10 Video Games That Secretly Get Harder Without You Realising

On its own, Crash 4 is a fun but challenging platformer, giving the player hard but infectiously kinetic levels for them to traverse. The game's central gimmick when it comes to progression is acquiring specific gems, where you're rewarded gems for completing tasks in a level - like breaking all of the boxes or completing a level without dying - with a cool costume waiting for you as the prize.

This system, however, makes trying to 100% Crash 4 an actual nightmare.

Now, most players accept that trying to 100% a game is going to be more challenging than the vanilla experience, but Crash 4's 100% run is an actual exercise in masochism. Getting 80% of the fruit in every level - an act that nets you three gems per level - isn't that hard. No, it's the other three gems that will truly test your patience. Boxes are hidden in obscure or ludicrous places - same as the hidden gems in later levels - and then there's the bane of the bunch: the lives gem:

You have to complete each level without dying more than three times, which doesn't sound bad on paper, but these levels are long and they are unrelenting. 

But even after doing all of that, you still have to complete the time trials. The Platinum Relics, once simply bragging rights with no impact on progression, are now mandatory for getting the best ending. 

Playing casually, Crash 4 is the most fun game in the franchise. Try to play it to the coveted 104%, however, and get ready for pain.