Toughest Games to Fully Complete, Ranked

For gamers who seek perfection, these titles offer the ultimate challenge to accomplish every in-game task and achieve a 100% completion rate.
Toughest Games to Fully Complete, Ranked

Highlights

  • Completing games entirely demands time and expertise, especially with demanding achievements and extra content like in games such as Hollow Knight.
  • Shovel Knight presents retro platforming obstacles and intense boss battles, featuring achievements that push players' limits, like completing the game without perishing.
  • Dark Souls 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown deliver formidable gameplay and strategic dilemmas, making them daunting to fully conquer.

While just finishing games is satisfying for most players, some strive to explore every aspect a game offers. This includes conquering the game on all difficulty levels or tackling each challenging achievement.

These pursuits may require considerable time or skill. The games listed below present unique and formidable challenges, demanding players to master their mechanics to achieve full completion. Here are the most challenging games to fully complete.

8 Hollow Knight

Tough Achievements & Optional Content

This popular indie Metroidvania offers demanding combat and numerous challenging bosses. Completing Hollow Knight takes time, with its tough achievements and optional content posing significant challenges.

Achievements like "Solace" and the notorious White Palace require players to overcome extremely challenging platforming sections in a game not primarily focused on this aspect. Additionally, many of Hollow Knight's bosses and bonus trials, such as the Colosseum of Fools, demand players to excel at the game's combat system.

7 Shovel Knight

Multiple Campaigns And Daunting Achievements

This charmingly retro pixel-art platformer features an array of platforming trials and challenging boss encounters that provide a thrilling test from start to finish. However, Shovel Knight includes achievements and additional content that make achieving 100% completion a tough feat.

Achievements like "Impossible!" demand players to finish the game without dying, while "Hurry Up!" requires completing the game within an hour and a half. Furthermore, players must finish the game with each character and conquer the new game plus mode to unlock all achievements.

6 The Binding Of Isaac

Abundance Of Content And Unlockables

The Binding Of Isaac boasts extensive content, even without its numerous DLCs, each of which intensifies the challenge of achieving a 100% completion rate. Not only is The Binding Of Isaac a demanding rogue-like game to conquer, but its diverse achievements and alternate bosses make unlocking everything a laborious task.

The high level of randomness in The Binding Of Isaac adds to the challenge of achieving 100% completion, cutting short runs that could lead to new discoveries. The wide range of playable characters, multitude of achievements, and challenging gameplay collectively make The Binding Of Isaac a formidable game to complete entirely.