan Minor
vulture lists May 22, 2023

The 100 Hardest Video-Game Levels of All TimeDizzying shooters, agonizing puzzles, and water stages (ugh) that raise the question: Continue?
vulture lists May 22, 2023

The 100 Hardest Video-Game Bosses, RankedFrom gods and zombies to a shark and a tree, the one trait they share is an ability to end your game swiftly.