10 Gruelling Video Game Levels That Were Just The Beginning

While not the top entry, this is by far one of the most interesting cases on this list, because the gruelling nature comes from both the gameplay as well as the story.

While technically not the first dungeon in the game, the one before it was more of a tutorial for how dungeons work in Xenoblade. The Ether Mines, on the other hand, is your first PROPER dungeon, with multiple sprawling floors littered with enemies and secrets to unlock. And your reward for getting through all of that is a rematch with the giant robot (known in this game as a mechon) that kicked your ass up and down the street beforehand.

And that's where we get into the story, because as challenging as this dungeon is, what makes it so intimidating is how the story uses the dungeon. You spend hours upon hours working through this dungeon, grinding your levels to finally take on this mechon and save companion Sharla's little brother and potentially the rest of her people. And this mechon, Xord, is one stubborn bastard, coming back over and over before finally going down. You emerge from the mines feeling like a big damn hero...

And then the main antagonist arrives, with his army of mechon IDENTICAL to the one you just spent hours fighting and just barely managed to put down.

Words cannot adequately describe the dread and hopelessness that comes with the cutscene after the Ether Mine. All that effort, just to be told "congratulations, you killed ONE. Just a few billion to go."

Xenoblade Chronicles is a long ass game, and the way the game informs you of this is nothing short of brutal.