10 ULTRA Hard Video Game Opening Levels That Broke You
2. Boletarian Palace - Demon's Souls
You could probably pick any FromSoftware game to join this list, but Demon's Souls is an especially interesting case given that it's just received a glossy remake for PS5 - a remake that's shed none of the 2009 original's shellacking level of challenge.
Once you get through the brief Forlorn Outpost tutorial, Demon's Souls' 1-1 level is the Boletarian Palace - a gorgeously striking locale for sure, albeit one where you absolutely need to keep your eyes peeled at every moment.
It's incredibly easy to get caught short in the level's tight passages and corridors, where just a few quick hits are enough to get killed.
And while the difficulty of this area and its boss, the dragon Phalanx, pale in comparison to the game's grandest challenges, by the reasonable difficulty metrics of most games, Boletarian Palace is an absolute nightmare.
At least just about everybody playing either version of Demon's Souls in 2020 should absolutely know what they're getting themselves into, unless they've been living under a rock for the last decade-plus.