2015 is now behind us, and we're slowly putting memories both beautiful and traumatic towards the backs of our minds as we make room in the front for the gems, delights and disappointments that await us in 2016 (because that's how minds work). But before we consign the last year to history, let's tear open those psychological wounds one last time and recall the moments that caused us to scream into pillows, bite controllers, and do that swear-laughing reflex where we wave dismissively at the screen and call 'bulls**t' at the game for putting us through such torture (before we jump right back in to try again). While we bemoan the easification (screw you spellcheck. I'm making it a real word) of video games in recent years, they're still capable of overwhelming us in good ways and bad. From finding out that easy-looking games can be hellishly hard, to evilly ingenious boss battles, to sequences where our exasperated cries of 'bulls**t' are justified, here are the toughest gaming moments of 2015.
10. Knight Elhanan - Titan Souls
Titan Souls made the cut for the most underrated games of 2015. It's easy to see why some critics were put off by it. When you're not engaged in heart-stopping boss battles, you can find yourself wandering the world pretty aimlessly, and the one-shot-kill nature of the battles means you'll be making a lot of tedious trips back to the same bosses over and over again. One moment in particular that'll make you over-familiar with the journey from spawn-point to boss is this guy. Elhanan flies hovers around the arena firing arrows at you while one big super-arrow ricochets around the room. After about 10 deaths, you realise that to defeat him (spoiler warning), you need to shoot his super-arrow with your arrow to make him vulnerable, and then you have about two seconds to retrieve your arrow and fire it at him while he's in his stripped-to-the-bone state. The number of elements that need to come together for this to succeed makes it a slog. Once your arrow hits his one, you need to be in a perfect position to pick it up and fire it immediately, with little power and at close range, at Elhanan. It requires a perfect harmony of precision, speed and positioning, but once you get that lethal hit in, boy does it feel good.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
