Even the best games have their low points. No game is 100% perfect, but these levels are distinctly annoying. Whether it’s forced stealth sections, precarious paths that lead to instant death, or unbeatable scenarios with no way of going back, these are the moments in gaming we hated the most — even when the rest of the game was pretty great. These are the flawed sections of classic video games, and we just have to vent.
This is a highly subjective subject, so we’re sticking to the moments that (most) of us can agree on. Plenty of these moments have their defenders, and if you know what you’re doing, some of these annoying parts aren’t too bad at all — we’re mostly focusing on our first experiences. That first-time struggle to overcome obstacles that seem impossible. If you’re not ready for these moments, you’ll be banging your head against the wall.
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Everything In Anor Londo [Dark Souls]
I’ve played through Dark Souls more times than I can count. It’s one of my all-time favorites, and yet I still dread my visit to Anor Londo. This gleaming city is a trap for beginners — an inescapable nightmare that some players will never overcome. It’s all because you’re stuck in Anor Londo once you arrive. There’s no backtracking here. Not until you’ve defeated the obnoxiously difficult Ornstein and Smough battle.
I’ve played through this enough that Ornstein and Smough aren’t that much of a challenge anymore. Equipping the right weapons and taking out Ornstein first, then dealing with over-charged Smough by kiting him around pillars… it’s second nature to me. The real problem isn’t the boss — it’s those damn rooftop archers.
Before entering the huge castle of Anor Londo, you’ll have to walk on extremely narrow platforms while archers take long-range potshots at you. One shot can knock your Chosen Undead off the ledge and into an instant death bottomless pit. These archers are everywhere, and they’re one of the earliest anger-inducing nuisances of the game. Sure, they aren’t quite as bad as the butt-dragons of Lost Izalith (We’ll talk about those guys another time.) but I can’t help but hate these guys more.
The Unpatched Post Game [Shadow of War]
Shadow of War is a great sequel to Shadow of Mordor… with a few huge flaws. Everything that was great about Shadow of Mordor is back, including even more crazy Nemesis System Orc encounters. The big problems were all related to annoying microtransactions forced into the game by publisher WB Games. Thankfully, that’s all been patched out, making the game a much better experience overall.
But I still played that original game pre-patch, and it was one of the most hellish experiences of my gaming life. Before the patch, the Shadow of War post game forced you to recapture regions. Basically, your regions would be invaded by increasingly more powerful Orc Warlords, forcing you to start from scratch and grind out more Orc allies, assassinations, and Fortress Assaults. After scrounging back to the top in one region… you’d just have to repeat it again. And again. And again. And again.
It’s a hellish slog designed specifically to try to get players to purchase Lootboxes containing more powerful Orc Captains to add to your army. Without them, grinding and leveling up Orcs takes an absurd amount of time. Even if you buy Lootboxes with real money, you’re still spending a lot of time on characters that will become obsolete on the next round of battles. The post game just goes on and on — and I played it all just to see a secret ending that’s absolutely not worth all that effort.
Get more annoying moments on the next page.
