10 Brutally Difficult Opening Levels In Video Games

Now, if there’s any genre infamous for coming at players full-throttle right from the word go, it’s shoot ‘em ups. Because the controls tend to be so basic, we get little more than a cursory tutorial at best, before being dropped right in the deep end.

The deep end of a pool filled with flesh-hungry piranhas and the shark from Jaws (the real one, not the plastic ones).

Cult favourite Ikaruga is certainly guilty of this. Fans of shoot ‘em ups will know that this particular title has a very unique mechanic: the polarity system. The player’s ship, the Ikaruga, switches between a black polarity and a white one at the touch of a button. This also switches the bullets they fire accordingly. Enemies, in turn, are either black or white, and the same also applies to their projectiles.

Enemies take twice the damage when hit by the opposing polarity, while the Ikaruga itself absorbs matching colours and is instantly destroyed by the opposite one. This novel concept makes the action even more frantic than usual (quite an achievement for a Treasure game), but also demands an opening level that teaches how these things work succinctly.

Ikaruga’s opener isn’t as challenging as later stages, but it’s certainly a trial by fire. The polarity-juggling will really bend your brain the first time around.