10 Gruelling Video Game Levels That Were Just The Beginning
7. Galleon Minerva - Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
Metroidvanias - at least the really good ones - tend to be really REALLY hard. So it makes sense that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the best metroidvania since the DS Castlevania games (made by the same director, funny that) would be incredibly challenging right off the bat.
But at least those classic Castlevanias that Bloodstained rips off so lovingly let you get into the damned castle most of the time before the pain began. This game kicks your ass as soon as you wake up on the boat TO the castle, the Galleon Minerva.
Despite the snark, Bloodstained is a very different animal from its Castlevania predecessors in very subtle ways that will become clear to you if you approach it expecting otherwise. Miriam's attacks take some getting used to, the shard system is a bit complicated, you're looking for a save point, and every step of the way the game is hounding you with tough enemies and a nightmarishly difficult first boss.
And once you kill him, after no doubt multiple attempts. the boat stops and the game can officially begin. Yay.