15 Most Brutally Hard Video Game Moments Of The Decade (So Far)

2. The "Virus Sequence" - NieR: Automata

For as much as NieR was a uniquely framed exploration of what it means to be human, one of the most outdated and terribly implemented sections came during its third playthrough, where character 2B has to undergo the early 2010 gamer's favourite: A "wounded sequence".

With your vision hampered as a virus slowly takes over, you're not only limping around for a good 20 minutes, but have a countdown timer applied, zero checkpoints no matter how far you stagger before the end, all your controls other than movement are disabled and tons of enemies smash you into the ground every few seconds.

Oh, and there's no indication as to which path you should take through the environment, other than a map marker in the distance - which as many quickly discovered, means you could easily fall into ravines and chasms, as the lack of control ensures you stay there, the surrounding enemies continuing to further extract your sanity.