10 Video Game Levels Removed For Being Too Hard

We've all faced off against levels in video games that were just too damn hard - that were just too far beyond our abilities that we had to summon someone else to help, rely on a cheat code, or maybe even just abandon the game outright.

And then there are those games which actually removed problematic levels before they reached players, ditching aspects of the game which the dev team and QA testers themselves struggled with during development.

Obviously many elements are removed from games during the production phase for a multitude of reasons, though it's especially fascinating when a stage or area doesn't make the cut because those involved deemed it too challenging.

This can mean the mechanics of it were simply too mind-boggling for players, or that on a nuts-and-bolts technical level, it was too hard for the devs to implement to their satisfaction.

Either way, these 10 video game levels all got the chop because they left folk, whether players or developers, anguished at the very thought of playing through them.

Some were actually reworked or even restored in later remakes and remasters, while others remain a fascinating, abandoned talking point...

GoldenEye 007's opening Dam level is downright iconic, offering up a snappy introduction to the shooter's various gameplay systems while leading up to the single most memorable visual from the movie - 007 bungee jumping from the top of a dam.

But Rare's original version of the level was quite different, as confirmed by countless unused assets discovered by fans within the game's code.

Even on the highest difficulty, the Dam only has four main mission objectives, though the original version was apparently considerably more involved, with almost double the number of Things to Do. 

Players were tasked with, among other things, commandeering a boat, driving it out to a nearby island, destroying a machine situated there and, it's been speculated, even acquiring the bungee gear for the climactic jump.

But the developers ultimately decided that this was all too complicated for what was supposed to be a breezy introductory level for players, and so it was streamlined into the considerably simpler affair we ended up with.