Requirements:

• Well paced. Has a constant feeling of progress.
• The gameplay must feel good.
  • Snappy combat system that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
  • Challenging combat that you need to master.
  • If no combat (like in Portal), there is some core gameplay mechanic that must be mastered.
• Compelling story.

Games:

• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• Metroid Dread
• Portal
• Mirror's Edge
• Enter the Gungeon
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Control
• Half Life 2
• The Last of Us
• Bloodborne
• Resident Evil Village

Under consideration:

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Batman Arkham City
• Portal 2
• Final Fantasy VII

• (Everything above)
• Card Shark

• Mega Man X
  • Many people's favorite game of all time 😯.
• Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
  • This is a remake of Mega Man X for the PSP.
• Mega Man 11
• Mega Man Legends 2
• Mega Man Powered Up
• Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door (Switch remake)
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch remake)
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Super Mario RPG (Switch remake)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Link's Awakening (Switch remake)
• Super Metroid
• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch remake)
• Hollow Knight
• Cocoon
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Resident Evil 4 (PS5)
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon
• Elroy Hits the Pavement

• Luigi's Mansion 3
• Pikmin 4

Video games to check out

• Sand Land
• Space Wreck
  • https://youtu.be/JFZ4KDqW07E?t=284
• Trudograd
• Pizza Tower
  • https://youtu.be/kab-fOsrq_Q
• Sports Story
• Pocket Card Jockey:Ride On!
• Contra: Operation Gulaga
• Viewfinder
• Cocoon
• Visions of Mana
• Black Myth Wukong
• Tchia
• The First Descendant
• Mecha Break
• Doraemon Story of Seasons Friends of the Great Kingdom
• Myst (https://youtu.be/Uythif7gfJY?t=91)
• FTL
• Slay the Spire
• Cadence of Hyrule
• Lisa: The Painful
• Cloud Jumper
• Narita Boy
• Webbed
• Overloop
• Rain on Your Parade
• A Long Hike
• Firewatch
• Dorfromantik
• Baba Is You
• https://nuts.game
• https://archive.vn/7NHwB
• Gravity Rush 2
• Greedfall
• Moonlighter (Switch)
• https://web.archive.org/web/20200518093501/http://fingerguns.net/games/2018/11/26/- [ ] 60-indie-games-to-get-excited-about-in-2019/
• Slay the Spire
• 3DS - Monster Hunter Stories
• 3DS - Zelda A Link Between Worlds
• 3DS - Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga
• Dragon Quest VIII
• Astral Chain
• Dead Cells (http://archive.is/LH8Aw).
• Nidhogg 2
• Monsters and Monocles
• Event[0]
• Shovel Knight
• Kentucky Route Zero (and http://kentuckyroutezero.com/the-entertainment/)
• Thirty Flights of Loving
• Snakebird
• Gato Roboto
• Dropsy
• Zone of the Enders
• Jump Force
• Forager (https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/- [ ] Forager-1501105.html)
• CrossCode (https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/crosscode-switch)
• Caveblazers (on Switch)
• LISA (https://youtu.be/ojapVW-7lQ0)
• The Beginner's Guide (https://store.steampowered.com/app/303210/The_Beginners_Guide/)
• 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
• Bug Fables
• Void Bastards
• https://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition
• https://www.ynglet.com
• Nioh 2 (https://youtu.be/e8kYQ51TqCI)
• Mushihime-sama Futari Black Label
• Wild Hearts
• Lies of P

• Dave the Diver (https://youtu.be/284XKh1lFHM)
• Thumper
• Loop Hero
• Shenzhen I/O (http://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io)
• Thumper (https://youtu.be/gZDHLOqD_pM)
• The Surge 2
• God of War
• Undertale
• The Outer Worlds
• Disco Elysium
• Everhood
• Vampire Survivors
• Pikuniku
• Devil May Cry 5
• Code Vein
• Star Wars: Squadrons
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Switch - Link's Awakening
• Untitled Goose Game
• Return of the Obra Dinn
• Hollow Knight
• Nier Automata
• For Honor
• Risk of rain
• Inside
• Stephen's Sausage Roll (http://www.stephenssausageroll.com/about.html)
• Noita (https://store.steampowered.com/app/881100/Noita/)
• Final Fantasy XV
• Spelunky
• Scarlet Nexus (https://youtu.be/nlr3jNdXWZs)

• https://ce.iys.io

  Challenge Enthusiasts Tackling the most challenging games on Steam. The most comprehensive list of challenging games, graded by their difficulty, and neatly tracked on this nifty little website.