10 Most Annoying Video Game Levels Ever Made

There are many reasons to love video games, but above all else - video games are fun.

When you play a video game, you're transported into another universe. You get to be the hero, you get to save the world, and you get to have a damn good time while doing it. As you proceed through the game, the levels naturally get more arduous to accommodate your increased understanding and mastery of the game's intricacies. Now, increased difficulty is not a bad thing. After all, how boring would it be if a game never introduced any more challenges beyond level one?

That being said, there are plenty of levels throughout video game history that take this concept just a bit too far.

For this list, we'll be taking a look at ten levels from beloved video games that either presented an unreal difficulty spike, a cheap gimmick, or an unnecessary waste of time (or, in some cases, any combination of the three). While these levels are certainly not deal-breakers and they do not make their games "bad," they present moments of incredible frustration; moments where the games temporarily stop being fun.

Rusty Bucket Bay is a masterclass in how to turn a delightfully-fun game into an overly-stressful nightmare.

The most prevalent annoyance in Rusty Bucket Bay is, of course, the oily water. This thick, viscous gunge surrounds the entire stage and quickly depletes Banjo's oxygen whenever he's in it, regardless of whether his head is above water. When you inevitably end up in the water, whether its to complete an underwater mission or just to traverse the annoyingly-spread-out stage, you're bound to have a hard time leaving, as the escape ladders are roughly the same color as the walls.

Oh, and the ship itself isn't much better.

*Everything* on this ship wants Banjo dead, from the cowl vents to the life rafts. Within the ship is a mini-boss, who's quite easy if you have 10 Golden Feathers but overwhelming if you don't. But the real terror lies deep within, in the Engine Room.

Good God, the Engine Room...

The objective of the Engine Room is to traverse your way across rotating pipes to hit two switches that will stop the rear propellers of the ship. Not only will falling off the pipes result in instant death, but they give you an insulting 65 seconds to backtrack through the entire room, ascend the ladder, run to the other side of the ship, plunge into the disgusting water, and swim behind the rear propellers to get the Jiggy.

This level is a frustrating, unforgiving, filthy blemish on an otherwise-perfect game.