10 Hardest Video Game Challenges (That Aren't Worth The Effort)
Only attempt these challenges if you have zero respect for your own free time.
Some people play video games to relax, while others do it for the thrill of a good challenge, to test their gaming mettle against seemingly Sisyphean tasks that might get thrown their way.
But even the hardiest, most competitive players among us have their limits, right?
With everyone being basically addicted to achievement-hunting these days, and developers being ever-more desperate to wring perceived "value" out of their titles, it's little surprise that most major video games offer up extra challenges for players who wish to go the extra mile.
Optional content can indeed have totally reasonable requirements, but when you go far enough down the rabbit hole, there comes a point where developers make frankly absurd, unreasonable asks of players.
These 10 challenges, from brutally demanding time trials to infamously unforgiving side missions, all represent gaming at its most upsettingly difficult.
This runs doubly true given that the "rewards" in each case - if there even are any at all - are simply not commensurate to the ridiculous amount of time and effort invested in completing said challenge.
If games should primarily be about fun and enjoyment, then these challenges couldn't be much bigger wastes of time, calling out to only the most masochistic of players...
10. N. Sanely Perfect Relics - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
Even hardcore Crash Bandicoot fans were taken aback by how infuriatingly difficult the recent fourth game was, touting a brutal level of challenge worthy of the beloved original.
Beating the base game is one thing, but those seeking out a greater challenge could complete Time Trials to unlock the Platinum Relics, and further still, the most masochistic of players could also attempt to obtain the 38 N. Sanely Perfect Relics.
N. Sanely Perfect Relics are collected by beating a level without dying and smashing every single crate, which given the more expansive length of Crash 4's stages is an extremely demanding two-for-one task.
You can spend literally dozens of hours practising for this, and even then there's no guarantee of success, especially considering the absurd level of challenge in the game's later levels.
But even if you do scoop up all 38 Relics, you have to consider whether it's really worth such a colossal time investment for the scant rewards - a mere trophy ("Perfectionist") and 106% completion - especially at the likely cost of your own "N. Sanity."