10 Most Annoying Video Game Levels Ever Made

This may very well be the steepest difficulty curve in the history of video gaming.

Waterfall, the third level of the notoriously-hard game Contra, is the only level that scrolls vertically rather than horizontally. The precariously-placed platforms make it exceedingly difficult to dodge the falling rocks and the literal army of soldiers shooting at you from all angles. All it takes is one mistimed hit to end up falling to your doom.

Now, playing this level on its own is frustrating enough, but playing it with a second player is where it really begins to induce migraines.

Playing this level with a second player, which is generally encouraged when playing this game, amplifies the exasperation tenfold. You and your partner need to work in near-perfect tandem to ascend the waterfall because, if one of you goes too far upwards, you'll both die.

Yes, you read that correctly - both of you will die.

So, on top of being swarmed by gunmen and tanks while traversing upward, you also have to keep a steady pace with your partner in order to survive. That takes a maddening level of focus; too much for the third level of a game.