7 Hardest Secret Levels Only the Best Players Could Beat

[@CactuarKing]

"while I, on the otherhand, consider the day a win if I find a forgotten fun sized milky-way in the pocket of my bathrobe" she says, whilest describing the best day ever

[@ledumpsterfire6474]

Yeahp.. she did say that. I would imagine we all heard it.

[@uncannymeerkat]

Props to whoever had to get the capture for these! It must have taken some serious determination.

[@outsidexbox]

Mike is now extremely good at Rayman

[@johnwrath3612]

@@outsidexbox That's a marketable skill to put on your CV

[@SolaScientia]

And kudos to whoever got the capture for Hollow Knight. I'm having enough trouble in the Fungal Wastes. The swearing coming from me in that section is topped only by the swearing I did fighting the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst in Bloodborne.

[@henryjtodd]

I’m wondering if this means more Hollow Knight on the channel/s… who’s been playing enough HK to get that good?

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@outsidexbox For a minute there I thought you were going to say Mike was getting good at Dark Souls then thought....nah

[@johnoneil9188]

"Ooph, right in the progress." is also what Samus probably says at the start of every adventure.

[@victoriousf.i.g.3311]

Thanks for the chortle! I immediately thought of Metroid Prime when Samus gets all her progress blown off at the end of the prologue and it tickled me mightily

[@Stratelier]

Not _every_ adventure ... only half of them.

[@Ramsey276one]

LOVED THAT, starter XD

[@yocats9974]

Kratos too... At least he gets new weapons and magic in every game

[@pandamasterx4]

I remember the path of pain taking me over 2 hours to get through on my first run only to be able to complete it in less than 15 minutes after all that practice. Painful, yes. That feeling that you may be a god... Well one that basically no one knows about or ever will... Also yes. But the principle stands!

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

"...that makes a mockery of the imperfection that defines us as fallible human beings with hopes and dreams..." is a divine piece of writing.

[@zoltankotolacsi6892]

Especially lifts your soul when you've beaten the Path of Pain. For once I don't feel like a failuire.

[@mycatistypingthis5450]

@@zoltankotolacsi6892 you are far from a failure regardless, but actually completing this bit is not something not everyone is capable of.

[@Gurtington]

I actually paused the video to soak in what she just said. I was NOT expecting that. Really made me feel like less of a useless waste of space.

[@quincius8638]

yeah to be honest you kind of just feel like an emotionless husk for a litttle while after finishing the path of pain...wait is that just me?... oh well

[@heydukewhatup]

I quite agree.

[@gruggerduggerhoose]

The souls community lovingly refers to the frigid outskirts as “reindeer f*ckland” in case anyone was unsure of how unpleasant a place it is. Lol

[@ABadassDragon]

Compared to rainder f*ckland, having your nails ripped off is unpleaseant

[@rikusschulze6249]

@@ABadassDragon *pleasant

[@aardbei54]

Ah yes. Horsef*ck Valley. The good ol' days.

[@Ahrpigi]

A thousand hours in the Soulsborne series, it's the only area I've never finished. Snowstorm reindeer and then double invisi-cats... I'll go back to trying to solo the 3v1 boss fight in Shulva.

[@spookman2697]

‘Lovingly’

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

Now, that's unfair to Dark Souls. Not *every* corner is hiding an enemy waiting to run you through. Some of them want to run you over.

[@clockworkmonsters8590]

Or "run away" before coming back around to stab you in the back (or punch you in the back of the head as it were) XD

[@mym7296]

The rolling skeletons have infuriated me to no ends

[@kieranm1215]

Due to long periods of either unemployment or pandemic, I have beaten both Frigid Outskirts which was the worst part of any Souls game and Stormy Ascent. I was, in fact, SO unemployed that I got the platinum time trial relic for Stormy Ascent which requires a perfect no death run without stopping once. It's a toss up between that Playstation trophy and the employment I now enjoy which is the greater acheievement.

[@groovatron3k454]

I applaud you! Frigid outskirts is the only time in any Souls borne game that I said "fuck it, I don't care enough to deal with this". The fact that the boss is just a previous boss times 2 was so disappointing

[@kieranm1215]

@@groovatron3k454 Yeah, it's cheap and lazy and I cared not a jot for it. Whatever small dole out of dopamine you get from finally offing that 2nd cat is not worth the time invested!

[@heydukewhatup]

Damn man. Great job!

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

You're doing better than me. I lost my job at the end of the year (ironically it was helping people with their unemployment claims. Now I'm the one on unemployment as I search for a new job, lol). I told myself I'd finally beat Final Fantasy 7 on hard mode, maybe even do the secret challenges in the VR missions. I think I have touched that game only once since I stopped working on the first of January. I just use KZbin most hours of the day, job hunt usually in the very, very early hours of the morning when I wake up initially to use the bathroom (new jobs can be posted and it allows me to be an early applicant. Not that that's always helped me but a job I did this with just this morning contacted me later today to do a preliminary phone interview on Monday, so...huzzah), and build a Pintrest board for how I'm hoping to finally furnish my apartment when I begin working again. Designing my living room has sort of become a bit of an obsession with me right now, lol. Not sure when I'll get back to FF7R.

[@victoriousf.i.g.3311]

To speak to Jane's definition of success, I found three Hershey's kisses and two fun size chocolate bars left over from Christmas just last night. Needless to say, we marked that one down on the ol' calendar.

[@ddjsoyenby]

nice.

[@NeoLotex]

They didn't make it though, did they?

[@victoriousf.i.g.3311]

@@NeoLotex Sadly, there were no survivors

[@justinbuergi9867]

Completing the path of pain took me 8 hours and I was 1 hit away from getting killed when I finally cleared it. Definitely one of my proudest gaming moments along with taking down Nightmare King Grimm

[@VonBlade]

King Grimm. *shudders*

[@OwenIsOnline]

I think the Path of Pain is the closest I've come to going insane in a video game, the whole thing is brutal but that last section.. I was there for like an hour on that bit alone just over and over trying to get this 30 second bit of platforming down perfectly. Very proud I actually did it in the end.

[@marhawkman303]

@@OwenIsOnline what do you get for completing it and beating Grimm?

[@OwenIsOnline]

@@marhawkman303 For the path of pain, you get nothing. It's completely optional and all you get at the end is a little cutscene which does reveal some of the story to be fair. For beating Nightmare King Grimm you get the fully upgraded version of the Grimmchild charm which is essentially a little companion who helps you fight.

[@justinbuergi9867]

@@OwenIsOnline congrats! And gotta agree. It was that one last section that nearly broke me. That one jump just seemed completely impossible

[@MysteriousJojo]

I’ve gotten every achievement in every SoulsBorne game and yet I have never finished Frigid Outskirts. Every time the second cat joins in during the boss at the end I would die without fail and eventually I decided it wasn’t worth my time running back through that godforsaken place getting assaulted by those magic reindeer that literally appear out of nowhere. To this day it’s the only boss in the series I’ve never beaten.

[@nolongerzombiedoe4729]

Slick wouldn't give up so easily.

[@lethalboom3008]

If you’re referring to my boy Patrick “Slick Rick” Dartmore, he died after a backyard wrestling incident. Is that what you want?

[@jaronneutronix3231]

Mine is Priscilla. It just, didn’t seem right

[@groovatron3k454]

Same. It's just the cheapest area in any Souls game. No visibility, infinitely spawning reindeer, no bonfire, and a repeat boss times 2, it's just not fun or rewarding

[@Bleshin]

If you got every achievement of the soulsborne series then the frigid outskirts shouldn't be that much of an issue compared to some other extreme stuff you have to go through on those other games

[@tba113]

Parasite Eve had you clear a skyscraper - the Chrysler Building, if memory serves - of monsters infesting it. It was entirely optional, and the enemies were the basic types you'd been facing or slightly up-gunned, but it was a test of persistence, since you had to clear the entire skyscraper, floor by bloody-minded floor, and it turns out skyscrapers are freaking HUGE.

[@jodinsan]

Ah yes, the Chrysler Building. It is also a maze, so unless you are extremely diligent in making maps, you are going to get lost. Also, it changes every time you leave and come back, so even if you are extremely diligent at making maps, you are going to get lost. You are right though, the basic monsters you fight are just that... but every 10th level of the 72 story building had a boss fight that more or less followed the pattern of bosses you fight going through the story, but they are upgraded versions. Normally this isn't a problem because the Chrysler Building doesn't show up until New Game Plus and by that point you are geared for endgame content. _Buuuut..._ the bosses on floors 50 and 60 are _much_ more difficult and the optional boss at the end is naturally the hardest in the game.

[@osurpless]

@@jodinsan To a point, as the floors had general patterns and as long as you remembered that each floor only had one treasure room, then you knew you could move to the next. The toughest part of Chrysler was beating the final boss before KZbin was a thing; especially as it has some interesting mechanics based around healing that players might not necessarily pick up on…

[@forbiddenwar45]

Also it locked away the true final boss and the true ending.

[@Ramsey276one]

But if you go back to the normal game, you could DONUT anything else! XD

[@Ahrpigi]

Every time I reached it, it was only a test of patience due to the excruciatingly slow run speed. The enemies were never that hard, or maybe I was too overpowered by then.

[@Monkeyzforever]

I'm surprised there's no mention of how the Path of Pain rewards you with nothing more than a tiny bit of lore most won't understand without a mossbag video to explain 😅 I could barely do the first jump, so I gave up pretty quick. I also only managed to get to the 2nd stormy ascent checkpoint before giving up. I have a low frustration tolerance for finicky platforming 😅

[@kingspilly4381]

In Limbo, a 2d puzzle platformer, there is a secret area that has challenges far more difficult than the rest of the game, including an area that is completely dark and has to be navigated by sound alone.

[@sirbrandalf7813]

Woah. I'm going to have to Google that

[@AndreJr9]

That is one of the best level designs I've seen in video games. Truly unique.

[@zulubunsen9067]

Came here to mention this area as well. Incredibly well designed, infinitely frustrating, loved to hate every attempt.

[@azuredragoon2054]

There are still some visual cues to help you, but they're very limited. I would know, I've ran through it, successfully.

[@mrcraggle]

Actually managed to beat that one. Thankfully it isn't that long and it's used in the speed running community to cut out a bunch of time.

[@liamhoyle6407]

I'd love to say I beat the path of pain. But it beat me up and took my spare change instead.

[@Hundmathr]

Jane waxing existential on the imperfection of the human condition was an unexpected joy.

[@Stratelier]

Achievement: Defeated Ballos and saw Cave Story's true ending. You pretty much needed a guide to even _unlock_ the area, given how it is a very specific sequence of objectives and the first one is so subtle it's almost invisible. Fortunately, the game's physical releases include a retro-style manual with retro-style encrypted instructions detailing all the steps.

[@frodobaggins7710]

Kingdom Hearts 2 has a hidden area you can access in Hollow Bastion, which requires you to beat some platforming challenges and then culminates in a gauntlet where you have to fight off a huge number of Heartless and Nobodies in a corridor. And your reward for completing it? A chance to redo the boss fights against digital versions of all of the Organisation XIII members, only this time their boss fights are much harder than previously. But you do get a cool crown for beating all of them

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

does the digital organization 13 of that game give you lore.

[@dyltube6395]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor I’m not sure but the fights are extremely fun and a right amount of challenge

[@dyltube6395]

also if you need proof that I did actually do it and I’m not trolling I’ll drop my ps I’d and you can check my trophies

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@dyltube6395 I don't doubt people about stuff like that. I've seen people beat Yozura on hard mode.

[@dyltube6395]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor it’s ok, wasn’t specifically for you but there are some people here who just wont believe anything

[@VonBlade]

Whomever had to capture the Rayman and Hollow Knight footage, I applaud you. Addendum - If you haven't played Hollow Knight, remember this is the toughest secret level video, not representative of the actual gameplay. It's nowhere near that punishing. Mostly

[@SolaScientia]

"Mostly" lol. I was staring in awe at the Hollow Knight bit. I'm having enough trouble in the Fungal Wastes. I'm at the bottom bench trying to make my way back to the one higher up and I keep dying because of contact with enemies and those pools. Not to mention the hitting things to go higher in the air bit is aggravating. I can at least jump up walls and such now, but I haven't touched the game in a couple of months now because I was getting so frustrated. That and platforming isn't exactly my strong area with games. Hollow Knight is the only game I've played that makes me swear as much as I do playing a Soulsborne game.

[@VonBlade]

@@SolaScientia down by the mantis village and the boss at the bottom of the shaft to the left? Yeah that's a total pain early doors. I often wouldn't rest at benches just in case I got stuck so I'd respawn at the stag.

[@QtPieMarth]

Mike apparently got the capture for Rayman, idk who did for Hollow Knight

[@SolaScientia]

@@VonBlade The boss is that way? I was going to head up to the higher bench and go right. Guess not. I'd been trying not to use a map, but I think I might need to.

[@VonBlade]

@@SolaScientia I'd say that of all the levels, barring the spidery one, if you're going to look at a map, that's the one to look at. Definitely not cheating as it's super easy to get lost there. I'm at 98% and still regularly get lost there.

[@mrherc85]

The Brisk and the Bad-Tempered "homage" had me in fits

[@shinjinaraku4251]

Can't wait for the release date, 2023!

[@jeffsmith3550]

I've beaten Every. Single. Boss. in the 3 Darksouls games and DLC's, except for the Frigid Outskirts tigers. That was where I had to draw a line for my own sanity.

[@alyandthecats]

Path of Pain gave me such a confidence boost when I finally completed it. I never thought I would get into anything Metroidvania, let alone intentionally difficult. But between Hollow Knight and OX, they've become some of my favorites and I even beat Dark Souls!

[@marhawkman303]

so what's the reward on it?

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@marhawkman303 pretty sure it's just a cutscene that gives you lore.

[@that1cat999]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor and the seal of binding journal entry.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@that1cat999 I've never played it so don't really know much about it.

[@bobbie7618]

I have vivid memories of watching my older brother, maybe 12 at the time, spend *weeks* finally cracking Blood Stained Sanctuary. He'd been playing the game and had grown so attached to all the characters that I think he felt an obligation to make it through, and somehow did through sheer bloody-mindedness. I have NO plans to attempt the same (although that's less because I learned from his pain than because every time I've fired up Cave Story since playing Undertale, they've felt so strangely similar that I can't bear to kill a single enemy. Froggit would be so disappointed in me).

[@clovergannon]

Pitios Ruins, in FFXV is a "crush your controller into dust" kind of difficult. You get the flying car, and make your way to that secret dungeon, and you find out that there are no enemies in it, and you're like "oh, this'll be a cakewalk!" Yeah, a cakewalk if that cake was made of sadness, impossible architecture, and probably prunes or something.

[@kademelien9363]

The hardest part of beating those shitty ruins was to platform in a game that wasn't meant to be a platformer. I stood right before the statue as I felt extremely sick, had to vomit and rather went to bed to get up at work the next day losing all my progress cause I couldn't went outside and save. I learned from my mistake, made a second try on a saturday, saved midway, just before it wouldn't be possible and beat this pit of hell.

[@PatriceRacine]

That dungeon really demonstrates how horrible FFXV is as a platformer. "Crush the controller" is the right description. I spent a weekend on that dungeon. After beating it, I looked up videos about it on KZbin and see some guy finishing it in 10-15 minutes as if it's a cakewalk made of cake, rainbow and unicorn

[@nightstorm6361]

Two things I've learned in this video: 1. I am Jane and also prefer the Milky Way 2. Y'all are legends for getting these captures, especially the Hollow Knight one. How often did the neighbours ring to complain about frustrated screams?

[@BrzePascal]

I remember playing rayman Origins on the Wii, trying to get the Land of the Living dead done. Together with a friend we were literally playing for 7h straight until we managed to get the level done.

[@nickjeffery536]

I proudly declare that I have beaten zero of those secret areas

[@AgentFirestalker]

Vagrant Story for the PS1. The Iron Maiden. Your map won't work for most of it, and it functions like the Lost Woods, with a wrong turn putting you back in a room you've already been in.

[@nishidohellhillsruler6731]

That secret level on "Hollow Knight" reminded me of a level on "Bloodrayne: Betrayal", a game that gives you the power to transform into a raven, and almost immediately makes it impossible for you to use that power when you need it the most.

[@davidgorman994]

The Special Zone in Super Mario World was my first experience of this. Gnarly.

[@carlsiouxfalls]

I've never even played these 7 games, let alone attempted their super hard levels. That said, the Brisk and the Bad-Tempered sounds like a great parody film (if you don't count the Fast franchise to have evolved into an over-the-top parody of action films already).

[@Ramsey276one]

O M G You are so RIGHT! XD

[@notoriousbmc1]

I don't know any of these as I avoid challenges, but if it counts as a secret level...Apparently, there are levels after The Gates of Boletaria...who knew?🤷‍♂️

[@jbzhummerh2gamer]

Stormy Ascent was the same level the champion of The Christmas Maze - Rosie Caddick - beat on her final life.

[@dougalAgain]

The first thing I thought of when I read the title was the Special Zone from Super Mario World, not only did you have to find and complete the Star World Secret zone to get there but when you did each of the 8 levels you found was harder than the last. It took teenage me forever to 100% that game!

[@tyrannicpuppy]

I found this channel years ago through the many list videos, but I stay for the personality and the word play. Both are second to none.

[@thalesn]

That area in Dark Souls II gives me nightmares to this day. I beat it at the cost of my sanity. And I didn't feel accomplished for doing so, I just felt relieved for not having to go through it again. Because it's difficult for all the wrong reasons - it's even worse than what is described in the video. You have to walk like 5 minutes through that snowstorm (and infinite murder horses) to get to the boss - assuming you go exactly in the right direction, which is unlikely. Then, just before the boss, there's a narrow bridge. Of course, it's possible to fall and, if you do so, you go back to the start. And the boss itself is not that difficult, but is not a pushover either, so you can still die there - which, once again, means going back to the start of the area. And, btw, it's worth pointing out that you go back to the bonfire, which means getting into the coffin again and waiting for the game to load the area again. So yeah... Crown of the Ivory King (as a whole) was great, but that specific area was really, really, really bad.

[@perlundgren7797]

And as if Path of Pain wasn't enough, Hollow Knight also has the secret level The Eternal Ordeal, which is literally unbeatable. You fight Zote(s) until you die.

[@marhawkman303]

so what do you get from the Eternal Ordeal anyways? The fun of beating to death infinite Zotes?

[@Monkeyzforever]

@@marhawkman303 if you defeat 57 then you get a Zote themed menu but other than that it's just a personal challenge to see how many you can beat iirc - but honestly the fun of beating up endless zotes is justification enough :P

[@scottlil01]

I've only experienced Stormy Ascent of the levels in this video. Lost around 30-40 lives on it. Didn't even bother trying for the relic on it, as that requires a no death run, which I was not willing to subject myself to.

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

Baldur's Gate II and the Twisted Rune battle. Unless you were using a guide of some kind, you could only access it by having a Rogue Stone in your bag while clicking on the correct door in the middle of the main hub city. Once you lose the Rogue Stone (a very valuable gem that could have been sold to help pay for the very gear you're likely to wish you had in hand), you are teleported to a room, with the only way out being winning the following battle and then using the body part of one of the villains to open a portal back to where you came from. Those villains? Include a selection of some of the most dangerous enemies available in the game, including arch-wizards, liches, vampires, beholders, and so on.

[@N1CKSO]

"The Brisk and the Bad-Tempered" is a polite F&F british remake where middle-aged men make disapointed face at each other on a roundabout near Dover in restored MGs

[@TJBrumfield]

I wasn't expecting Jane to drop some poetry on our frail natures defining us in this video.

[@tjg121389]

Go 2 It from Final Doom: The Plutonia Experiment is another incredibly hard secret level. It throws hundreds of the toughest demons at you at once and expects you to somehow not die. It's the godfather of the Doom slaughtermap. There's 13 Cyberdemons and 19 Arch-Viles alone on the hardest difficulty.

[@SkydreamPony]

Hah, came here to say the same thing!

[@Hailstormand]

"PG-13 from here on out I promise." Enter Bayonetta.

[@Amaritudine]

Stormy Ascent is so expertly designed that it's impossible not to admire the artistry and precision that went into it, but also it's such a relentless, unforgiving jerk of a level that it engenders its own special kind of smouldering hatred. Speaking of smouldering hatred, I'm reminded of _Star Trek: Invasion's_ mission 13c, 'Deadspace'. It's not easy to unlock, and it's one of the game's rare turret defence levels instead of the usual fighter combat. The player has to help defend their starship against waves of Borg scout ships, backed up by a gargantuan Borg cube. It's a gruelling war of attrition, with no way to replenish damaged shields or armour. Wonderfully cathartic if you activate the one-hit-kill cheat, though, and tear through a cube with a single shot.

[@thegaymingavenger]

Indivisible had a fun one too. I found it on my first playthrough, which meant it was impossible to finish and I had to reload I believe, because backtracking wasn't possible. A quote from my stream ended up being "forget the final boss. This is the final boss". It took me over half an hour to make it to the space I couldn't progress through but it was so satisfying to make it that far (minus finding out its new game plus accessible only). I haven't tried the super boss at the end yet but it looks hard (and fun) too

[@Ramsey276one]

Oh OH DEAR I had some checking to do…

[@whatsituna6349]

Can't believe you forgot to mention that dying to the enemies at the end of the path of pain respawns you back at the start of the path of pain, ready to endure the gauntlet once again. On an unrelated note, I managed to overcome all that hellish platforming twice!

[@amadotcom5788]

I got screwed over by that twice 😭 well done on overcoming it! It's definitely a good feeling.

[@royallynick]

Im loving the new thumbnail design! The color in the bg makes it pop out more!

[@duckfoot6131]

What this video leaves out is how flipping hard it is just to unlock the Land of the Livid Dead. I think some of the levels you had to beat to get the keys took me longer than Land of the Livid Dead. (Risky Ruin almost made me cry.)

[@KarateKitty5000]

I'm gonna try that Rayman one when I get the chance. I've been playing platformers ever since I was 4, and Rayman has been a staple of my career. You, Oxbox have just unintentionally set me a challenge, wish me luck!

[@timogul]

I hate when games have "optional" areas of extreme difficulty, but if you _don't_ do them then you miss out on some cool item or even on the final ending of the game. "Optional" should mean _optional,_ as in, "you lose nothing by ignoring this entirely, but if you _enjoy_ this sort of thing, knock yourself out."

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

or you miss out on really important lore that completely changes the way you view the story

[@speedypichu6833]

I was wondering about one of the last levels in the newer Mario games, such as The perfect run, which is as the name suggests, requires a perfect run

[@planetmarshmellow]

Secret boss battle of mega proportions begins, Egbert: "if you wouldn't mind getting in this cell for us, that would be great" dusts off hands :) classic

[@LiterallyJustTheWorst]

Not sure if it's a whole level's-worth, but the challenge in VVVVVV, "Doing Things The Hard Way", was the first thing that came to mind, for me. I haven't played that game in years, and I still remember that being exceedingly harder than the whole rest of the game~

[@loidz4515]

The Illusion of Gaia. You go through the whole game collecting jewels to unlock a secret, only to be rewarded with the hardest boss in the game.

[@greyprincebidoof]

I always get really hyped when they mention hollow knight. Hoping for a let's play soon

[@silverwyhrecat5]

The Omega Ruins from FFX and Via Infinito from FFX-2. May be because I first attempted them when I was about ten but those two "secret" dungeons have always pained me.

[@Ramsey276one]

Yevon can SUMMON HIMSELF! XD I like Final Fantasy but OMG WHY

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

I'm a completionist so I really understand this video.

[@IamaPERSON]

What games have you fully completed? I only have a few.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@IamaPERSON Tons of things like Zelda games, rpgs, and things such as mario odyssey. I actually can't name all of them. They tend to be games with stuff like collectables though.

[@IamaPERSON]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor nice! The only games I’ve 100% Soulcalibur 2 (mostly due to luck), Streets of Rage 4 (before the dlc made me get those achievements, too) and Yakuza 7 (HUNDREDS OF HOURS)

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@IamaPERSON I didn't include achievements because i play on Nintendo and most games don't have them

[@IamaPERSON]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor ah, understandable

[@cookedghost]

Here's another fun detail for the Path of Pain: you can't save once inside. Oh, there are checkpoints, but if you want to take a break from the insanity and play something else on the same console you're very much out of luck... unless, of course, you're willing to do it all again from the start

[@Igor63749]

The pitioss ruins in FFXV, you could only access them via a tricky landing with your flying car, then fighting your way through various monsters until you reach the real challenge, an insane platforming segment in a game that barely had a jump mechanic!

[@noirakita428]

I respect anyone who even attempts these, especially platformers. I suck so bad at platforming normally. Mad respect for people who can.

[@retep8891]

The 10 part series called the brisk and the bad tempered... gold

[@renleo2836]

Love to see Cave Story getting a mention. Beating that secret level within 5 minutes was the biggest achievement of my mundane life.

[@synthraofficial5366]

The Devil May Cry series Secret Missions that are usually either timed or extremely difficult to pass depending on the challenge. Making range from anything to clearing the whole area without touching the ground, to killing an enemy and under one second. They're all punishing. I literally only did them in the fifth game for the achievement, which is still a 5% achievement on PlayStation from what I understand because nobody wants to do that lol! More people have the secret "and they all lived happily ever after" ending that you mentioned in the hard bosses you can actually beat video then that lol! Only like 7% of people, but still!

[@Pizzarugi]

I don't know what broke me in Hollow Knight: The Vessel in the Pantheon or the Path of Pain.

[@evanolsen6925]

The Path is what did me in... I am very much so a casual gamer who plays (mostly card/deck building games) for fun. Precice, fraction of a second or death games are NOT fun for me.

[@Ahrpigi]

I only overcame the Path using the honey masks that regenerate, waiting as long as it took after every single hit to keep my HP as high as possible. It was agonizing.

[@JoshTigerheart]

Ah, good memories of the Blood-Stained Sanctuary. Died so, so, so many times until I beat it. Then I got the silly idea to do it with all of the weapon options (Spur, Machine Gun, and Snake). Last go I did at it I actually got through deathless since I had done it so many times. Meanwhile though, Wind Fortress can die in a fire. Only beat that by cheesing the boss. And Nemesis Challenge... only ever made it to the second area before I gave up and just watched a video of it.

[@adambond8542]

1:14 This cracked me up when I played the game for the first time it really sets the Dark Souls tone in an ironic and somewhat honest way. The voice acting is really good too.

[@AlexSamaras]

Am I right in remembering that the White Palace in Hollow Knight had some really difficult to navigate precision platforming areas apart from the Path of Pain? Because I know I persevered through some really tough platforming there which made me hate life and everything in it until I finally made it through, but I'm also pretty sure I NOPE'd right out of the Path of Pain. 🤔

[@D-Man-The-G-Man]

As someone who hates platforming and actually managed to finish the Path of Pain, I assure you the ENTIRE White Palace is a platforming nightmare. That place and everything that came with Godmaster are the only things that stop me from saying I love Hollow Knight. They broke me bad.

[@cookedghost]

The first time I reached the White Palace I thought that was the infamous Path of Pain, and that after all it wasn't that bad. Then I got to the real thing and it took me two days and a good chunk of sanity to beat it

[@samuelkeene1589]

The last couple of Crash 4 Rewind Tapes are insanely brutal.

[@SkydreamPony]

Final Doom: Plutonia Experiment. The second secret level - Go 2 It. The birth of the Doom slaughter map. That absolutely deserves to be on this list

[@bast713]

I'm in awe of people who can complete these. Very cool list, and kudos.

[@randyotte9599]

For some reason the writing seemed particularly good for this video-- nice job.

[@Seinari]

I've only completed the Frigid Outskirts, it was a complete pain and the boss fight was difficult and boring but I wanted to beat every boss in the game so I had to do it.

[@satincartoon2213]

That boss is the only one in the souls franchise I haven't killed, it's just not worth it to me. I've 100%ed all 3 games and Sekiro, but no way am I going back through the Frigid Outskirts

[@Seinari]

@@satincartoon2213 I did it out of sheer stubborness. To be honest you're right, it's not worth it

[@briarpelt2333]

I beat this secret level in Minecraft! It's called The End, which is fitting because the moment you step through the portal you find yourself face-to-face with a DRAGON that is TRYING TO KILL YOU. Not to mention a bunch of Endermen, which do a lot of damage if you aggro them. It's totally unexpected because Minecraft doesn't have any dragons literally anywhere else in the game, so not only is it a surprise boss, but it also regenerates health and has like 5 different attacks. It's crazy. Will definitely kill you over and over--though, not to brag, I've beaten it enough times that I can do it without dying at all now. Yes, I'm being silly.

[@brodygray744]

The Lair of the Deposed King in Darksiders 2. The entrance is on the bottom floor of another dungeon, you have to jump through a series of hoops to get there, and then you just find the single toughest fight in the game.

[@Aozame]

Also the remixed version of the Land of the Livid Dead music level in Rayman Legends is absolutely goddamn insane.

[@duckfoot6131]

That one is indeed a bugger, but I personally thought the remixed Orchestral Chaos was worse--maybe because the musical cues were harder to interpret.

[@skipperg4436]

Its easy compared to multiplayer "endless run" challenges. There after you completed couple of kilometers each level becomes absolutely insane. Nothing else in Rayman comes even close (except maybe 2 hardest timer levels). Ahhhh, brings good memories. Sadly Ubisoft turned off challenges permanently by now :(

[@evolancer211]

I completely forgot about the path of pain. Hot fucking damn, that god damn level

[@marhawkman303]

what do you get from it?

[@evolancer211]

@@marhawkman303 satisfaction, joy, thoughts also drift to why would I do that to myself...and I believe a white frag

[@cookedghost]

@@evolancer211 the white fragment is from the white palace, all the game gives for beating the path of pain is a short cutscene with some lore (and possibly a broken heart if you're too emotionally invested)

[@jardex2275]

It's the furthest thing from a secret level, but there's a special prize for beating the titular level in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair on the first try with no bee shield.

[@rikmosa]

I beat the rayman origin secret level 3 times, after 157 deaths. Still fun

[@kacektv9405]

Ahhhh Secret Levels That thing im not good at after optional Bosses. Wellll aside from Dark Aeons in FFX thank You Yojimbo!! Cant imagine the pain of not getting Valefor's second overdrive and having to beat the Dark one straight just to get back to Starter Village for it.

[@illegalmemedealer3549]

You know it’s a good day when Hollow Knight and Dark Souls are on the same list. And by good, I mean deeply, deeply masochistic. And with a strange emphasis on sun worship.

[@professorplum3858]

The path of pain was rough. Having the ability to set a gateway portal in certain areas of the path really helps.

[@TeryJones]

Y'know it's one thing to make an optional super hard level, it's another to make it mandatory to see the true ending. Dick move Cave Story. Dick. Move.

[@anth0nyislive]

The Moon in Celeste. You literally have to be able to speed run the game to have a chance of beating it

[@vengefulcloud2337]

I like it “ I’ll be back i need to use the expulsion chamber” 😂😂

[@franbr0ck]

I did the path of pain once. Never again 🤣 my fingers were so broken after of done it. Think i was using a youtube video to show me how to do each section. Took me 3ish hours & i actually laid down on the floor & just screamed when id done it. Same with nightmare grimm. Never again. Iv also never had it in me to beat radiance or the patheons. Im happy with my 107% completion

[@djturley509]

Me before the video: ooo I hope darksouls in on here Me after the video: ooo darksouls is on here

[@SomethingLawDude]

"51 battles, that's 50+" reminds me of character numbers on fighting games back then :D

[@johnsansker7064]

Started playing Torchlight again in an attempt to access the horse level. Apparently it's "bastard hard" as Jane would say to even get the items you need to transmute.

[@loonbob3778]

Don't you mean "bastard herd"?

[@mistereclypto]

There were the secret levels of Bevelle in Final Fantasy X-2 that were utter murder... the enemies in there were almost unbeatable without a cheese with the gunslinger and that's not even mentioning the last boss!

[@Jonathon_Hennessey]

In Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddy's Kong Quest there are the lost world levels which are much more difficult than the regular levels in order to find them the player must pay 15 krem coins to Klubba the sentry guarding the bridge to each level. And beating these levels are mandatory if you want the game's good ending.

[@duckfoot6131]

Yeah, I kind of thought Animal Antics would get a mention here.

[@Kujakuseki01]

I saw the video title and immediately thought of the severest level from Rayman Origins and am happy to see it on the list. I spent such a crazy long time grinding through that.

[@sleepytime999998]

"Ooh, a Milky Way!" Jane says as she wipes the Magellanic crumbs from her celestial robe. A fell dread consumes the beings of Triangulum and Andromeda as the skies beyond them darken.

[@CowKirbo]

While it isn't entirely a secret level, the very final level in Celeste known as farewell is absolutely insane and I've only seen it in videos because I haven't even played the core and I'm scared to even try finding all the hearts

[@nate7827]

Not only that, but for gamers going for the golden strawberry on it, the developers were cruel enough to include an additional level within that chapter right before the end just for those who make it that far without dying.

[@quingster3420]

I think "The Brisk and the Bad-Tempered" could make a great series if it were a British cast and the characters were all just sort of passive aggressive. Just lower the stakes but keep sort of a high-drama feel.

[@arashink]

Bayonetta also had the Rodin fight. While it's not particularly secret, it's extremely difficult, and has an equally questionable reward.

[@l0stndamned]

Always make sure you agree a safe-word before visiting the path of pain. Anyone else really want a milky way (fun-size optional)? Not a bowl of ball-os though.

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Haa! Oh good, this one works😅. When i got the notification for this video the first time i finished what i was watching and tried to put this on but it said "This video has been set to private" and i kinda thought "Then why the hell did you tell me to watch it KZbin?" and then i realized it was like the video didn't even exist anymore because i couldn't find it listed in my "bell icon" drop-down list or find the thumbnail for it anywhere on the channel. Glad to see whatever happened was fixed. 😄👍

[@anotherrandomcommenter4473]

In an indy game called Distance, there is a secret level that requires exploring far off the beaten path and discovering certain locations. And once your inside that secret level, there is a SECOND secret puzzle to complete in order to actually finish it. It’s called “The Other Side”

[@Jeremy-ql1or]

The Path of Pain is hard but once you have the Honeycomb charm you can just wait for a health bar to refill after every time you get hit. It basically makes it like having save states.

[@sirbrandalf7813]

I tried path of pain for about 20 minutes before deciding I wanted to play something fun instead

[@SolaScientia]

That sounds like what I'll be doing should I get that far in the game, lol.

[@rewritable_]

15 seconds in and I'm already re-traumatized