10 Most Stressful Video Game Levels

The Soulsborne games are renowned for their tough as nails difficulty and punishing boss fights, but nothing can compare to the levels of stress that are caused when entering the Frigid Outskirts in Dark Souls 2.

Part of The Ivory King DLC, the Frigid Outskirts is an optional area that can be reached by interacting with a coffin next to the Expulsion Chamber bonfire (which is accessed behind a locked gate). Doing so will see your character sledge down a hill and arrive in this area.

With a powerful blizzard obscuring the player's view for large chunks of time, navigating this area is difficult enough, not to mention the pitfalls and narrow pathways that players can fail to see. Moreover, this area will throw tough unicorn-like enemies at players when the blizzard is active. They hit hard and come out of nowhere, meaning players need to act fast to survive.

Throw in a boss fight against two large tigers at the end, and Frigid Outskirts is easily one of the cruelest areas in the Soulsborne series.

Even more stressful: there's no bonfire found here either. This means that players will need to try again from the top each time they inevitably die.