10 ULTRA Hard Video Game Opening Levels That Broke You

Ghosts 'n Goblins is generally accepted to be one of the most punishing video games of its era, a sadistic exercise in mocking players for even hoping they can get through it with their sanity in tact.

And the torment begins with the opening Graveyard level, where players are thrown directly into the fray as hapless knight Sir Arthur.

In addition to being a sluggish and unresponsive protagonist, Arthur can only take two hits before dying. Adding to the humiliation, he'll be reduced to running around in his underwear after taking the first hit.

Making matters worse is the sheer number of enemies hurled at you: the zombies can spawn literally underneath your feet and cause an easy Game Over if you're not careful.

It's nothing if not a statement of intent for the rest of the game, which even if you're skilled enough to make it to the "final" boss, forces you to play through the game again on a higher difficulty in order to reach the true final battle. Life is just too damn short for this.