Top 10 Toughest FromSoftware Games to Master Completely

FromSoftware

has created some of the most infamously challenging games of all time, with incredibly difficult gameplay that takes hours of practice to master. It’s no wonder that trophy hunters and completionists are quick to take on these challenging games as soon as they release, as it’s truly an accomplishment just to finish most FromSoft games, not to mention complete them to 100%. If you manage to get the Platinum trophy for any FromSoftware game, you’ll be among a small percentage of dedicated players to achieve this feat.

While the entire

Dark Souls

franchise is extremely challenging, FromSoftware’s

Armored Core

games are no joke, and standalone IPs such as

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

and

Bloodborne

don’t pull any punches either. In fact, there aren’t many modern FromSoftware games that won’t pose a significant challenge to 100%, so if you’re looking to add some hard-earned Platinum trophies to your collection, look no further than FromSoftware’s extensive library.

Elden Ring: Easy By Souslborne Standards

Elden Ring Is Tough, But Not Nearly As Hard As Other Souls Games To 100%

Elden Ring

is one of the best FromSoftware games ever made, lauded for its incredible environmental storytelling, unique world, and especially its challenging gameplay. When the game first launched, most players struggled to get past the first major boss,
Margit, the Fell Omen
. However, compared to previous Soulsborne games by FromSoft,


Elden Ring

is actually much easier to 100%

, as long as you have the hours to dump into “getting good.”

This is not to say that reaching 100% is easy. Each boss in

Elden Ring

can pose a significant challenge, and you’ll need to play through the game at least three times to obtain the Platinum trophy and complete all three required endings. Aside from this, completing

Elden Ring

in its entirety is really just a matter of

learning each boss’s unique move-set

and leveling up and/or re-speccing your character to adapt to their weaknesses/strengths.

Demon’s Souls: At Least Two Playthroughs Are Required

Demon’s Souls Bosses Are Incredibly Easy By FromSoft Standards

Demon’s Souls

is the
original Soulsborne game
by FromSoft, and its 2020 remake for the PlayStation 5 gave players a new way to experience this legendary game and its infamously challenging gameplay. The

Demon’s Souls

remake is

slightly easier to 100% than the original

, largely due to updated gameplay mechanics and quality of life changes that make the experience much smoother.

However, the game still poses a significant challenge to players who don’t have much Soulsborne experience. Because of certain challenges, such as the

“Sage’s Trophy”

and

“Saint’s Trophy

,

”

which require you to

collect all Spells and Miracles

, you’ll have to play through

Demon’s Souls

at least two full times before you’re able to unlock the Platinum.

Armored Core 6: S-Rank Every Mission

Not As Hard As Other AC Entries, But A Challenge Nonetheless

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

is the latest installment in the long-running FromSoftware IP, and while it will be extremely difficult for some players to 100% due to the S-Rank every mission requirement, this is still

not nearly as challenging as earlier

Armored Core

entries

(e.g.,

Verdict Day

).
S-Ranking every mission
is a recurring challenge across the franchise, and

AC6

is no exception. Doing so can take upwards of 50 hours, and likely much longer if it’s your first

AC

experience.

Notably, the biggest challenge of this game is not one that is required for the Platinum trophy.

Unlocking all 50 Data Logs is a commonly missed accomplishment

in

Armored Core 6

that technically is needed to properly “100%” the game. Most players don’t even realize they haven’t found them all because they’ll likely receive the Platinum Trophy and assume that was part of it.

Bloodborne: Chalice Dungeons Are Incredibly Challenging

Randomly Generated Chalice Dungeons Make 100% Completion Very Tough

Bloodborne

is a fan-favorite FromSoft game that is infamously challenging and frustrating to 100%, particularly because of its
unique Chalice Dungeons
. These are randomized areas that will throw players into unpredictable situations, with unique and difficult bosses at the end of each level. There are

numerous Chalice Dungeons in the game

, and you’ll have to complete all of them in order to get to 100%.

In particular, when you reach the later-game Chalice Dungeons,

new mechanics are introduced that “Curse” the player,

halving your health bar and making things even tougher than they already were. These later Chalice Dungeons are extremely difficult to navigate as well, and this is all on top of the numerous other challenging tasks you’ll need to complete in

Bloodborne

to reach 100%.

Elden Ring Nightreign: A Soulsborne Unlike The Others

You’ll Have To Rely On Others If You’re Not Extremely Skilled

Elden Ring Nightreign

is the most recent FromSoftware project, but it’s designed as a multiplayer cooperative experience, making it quite different from any Soulsborne game the company has put out so far. While the trophies themselves aren’t necessarily hard to complete if you have a dedicated party of skilled players,

you’re going to have a much harder time if you’re playing with random people


or trying to do the whole thing solo.

Finding a solid group of players can be frustrating for some players, and even with the recent
solo mode update
, doing things by yourself is pretty tough. The

“Nightlord Slayer”

trophy can be especially challenging for players without a dedicated group, requiring you to defeat three Nightlords in a row. Further, unlocking the secret of each Shifting Earth location and completing the various boss raids can be significantly challenging even with a solid group, to say nothing of solo play.

Dark Souls: Time To Grind

The First Dark Souls Requires Serious Time Investment

One of the most challenging series in gaming history,

Dark Souls

has become infamous for its challenging gameplay, with the first installment setting the bar for things to come. The first

Dark Souls

is very tough to 100%, largely because

you have to beat the game at least two times

(and then some) to get the necessary boss souls to make every weapon. You will also have to reach max level on each of the ten types of weapon reinforcement (Fire, Chaos, Occult, etc.), which requires a significant time investment.

Each of the Dark Souls games requires substantial grinding, and while the
Remastered version of

DS1

is definitely an improvement from the original in terms of quality of life,

you’ll still have to grind your way through to 100%.

While the trophies themselves are not extremely complex, they’ll take a serious time commitment on the player’s part.

Armored Core: Verdict Day – You’ll Need A Skilled Team For This One

Armored Core: Verdict Day Takes S-Rank To Another Level

Armored Core 5

and

Armored Core: Verdict Day

are among the hardest

Armored Core

games to 100%, largely because they required building a skilled team of players and didn’t really have much content designed for the single-player experience. This is especially challenging because the game

requires S-Ranking each mission as a team,

something most players simply never were able to accomplish.

At this point, if you want to complete and 100%

Armored Core: Verdict Day

, you’re probably out of luck sadly. The servers for both

AC: Verdict Day

and

Armored Core 5

were taken down some time ago, and while you can dust off your PS3 or Xbox 360 to give them a go,

you’ll only be able to access the offline content

, which was minimal. It’s pretty hard to 100% a multiplayer game when you no longer have access to multiplayer servers, but even if you could play online, reaching 100% would be a significant challenge.

Dark Souls 2 & Scholar Of The First Sin: Time To Grind Harder

This Less-Popular Dark Souls Entry Will Require Multiple Playthroughs As Well

Dark Souls 2

and the remastered version that includes all DLCs,

Scholar of the First Sin

, are

some of the most divisive entries in the Soulsborne franchise

, with most players agreeing that the gameplay simply
feels very different
from other Souls games. To reach 100% completion in this game, you will not only need to get past the starkly different gameplay mechanics, but you’ll also have to play through the entire game at minimum two times, similar to

DS1

and

Demon’s Souls

mentioned above.

Dark Souls 2

also has a mastery requirement similar to


DS1

that takes multiple playthroughs,

and players cannot meet Chancellor Wellager until halfway through a NG++ run or through a ridiculously challenging PvP method. Overall, Dark Souls 2 is a divisive and challenging entry in the Dark Souls series that most players simply never finished to 100%.

Sekiro: Straightforward Trophies, But Extremely Hard Gameplay

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Has Incredibly Difficult Mechanics

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

is a uniquely challenging FromSoftware experience that is incredibly hard to 100% largely because of the gameplay itself, not necessarily because of the nature of any specific trophy or achievement. While there are four different endings,

you’ll only technically need to play through the game twice

to see them all if you save scum the first three.

Aside from this, mastering

Sekiro’s

combat mechanics and defeating all of its tough bosses will pose a serious challenge even for the most experienced FromSoft fans. There’s no shortage of
hard bosses in

Sekiro

, and in true FromSoft fashion,

you’ll likely need to replay each of them multiple times

before mastering their move-set and figuring out the most effective strategy.

Dark Souls 3: The Hardest Grind Of Them All

Dark Souls 1 & 2 Are Nothing Compared To Dark Souls 3’s Time Commitment

Dark Souls 3

is easily the most time-consuming Soulsborne game to 100%,

largely because of the Covenant item requirement

that takes some considerable grinding if you aren’t playing online. In addition to this, as with the other

Dark Souls

games, you’ll have to play through the game multiple times to fully reach 100% completion, and the gameplay itself is no cakewalk. Overall, this is the most challenging game to 100% in the

Dark Souls

franchise, and arguably the hardest of all FromSoftware games to 100%.

If you’re looking for a significant and rewarding challenge, completing every FromSoftware game to 100% will keep you busy for quite a while. Each game is hard to 100% for different reasons, but all of them require players to master the core gameplay mechanics before even considering full completion.


FromSoftware’s


collection of difficult games is well worth the struggle if you’re a completionist or if you simply love a good challenge.