Our second gruelling, ultra-hard platformer on this list takes its inspiration from 90s classics like Rastan and Super Ghouls N' Ghosts. With a chugging metal soundtrack and a moody colour palette, Slain evokes the 90s while being animated and designed with the kind of technical finesse that wasn't possible back then. You control a hardy Viking-esque dude with a two-handed sword, and slash your way through environments that look like they've come straight out of the psyches of Iron Maiden - all rain-soaked, wind-swept levels with twisted, gnarled trees and giant skulls whose mouths open for you to walk into, brimming with zombies, spectres and giant hard-as-nails knights. As the name suggests, this game's not going to treat you nicely, but if it's true to its inspirations then it'll be a brilliantly-designed platformer than rewards skill and brutally punishes mistakes. And by 'brutal', we really mean it, judging by the floods of beautifully-animated blood and gore in the trailer.