10 Video Game Levels Removed For Being Too Hard

In the original 1996 release of legendary platformer Crash Bandicoot, a secret level called Stormy Ascent could be accessed only by using a cheat device such as a Gameshark.

This is because Naughty Dog cut the level from the game due to its maddeningly high difficulty level, as well as its length and a number of bugs which the developer couldn't fix in time for launch.

Stormy Ascent is basically a harder iteration of arguably the core game's most difficult level, Slippery Climb, where you're tasked with scaling the side of a castle while facing off against countless obstacles.

Stormy Ascent just throws more of everything at you while requiring split-second reflexes and punishing you for even the smallest of mistakes. 

Numerous Naughty Dog employees have publicly lamented the level's removal from the original game, noting the immense amount of work that went into making it.

However, for 2017's Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy remake project, Stormy Ascent was restored as a DLC level, allowing fans both new and old to appreciate just how brutally difficult it actually is.