Summary
- Demon's Souls teaches players to figure out bosses' gimmicks for victory in an unpredictable environment.
- King's Field 2 challenges modern players with harder enemies, old-school design, and janky mechanics.
- Dark Souls 3 strikes a balance with challenging bosses and manageable pre-boss content, evolving through updates.
FromSoftware is best known for the incredible difficulty present throughout its impressive library of games, so much so that the development company is widely regarded as the grandfather of the entire 'Soulslike' genre.
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FromSoftware's titles are often met with critical and popular acclaim. But what many fans do not know is that the company has scores of game credits outside the 'Soulsborne’ genre that still fit the identity that the developer strives for. Picking the most difficult FromSoftware games takes into cognizance a lot of factors, but there is a clear line of reasoning as to why some games are more difficult than others.
Updated on February 13, 2025, by Gerardo Molina: While many of the titles on the list have been long forgotten or been overshadowed by the Dark Souls franchise, Elden Ring and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, they’re still great games to play. Many of the games on this list are from a time when FromSoftware was not nearly as big as it is today, yet managed to deliver an entertaining and immersive experience to those who enjoyed their titles. While some of the games on this list focus on fighting on board huge mechanical vehicles, others take a more traditional RPG approach with the classical undertones that make FromSoftware titles famous.
17 Shadow Assault: Tenchu
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.0/5
- Platform(s): Xbox 360
- Released: October 8, 2008
- Developer(s): FromSoftware Inc.
- Genre(s): Action Game, Puzzle Video Game
Shadow Assault: Tenchu puts players in charge of one of several selectable characters from the Tenchu universe. Like similar games in its genre, players will be given a specific task to complete on each level that they'll have to carefully carry out. This title also follows the popular game mechanic of putting hit points on top of enemies’ heads for a visual appeal that never fails to deliver.
Unfortunately, as opposed to later successes made by FromSoftware such as the Dark Souls franchise, Shadow Assault: Tenchu received mixed reviews.
16 Shadow Tower Abyss
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.32/5
- Platform(s): PlayStation 2
- Released: October 23, 2003
- Developer(s): FromSoftware Inc.
- Genre(s): RPG
As opposed to other games on this list, Shadow Tower Abyss is played completely from a first-person perspective and tasks players with navigating through various catacombs, open-air walkways, and caverns that they'll have to explore as they ascend a tower.
This title takes on a more classical RPG approach and could be considered to be one of the first FromSoftware games to have players explore various subterranean forests, dark caverns, and other areas that are packed with challenging enemies blocking their path. Players must increase their stats wisely to progress through the game and make the challenges ahead of them simpler.
15 Armored Core: Project Phantasma
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.36/5
- Platform(s): PlayStation
- Released: December 4, 1997
- Developer(s): FromSoftware Inc.
- Genre(s): Mecha, Third-person shooter, Simulation
Set two years before the events of the original Armored Core, Armored Core: Project Phantasma tasks players with investigating the Amber Crown complex, the home of a mysterious Doomsday Organization, and a covert research project codenamed Project Phantasma.
Gameplay doesn't vary much from its predecessor, but there are new weapons added to make the experience feel different. While it's likely the easiest FromSoftware game out there, that doesn't take away from the fact that it's a classic in the studio's history, even though it almost never gets the recognition it clearly deserves.
14 King’s Field
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.36/5
King's Field
- Released
- December 16, 1994
- ESRB
- Teen // Animated Violence
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original)
- Genre(s)
- RPG
While the first game in the King's Field series may not have received an official English release, fans came to save the day with a full translation patch of their own that allows players to check out the first-ever game developed by FromSoftware. Fans of Dark Souls will be amazed to see the many ways King's Field inspired FromSoftware's flagship series, even if the core combat itself is as clunky as they come.
Maintaining distance and picking one's hits wisely is the best way to play King's Field, especially since the control scheme can be a pain to learn. In fact, a lot of King's Field's difficulty feels artificial, which can frustrate players. However, those who bear the early slog of this title and find some decent equipment and spells to use will be taking out most enemies from afar before they have a chance to retaliate, even if the challenge keeps on ramping up.
13 King’s Field 3
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.58/5
- Platforms: PlayStation
- Released: 21 June, 1996
- Genre: Action, RPG
This is where things get tricky. While this game is officially King's Field 3, the game was released as King's Field 2 in the West since the first game never received an official translation. This title is the last of the King's Field series to make its way onto the PS1, serving as the most polished version of a formula that can take a while for players to get into.
The combat is far from easy and mandates that players remain mobile and wear the best equipment to smite their foes. Initial fights at a low level can be a downright nightmare to deal with, and it's important to combine melee attacks and sorcery to ensure that players aren't flattened by enemies who arrive in the later stages. This, coupled with the obtuse exploration, ensures that King's Field 3 is as challenging and cryptic as the past two titles in the franchise, making it one of FromSoftware's hardest games.
12 King’s Field 2
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.85/5
- Platforms: PlayStation
- Released: 21 July 1995
- Genre: Action, RPG
King’s Field has the distinct honor of being the first video game developed by FromSoftware way back when in 1994. It was a fantasy game that already started to develop some of the tropes that are a staple of FromSoftware games today.
In 1995, King’s Field 2 was released, and it featured a significant difficulty spike with better enemy design and intuition, making it much harder to progress through the game. Considering its age, some of the jank of the game also inadvertently adds to the difficulty, but all in all, King’s Field 2 is a solid entry to the FromSoftware roster.
11 Armored Core: Verdict Day
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.92/5
Armored Core: Verdict Day
- Released
- September 24, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
Before Dark Souls, there was Armored Core. This was the series that first brought FromSoftware to prominence, and it is one that the company persists with still. The game is far removed from the Souls games in atmosphere and aesthetic, but is bonded in difficulty.
Verdict Day’s difficulty lies in the variety of missions and the specificity of the mech building to survive each mission. With 60 missions in the game, and each more difficult than the last, it isn’t hard to see why this is a difficult FromSoftware game to clear.
10 Dark Souls 2
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 3.99/5
Dark Souls 2
- Released
- March 11, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
As the middle child of the Dark Souls series, it does make some sense that it is the most complex of the three games. Dark Souls 2 features a seemingly new control system, making turning and rolling feel clunkier than the original, which can lead to many moments where, despite evading an attack, damage is assured.
Some of the design choices also add to the game’s difficulty. For instance, the Humanity mechanic means that most players have to move around with half of their HP bar, and there are some areas where the map is unforgiving, like Black Gulch, which throws poison at players at every turn in a dark environment.
9 Armored Core: For Answer
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4/5
- Platform(s): PlayStation 3
- Released: March 19, 2008
- Developer(s): FromSoftware Inc.
- Genre(s): Shooter Video Game, Vehicular Combat Game
Set five years after the LYNX War, Earth finds itself under the rule of the League of Ruling Companies made up of various nations that endured and survived the infamous armed conflict. Armored Core: For Answer innovated on many things, including a new interface for Armored Core customization that gave players a lot more freedom.
This title is also the second in the series to feature multiple endings, which isn't anything new in the gaming world, but when the concept is properly executed, it almost always delivers and makes the experience amazing.
8 Dark Souls 3
GameFAQs Difficulty Rating: 4.01/5
Dark Souls 3
- Released
- March 24, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
The third game of the Dark Souls series was a masterpiece that perfected the art of creating an atmosphere. Dark Souls 3 is also known to have some of the most difficult bosses in the entire FromSoftware catalog. Hundreds have fallen to the Soul of Cinder, The Nameless King, and Slave Knight Gael.
15 Most Overpowered Weapons In Dark Souls 3
Dark Souls 3 may be difficult, but setting up a build around one of these particularly overpowered weapons can help to level the playing field.
On the other hand, a lot of the content before the boss fights is relatively easy to deal with, which makes Dark Souls 3 somewhat balanced on the difficulty meter, especially since some overpowered weapons would be nerfed upon FromSoftware's updates and discovery, allowing additional tweaks to the game's meta in both PvP and PvE.