10 More Brutally Difficult First-Person Shooter Levels In Video Game History

Even among classic retro shooters like DOOM and Shadow Warrior, Blood is infamous for its difficulty, so you know that when a level in Blood is considered, by its fans, to be punishing, you’re dealing with one of the most hellacious levels ever created.

That level, The Ganglion Depths, sets the tone early. Only barely into map the you’ll see the screen flash red as you’re blasted in the back by Cultists cynically placed to blindside you. Get past that warm welcome and only a few steps further you’ll awaken two of the game’s toughest enemies, Stone Gargoyles, and will have to fight them on a narrow path with death-dealing drops to either side.

And that’s only the start. You’ll face more Cultists, flame-spewing Hellhounds, and no less than three Mother Spiders which, because they detect you early, will spawn hordes of venomous spiderlings, and all of this is packed into a slaughterhouse of narrow hallways and confined rooms, transforming every doorway into a soul-crushing ordeal.

The Ganglion Depths is deliberately cruel, requiring complete mastery of the game’s mechanics to render it even manageable. Then again, if you love Blood, this is the kind of level you live for.