10 Tough-As-Nails Strategy Game Missions That Made You Wave The White Flag

10. A Reason To Fight - Valkyria Chronicles 4

This two part mission is a brilliant example of clawing your way out of the frying pan only to find yourself on the surface of the sun.

Part one unceremoniously dumps you onto open ground with enemy units on all sides. Mortar fire will rain down on your base, neatly claiming any of your weaker units, and your primary objective, a heavily-armoured tank, is a nightmare to take down.

Part two pits you against the series’ titular Valkyria, an immensely powerful being who has gone full nuclear, drowning the area around her in a health-sapping aura while slaughtering any unit she can get her eye on. Dealing with her involves a gruelling assault through conventional forces, across ground largely devoid of either concealment or cover, capped off by the need to execute a precision shot just to render her vulnerable, a shot that must be made every turn.

Worst of all, every soldier you lose was someone you hand-picked, and seeing them go down is real punch to the gut, leaving you not only with an irritated temper and a sore brain, but a heavy heart as well.