7 PS1 Games That Can Be Impossible To Beat

The Sony Playstation console (or the PS1 as it is known today) saw the light of day in the mid-90s and changed the gaming industry forever. The console was a massive hit worldwide, and its successors never stopped creating sales records despite the various economic and logistical hurdles coming their way. With close to four decades of supremacy and countless games in the console’s catalog, it is not very often that a few games tend to stray from the radar.

In addition to its technical prowess, the PlayStation 1 was a console that was flowered with powerhouse exclusives games that won over the hearts of gamers worldwide. However, while some of them proved to be pleasant memories, a select few had the players toil long enough to question their existence, if they were to emerge victorious at the end. These are just a few PS1 games that players everywhere struggled to beat.

7

Fear Effect

Fear Effect Reinvented might excite fans of the gaming community and those new to franchise who look forward to knowing what the fuss is all about. However, only those who played the original will know how annoyingly hard the game was.

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Even though the game had every element that would bring about a social outrage in the modern world, its in-game controls still boiled the blood of many players. The conglomeration of copycat controls from Resident Evil, along with point-and-click mechanisms, were frustrating to learn in a game that was already a little ahead of its time.

6

Oddworld: Abbes Oddessey

The 1997 game from Oddworld Inhabitants, published by GT Interactive, is self-aware of its complex game mechanics and original puzzles. Furthermore, the game was designed to make the players pull their hair out, and was unapologetic about it.

Everything on the gaming screen was relentless and aimed to beat the player into submission. With the constant gunfire and the easy-to-miss obstacles, every inch of the gaming terrain was a nightmare to navigate. To make things worse, the game did not have an option to save progress, and the limited lives were the perfect icing on the cake.

5

Crash Bandicoot

Players of the 1996 Crash Bandicoot would have no arguments in seeing the game on the list. In fact, they might be jealous of the younger players having their first experience of the game through the 2017 version remake.

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The first blockbuster outing from Naughty Dog was a work of the early days, and was unintentionally riddled with odd camera angles and visual choices. Then, to add more fuel to the fire, the controls were tough to master. This made it a painstaking task to clear even the easiest of levels or the basics of obstacles along the way.

4

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness was a gaming marvel for its visual approach alone. Taking cues from the cinematic animations of the time, the game puts the players in an experience unlike no other and stands the test of time even today.

The side-scrolling puzzle action game is filled with bizarre traps, spikes, and swarming enemies on both sides. The game challenges the best of the gamers right from the first level, putting it all in from the get-go. Apart from the time to learn the controls, the game gives no breathing space.

3

Tomb Raider 3

The Tomb Raider franchise was unique and was one of the beloved series of the early gaming community. However, before Lara Croft got her long-due makeover in the visual departments, her OG outings in the first three games were still considered the most intense.

The third installment, Tomb Raider 3, was so hard to beat that a vast majority of those who played the game stooped as low as using cheats in order to win. The game was downright hard to tackle on its own, but the additional tension of collecting limited green gems that allow players to save their progress made it even more hopeless.

2

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

Stealth games are often associated with franchises like Hitman, but even before Agent 47 had his spotlight, a certain PlayStation exclusive from 1998 made gamers sweat their palms and hold their breath. The Tenchu series was a beloved franchise while it lasted, and it was as tricky as a stealth game should be.

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The game focuses primarily on how it should be played more than the actual story narrative, and can test even seasoned gamers. Every move is a game-changing step, while every path is new. One must understand the game completely in order to foresee the mistakes that could quickly end the turn.

1

Alundra

Alundra is undoubtedly one of the most visually complex games of its time, and is also intricate with its gameplay ideas. The RPG classic is one of the few games from the early days that focused on narrative and exploration more than tutored guidance.

However, its specialty proved to be its suffering. The game needed players to be aware of everything it offered, down to the minute details. For example, missing a turn or ignoring an unopened treasure chest might hinder the progress to the next level. On top of that (pun intended), the top-down angle makes it difficult to differentiate the different elevations in the level, making players jump around like Kangaroos before finding an elevated loft.

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